Control burns at Asylum Lake
You’re going to WHAT?
Many people greet the idea that prairies or forests are going to be purposely burned with disbelief, since we’ve been raised to understand that fires kill the valuable plants and animals in a forest or a prairie.
But the fact is that such fires occurred before we became the dominant species on this planet, and these fires actually helped keep the native plants strong.
Now we set fires to burn off invasive species and regenerate the prairie.
But, "prescribed burns" are, in the words of one expert, "rocket science!"
You don’t just go into a forest or onto a prairie and light a match.
Paul MacNellis, retired Director of Landscape Services at WMU and a controlled burn expert, says that such conditions as wind direction and speed, barometric pressure, relative humidity, solar gain, atmospheric mixing--up to 187 factors in some cases--have to be checked out before the go-ahead is given.
The prairie at the western edge of the Preserve has been overdue for a controlled burn, as it is being overwhelmed by invasive species and needs a “clearing out” to allow native plants whose seeds are under the ground to re-sprout. So, a burn is planned for the future. We will inform you of the date when it is set, when the weather conditions are just right