BLM to burn out Medusahead
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. -- Officials with the Bureau of Land Management will soon start prescribed burns.
This year, they're targeting the North Bank Habitat area.
The goal is to get rid of Medusahead, a spiky plant that is not indigenous to the county.
The pointy stalks make it inedible for deer, but it's taking over their grazing areas.
So, in order to help local habitats flourish, BLM officials are putting the plant to the torch. Krisann Kosel is a BLM Fire Ecologist, and says now is the time to start the process. "The best time to burn it is in the Spring, before the seeds have fully developed," she said. "That way we can catch it before they'll actually germinate."
Weather conditions have to be just right before officials can start the burn, so Kosel says they could start as early as Wednesday or as late as July 3.
The first area is about 60 acres, and the second prescribed burn is scheduled to clear about 110 acres.
