Have you travelled along Highway 16 East lately? You may be curious about recently burned grass and trees about 14 km north of Jasper, between Highway 16 and the Athabasca River.
Using hand-held drip torches and a Terra-Torch, the park’s Fire Management Team took advantage of favourable September weather to burn a fireguard, in preparation for the Jackladder, area #2, prescribed fire. Once this fireguard is complete, the prescribed fire area will be well contained by natural and man-made features, and the team will be able to safely and successfully restore fire to 102 hectares of grassland and forest.
The Jackladder Complex is divided into two areas where fire was previously used in 1998 and 2000 to restore the open, valley bottom grasslands which were historically present. Subsequent application of fire is necessary to continue landscape restoration and improve biodiversity of this critical grassland habitat.
Grasslands are important ecosystems that support specially-adapted plants, mammals, birds and insects that aren’t found anywhere else. Today, grasslands are the most altered and endangered ecosystem on the North American continent.
In Jasper National Park, grasslands are the rarest ecotype, with only five tracts making up less than one per cent of the vegetated area. Especially rich in species diversity, they are among the first areas to become snow free and see new growth in late winter/early spring, providing critical early season forage for wildlife.
Historically abundant, Plains Rough Fescue is a living emblem of our grasslands, providing uniquely nutritious fall and winter forage for grazing animals in these special places.
In spring of 2015, Jasper National Park carried out a successful prescribed fire in the first area of the Jackladder Complex. Fire managers hope to get the right conditions this fall to carry out the second area, comprised of approximately 70 per cent grassland and 30 per cent forest.
Once the weather and forest conditions align, the team will use an aerial ignition device and hand torches to restore fire to the area. During the prescribed fire, travellers on Highway 16 can expect some smoke and a temporary reduced speed zone, and it is possible for smoke to settle into the valley overnight. During burning operations, the Overlander Trail, the Airfield Day-Use Area and Airstrip may be closed.
The fire management program in Jasper National Park is part of Parks Canada's internationally-recognized National Fire Management Program which provides direction and support to all national parks and National Historic Sites in Canada.
Would you like advance notice on this and other prescribed fires in Jasper National Park? Would you like to receive information on park wildfires and the bi-annual Fire and Vegetation Management newsletters? Contact Kim Weir, Fire Communications Officer, at [email protected] to add your name to the email contact list.
Parks Canada
Special to the Fitzhugh
