USING FIRE TO RESTORE PARK ECOSYSTEMS

The Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport is planning prescribed burns in three provincial parks over the next few weeks.

The burns will occur in Moose Mountain Provincial Park, Douglas Provincial Park and in Fort Carlton Provincial Park. A prescribed burn is a method of using controlled fire to manage vegetation in an area.

"Wildfire is a process that nature uses to renew ecosystems throughout the province," Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell said. "In many areas we have controlled naturally occurring wildfire to a point where the ecosystem is old or diseased. This can lead to a situation where, if a wildfire does occur, it can threaten the safety of people and valuable property."

Each prescribed burn will rejuvenate the aspen trees in the burn zone by promoting post-burn growth through suckering. The burn will also help manage invasive alien plant species and promote the health and integrity of the park ecosystems.

Over the last decade, prescribed fire has been successfully used in several southern provincial parks to promote ecosystem health and biodiversity. The parks include Saskatchewan Landing, Douglas, Duck Mountain and Greenwater Lake provincial parks.

The three prescribed burns are scheduled to occur in Douglas Provincial Park the week of May 4; Fort Carlton Provincial Park the week of May 11; and Moose Mountain Provincial Park the week of May 19, 2009.

The dates may change due to weather and/or fuel conditions. Each burn will take approximately five days to complete.

Trained personnel from the Parks Service of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport and the Fire Management and Forest Protection Branch of the Ministry of Environment will conduct the burns.

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For more information, contact:

Janet Peters
Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4967