U.S. Forest Service crews are trying to revive habitat for Mountain Plovers and other prairie species by burning 785 acres on the Pawnee National Grassland in northern Colorado.
Expect smoke along Colorado 14 when burning is happening on land about a mile southwest of Keota, as soon as Tuesday, depending on wind and moisture.
Crews would only light the fire if soil moisture, weather, smoke dispersal and staffing are right, according to Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest spokeswoman Reghan Cloudman.
Six firefighting engines and 16 to 22 firefighters were expected to control the flames. The burning would be done in a day. Firefighters would monitor blackened hot spots until flames are gone.
This deliberate, is designed , reduce the risk of catastrophic un-controlled wildfires and simply bring back fire – a natural process often suppressed to the of prairie health.
Last year, federal burn crews torched 895 acres on the grassland near Greeley.
The U.S. Forest Service manages the 193,060-acre Pawnee National Grassland, short-grass prairie along the Colorado-Wyoming border. There was limited cultivation there in the early 20th century. Farming stopped after the Dust Bowl environmental disaster.
For years, federal land managers have let oil and gas companies drill exploratory wells on the grassland. There were more than 63 active wells a few years ago.
In 2015, the federal managers, facing challenges by environmental groups concerned about impacts of oil and gas production on air quality and the climate, leased parts of the grassland to drillers for $30.8 million, including a 1,919-acre parcel. Some wells are drilled diagonally from private land in the area.
