CUSTER - The first of 18 units of the Martin Prescribed Fire
will be ignited today 5-1/2 miles southwest of Pringle.
The project size of the total burn is 3,409 acres. The
objective of the project is fuels reduction and wildlife habitat
enhancement.
Prescribed fires are those ignited under controlled
application of fire to ecosystems under specific environmental
conditions designed to help restore health to the forest and other
lands.
By reducing hazardous fuel accumulations on the forest floor,
encouraging the new growth of native vegetation, and maintaining
the many plant and animal species whose habitats depend on periodic
fire, prescribed burning helps reduce the catastrophic damage of
wildfire on our lands and surrounding communities.
Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools forest
managers have in preventing the outbreak and spread of wildfires
and the Black Hills has made substantial progress in the past six
years implementing prescribed fires.
For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, go to
www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills.
