Why Prescribed Burning?
Reduction of Hazard Fuels and Fire Risks: Prescribed Burning can effectively reduce the buildup of hazardous fuels which can lead to events of catastrophic wildfire. By using prescribed fire as a tool, the Refuge Fire Program hopes to provide fuel breaks that would prevent the spread of catastrophic wildfire in the many spruce bark beetle infested areas in and around the refuge. Prescribed Fire as a Wildlife Habitat Tool: Fire is a natural part of the boreal forest ecosystem. Fire breaks up the monoculture of even aged black and white spruce and allows young hardwood to grow. Moose and other wildlife are dependent on birch, aspen and willow saplings that fire produces. By using prescribed fire as a wildlife management tool, we hope to return some of the older, over-mature forest to seedlings and saplings so that moose and other wildlife can thrive. By varying our burn techniques we can leave areas of cover for wildlife, thereby creating a mosaic pattern and mimicking natural fire behav
