Collaboration at the Landscape Level

A rural district in British Columbia is cleaning up its forests by removing dead wood and other debris that could help wildfires spread. The Central Kootenay Regional District says it’s beginning forest-cleaning prescriptions to better protect communities and infrastructure from the threat of fires. “What it starts with is a community wildfire protection plan,” said Aimee Watson, local director of the district for the north end of Kootenay Lake. “We’ve done those for most of the areas in the regional district. And that plan identifies areas of interest … where we should be doing treatments,” she told Audrey McKinnon, guest host of CBC’s Radio West. Assisted by funding from the Union of B.C. Municipalities, the district is removing potential fuel for fires from more than 800 hectares (eight square kilometres) of forest across the district, focusing on land close to urban areas.