Citing stressed deer, Skeetchestn group asks public to stay away from 2021 wildfire burned area

SKEETCHESTN — A Skeetchestn group is launching an education campaign to alert users of the territory of the risks their return poses to mule deer in the region.

In a news release issued Monday (Sept. 11), Shaun Freeman, senior wildfire and habitat biologist at Skeetchestn Natural Resources Corporation (SNRC), says they’re asking the public to stay out of the burns, particularly the low elevation areas this winter.

The call comes as access restrictions throughout Skeetchestn Territory begin to lift this fall, two years following the Sparks Lake and Tremont Creek wildfires.

According to Freeman, new studies suggest the 2021 wildfires resulted in elevated stress in the deer and a decrease in the deer population due to the loss of habitat and severe winter. The study says 30 per cent of the Skeetchestn Territory was burned, including 50 per cent of the key deer winter range.

“Because we have identified a key threshold for indicating when mule deer are stressed, when the floodgates open for road access, increased industrial development, and recreational activities such as hunting, camping and fishing, we’ll be monitoring how these disturbances affect the deer population, particularly as they move down into and occupy the winter range,” Freeman says. “Everyone has the same goal – sustainability of the environment and having healthy wildlife and ecosystems… just because the ashes are cool and fire weed, herbs and grass are growing, it doesn’t mean it’s safe to go out and play without impact to wildlife or the ecology.”

Skeetchestn community members and representatives of SNRC – trained by SNRC professional staff and B.C. conservation officers – will have an increased presence throughout the fall and winter to educate the public about the sensitivities that remain on the ground to minimize public impact.