Williams Lake First Nation is in the second year of their five year Grassland Restoration Project.
Field Technician Willem Faasse said it’s being conducted in an area behind Chief Will Yum gas station and Coyote Rock golf course.
“So we’re looking at doing some grassland restoration burning. The idea is to burn up the excess grass and forest fuels that have accumulated back there in recent years due to fire suppression. Another factor is a large amount of the timbered area in the region burnt down in the 2017 wildfires so we have a very small green space left of mature timber.”
Faasse said what they want to do is thin it out and remove the suppressed tree stems within that forest, and the built up fuel, and reduce the fire risk that’s approaching just so we can help maintain this last patch of greenery.
“Right now we’re doing what’s called black lining,” Faasse said, “We’re putting a one to two metre buffer of burnt grass area around valleys that we want to preserve and around the outer parameter of the fire so we don’t have what’s called over achievement which is somewhat expanded burn area from what we originally planned and that’s something we want to avoid.”
He noted that the total project is over 120 hectares and we’re looking at doing around 40 at this time, it’s a five year project.
“The ultimate goal is to preserve and enhance the habitat of the American badger and Louis’s woodpecker the two endangered species that reside among others. We’re trying to improve habitat conditions for them in particular.”
Faasse said the idea is every year to burn and perform thinning treatment with hand crews cutting down all the tree stems under 12 and a half centimeters in diameter, and improving the forest structure to encourage fire on the ground level and discourage canopy fire or any ladder fuel in the area.
With the help of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Williams Lake First Nation’s grassland restoration project aims to alleviate these and other pressures and is scheduled to continue into 2028.