Prescribed burn planned for port franks protected wildlife habitat land

A prescribed burn is planned to help restore Wildlife Habitat at the Karner Blue Sanctuary in Port Franks.

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The Sanctuary included 15 hectares (37 acres) Owned by Wildlife Inc.a non-Profit Organization, Between Two Portions of Land Owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada in the Lambton Shores Community Near Lake Huron.

LAMBTON WILDLIFE ACTURED ITS PORTION IN 1988 TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR THE KARNER BLUE Butterfly.

“It’s a little Blue Butterfly That Feeds on Wild Lupine, and there was still a Population there” in the 1980s, Said Jill Crosthwaite, with the Nature Conservancy.

“Since then, the population has disappeared” in canada but still exist in the us, she said.

“There’s also Quite a Few Other Rare Butterflies” at the site, she Said. “It’s Quite a Good Area for Butterfly Species, for People who Like to Go Look For Those.”

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In 2012, The Nature Conservancy Acquired Another 23 hectares (56.8 acres) in Two Parcels on Eith Side of the Sanctuary to Create A Larger Protected Area of ​​Oak Savanna Habitat, “Which is rare in Ontario,” Crosthwaite Said. “It uses to be More Common.”

“Disturbances, Like Burns,” from Lightning Strikes, or Set by indigenous people to clear are for Hunting, Helped Mainain them in the past, crosthwaite Said.

“It’s a habitat where there are a few trees but not too much,” she said. “The canopy is fairly open so?

The Open Canopy also Allows Plants Like Wild Lupine, New Jersey Tea and Prairie Grasse to Grow.

“With European Settlement, we have no long Keen on there Being Fires Running through when you are permanent structures,” crosthwaite Said.

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Many of the areas with oak savanna were also ideal for settlement and agriculture since they were already partially cleared.

“There’s not too much so the bits that we have really important to protect,” crosthwaite said.

“When they are not getting burned, we do see less of the open habitat,” and species that requires the sunlight can be reduced to “smaller and smaller patches,” which is What’s happening at the karner Blue Sanctuary, She Said.

Crosthwaite Said the Site’s Namesake is unlikely to return there on its ows.

“Maybe one day there could be a karner Blue Recovery, but it would have to human assisted and it would be challenging due to How Few Numbers there” among “Source Populations” in the US WHERE The Butterfly “isn’t Doing Too WELL,” SHE Said.

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But the burn may assist other species at the site in port franks, crosthwaite said.

“We hope to see some of the rare butterflies and Moths Thriving in these Areas After the Burn,” She Said.

“It’s Something We Know Works.”

A Prescribed Burn was Carried Out at the Site in 2001 and they happen regularly at Nearby Pinery Park, and as well as having been used in the Area to Control the Invasive Reed, Phragmites, Crosthwaite Said.

It will be Carried Out by an Experienced Contractor Following A Burn Plan On Sections Totalling About 3.5 hectares, Which is less Than 10 per cent of the Entire Site, She Said.

“We Carefully Create Breaks So We Know exactly where the Fire Will Take Place,” Crosthwaite Said.

The burn is expected to happen in April or early May, Depending on Weather, Conditions on the Ground and the Burn Crew’s Avilabity, Crosthwaite Said.

Road Signs Will Go Up in Advance of the Burn and Residents Can Follow Lambton Wildlife’s Social Media for updates.

The Plan was “Positively Reced” at A Public Information Session in Port Franks Earlier in March, crosthwaite Said.

“I think people in the area are maybe used to these the ways happening,” she said.

There is a public trail on the lambton wildlife parcel and residents are encouraged to visit this summer to see the land is responding, if the burn is able to go ahead, crosthwaite said.

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