Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
February 28, 2008
Fire is usually considered to be a bad thing, but for natural prairies it is essential. The Park Maintenance Department began a controlled burn of the Rock Springs Park Prairie this morning at and should be completed by approximately 1:30 this afternoon. You may see the smoke in the park.
The purpose of the burn is to maintain the health of the Prairie and to remove woody vegetation from the Prairie. Wildfire is a natural part of the Prairie Ecosystem which eliminates excess fuel load and controls woody vegetation growth. The prescribed burn allows us to accomplish these goals in a controlled environment and should be performed every 2-3 years. The current Prairie area has been established over 5 years ago and is in need of the procedure to re-invigorate the plants.
The burn is being conducted with assistance from the O’Fallon Fire Department. Favorable wind and weather conditions are required for the burn and the burn will take several hours, at which time the Park will be closed to visitors. A “notice to burn” will be posted at the park entrance on the day prior to the scheduled burn.
The controlled burn in Rock Springs Park is only 5.5 acres, but some areas of the country burn hundreds and thousands of acres at a time. If you have ever been through the Kansas Flint Hills in spring, you probably noticed the controlled burning of the prairie grass. The hills are charred for as far as the eye can see, but the grass comes up bright green a few weeks later. The burning in the park is for the same purpose of maintaining the prairie vegetation, and it will be fascinating to see how the plants grow back this spring.
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