Rainy weather has confounded Voyageurs National Park’s efforts to conduct four prescribed burns this spring to further pine and oak regeneration in the International Falls-area park.
The Park planned prescribed burns at Tar Point east of Kohler Bay, on Gagnon Island located in the Voyageur Narrows, on Sheep and Ram islands located on Kabetogama Lake, and at Whispering Pines near the Ash River Visitor Center. The Voyageus’ media release announcing and explaining the burns can be found HERE.
Voyageurs Fire Management Officer Scott Bressler told Wilderness News Online this week that the opportunity window for spring burning has probably passed. “However, there is still a possibility of burning during the summer months, depending on weather and fuels conditions,” he added.
Prescribed fire has been used in the park in recent years to maintain and regenerate pine stands, remove dead and downed trees that would be hazardous in the event of a wildfire, and establish adequate seedbeds for seedling regeneration.