Federal and state agencies are burning off the Blue Mountain near Palmerton.

The purpose of the fire is to help to manage vegetation that is moving metals out of the contaminated soil into the food chain. The fire will favor the prairie grasses, which thrive after fires, and these grasses do not mobilize significant quantities of metal from the soil into the food chains of the refuge. The fire must be timed precisely to be beneficial, so there is only a two-week window during which the fire will take place. The burn will be visible from the west end of Palmerton and from PA 248 between Bowmanstown and Palmerton.

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center is a member-supported, wildlife conservation and environmental education organization with its office located at the Osprey House in Lehigh Gap.

For more information about the Center and its programs, contact them at 610-760-8889,

lgnc@ptd.net, or check their web site at

http://lgnc.org.