Columbia Gorge News: Mt. Adams Resource Stewards hosts inaugural prescribed fire training in the Gorge

GLENWOOD — From Oct. 9-20, Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) hosted the first-ever Columbia Gorge Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (CGTREX). This program gave individuals hands-on experience in using fire as a tool for land conservation and management. With more than a hundred applications received, the exchange brought together 35 participants, local and international, to learn more about the implementation of prescribed fires.

“The opportunity to get hands-on experience, training and qualifications is a huge draw,” said Lucas King, stewardship crew program lead at MARS. “Fire will continue to be an important tool going forward, as it helps address the multitude of challenges that we face such as catastrophic fire, restoring forests and more.”

Prescribed fires are one tool MARS uses for the restoration of land throughout the Gorge. They ignite low-intensity fire to remove excessive shrubs and plants, known as surface fuel, that otherwise might contribute to an uncontrollable wildfire.