For the City-Times

The UWSP Fire Crew will participate in wildlife training Saturday, March 8. It takes place at the UW-Stevens Point Hydrology Lab, 1407 County Road R, Plover. Neighbors may notice smoke, especially in the morning.

The training includes burning from between 8-11 AM The fire crew will use hand tools and pumps. It will construct a hand line and participate in other wildland fire suppression operations until 5 PM.

The training allows students complete requirements to serve as wildland firefighters both in Wisconsin and throughout country. Certified fire crew members, Wisconsin DNR instructor Brad Kildow and Ron Masters, associate professor of wildland fire science at the university will be on hand to assist.

About the UWSP Fire Crew:

Each year, wildlife enthusiasts and hunters from across Wisconsin come to Portage County to enjoy its abundant wildlife and waterfowl habitats. To maintain and enhance these public lands for future generations, student members of the College of Natural Resources Fire Crew at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point work with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to conduct prescribed burns. The fires stimulate grass growth, restore native plants, improve wildlife habitats and reduce wildfire potential.

A wildland fire science undergraduate option in the College of Natural Resources was initiated this academic year at UW-Stevens Point. It is the only undergraduate wildland fire science option in the Midwest.