Selous Creek Wildfire Risk Reduction Project: Harvest and Detour Notification

Nelson, BC:  The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and Kalesnikoff are collaborating on a Selous Creek fuel management project that is designed to reduce the risk of wildfire adjacent to the City of Nelson and the Selous Creek water intake.

The main objectives of the project are to reduce wildfire risk by retaining large, healthy fire-resistant trees, while removing dense understory trees and surface fuels, as well as enhancing infrastructure protection for potential future suppression efforts.

Mechanical harvesting is starting above the rail trail south of Mountain Station, from the cemetery south to the first trestle. Due to safety considerations, rail trail users will be detoured around the high hazard area by traffic controllers. The rail trail will be fully accessible during weekends. Activities are anticipated to occur for 8 weeks from mid March to mid May. Please respect posted signage.

This project is supported through funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and covers an area of approximately 65 hectares directly upslope from the Rail Trail on provincial Crown land.

Similar projects have been completed in our area including in West Arm Provincial Park and Harrop Procter Community Forest. The Selous Creek project is unique due to its scope and scale, as well as the high level of collaboration between regional and municipal governments, fire services and a local licensee.

The planning for this project commenced in 2017. Kalesnikoff developed the cutting specifications in consultation with the RDCK and local experts. The cutting permits were issued in summer 2021.

Additional information is available at www.rdck.ca/Selous

If you have questions, please contact project manager John Cathro at cathro@netidea.com or 250.505.3513.

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The content on this page was last updated March 17 2022 at 7:26 AM