Ninemile District May Conduct Spring Burning
Release Date: May 2, 2016
Missoula, MT. – The Ninemile Ranger District may conduct prescribed burning over the next two weeks if weather, fuel conditions, and air quality allow for safe and effective ignition and burning. The burning is part of the district’s seasonal prescribed burning to reduce fuels, promote vegetation regeneration, and enhance the habitats for multiple species. The prescribed burns that may occur are associated with the Frenchtown Face Ecosystem Restoration Project and the South Fork Fish Timber Sale Project. Future notifications will be provided as other burn locations come into prescription.
Mill Creek Drainage: Located 1 mile north of Frenchtown.
The Frenchtown Face Unit located in the Mill Creek drainage is approximately 22 acres in size. This project focuses on restoring forest and habitat conditions in ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir stands located in yearlong wild turkey habitat in the Frenchtown Face Management Area. The unit will be implemented through collaborative efforts with the Ninemile Ranger District and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Additionally, this project will reduce fuels in close proximity and adjacent to private property. This unit will be implemented using hand ignition. The unit is located north of Interstate 90 and smoke from the burn will be visible from the Interstate, Frenchtown, and Missoula.
Sixmile Creek Drainage: Located 6 miles northwest of Frenchtown.
The Frenchtown Face Unit located in the Sixmile Creek drainage is approximately 120 acres in size. This project is an eco-system maintenance burn to re-introduce fire on the landscape and maintain and restore habitat conditions located in yearlong big game and wild turkey habitat in the Frenchtown Face Management Area. The unit will be implemented through collaborative efforts with the Ninemile Ranger District, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the National Wild Turkey Federation. The remaining portion of this unit will be implemented using both hand and aerial ignition. The unit is located north of Interstate 90 and smoke from the burn will be visible from the Interstate, Frenchtown, and Missoula.
South Fork Fish Creek; Owl Creek Drainage: Located 25 miles south of Interstate 90 in the Fish Creek Drainage.
The unit located in Owl Creek is scheduled for hand ignition and totals 50 acres. Objectives of the units are to re-introduce fire into the ecosystem, reduce fuels accumulations adjacent to private property, and enhance wildlife habitat for big game species. This burn may be visible to residents of the South Fork Fish Community.
All burning will be weather and fuel condition dependent. If ignition takes place there is the potential for temporarily limiting public access in these areas during implementation. For public safety, recreationists are asked to be aware of prescribed fire crews and vehicles in these areas. Prescribed fire road signs will be posted along roads where burning is taking place. Not all prescribed burns will be ignited simultaneously, and will be ignited only if operational safety, fuel moistures, weather conditions and air quality parameters are met.
Members of the public who have questions -- or who wish to be placed on a day-of-burning notification
List -- may contact the Ninemile Ranger District at 626-5201. The district will also post announcements of the burning on the Lolo National Forest Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Lolo-National-Forest-409424909216306/
The objectives for these burns include:
• Re-introducing low intensity surface fire to benefit ponderosa pine forest restoration.
• Reducing surface fuel concentrations from the Frenchtown Face and South Fork Fish Timber Sales.
• Enhancing yearlong habitat for populations of elk on public lands.
• Enhancing the habitat for populations of wild turkey on public lands.
• Top-killing shrubs to optimize forage for big game wildlife.
• Promoting the vigor of ponderosa pine, rejuvenate forest floor vegetation, and restore the composition and structure of plant communities.
- ## -