Smith's prescription for forest is preservation
David Smith is the forestry ops administrator for the Blackwater River State Forest.
David Smith leaned forward from his seat in a Florida Forest Service truck to get an eastbound view of Interstate 10 in Santa Rosa County.
Smith wasn’t checking on the traffic. Smith, who helps manage the Blackwater River State Forest, was evaluating a light cloud of smoke hovering over the highway.
About 20 minutes before, Smith carried 30 pounds of equipment as he stepped through a stretch of forest with a drip torch. It was his tool to execute a plan for a prescribed burn of forest along with members of his team a few miles south of I-10.
Later, after the land was thinned out through burning at temperatures of about 800-degrees Fahrenheit, Smith wanted to confirm the smoke didn’t interfere with vehicles traveling through the area.
“Visibility is good for approximately four miles,” Smith confirmed on a radio transmission to a colleague.
“The biggest risk with prescribed burn in this area is with smoke impacts,” Smith said off mic. “We spend a lot of time discussing that. We have to be mindful of Whiting Field and residential areas. We don’t need smoke on the interstate.”
Born in Pensacola with a deep interest in the outdoors, the 51-year-old Smith is the forest operations administrator at Blackwater River State Forest — the largest state forest in Florida. Smith oversees fire management and operations throughout Blackwater Forestry Center.
In this role, Smith has rewritten the record books on prescribed burns which is a cleansing process to preserve and protect land and ecosystems.
In fiscal year 2014-15, under Smith’s leadership Blackwater River State Forest conducted 75,457 acres of prescribed burns which was the most ever by any state forest. As a result of Smith’s efforts, last month he was named one of three state recipients of a natural resource manager of the year award.
By comparison, Smith’s group last week was working on a smaller-than-average burn of 145 acres.
“He’s a professional forester and he’s worked in the industry for many years and he’s been instrumental in restoration into longleaf pine, prescribed fire and pretty much everything we do here,” said Mike Hudson, center manager for Blackwater Forestry Center, and Smith’s boss.
With roots stretching to Native Americans, fire and then prescribed burns were used for survival. Smith said Native Americans noticed they saw more of a forest following a lightning strike or with fire. New grass drew deer to the regenerated area making hunting easier. Native southerners into the early 20th century burned land for better access for grazing livestock.
Blackwater River State Forest is one of the nation’s largest longleaf pine forest ecosystems. The longleaf pine is indigenous to the south and the species is fire dependent. With approximately 5 million acres of the longleaf pine forest system stretching from Virginia to Texas, including about 1 million acres in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties and neighboring Alabama, it’s vital to protect and maintain the system with the prescribed burns.
Smith said the practice of prescribed burns has evolved over the last 30 years. Once frowned upon, it was discovered certain species of plants and animals were perpetuated with the fires. The process also ultimately revealed the existence of new species. Hudson mentioned a type of oak tree was discovered to thrive because of the fire.
“Not all fires are bad,” Smith said. “There is good fire and bad fire.”
This natural system also controls the economy in Santa Rosa, and contributes to the quality of life. There is a strong military presence in the area — both at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County and at Whiting Field. The forest near Eglin, and in turn a lack of significant population near the base, allows for training without concern of civilian encroachment that can lead to residents grumbling about noise.
The local timber industry is also driven by the preservation of the forest.
“If you use paper in your work, then forestry affects you,” Hudson said. “Most any product you can think of and use has some relation to timber. Historically, it’s been huge here. We’re trying to restore it to the type of timber that was here naturally, the longleaf pine and so many species and plants and animals that depend on that environment and thrive in it.”
Smith added the forest offers outdoor enthusiasts such as himself a location disconnected from populated areas, but doesn’t require a long trip. Smith, who still has family in the northern end of Escambia County, grew up with “hunting and fishing as a part my life.”
“It provides an open place to go out and enjoy the outdoors and those open spaces without having to travel,” Smith said.
The Forest Service’s prescribed burns have benefits on multiple levels, and one of those is reducing the risk of a forest fire. With a prescribed burning, the fire opens up space for more sunlight to reach the forest floor while diffusing the fuel found in vegetation and grass underneath.
A prescribed fire mimics the natural environment that had been previously covered.
“Without prescribed fire, in nature, if you have a large accumulation of leaves and pine needles, eventually it’s going to burn,” Smith said. “It’s going to be hotter and the more damage it’s going to do.”
With experience in the timber industry, Smith switched to the forest service and he considers the work a labor of love. He’s been at Blackwater River State Forest for nine years and took on his current roles two years ago.
“I was fortunate I was in a position to say ‘what is it I enjoy doing?’” Smith said. “What I enjoyed was managing the land, the forest and trying to make a difference out there.”