The Kirtland’s warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) is one of the rarest warblers in the wood warbler family. The bird’s only known nesting places are in small spots of the northern lower peninsula and upper peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario. It wasn’t until 1996 that they found nests anywhere other than 60 miles from Oscoda County in rural Northern Michigan (and very few still). Kirtland’s warblers nest only in the low, ground level branches of young jack pine trees, between 5 and 15 feet tall. Once the trees mature to above this height, the lower branches die, along with their sheltered nesting spots. It’s ironic that the embrace of Smokey’s “Only You” initiative in fire prevention may lend to the eventual end of the Kirtland’s warbler without proper management. No fire means no natural rotation of trees, no new young jack pines.