Fort Ord creatures come into $7 million.

Those prescribed burns that send plumes of smoke skyward from the former Ford Ord leave more than exposed munitions behind.

They also char the habitat of endangered species. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a $7 million contract with Folsom-based Burleson Consulting to restore habitat and monitor endangered species on the former Army base over a five-year period, beginning this fall.

It's part of the 21-year-old effort to clean up Fort Ord, a Superfund site. The ongoing cleanup, led by Arcadis U.S. (which has a $99.3 million contract with the Fort Ord Reuse Authority), is funded by the U.S. Army and estimated to take another 8-10 years.

Much of the cleanup involves prescribed burns to remove vegetation, making it safer for contractors to find and remove potentially dangerous munitions. The burns usually occur in the fall, but none are scheduled this year. (One of last year's burns took a brief uncontrolled turn, forcing the temporary evacuation of York School.)

Before the next burn, biologists will survey for endangered animals and whisk them out of harm's way, according to the Army press release. 

Teresa Rodgers, the Corps’ lead environmental geologist with the project, stated: “We’re making sure that the critical work of removing munitions leaves the environment as healthy as we found it.”

The $7 million project aims to restore 65 acres of maritime chaparral habitat, including the endangered sand gilla and threatened Monterey spineflower.

The restoration plan also includes post-burn grading, erosion control and replanting on 9,000 acres of Fort Ord National Monument land.