Firefighters from the U. S. Forest Service burned Camas Prairie, off Moose Creek Road east of Cascadia, Friday to restore the wetland back to conditions similar to those found in the early 1800s.
USFS botanist Alice Smith said the prairie is being burned every two years to improve the habitat for camas, which produces a bulb that was a staple of the Indian tribes who used to inhabit the area. Burning will also reduce competition to camas from other vegetation and enhance the winter range forage quality for elk. This is the fifth time since 1998 that firefighters from the Forest Service, with help from members of the Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes, have joined forces to enhance camas production at this site.
Smith said the area burned is about 5 acres. At one time, she said, the camas fields, which were cultivated by individual Native American families, are believed to have stretched to the current Triple T Studs mill site.
According to the USFS, the amount of camas in the prarire has more than doubled since the burning regime began.