A long winter and a wet spring left a very brief burn window for spring prescribed fires at Grand Teton National Park. In mid-May 2008, Teton Interagency fire managers completed a complex urban interface prescribed fire after three years of planning and coordination.
The 92-acre Granite Creek Prescribed Fire was implemented to reduce fuels within the urban interface area of southern Grand Teton National Park. This project targeted sagebrush/grass fuels on federal and private property. Partners included the Jackson Land Trust, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS (JHF/EMS), the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and private land owners whose property was included within burn unit boundaries.
Prior to burning, the Teton Interagency fuels crew and JHF/EMS completed hazardous fuel reduction around significant park resources, including the southwest entrance station, park boundaries, private fence lines, as well as fire assessments and structure evaluations for multiple private lands and primary residences. Fire management personnel began working closely with residents in 2005 during project design and implementation. They established agreements to treat private lands, allow for access across other lands and protect developments, including fencelines, utility structures and cottonwoods along a creek within the burn unit.
Along with support from private landowners, interagency cooperators and the county, the project also had the backing of the Science and Resource Management division.
“There is a high degree of interest in any treatment project that includes sagebrush steppe due to the status of sage obligate species such as sage grouse,” said Grand Teton National Park Assistant Fire Management Officer Chip Collins. “The project area was developed jointly with resource management to address fuel reduction goals within those constraints. Additionally the project was timed to accommodate an ongoing bird nesting study in and adjacent to the project area.”
Contact: Mack McFarland, Interagency Fuels Specialist
Phone: (307) 739-3313
*This story supports the National Fire Plan |
