From staff reports
The Allegheny National Forest is planning several prescribed burns and will treat glossy and common buckthorn in the Marienville Ranger District beginning in April.
The planned burns will be completed if weather conditions and fire activities are suitable.
Burns are planned for the following areas:
Buzzard Swamp area – the planned burn date is Monday and the burn area is approximately 82 acres.
Spring Creek – The planned burn date is around Thursday and the burn area is approximately six acres.
The goals of the planned burns are to improve habitat for wildlife species that like open warm season grass habitat, according to National Forest officials. This will be accomplished by burning woody vegetation and cool season grasses that compete with the warm season grasses.
Fire management officer Pete To said the areas will be closed when the fire crews are burning. He also warned that there may be some smoke in the area when the burning is taking place.
If conditions are right and staff are available, three other areas may be treated this spring. These projects are designed to enhance establishment of oak seedlings and include:
Jakes Rock – The burn area is approximately 86 acres.
Kalbfus Club – The burn area is approximately 85 acres.
Rocky Gap – The burn area is approximately 57 acres.
For additional information about the prescribed burns, people may contact To at pto@fs.fed.us or (814) 728-6199.
Buckthorn treatment slated
The Allegheny National Forest will be treating glossy and common buckthorn in late April to mid-June to reduce the density of the infestations on two sites on the Marienville Ranger District:
– Laurel Mill Trail Area adjacent to the Elk, Scout and Hemlock Loops and the area within the Elk and Scout loops.
– Buzzard Swamp Wildlife Management Area. Seventy acres will be treated in the area from Pond 9 eastward to pond 13 then north along Forest Road 157 towards Lamonaville Road.
The work will be done weather permitting.
Treatments will be by manual cutting and herbicide application to selected plants. The National Forest personnel will also treat other non-native invasive plant species within or near buckthorn treatment areas if encountered.
Temporary closures at both areas will be in place on the days the projects are implemented.
People may check for area closure signs at the sites or call the Marienville Ranger District office at (814) 927-5700 for more information.
Glossy and common buckthorn are native to Eurasia and were imported, cultivated and sold to plant for wildlife habitat, hedges and windbreaks in the past, according to National Forest officials.
However, these shrubs proved to be highly invasive and fast growing, and which have since invaded watersheds and forests, officials said.
They now threaten forest health and native plant communities by out-competing native plants for nutrients, light and moisture. Buckthorn thickets can grow up to 25 feet tall and impede hunters, hikers and wildlife moving through the forest, National Forest officials said.