Restoring forest ecosystems

Dákeyi ukaanathį̀ jè: All of you watch over our country with your heart

Champagne & Aishihik First Nations (CAFN), Kluane First Nation (KFN), and Parks Canada are working together on Dákeyi ukaanathį̀ jè: All of you watch over our country with your heart – Restoring forest ecosystems in Kluane National Park and Reserve (KNPR). Informed by Indigenous Knowledge and Western science, this multi-year, collaborative project is taking tangible steps towards understanding and increasing the resilience of Kluane’s forests.

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Safety

Safety is always Parks Canada’s top priority when planning prescribed fire.

Parks Canada does prescribed fires on Parks Canada administered lands to help restore and maintain ecological integrity and biodiversity, to promote ecosystem conservation and restoration, and to reduce the risk of wildfire to nearby communities. Parks Canada takes wildfire prevention and risk reduction very seriously and carries out activities, in collaboration with communities located inside and near Parks Canada administered places, to prevent and reduce the risk of wildfires. Prescribed fires are one tool that Parks Canada uses to reduce the risks. Prescribed fires help lessen the buildup of plant materials that can fuel and help sustain wildfires. Removing plant materials from around communities can help to reduce the intensity and severity of wildfires, slows their spread, and makes them easier to control or extinguish. Additionally, prescribed fires help to support healthy ecosystems that are resilient to the impacts of climate change and invasive plant and insect species. In turn these, ecosystems are more resilient to the impacts of wildfires.

Members of Parks Canada’s National Fire Management Program carry out extensive planning and preparation before a prescribed fire is lit, including evaluating the landscape and assessing weather conditions and windspeed. At Parks Canada-administered places, prescribed fires are planned and managed by well-trained, professional wildland fire management specialists and are only set under specific, pre-determined conditions. Since 1983, there have been 529 prescribed fires conducted by Parks Canada across the country.

For more information on prescribed fire in National Parks, check out: 

• https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/nature/science/conservation/feu-fire/feuveg-fireveg/dirige-prescribed
• Prince Albert NP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1coJqyxOeb0 
• Banff NP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxvC6MPhu9I
• Pukaskwa NP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyk5H0KSFnw
• Terra Nova NP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAwzQVrl3QY