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<br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER <br /> <br />September 9, 2010 <br /> <br /> City of Eugene <br /> 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 <br /> (541) 682-5010 <br /> (541) 682-5414 (FAX) <br /> www.eugene-or.gov <br /> <br />IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION <br /> <br />ECOLOGICAL BURNS TO BENEFIT ENDANGERED SPECIES AND RESTORATION RESEARCH <br />AVIATION EXCELLENCE AWARD RECOGNIZES EUGENE AIRPORT EMPLOYEE <br />DEDICATION EVENT SATURDAY GIVES PUBLIC A PREVIEW OF NEW DELTA PONDS BRIDGE <br /> <br />AROUND THE CITY <br /> <br />Ecological Burns to Benefit Endangered Species and Restoration Research <br />This fall, the Rivers to Ridges partners will be undertaking ecological burns at several West Eugene wetlands sites. <br />The City of Eugene’s Natural Resources team, with the assistance of the Eugene Fire and EMS Department <br />(EFD), has planned two small ecological burns at the City’s Coyote Prairie site. <br /> <br />These two burns will be very small, totaling only 1.5 acres in <br />size, but each has an important purpose. One will remove <br />competing vegetation from around a population of <br />Bradshaw’s lomatium, a federally listed endangered plant. <br />This species benefits from open ground following ecological <br />burns, and the population at Coyote Prairie increased by <br />over 50 percent following a 2008 burn. The second <br />ecological burn will focus on research plots that are part of a <br />multi-year study funded by the U.S. Environmental <br />Protection Agency to research methods for improving native <br />species diversity and abundance in restored Willamette <br />Valley prairies. <br /> <br />The Rivers to Ridges Partnership (formerly known as the <br />West Eugene Wetlands Partnership) relies on ecological <br />burning as a restoration tool to protect valuable biological <br />City of Eugene and Oregon Department of Forestry crews <br />diversity in prairie and savanna ecosystems. Removal of <br />monitor an ecological burn. <br />standing dead vegetation also benefits the community by <br />decreasing the chances of uncontrolled wildfire at the wildland-urban interface. City staff works hard to make sure <br />the community is protected from potential negative impacts of fire. EFD and the City’s Natural Resources staff <br />carefully assess weather conditions and burn only on days when the wind will blow smoke away from residential <br />areas. The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency reviews the prescribed burn plans each year, issuing a permit and <br />conditions under which burns may proceed. <br /> <br />Additional burns may be performed by Rivers to Ridges partner agencies on their own lands, including the U.S. <br />Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Together these <br />efforts will result in the enhancement and protection of many of the important natural areas enjoyed by the <br />community. <br /> <br />For more information, contact Natural Area Restoration Supervisor Trevor Taylor at <br />trevor.h.taylor@ci.eugene.or.us, or 541-682-4888. <br /> <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 <br />September 9, 2010 <br />