Jackladder Prescribed Fire, Sub-Unit #1 Complete Grassland Restoration in the Montane
Jasper National Park, April 22, 2015
What’s Happening?
Yesterday, April 21, Jasper National Park’s Fire Management Team completed fire restoration in sub-unit #1 of the Jackladder Complex. Throughout April 20 and 21, they burned 111 hectares of grassland, along with some forest and downed woody debris.
If weather and forest conditions align this fall, the team will restore fire to sub-unit #2, to complete the Jackladder Complex.
Why?
A previous prescribed fire in 1998, where sub-unit #1 is located, helped to restore open, valley bottom grasslands that were historically present. Subsequent application of fire further restores this landscape
and improves biodiversity of this critical
grassland habitat.
Grasslands are important ecosystems that support specially-adapted plants, mammals, birds and insects that aren’t found anywhere else. Today, grasslands are the most altered and endangered ecosystem on the North American continent. In Jasper National
Park, grasslands are the rarest ecotype, with only five tracts making up .08% of the vegetated area. Unnaturally high elk populations in the mid-1900s, the era of
horse grazing by outfitters, and decades of fire suppression all took their toll on the Park’s grassland ecosystems.
Background
The Jackladder Complex is divided into two sub-units, where fire was previously restored in 1998 and 2000. The unit is located 15 km north of the Town of Jasper, between Highway 16 and the Athabasca
Restrictions and Closures
The area closures in place during burning operations will be lifted by mid-day today, April 22. Please check pc.gc.ca/jasperalerts or pc.gc.ca/alertes-jasper (in French).
What’s Next?
The park’s fire team may soon have a window of opportunity to carry out larger-scale burning in the Vine Creek unit, located on
the slopes of Mount Greenock, 20km north of the Town of Jasper. The team has already restored fire to 225 hectares of this 725 hectare unit. A total of 500 hectares remains to be burned.
River.
For more information, please contact Kim Weir at 780-852-6169 or email kim.weir@pc.gc.ca