Controlled fire a well-established best management practice
Geauga Park District’s Natural Resource Management Department plans to use prescribed fire this spring to manage property at Frohring Meadows in Bainbridge Township, Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve in Burton Township, and Swine Creek Reservation in Middlefield Township.
The single-day operations should take place sometime between March 24 and April 30, weather dependent, prior to the nesting season of grassland birds. Burns will be conducted by an Ohio-certified prescribed fire manager and done according to prepared burns plan to ensure proper smoke dispersal.
Signs will be posted for visitors as soon as conditions are conducive to burn; only affected trails will be closed during the time of the burn only. Neighbors, the local fire department, and local law enforcement will be notified directly.
The department also plans to conduct a burn for Hiram College’s field station; it has conducted burns for other organizations, such as Case Western Reserve University, in the past.
Geauga Park District continues to work toward the establishment of a prairie habitat at Frohring Meadows, which would equally benefit animal life, species diversity, and people who enjoy the park.
Controlled burning is a well-established best management practice used to maintain prairies. Burning brush material away reduces weed species, propagates seeds dispersed in 2008, and creates an opportunity for supplemental seeding of additional grasses and forbs.
Call 440-286-9516 with questions.
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