Fires to be set in Clearwater
Fires will be set on purpose in part of the Clearwater Forest from July 12 to 19.
Barry Shellian, wildfire ranger and information officer for the Clearwater Forest Area, announced on Monday that a prescribed burn is scheduled for a 465-acre site at Ram Mountain, located west of Rocky Mountain House and southeast of Nordegg.
The burn is a joint project between the government of Alberta and the Alberta Wild Sheep Foundation, aimed at enhancing habitat, encouraging a more diverse landscape and increasing knowledge about fire on the landscape and its benefits to the ecosystem, Shellian said.
Ram Mountain is notable for being the site of the longest-running bighorn sheep study in the world, beginning in 1971, he said.
Researchers from Alberta, Quebec, England, France and the United States have been gathering and analyzing data on sheep genetics and reproductive success.
The study has provided valuable information for wildlife managers and provides the provincial government with input related to the management of bighorn sheep, said Shellian.
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