Kevin Cummings asks about the effects of prescribed burns on landsnails. I have some background and speculation to add to this interesting topic. In the southeastern United States before 1492, the forests were frequently burned by native Americans in a controlled manner that was designed to reduce shrubs and to increase new, tender growth as forage for deer. Some of the forests were almost parklike as a result, and the early European settlers were able to drive their wagons through the forest in some places. Thus, the pre-1492 woodland was, to a considerable degree, controlled by prescribed burns. The trees that dominated these forests tended to have tall trunks with fire-resistant bark. What kinds of snails are best able to withstand fire? What physical or behavioral characteristics allow them to do this (e.g., burrowing, living in treetops, a tough operculum)? What season did the native Americans choose for burns? The work of forester Roland Harper, and of others, indicates that fire tends to restrict some kinds of trees to relatively wet areas: swamps, bottomlands, and steep gullies. Today, prescribed burns are less widespread, and flammable trees have become far more widespread, e.g., red cedar (Juniperus) and sweetgum (Liquidambar). What effect has the restriction of fire had on snail populations? It is easy to ask questions that cannot be answered without a great deal of fieldwork, but it is such an intriguing topic that I can't resist asking. Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama