The landscapes of the Willamette Valley were stewarded with the use of fire by Indigenous people since time immemorial.
When white settlement and the forced removal of Indigenous people from their lands extinguished those flames, the landscape changed drastically and native habitats and biodiversity in the valley rapidly declined. A fire-adapted ecosystem needs fire to thrive.
Western land management tools and practices can simulate some of the effects of good fire, but what the land really needs is to be regularly burned.
Good fire returned to the landscape at Bald Hill Farm last week as dozens of fire professionals from around the Willamette Valley came together for a training burn on 40 acres of restored prairie.
Want to get a closer look? Walk into the black with us on a tour of the burn units on Thursday, October 1st, from 4-6 pm.
We will discuss the planning and execution of the burn as well as the benefits of ecological fire as we explore the newly burned prairie. Greenbelt volunteers are harvesting camas bulbs from a local native seed farm earlier in the day and tour participants will have the opportunity to return them to the earth during the tour.
Sign up at our website - link in the first comment below.
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September 28th