Federal and state agencies conducted a controlled burn on 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 was designed to 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 had to be timed precisely to be beneficial, so there is only a two-week window during which the fire could take place.The burn was visible from the west end of Palmerton and from Route 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, call 610-760-8889,

lgnc@ptd.net, or check the website at

http://lgnc.org.