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. ~ Fire has always been part of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) ecosystems.,Jack pine is reported to have developed cone serotiny several million years ago (Yeatman 1967). Examination of lake silt in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in Minnesota disclosed high eharcoallevels 'associated with a predominance of jack and red pine between 6,000 and 9,000 years ago (Swain 1972). The sediments indicate gradually decreas Jng charcoal levels associated with the transition to the present clay Great Lakes and boreal forest communities. Swain (1972), when examining 'sediments accumulated over the past 1,000 years, found charcoal maxima in the BWCA at 1300 and 1400 AD, an 80-year peak between 1670 and,1750, and a subsequent (lccline to present day low levels. From this, Heinselman (1973) concluded that "fire was a major factor in northern Minnesota's forest ecosystems long before the arrival of European man." There is every reason to believe that the same holds true for the northern half of the Lower Michigan peninsula. Methods Although jack pine is associated with fire, the species is fire sensitive.