- Author
- Puget Sound Ecological Fire Partnership
- Publication Year
- 2013
- Topic
- Fire
A diverse mosaic of fire dependent prairies once dominated the south Puget Sound region and was scattered throughout the rest of lowland Washington. The prairies were interspersed with coniferous and deciduous woodlands and wetlands. Lack of managed fire during the past 150 years has contributed to significant habitat loss and impact to native species. Regional habitat and rare species management planning has identified integrated use of fire as a corner stone for regional prairie restoration.
Unable to rely solely on local fire suppression agencies to conduct ecological burns at the needed scale, conservation partners involved in the collaborative prairie and oak restoration program in Puget Sound have implemented a partner-driven prescribed ecological burn program with capacity to accomplish burning at the landscape level. 2013 marks our sixth burn season since we scaled-up our burn operations.