BUSHKILL – The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation is planning a series of prescribed burns in the coming weeks. The areas to be burned involve approximately 680 acres of grasses, shrubs, and woodlands in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the planned burn locations, totaling about 340 acres, include several tracts of land on the east side of U.S. 209, between U.S. 206 and Raymondskill Creek; areas around Wheat Plains and Toms Creek. The planned burn sites in New Jersey, about 340 acres overall, include fields on the south side of Main Street in Walpack Center, fields within Darrones, Silver Spray, Warner, and Chado Farms, and on Minisink Island.

Depending on favorable weather conditions, the first burns, planned for the New Jersey sites, could start next week. Because certain prescription parameters must be met (including wind speed, relative humidity, fuel moisture, and drought index), it is not possible to precisely schedule prescribed fires in advance. Roads, visitor use facilities, and hiking trails may be temporarily closed while burns are underway.

Prescribed fire is an approved tool for natural resource management throughout the National Park System and is part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area’s fire management program. The primary objectives of the prescribed fire program are:

• to restore and perpetuate scenic and cultural landscapes;
• to perpetuate native plant species;
• to reduce wildland fuel loading;
• to enhance wildlife habitat.

Prescribed fire is often more effective than either manual or mechanical removal of fuels. Air quality and smoke impacts will be monitored and only small areas will be burned in order to keep smoke to a minimum. A minimum of six firefighters and one fire engine will be on hand throughout the period while the fire burns and will patrol the area until the burn is declared out. Assistance may be provided by firefighters from other National Park Service units, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and The Nature Conservancy.