In June 2007, Bryce Canyon National Park Fire
Management personnel completed the East Creek Meadow
Prescribed Fire as part of their ongoing fire management
program to reintroduce fire as a natural process, following
years of exclusion. Bryce Canyon fire personnel are
planning other similar burns in the future under the
guidance of their 2005 Fire Management Plan.
The 400-acre East Creek Meadow Prescribed Fire Burn
Unit is located near mile marker 4, along the main park
road. The burn was designed to maintain meadow lands
and ponderosa pine stands within the park and to enhance
potential habitat for the threatened Utah Prairie Dog. This
area was treated with prescribed fire once before in April
2000.
The prescribed fire was a cooperative effort between the
National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
and utilized the assistance of 25 firefighters and two
wildland engines. Ignition began on June 8 and was
carried out over a two day period. This window of
opportunity was chosen for green up conditions to ensure
maximum mortality in nonnative smooth brome and to
provide a nutrient flush for the native perennial grasses.
The burn unit was ignited using a strip-head hand firing
technique and was carefully controlled to reduce the
chances of an escape. The park had a Memorandum of Understanding with the USFS to operate on their lands since part of the burn unit bordered them. Preliminary observations indicate that the objectives of the burn were successfully met.
The lack of fire in Bryce Canyon (due mainly to past suppression efforts) has contributed to high
fuel loadings and a change in forest and grassland structure. Prescribed fire is a treatment to reverse
these changes brought on by fire exclusion. The policy of using fire as a tool will help decrease
risks to life, property and resources and will help perpetuate the values for which Bryce Canyon
National Park was established.
Contact: David Eaker, Fire Communication and Education Specialist
Phone: (435) 772-7811
*This story supports the National Fire Plan |
