Planned burning for October 4, 2014 in the West Eugene Wetlands

For the most current information, you can also visit our Facebook page at :
https://www.facebook.com/WillametteValleyPrescribedFire

Burning in the West Eugene Wetlands mid-day tomorrow (10/4) planned for Royal Amazon (unit 3). Burn units completed today (10/3) in the Wetlands: Danebo (unit 8), Terry (unit 7), and Fir Butte (unit 6).

Rain and Winds

Due to weather constraints The Nature Conservancy was unable to complete any of the ecological burns last weekend.

Ecological Burn planned for Saturday September 27, 2014

The Nature Conservancy in conjunction with the Rivers to Ridges Partners is planning on burning 3 units totally 63 acres on Saturday September 27, 2014. These burn units are located south of the West 18th Ave. and west of Bertelsen Ave/ Bailey Hill Ave. The objectives of two of the units of the ecological burn are to enhance habitat for endangered Fender's blue butterfly and its host plant Kincaid's lupine, to top-kill shrubs and stamp sprouts, and reduce vegetative cover for voles. The last unit is undergoing restoration from an historic bent grass field to a native upland prairie.

Real-time Air Quality Monitoring

The interagency Real-Time smoke particulate monitoring website has both Real-Time and historical data available at:

http://airnow.gov/index.cfm action=airnow.local_state&stateid=38&mapcenter=1&tab=0

"Raw data presented in the site are collected in "near-real time" and are intended only as an indicator of recent air quality. Data must be interpreted with caution. The data have not been validated by human review and may contain errors. These data are provided for public awareness and Federal Land Manager review only. They should not be used in any medical or scientific study" from app.airsis.com/USFS/

West Eugene Wetland Burns

Just for clarification, there are no controlled ecological burns scheduled this week (September 8, through the 14th) in the West Eugene Wetlands by the Rivers to Ridges partners (those  burns identified in the above map).  There may be other ecological burns that may take place within that time frame. To find out about more about other controlled ecological burns here are a few of the many webpage resources available: Willamette National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service.

When will we be beginning the controlled ecological burns?

We have no scheduled burns through the 14th of September. We will begin looking at weather, and other factors to burn beginning on the 15th of September.

The exact times when the burns are conducted are determined based on current and expected conditions. Weather plays a big part. We always look to minimize impacts to nearby residents, particularly the impacts related to smoke that is generated by the burns. 

The windows when conditions can support ecological burning in the wetlands will vary between now and late October. All of the agencies and organizations involved with the ecological burning program maintain a list of people who are interested in receiving pre-burn notifications. They are typically provided a day or so before a burn. You can be added to that list. Let us know what your preference is for receiving those notifications, i.e. by phone, email or both. 

To be added to the list click here to send an email.

Updates about dates when the burns are likely to occur will also be posted on the Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/WillametteValleyPrescribedFire,  and the blogspot at http://willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com/

Curious about the smoky haze in the Southern Willamette Valley?

There are several active wildfires in Western Oregon, including the Deception Complex on the Willamette National Forest. A great source of information for Oregon communities affected by wildfire smoke is the Oregon Smoke Information Blog at http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/. Additional information about active wildfires is available on inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.

                                    

Corrected URL for the Willamette Valley Prescribed Blogspot

Please be advised that the postcards that went out were missing a letter in the URL, the correct URL for the blogspot is http://willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com/

2014 Controlled burns

August 28, 2014 Dear Resident:  We wanted to let you know that there will be a controlled burn taking place in your area sometime in the coming months. The Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, City of Eugene, Fish and Wildlife Service, Lane County and The Nature Conservancy plan to conduct controlled burning on lands in the southern Willamette Valley to protect and restore valuable biological diversity in prairie and savanna ecosystems.  Burning is planned on up to 614 acres between now and the end of October. Individual burn units, shown on the attached map, range from less than an acre to 210 acres. The Willamette Valley was once dominated by prairies rich with a diversity of grass and wildflower species. This ecosystem requires regular disturbance to maintain native species and prevent conversion to a closed woodland or forest. This disturbance was historically provided by native people through regular intentional burning, and accomplished several biological goals like improved seed germination, removal of built up thatch, and short term soil fertilization.  All of these factors help native, fire-dependent species, such as camas, flourish after a site is burned.  In addition, controlled burns reduce the risks of wildfires to local residences through the removal of standing dead vegetation. We work hard to protect the community from potential negative impacts of fire. Experienced and highly trained fire crews plan and manage fires using detailed burn plans with extensive prescriptions for conducting the burn to provide maximum protection for the community.  We mow breaks around the perimeter of each burn unit to prevent fire from traveling outside area.  The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency reviews our plans each year, specifying conditions under which burns may proceed.  We carefully consider weather conditions and burn only on days when the wind will blow smoke away from residential areas. For this reason, we usually cannot specify days burning will occur more than 24 hours in advance.  If you would like to receive pre-burn notification for a particular unit, please contact Jennifer Velez at jvelez@blm.gov or (541) 683-6415. We will also have a fire information line at 541-683-6970. We will post updates throughout the burn season on the Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire Facebook page; go to http://www.facebook.com and search for “Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire.” Interactive maps are also hosted on our new blog site www.willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com.

2014 Prescribed Fire Units