A stilted tree in burned peatland at Pocosin Lakes Refuge

A tree stands stilted, its roots exposed, in burned peatland after a wildfire at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The North Carolina refuge has been working for years to restore natural hydrology to peat soils that were ditched and drained before the refuge was established. The draining dried the peat soil and raised the risk of catastrophic wildfire, like the Evans Road Fire of 2008. That fire burned 5 to 6 feet of peat, stilting this tree.