KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Mitch Borden/KMXT
On a rainy day, Maggie Slife was part of a group that made their way out to Chiniak. Slife is the Resource manager and officer for the Kodiak Island Borough. Her group went out to inspect the completed replanting of the burn area the Chiniak fire left behind in 2015.
Recently, crews planted 200,000 Sitka spruce seedlings in the area. Slife said things looked good, but it’ll take some time before the burn area fully grows back.
“You know it’s starting its cycle over again.This is how the world goes. In circles, but it looks pretty good for what it is.”
They inspected the planting frequency of the seedling, debris cleanup, and general restoration of the landscape. Slife and company also kept their eyes peeled for any sign of rabbits, because the foresters planting the seedlings said they had seen a ton. Which could spell danger for the young trees.
“ As any gardener will tell you, rabbits are always a threat to small plants. So we were looking for sign of rabbit damage to the seedlings, and we didn’t see any.”
Slife thinks they didn’t see any damage because there’s plenty of other things for the rabbits to chow down on.
“Because it’s a burn area it’s all new growth. So there are just hundreds and thousands of little shoots of all kinds coming up. Salmon Berries and ferns and your natural first growth plants that you see in Kodiak are starting to dig back into the landscape. So there are a lot of things for them to eat.”
She says the next inspection of the Chiniak burn area will be in two years. The goal is to have a 95 percent success rate among the seedlings, according to Slife. The Kodiak Island Borough is hoping to open the area to the public in the near future.
