The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will conduct prescribed burns to restore prairie habitat at two wildlife area units in Thurston County starting as early as June 17, according to a news release.
The burns are scheduled for the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area unit northeast of Rochester and the West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area unit northwest of Tenino. The burns will be conducted for up to seven days through mid-October. Burn operations, which are weather dependent, will target small areas from 7 to 20 acres.
“To accomplish stewardship of rare prairie habitats, access to portions of the wildlife areas may be restricted during the burns for public safety and people may see smoke from the fires for one to two hours after operations have stopped,” said Bill Kronland, WDFW wildlife area manager. “Signs will be posted to alert the public of active burn operations, and we will be working to minimize smoke impacts to the surrounding community.”
WDFW works cooperatively with Washington Department of Natural Resources, local fire districts and other partners while utilizing professional fire crews experienced in conducting prescribed burns on public and private lands in south Puget Sound, according to the news release.
Kronland said the department uses prescribed fire to maintain native grassland habitats, also known as prairies, and to control invasive weeds before seeding and planting native species.
According to WDFW, Puget lowland prairies are some of the rarest ecosystems in Washington and have been reduced to less than 3% of their former area.
They support several rare plants and animals including birds, mammals and butterflies, some of which are listed as threatened or endangered. The Scatter Creek Wildlife Area is part of an integrated system of conservation lands managed to conserve and restore the ecosystem.
