Wildfire mitigation efforts also boost sheep habitat | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Mostly Cloudy  3.8°C

Penticton News

Wildfire mitigation efforts also boost sheep habitat

Forest thinning and clearing of surface fuels is being undertaken in a collaborative effort between the RDOS and the Penticton Indian Band below the Carmi Forest Service Road.
Image Credit: Shutterstock

PENTICTON - A collaborative effort between the regional district and the Penticton Indian Band is working to reduce fire behaviour potential in timber stands near Penticton.

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and the band are supported with funding from the Wild Sheep Society of B.C. and the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. who are supplying a grant for prescription development.

Additional funding is also being provided by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development's Ecosystems Restoration Program.

The work to reduce wildfire risk and enhance wildlife habitat is taking place in forest cover below the Carmi Forest Service Road. The treatments involve reducing the density of timer stands by logging or prescribed burning.

The slopes being treated are also critical to the winter range of Bighorn Sheep. The more open conditions and burning being conducted will promote an underlying layer of vegetation to grow, which is critical for winter range.

“Treatment operations are an important part of the wildfire reduction program, which is attempting to alleviate the interface wildfire risk to our communities,” regional district Chair Karla Kozakevich said in a press release.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.

News from © iNFOnews, 2018
iNFOnews

  • Popular penticton News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile