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Wednesday, March 29, 2006 10 - Orono Weekly Times Professionally managed fires revitalize rare fall-grass prairie and savanna on Oak Ridges Moraine Peterborough, ON - The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and members of the Rice Lake Plains Joint Initiative and Caring for the Moraine-Ganaraska Hills Area project are bringing in provincial fire experts to manage manage and oversee a number of prescribed bums to revitalize rare tallgrass prairie and savanna habitat this spring. The prescribed bums will help restore habitats within the Northumberland County Forest, Peter's Woods Provincial Nature Reserve and Burnley-Carmel as well as sites in the Ganaraska Forest area. "Tallgrass prairie and savanna plant species depend upon fire to live. As natural fires have long been suppressed suppressed in southern Ontario, conservation scientists across North America use professionally-managed professionally-managed prescribed burns to bring new life to these threatened places," says Mark Stabb, NCC's Central Ontario Program Manager. Prescribed burns are fires intentionally set by professionals professionals to burn an area with pre-determined boundaries under strictly controlled circumstances circumstances for purposes of restoring the site. Fire clears, away scmb and brush allowing allowing sunlight to penetrate the ground, awakening dormant seeds and clearing the way for grassland species to return to the site. Fire also extends the growing season for native plants and shortens the season for invasive species. Burning takes place ' under specific weather conditions that allow a safe and controlled bum. The burns prescribed for the Oak Ridges Moraine sites are deliberately ignited ground fires used to restore the globally rare tallgrass prairie and savanna habitats. All of the bums will be carried out by trained professionals. For example as .part of the Caring for the Moraine- Ganaraska Hills Area project the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority and Kawartha Conservation have hired Lands and Forests Consulting, a private compa-. ny that annually conducts prescribed prescribed bums on tallgrass projects throughout southern Ontario. Detailed bum plans, fire permits and insurance are obtained in advance for each site. "In 2005 we hired Lands and Forests to bum a prairie remnant in the Ganaraska forest, forest, and we were very impressed not only with the organization's professional approach, but with the way the native prairie plants responded responded to the fire," says Ken Towle, an ecologist shared by the two Conservation Authorities. For safety reasons, the public public will not be allowed access to the prescribed burn areas during the actual operations. However, media representatives representatives will be welcome to observe burning operations from a safe location, to be determined by fire control staff.. :< . : Ç. -, . All of the bums are taking place within the Oak Ridges Moraine, one of the most significant significant geographical features in Ontario. The moraine supports supports a distinctive mix of southern and northern flora and fauna and plays an essential essential role in maintaining the quality and quantity of water resources in the region. Tallgrass prairie and savanna once covered an estimated 15% or over 200 square km or 20,000 ha of the moraine, largely in the eastern portion. Today, less than 1 percent of the 1 million square kilometers kilometers of prairie and- savanna habitat that once covered central central Canada and the United States remains, making it one of the rarest ecosystem types in North America. The prescribed burns are occurring through two partnerships, partnerships, both of which have received support from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation. The Rice Lake Plains Initiative, created in October of 2003, includes NCC, the County of Northumberland, Ganaraska Region, Conservation Authority, Lower Trent Conservation, Ontario Parks and Wildlife Habitat Canada's Wetland Habitat Fund. The partners envision restoration and pro- ■ tection of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna habitat through co-operative efforts with landowners, conservation science, science, land stewardship, public. outreach, and legal protection of land. The Ganaraska Hills partnership was formed in 2005 and is made up of 15 groups promoting and coordinating coordinating restoration and* stewardship stewardship activities on a, large portion of the moraine in the vicinity of the Ganaraska Forest. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a non-profit, nonadvocacy nonadvocacy organization that takes a business-like approach to land conservation and the preservation of biological diversity. Its plan of action involves partnership building and entering into creative-conservation creative-conservation solutions with any individual, corporation, community community group, conservation organization or government body that shares its passion. Since 1962, NCC and its supporters supporters have protected more than 1.9 million acres of ecologically ecologically significant land .nationwide and over 115,000 acres in Ontario alone. Please Note: Prescribed burns are weather-dependent and very site-specific. Typically Typically they occur in early to mid April, after all snow has melted and the sites are dry. Announcements of individual bums will be sent as soon as details are known. Newcastle Sesquicentennial 'March Break Quiz' contest winners winners from left to right: Crystal McGuey, Ria Hutton representing representing event sponsor David Alexander, Devon Klass and Kyle Wilson. The Sesquicentennial Publicity Committee is running running a series of contests every month this year to help promote promote the festivities. Men, Take Control of Your Health • be a non-smoker • eat 5-10 servings and fruit a day • be physically active - • limit your alcohol consumption • use sun protection • follow cancer-Screening Find out MORE about reducing your risk of developing cancer. Call us at 1 888 939-3333 or visit www.cancer.ca. Canadian Société Cancer canadienne Society du cancer If you received a blood transfusion or blood product before 1992, you may have been infected with hepatitis C. 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