Virgin Pines and the Oil Tradeoff

Last Monday, June 3, the Au Sable students embarked on their third integration day- a weekly sojourn into the best that interdisciplinary biology and environmental science has to offer. This week brought us to HeartWick Pines State Park, a nearby, beloved forest of locals and tourists alike, and our very own Au Sable oil fields. Although the term "Au Sable Oil Fields" seems as though it produces an inherent contradiction, we would explore throughout the day the influence of anthropogenic activity on natural landscapes and the best perspectives for intentional human management of these spaces.

Visitors enjoying the views at HeartWick Pines State Park

https://www.michigan.org/property/hartwick-pines-state-park-visitors-center-logging-museum

The day began with a narrative of Michigan's logging history. In the 1900's, the logging economy was so booming and extensive that the forests could not sustain the rates of species loss. To some extent, the stumps left from the massacre were able to act as nutrient reservoirs and bring forth new types of species, but the entire ecology of the forests shifted from White Pine to Hardwood. HeartWick Pine State Park is, in part, so valuable because it houses some of the last remaining virgin White Pines that are several hundred years old. In a demonstration of unforeseeable effects often caused by human action, we learned that after most of the trees were logged, landowners attempted to switch to farming to earn a livelihood. This endeavor was largely unsuccessful because the topsoil in Michigan is meager and covers a much more substantial reservoir of sand and silt. This unproductive farming, then, caused massive erosion events into the rivers and streams nearby, blocking the flow, and heating up the water. The Arctic Grayling, a freshwater fish indigenous to the cold streams of Northern Michigan, was unable to withstand these rising temperatures and went locally extinct. The Grayling's absence serves as a reminder of this devastating history, even today, and some organizations are advocating for its re-introduction to the area- perhaps another demonstration of the human ability to alter ecosystems. 

                                                     

An Arctic Grayling

https://twitter.com/usfws/status/1004058319315759105

After strolling through the Pines, we stopped to discuss the a recent battle between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, who intended to lease the land to an energy company for oil drilling, and the Michigan public, who wanted to preserve the forest in an untouched state. Although the the energy company would not have the forest's surface development rights and any drilling they did would increase DNR funding without damaging the trees, public perception dictated that the forest was too valuable in its current state to risk the lease. In the end, the public won out, as it is the DNR's responsibility to act on their behalf, and the virgin pines remained untouched. This anecdote launched the class into a discussion of value analysis and an ecocentric versus anthropocentric attitude towards decision-making. The trees were not considered as stakeholders in decisions regarding their health, but it was determined they had some intrinsic value that superseded any instrumental value. We defined the terms moral agents versus moral subjects and considered the responsibility of humans to advocate for such moral subjects as part of nature, yet apart from it. According to the Christian Worldview, it is important to find a middle ground between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism, where the mutual dependence of Creation for flourishing is recognized and humans take seriously the mandate from God to serve and protect Creation. This middle-ground view is referred to as Theo-centrism. 

                                                        

The Theo-centrism in this painting reflects a balanced wildlife management perspective

http://www.liberaldictionary.com/theocentrism/

We concluded the day by discussing the oil rigs currently under operation, as well as the oil field remediation projects, on Au Sable land with our very own executive director, Fred Van Dyke. Although Au Sable does receive funding from the sale of oil, a resource that we know can be very damaging to the environment, Van Dyke emphasized the importance of the entire American market moving toward renewable energies, and the futility of ceasing oil operations to simply turn to another producer to buy oil. He also emphasized the importance of the Au Sable mission, which would be less extensive without the funding from oil. He then discussed his research, a simple experiment to test which types of trees grow best on an abandoned oil field under which type of fertilizing conditions. Under the current scheme, energy companies are only required to plant grass on closed oil fields, and the bordering forests are often unable to recolonize. The fact that two major oil companies provided the funding for Van Dyke's research is a positive sign towards large producers taking responsibility for the destruction they cause. As Van Dyke enters the last year of his research, we can hope that many oil fields will be covered in Red Pine trees in the near future thanks to him. 

                                                    

An oil field under operation

https://dissolve.com/video/Wide-shot-oil-rig-drilling-oil-field-royalty-free-stock-video-footage/001-D1787-12-002

References: *All information taken from personal notes on speakers throughout the day