This controlled burn took place at the Rosemount Wildlife Preserve on November 13, 2007. Controlled burns are a valuable ecological restoration and management tool. Many native species have evolved to benefit from and even rely on periodic fire as part of their life cycles. Some seeds, for example, will only germinate after being subjected to fire. Some invasive species, such as buckthorn seedlings, are less fire-tolerant, and thus fire can be a tool for controlling invasives and helping native plants re-establish themselves.

The absence of wild fires since widespread settlement of the land has removed this important piece of prairie and woodland ecology, but carefully-controlled burns under the direction of natural resource management professionals can restore the role of fire in natural communities.

Find out more

• Read more about our work at the Rosemount Wildlife Preserve.
• Learn about controlled burns at Wikipedia.