FireBREAK is funded by a $5.2 million national Community Wildfire Defense Grant and targets dense thickets of Russian olive, tamarisk, Siberian elm, and Ravenna grass that create high fire risks, prioritizing vegetation along Mill and Pack creeks and in the Matheson Wetlands. Properties within these waterway corridors and those adjacent to structures receive priority for grant-funded removal work.
The Commission approved tourism-related funding policies, voted to fund an economic impact study on Arches National Park’s timed entry system, made changes to TRT spending rules, and updated to the Tourism Advisory Board structure.
Voted on arena improvements, McKnight rezone, search for new airport director, resignation of planning commissioner. Discussion of High Density Housing Overlay.
A state funding pause threatens Moab’s wildfire prevention work, impacting local jobs and fire safety efforts. Community partners remain committed to mitigation, but support is needed to keep progress moving.
Science Moab talks with ecologist Rebecca Finger-Higgins
There are still a few months remaining in the wildfire season.
“The firefighters on the ground and in the area did a phenomenal job catching the wind-driven incident.”
This discussion was captured live early in 2022 in St. George and pertains to the impacts of wildfires on the land and its inhabitants.
This is the first in a two-part series on the science of fire, brought to you by Science Moab’s partners at Utah Tech University and the Southern Utah Science Cafe.
State and federal land management agencies lifted fire restrictions on August 12.
