Lookout Tower to Mitigate Threats of Wild Fires in Payne’s Creek National Park.

Work on a lookout tower for the Payne’s Creek National Park (PCNP) has finally been completed amidst the constraints to have the construction work finished before the

Lookout tower at Paynes Creek will help mitigate wild fires that destroy pine savannahs yearly

beginning of the rainy season. 

The lookout tower in the PCNP was erected approximately five miles from the ranger station base, in a strategic location of the park so that the rangers can monitor the start of wild fires during the early phase to mitigate the destruction it causes to the biodiversity of the Park.  Most of the wild fires that destroy the Pine Savannahs every year are started by people hunting for dear that would grazing on young sprouts at the beginning of the rainy season after the area has been burnt. 

Materials to construct the wooden tower were donated by Gomez and Sons Ltd. who has a logging concession just outside the park.  The Protected Areas conservation Trust (PACT)  and Seacology also contributed financially towards the completion of the tower.  TIDE continues to work with the residents from communities close to the park so that they too are aware of the importance of protecting the natural resources of the District especially pine savannahs from wild fires. 

New landing dock at Paynes Creek National Park

Another major development which took place in Payne’s Creek over the last few weeks is the construction of a new pier - landing dock at the entrance to the Ranger Station.  This new pier replaces the old one which was rapidly disintegrating and had     outlived its expectancy.

Funding to complete the landing dock project was made possible through donations from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) whose contributions also helped to finance the completion of the fire lookout tower.  TIDE is fortunate to have the support of the two agencies that have been long standing contributors to the management of PCNP.

PCNP is also home to a number of submerged, ancient, Mayan sites.  Recently, Archeologist

View from lookout tower at Paynes Creek

Dr. Heather Mckillop and her research team from Louisiana State University in the USA are said to have made some “unexpected discoveries” and are currently mapping ancient Maya Wooden Architecture on the sea floor in PCNP.  We hope to provide more information later on those “discoveries” which form part of our Belizean history.

To help TIDE continue its conservation efforts managing protected areas such as the Payne’s Creek National Park, visit us at our home page and learn how to become a member to TIDE and how to make a donation to support project management.