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LAND MANAGEMENT:
Stewardship of the Station's greatest asset
The 5,200-acre main property is Archbold Biological Station's
greatest asset. Habitat management is a constant concern and is aided by excellent GIS
capabilities. Management practices are dictated by both research and conservation
priorities. An overall land managment plan for the Station is being developed. The
Station also manages the Lake Placid Scrub Preserve, a State-owned 3,000-acre tract
adjacent to the northwest corner of the Station, and the 10,300-acre Buck Island Ranch,
site of the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center.
Land Management Policies. All property is fenced and posted. Pets are not
permitted on the property and other non-native organisms (feral
cats, wild hogs, certain
plants) are excluded to the greatest extent possible. Firelanes
and roads provide access and fire control. Research programs are coordinated to minimize
their effects on one another or on populations of threatened or endangered native species.
Certain scientific collecting and experimentation is permitted after consultation with
staff Research Biologists.
Lightning fires were prevalent throughout the region in presettlement times, creating
habitats that were adapted to frequent burning. Therefore, fire is a key component of both
research and land management at Archbold. The Station's fire
management plan strives to balance the responsibility of maintaining the
Station's biodiversity with the needs of research. Natural and prescribed fires are mapped
in detail and these maps are digitized into the GIS. A detailed 30-year record of fire
history, plus ample opportunity to prescribe and conduct research burns, provides one of
the finest research sites for fire ecologists anywhere in the United States. Prescribed
burning is used to maintain native species composition and structure, or to test
hypotheses about responses of native elements or systems to different fire regimes.
The Station also owns three nearby satellite
tracts. The Malcolm and Jeanne Watters Marsh is a 17-acre (6.9-ha) tract
between Lake June and Lake Henry. The Harris Tract is an 8-acre (3.2-ha) shrub marsh on
Lake Istokpoga, one of the largest lakes in the state. The Henry T. and Helen C. Price
Memorial Tract contains 8 acres (3.2-ha) of scrub, hammock, swamp, and marsh habitat on
the north shore of Lake Placid. These small tracts provide research opportunities in many
habitats not represented on the Station's main property or on the Ranch.
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