Pinal Partnership Open Space & Trails Committee gets update on impacts from Woodbury Fire

Left to right: Melissa Johnson, Pinal Partnership; Laura Orscheln, AZGFD; Dustin Darveau, AZGFD; Charlie Goff, SALT & Committee Chair; Pinal County Supervisor Todd House; Chris Burkhart; Scott McDonald, ALWT; Kent Taylor, Pinal County

For the September Pinal Partnership Open Space & Trails Committee meeting, Dustin Darveau, Game Spectialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) provided an update on the impacts from the Woodbury Fire started on June 7, 2019 in the Superstition Mountains that burned 123,875 acres.

A few updates included:
Vegetation began re-growing after only a week
There won’t be any hunting restrictions
All closures are now open
Wildlife will be able to thrive with new vegetation with more nutritional value than previously
Working on and preparing flood risk areas for when a monsoon does hit

For more information and to see the presentation provided at the meeting, you can check out the links below.

https://www.azgfd.com/woodbury-fire-what-was-its-impact-on-wildlife/
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/689c45d3baf14ed3b2fefa18ea577940

If you are interested in joining the Open Space & Trails Committee, please reach out to Melissa Johnson for more information.

Although it may seem to be devastating to the landscape, fire is actually a very beneficial component of nature that rejuvenates the land./AZ Game and Fish