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Shawangunk Fire Team Enters Fourth Season, Looks to Habitat Restoration

New Paltz, NY — March 21, 2008 — The Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership (SRBP) announced plans today to open the 2008 window for prescribed burns, entering the fourth season of this ecologically beneficial practice in the Shawangunk region. The burns will occur between March 31 and December 15th, and are planned for up to 12 approved burn sites totaling 90 acres, including fields and wooded areas near the Spring Farm and Glory Hill areas at Mohonk Preserve.

Prescribed fires are set safely and intentionally under predetermined conditions to achieve land management objectives, and are not set unless all of the required conditions (including moisture levels and wind) are met.

A number of prescribed fires in the Shawangunks have been conducted in the fall and spring by experienced crews with prescribed burn training, who work closely with meteorologists and other scientists to determine when conditions are right for a burn to take place. This year, the Partnership hopes to target several areas for summer or “growing season” burns as well, when the tree saplings encroaching into grassland areas are most vulnerable.

“Since we started the prescribed fire program, the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership team has had extensive training and become increasingly knowledgeable, cohesive, and effective,” says Cara Lee, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Shawangunk Ridge Program.  “In 2008, we will be continuing to restore grassland areas that provide important bird habitat, as well as starting to use controlled fire in wooded areas that would benefit from fire management.”   

To date, more than 40 acres in nine fields have been burned in the Shawangunks to achieve dual goals: reducing the likelihood that intense wildfires will occur and restoring habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Thanks to three-year grants recently received under the State Wildlife Grant program (administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation), The Nature Conservancy and the Mohonk Preserve—key members of SRBP—will evaluate the importance of prescribed fire in maintaining forest and grassland habitat for birds and test methods to regenerate forest areas that have been heavily browsed by deer. These projects will help restore and protect the habitat of ruffed grouse, wood thrush, and rare and threatened birds such as upland sandpipers and Canada warblers.  

“Prescribed burns are an essential part of the Partnership’s work to ensure habitat and wildlife protection,” said Glenn Hoagland, executive director of the Mohonk Preserve. “With our new grants in place, we’re better positioned than ever to understand how to conduct burns and the environmental benefits they yield.”

The prescribed burn team for the Gunks will draw on the fire management expertise of Nature Conservancy staff from throughout the Northeast and from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. Also participating will be qualified Mohonk Preserve rangers, staff from Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Sam’s Point Preserve, and trained volunteer firefighters, with New York State Forest Rangers on hand as back-up. Fire management in the Shawangunks is funded in part through a grant awarded by the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

About prescribed fire: Prescribed fire has been used nationwide as a land management tool for more than 40 years. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, federal agencies have ignited nearly 80,000 prescribed fires over the past seven years, burning over 14 million acres of land. Many of the plant communities of the Shawangunks have developed adaptations that allow them to survive, or even depend on periodic fires, including the globally rare pitch pines. Fire helps recycle nutrients, reduce invasive species, and maintain habitat for a broad range of animals. Prescribed burns decrease the build up of overgrown vegetation, dead wood, and other wildland fuel that can lead to wildfires.

About the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership: Over 40,000 acres of the ridge are protected by the members of the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership. Composed of non-profit and public organizations, the Partnership uses science and land management strategies to preserve sensitive wildlife habitat and other natural resources. Informed by field research findings, partners collaboratively manage the larger landscape, provide environmental education, and work with local communities to preserve open space on the slopes of the ridge. The Partnership consists of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation, The Nature Conservancy, the Mohonk Preserve, the Open Space Institute, New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Museum, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Cragsmoor Association, and Friends of the Shawangunks. For more information, visit www.gunksfireplan.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.