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VICTORIA – To reduce the impacts of the provincial mountain pine beetle infestation, an on-going forest fuel and hazard tree management program is being implemented in E.C. Manning Provincial Park. Hazard trees are being removed in public areas of the park for visitor safety, and fuel breaks are being established near park boundaries to reduce the risk of wildfire spreading to areas adjacent to the park, as recommended in the Filmon Report.
To reduce hazard tree risks to park visitors, dead and dying pine trees in the Mule Deer Campground and Coldspring Campground and along Highway 3 from the Beaver Pond to Manning Park Resort on the south side of the highway will be removed starting in mid-February. BC Parks will be investing approximately $25,000 to implement this portion of the project.
The Bonnevier Fuel Break project, planned to reduce the wildfire risk to the Eastgate community adjacent to the park, will begin in the third week in February. The fuel break will be established by removing dead and dying pine trees and other forest fuels, and reducing the forest density near the park boundary in a 140-hectare interface zone. Reducing the forest density improves wildfire control and reduces the risk of fast-moving crown fires. Government has invested about $80,000 to date for planning and creating access to the fuel break.
The Ministry of Forests and Range and the Upper Similkameen Indian Band are also working to decrease fuel loading and increase the size of the fuel break outside of the park.
The Bonnevier Trail from Highway 3 will be closed during these activities to ensure public safety. The trail can be accessed from an alternate point on the Forest Service road above Eastgate on the east side of Bonnevier Creek.
As part of the infestation management program, hazard trees threatening the BC Hydro line on the north side of Highway 3 will also be removed, starting in early March.
The fuel reduction projects in E.C.
Manning Provincial Park are facilitated by a team of specialists, including
professional foresters and biologists, First Nations, adjacent landowners,
commercial operators and park managers. The project team includes: the local
community through the participation of the Eastgate Fire Protection Society,
the Ministry of Forests and Range, Gibson Pass Resort Inc., BC Hydro, the Upper
Similkameen Indian Band, the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and the
Ministry of Environment.
BC Parks is also conducting fuel management activities in other parks in the Okanagan Region, including Fintry Provincial Park, Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, Ellison Provincial Park and White Lake Grasslands Protected Area.
Protecting public safety with fuel management and wildfire mitigation activities is part of the provincial Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan. For more information about the Action Plan, or to download a copy, please visit www.gov.bc.ca/pinebeetle.
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BC Parks, Okanagan Region 250 490-8268 |
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