Fall Prescribed Burning
Bridger-Teton Nation Forest & Grand Teton National Park
September 1, 2005
Neighbors of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park can expect to see fire activity throughout the region this fall as interagency fire managers conduct prescribed burns. Prescribed fires will take place during September and October as weather permits.
Five prescribed burns are presently scheduled for the Bridger-Teton National Forest to improve vegetation diversity and wildlife habitat, reduce hazardous fuels and improve management of future wildland fires. Burns will be near Pinedale, Bondurant, Big Piney, Alpine, Kemmerer, Moran and Grand Teton National Park.
Little Soda Lake/Pinedale The 1,200-acre Fremont 2 burn is located ten-miles north of Pinedale near Little Soda Lake. This fire is a cooperative project supported by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wyoming Game and Fish. The project will treat aspen and sagebrush stands to improve structural diversity and plant vigor.
Monument Ridge/Bondurant The Big Piney District plans to conduct a 975-acre Monument Ridge burn, located approximately three-miles west of Bondurant. Prescribed fire will rejuvenate stagnant, decadent, and encroached sagebrush and aspen stands, which will improve wildlife habitat.
Weiner Creek/Alpine The Weiner Creek burn in the Greys River drainage is eight-miles southeast of Alpine. The project will burn approximately 1600-acres of decadent and conifer-encroached aspen, and sagebrush habitat in the upper Weiner Creek watershed and a southwest slope of the lower North Fork of Murphy Creek. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Wyoming Game and Fish will provide financial grants to support this project.
Hams Fork/Kemmerer The 300-acre Hams Fork Willow burn is scheduled on the Kemmerer Ranger District. This wildlife enhancement burn, located north of the Hams Fork Campground, will treat decadent willow and conifer stands.
Enyon Draw, Uhl Hill/Moran The Diamond L project, six-miles southeast of Moran, is a 1,300-acre cooperative burn designed to treat winter and transitional wildlife ranges in the upper Enyon Draw and Uhl Hill areas. Rejuvenation of aspen stands is
a priority in this unit.
Grand Teton National Park
Three prescribed burns are currently scheduled. The primary objective of these burns is to modify fuels adjacent to wildland-urban interface areas.
Lost Creek Ranch The 123-acre Lost Creek burn will treat highly flammable sagebrush stands south of Lost Creek Ranch. This burn is a cooperative effort with Teton County and includes 60-acres of private lands at Lost Creek Ranch.
Signall Mountain The 300-acre Signal Mountain burn is scheduled to reduce heavy dead and down fuels around Signal Mountain. Treatment of these fuels will reduce the intensity of potential wildland fires, allowing firefighters to safely manage fires that may occur in this area.
Beaver Creek A 16-acre burn is scheduled for the Beaver Creek housing area in Grand Teton National Park. This project is a revisit to a previously treated area that will maintain fuels at an appropriate level around the developed site.
Most of these projects will be conducted during the months of September and October. Actual ignition will be dependent on meeting strict parameters for weather and fire behavior conditions. Park and Forest users may experience temporary smoky conditions in the vicinity of these fires, along with the possibility of occasional, short-term trail or road closures. Interagency fire managers will attempt to minimize any adverse impacts as the burns proceed.
Updated information on burn dates will be posted at www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf or www.nps.gov/grte/. Forest and Park users can also call 307-739-5577 or 1-866-651-4234 for further information or updates on current prescribed burn activity.
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