Imagine stepping into a time machine and traveling to Menominee County as recently as the early 1900s. Rather than managed timber stands and agricultural fields, you would discover thousands of acres of prairie grasses and oak trees covering the region's rolling hills. This landscape, known as an oak savanna, is the native plant and wildlife community the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been working to restore over the past four years.

Of course, time machine travel is not a realistic option for those interested in learning more about native landscape restoration. Instead, DNR personnel in the Wildlife and Forest, Mineral and Fire Management divisions have used social and scientific research tools coupled with prescribed fire to help recreate the oak savannas that once ruled the end moraines and outwash plains of Menominee County in order to benefit a multitude of wildlife species and endangered plants.

General Land Office survey notes gave insight on what the landscape looked like in early 1800s. It is estimated that of the 11 million to 13 million acres of savanna that once were found in the Midwest, less than 0.02 percent remain.

The Menominee County restoration effort actually began in the 1980s and early '90s when oral histories were taken from elderly residents who lived in the county during the early 1900s, explained Bob Doepker, DNR wildlife unit supervisor for the western Upper Peninsula.

"The interviews provided insight into how the land had looked and how it had been managed at that time by the Native American community," Doepker said. "Native Americans would use fire to drive game for hunting, open up travel routes and stimulate berry production. They understood fire was a natural part of the oak savanna ecosystem and used it to their advantage. We are trying to do the same in restoring the native habitat with prescribed burning."

Beginning in 2006 and continuing through 2009, prescribed burns will have been completed on approximately 565 acres in Menominee County. The burns, with names such as Linnbeck, Oak Hill, Shakey Lakes and Sturgeon Landing, are orchestrated by a highly trained DNR fire crew who are experienced in controlling these burns safely. Under the direction of the burn boss, the fire officers use drip torches to set the fires and utilize other heavy equipment such as bulldozers to keep the blaze low and under control.

"It may seem like a scary thing to be setting fires, when this is the same time of year we are out fighting forest fires," said Keith Murphy, DNR fire supervisor in Escanaba, who has been the burn boss on the Menominee County burns in 2009. "But in this type of fire-dependent landscape, it is much safer to use a controlled burn to remove the brush and other fuels that have built up as a result of modern fire suppression. Otherwise, a lightning strike is going to start the fire for us and it will not be as easy to contain."

Most prescribed burns are conducted when humidity is low, winds are light and fuel dryness is just right.

"Prescribed fire is increasingly being used by the DNR to achieve various management objectives," said Roger Jones, a DNR fire officer in Stephenson. "An important part of using fire as a management tool is to build public acceptance and confidence with our prescribed burning program. That includes keeping the public informed, building our knowledge and documenting the results we achieve with each burn."

In addition to increasing human safety through the use of prescribed burns, the DNR also is using the opportunity to benefit wildlife and plant species that are dependent on the oak savanna that can only regenerate and thrive through a relationship with fire.

"The native oak savanna community we are promoting through prescribed burns has significant benefits for game species such as deer, turkey, bear and grouse along with furbearers such as badger and fox," said DNR wildlife technician Bill Rollo, who is a member of the prescribed fire crew. "The new growth provides abundant browse for white-tailed deer. In the thick grasses that regenerate, prescribed burning helps turkeys and ruffed grouse find good places to hide their broods."

Game animals aren't the only ones that benefit from prescribed burns, Rollo added. Habitat also is improved for many nongame species -- including bluebirds, sandhill cranes, kestrels, meadow voles, butterflies and fox snakes.

Without the presence of fire, an oak savanna gradually grows into a later successional stage. Aspen and maple become more prevalent. Hazel becomes more common. These trees and shrubs shade out shade-intolerant plant species, many of which are unique to the oak-savanna landscape.

The introduction of fire can suppress the growth of aspen, maple and hazel because these woody plants have thin bark that burns easily. Oak has a much thicker bark and is not affected by low- to moderate-intensity fires. The diversity of plant species found in areas of a prescribed burn is much greater than in areas that are outside the burn boundaries.

Oak-savanna plant species are fire-dependant. These plants have evolved with fire and do better when fire is occasionally found within this landscape.

"The improvements in fire-suppression technology over the past 100 years led to fewer fires on the oak savanna and that's why we have only a fraction of the oak savanna habitat today that we once did," Rollo said.

Plant species that have evolved to benefit from occasional fires include jack pine, blueberries, big and little bluestem grasses, oak trees, and even some of Michigan's threatened and endangered species, including the dwarf milkweed. Also known as the oval-leafed milkweed, the only place dwarf milkweed has been found in Michigan is on the oak-savanna habitat the DNR is attempting to restore in Menominee County.

"What we've learned from studying the science and history of the oak savanna is that fire is a beneficial part of the landscape. The original prescribed fire crew -- the Native Americans who once managed this land -- understood and respected the necessity of fire. We are trying to use the same principles of fire dependency," Doepker said. "This four-year project is quite an accomplishment as we attempt to turn back time and provide the oak savanna what it has needed for the past 100 years: Fire."