CHENEY – Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge has announced that it will begin its program of prescribed burns in mid-March. The annual to bi-annual program will run through May.
Refuge fire management specialist Ken Meinhart said weather and fuel conditions will dictate the size and location of the burns. Possible locations currently range in size from 20 acres to 300 acres.
“There are three possible areas,” Meinhart said in an email. “One in the southwest corner of the Refuge, one near the northern portion and one in the eastern portion within the Pine Creek Auto tour (loop).”
According to the news release, prescribed burning on the 18,217 acre refuge is done to improve wildlife habitat, helping to reduce the hazardous accumulations of vegetation and forest debris while decreasing the number of unhealthy and overstocked stands of ponderosa pine seedlings and saplings. The burning should have little to no impact on access to the majority of the refuge’s 2,200-acre public use area with the exception of the 5.5-mile auto tour. Visitors wishing to use the loop should call ahead to determine if burning is taking place.
All prescribed burning on the Refuge is done through accordance with the state of Washington’s Smoke Management Plan. Burning will only occur when weather conditions and smoke dispersion are favorable.
For more information, call Refuge headquarters at 509-235-4723.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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