The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations advises that an ecosystem restoration burn is planned for the Crow’s Bar area between Wednesday, Sept. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, weather conditions permitting.

About 600 hectares south of Dog Creek, around the Fraser River, will be treated to help restore native grassland ecosystems. This controlled burn is managed under the Ecosystem Restoration Program within the ministry’s Range Branch and will be conducted with the assistance of staff from the BC Wildfire Service’s Cariboo Fire Centre.

Trained wildfire personnel will carefully monitor the burn. Prescribed fires may only be ignited on days when the forecasted venting index is “good”. All prescribed fires must comply with the Environmental Management Act’s open burning smoke control regulation, which helps minimize the amount of smoke produced.

Historically, grasslands in the Cariboo-Chilcotin were renewed through frequent, low-intensity ground fires. Such fires prevented tree encroachment, rejuvenated understory plants and helped maintain more open grasslands and forests with large trees.

The reintroduction of managed, low-intensity ground fires to these grasslands is intended to restore and maintain the traditional grassland plant communities that are native to these areas. These managed fires also reduce fuel loads, leading to a decreased risk of catastrophic wildfires.

These fires are part of an ongoing ecosystem restoration program administered by the provincial government through the Cariboo-Chilcotin Ecosystem Restoration Committee. This committee was formed in 2008 to better support ecosystem restoration efforts within the Cariboo-Chilcotin region.

Membership in the committee includes representatives from provincial and federal government, as well as local First Nations, B.C. Cattlemen’s Associations, various conservation societies and other forestry professionals. To learn more about the Ecosystem Restoration Committee, visit: www.ccerc.net

For more information on prescribed burning or the latest on wildfire activity and prohibitions, visit: www.bcwildfire.ca

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