Glacier National Park is preparing two prescribed fire projects in the North Fork region that will burn approximately 350 acres, officials announced Wednesday.
The fires are tentatively scheduled to take place between April 25 and May 15, when weather and fuel conditions are favorable. The park hopes to burn 303 acres in the Big Prairie area, about 3.5 miles northwest of Polebridge, and 46 acres near Sullivan Meadow along the Inside North Fork Road.
The objective of the prescribed burn is to reduce the number of lodge pole pine seedlings and saplings, which are encroaching on native prairie grassland and ponderosa pine stands. Park managers hope to reduce the number of young lodge pole pine with fire, while improving the vigor of the native grasses, shrubs, and ponderosa pine trees.
The last time the park conducted a prescribed burn was in 2016.