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| Original News Release |
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| Original News Release |
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Mount Robson Provincial Park, part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site, is one of the Rocky Mountain region’s most popular parks.
Decades of successful fire-suppression efforts in the park have resulted in even-aged stands, dominated by lodgepole pine in the Yellowhead Highway corridor. These stands are susceptible to mountain pine beetle.
The mountain pine beetle problem developing in the park has the potential to kill large areas of pine forest. Over the next 15 to 20 years, these dead stands of trees will result in large accumulations of fuel, which could burn in a catastrophic fire. The 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. resulted from a mountain pine beetle disturbance similar to the one currently developing in Mount Robson.
The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection together with the Ministry of Forests and Parks Canada have developed a long-term plan to address these issues. Given the park’s topography and the distribution of pine stands, a variety of options will be used to reduce the wildfire threat, including controlled burns and tree removal.
The Prescribed Burn
The best weather conditions for a prescribed burn will likely occur from May to early June or early August to mid September. Early May has been chosen in order to complete the burn before the wild fire season begins. The area to be included in the burn is up to 2900 hectares. The lake, wetlands and Moose River, as well as the CNR railway, Terasen Pipeline right-of-way and Yellowhead Highway will provide buffers for managing the burn.
Why a Prescribed Burn?
BC Parks’ Vegetation Management Policy highlights the importance of fire as an ecosystem process. A prescribed fire is necessary to reduce the forest’s susceptibility to mountain pine beetle attack and catastrophic wildfires that have the potential to impact public safety. The prescribed burn will improve biodiversity values and is consistent with the management approach occurring throughout the Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site.
Prescribed burning within this portion of the province is limited by the weather. This spring may provide a rare opportunity where conditions are appropriate for a spring burn.
Selective Tree Removal
The plan for Mt. Robson Provincial Park calls for selective tree removal in some areas of the park where burning is not an option. Tree removal is planned for Lucerne, Swift Current and the area around park headquarters for this year, and will likely commence in the fall of 2004. Additional tree removal is planned for Lucerne, Moose East and Chita Creek beginning in 2005.
The salvage opportunities within the Moose Lake area of the park are considered poor given the terrain and significant road building or helicopter logging that would be required to remove the trees. A large portion of the current burn area contains slopes in excess of 30 per cent. Slopes above this threshold are significantly more difficult to harvest and increase environmental risk associated with soil erosion, maintenance of water quality, and visual quality within the park.
Under BC Parks policy, tree removal within parks is only appropriate to restore ecosystems and to protect public safety in areas where prescribed burns cannot be used as a management tool
What About Safety?
The safety of park visitors as well as professionals assisting with the prescribed burn is a high priority in these types of operations and a comprehensive safety plan has been designed.
Contingency plans are in place and will be enacted if necessary. The western area of the burn is protected by slopes and deciduous forest cover. Natural fuel breaks, the Trans Canada highway and the wetlands adjacent to Moose Lake provide further stop points for fire. A helicopter equipped with water bucket will be on standby at all times to respond to any spot fires. Crews will be on duty to spot any fires that jump the lines.
For the travelling public, pilot cars will be on stand-by to bring traffic safety through any portion of the roadway affected by smoke from the prescribed burn. Please heed all Traveller Alert signs posted along the Yellowhead Highway. Your cooperation will help ensure the success of this program, and the future of Mount Robson Provincial Park.
For further information, visit: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/mtrobson.htm.
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