Local fire partners get good fire on the ground at Chaa-lamali

On Monday, September 16th the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program (TEIP) and the Long Tom Watershed Council worked with local fire partners to realize a decade-long shared vision: to get good fire on the ground at Chaa-lamali. TEIP youth, staff, and Indigenous partners opened the fire using traditional lighting methods and shared with fire partners about the cultural, ecological, and community objectives of bringing fire and Indigenous fire science back into the prairie unit. This prescribed fire was led by the Oregon Department of Forestry, and with support from many partners, including McKenzie River Trust, EcoStudies Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Woods, Oregon State University Extension, and Friends of Buford Park and Mount Pisgah. We are grateful to our fire partners for helping us realize our cultural, community, and ecological goals by supporting opportunities for Native youth to revitalize cultural fire. Cultural burning and prescribed fires benefit fire-adapted prairie and oak habitats and reduce wildfire risk in our watershed. Click here for more information about prescribed fire in our watershed and a map of all the Rivers to Ridges proposed units.