Double the nutrients in your pasture.

Maybe if you came into this discussion late, you might be tempted to overlook the early part and focus on farmerDale's counterpoint.
This thread started out with, “They've been studying how the native americans use to do things before the invasion of European settlers and they've discovered the Native Americans purty much had it all figured out. They done massive burnings all over the country and this is believed why wild game was so abundant everywhere when the Europeans and spainards first arrived.”
Well that is just not true. Just because I let some bread get moldy, doesn’t mean I invented penicillin.
Many will look at it as an invasion, but around here, it brought prosperity. The price the “Invaders” were paying for beaver pelts brought many Indians out of a very arduous lifestyle. The investment made to educate native children benefitted them greatly. But today’s revisionists can only focus on their loss of heritage.
Millions of years of plant evolution resulted in plants that were adapted to recovery after fires. There have been prairie fires before any Asians crossed over to North America and became native Americans.
Wild game is more abundant in Michigan now than it was 500 years ago. Much of that improvement has been the destruction of millions of acres of White Pine forests and the agriculture that followed. The level of game the Indians had wasn’t their doing, it was because there were so few of them.

I too tire of hearing distorted views of the past. Most of this “one with nature” stuff is just myth. But it does go both ways. I learned about the pioneers discovering Michigan and clearing fields and establishing homesteads. I was led to believe there were no other people here. But, most of the early roads were Indian trails.

They were well adapted to their lifestyle. They could put up with harsh weather conditions with little shelter. They could travel long distances on land and water. They discovered the active ingredient in aspirin.

They weren't good at hard labor, their lifestyles didn't call for it.

Put down "Dances With Wolves" and watch "Black Robe"instead.
Starvation was so common, it was not unusual to eat your children.

Don't get tricked into the belief that the Indians were doing just fine until the white man got here. It isn't true.

Their misuse of the environment was as wrong-minded as the commercial buffalo hunters, just the Indians were limited by their numbers and their undeveloped technology.
Today, other people have adopted the nomadic ways of our Indian brothers. They travel around, based on the weather and time of the year. They are now known as Snow Birds, Migrant Workers and Homeless.

You obviously arrived late and failed to read this thread in its entirety. Go back. Sure this thread got off track, but it did due to fairy tale beliefs about natives...

Part of the problem with this thread is that there are so many incorrect assumptions as to what is happening.

It's amusing that Oldcountryboy is so impressed with this "ancient knowledge" the indians had that white man is only learning about right now. Back in forestry school thirty years ago burning was already well understood to quickly release nutrients locked up in slowly decaying forest debris. It was also understood that quickly released nutrients could also be quickly lost. What's amusing to me that OCB has suddenly "discovered" this. It's like the last driver in a line of cars that gets so far behind the pack he thinks he's first!

It was noted that fields look so lush after burning. Part of that is just the visual effect of green growth on a black background. Adjacent unburned fields don't look as lush simply because last years death growth is simply blocking the view. This is clearly evident on my own property where I've driven my 4X4 through the grass. In spring, I can see lush green ribbons of new growth in the tire treads where I've driven. Because the dead growth from last year has been crushed down, it's easy to see the lush new green growth. Does that mean I should drive across every square inch of my property to compact the soil everywhere? I don't think so!

As a former employee of the Forest Service, I have a lot of experience with both the setting and extinguishment of fires, and still burn properly permited fires on my own property. I shudder to think though how many clueless people are going to read this post and then rush out to start ill-advised fires. People, you're working with fire, literally, so you need to know what you're doing! When the indians lit fires centuries ago, they could literally pack up an entire village and move out of the way. Today such fires would cause billons of property damage and endanger many, many lives.

I just like to play with matches!

Me too! I am dangerous with fire. I am surprised that the former government of Canada didn't require matches to be registered.

There is genius and stupidity in all cultures. When something appears to work, you continue. Thus the burning of fields, in the prairie lands, erosion from water is not a problem, wind erosion is. We need to sift thru the practices, take the best, leave the rest. AND adapt to our current soil/ temperature/ energy input needs. Thank you for reminding me about field burning/ biochar.