Spring is often an ideal time for prescribed burning projects designed to enhance wildlife habitat. That is what’s going on in Montana.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provided funding for the habitat stewardship projects—one near Missoula in the western part of the state and the other near Bozeman in the southwest part of the state.
“Our goal is to reintroduce fire around aspen stands where we have already removed encroaching conifers,” Corey Lewellen, Bozeman District Ranger, told KMMS-FM. “The treatments are expected to stimulate aspen roots and help reinvigorate aspen stands. Aspen trees play a unique and vital role in the ecosystem on the Bozeman Ranger District, attracting many birds, insects and mammals.”
The burns will also improve overall forest health.
(Photo source: U.S. Forest Service)