Idaho Fish and Game's Upper Snake Region is working with the Bureau of Land Management to implement prescribed burns across a large portion of the Market Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) located in eastern Idaho north of Roberts.
Depending on weather and fuel conditions, the prescribed burns will take place over a few days sometime between March 25 and April 12, and much of the WMA will be closed to public access during the burn period. For everyone’s safety, the public is asked to please obey all area closure signs.
Burning of the marshes creates open spaces and eliminates the excess vegetation across the wetland cells. Without disturbance, wetlands will continue to close in with cattails and other dominant vegetation, choking out new growth and limiting benefits to waterfowl.
To maintain the preferred 50/50 split of cattail and bulrush to open water, fires set the wetland back to early successional stages that are more productive. These early successional stages have more openings for waterfowl and provide them with access to annual wetland plants, submerged vegetation and aquatic invertebrates for foraging.
Waterfowl hunters will also benefit from improved access into areas that were previously inaccessible prior to the burn.
For more information about the prescribed burns at Market Lake WMA, please contact Regional Habitat Biologist Brett Gullett, 208-525-7290.
