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St. Paul parks use prescribed burns to manage more than 200 acres of natural areas
Summary
Parks and Recreation natural resources staff said they use prescribed burns to maintain more than 200 acres of restored prairie and oak savanna, notify nearby residents, and plan burns around weather and air-quality conditions.
Parks and Recreation natural resources staff said the department uses prescribed burns to manage more than 200 acres of natural areas in St. Paul.
Staff described prescribed burns as controlled fires that mimic natural wildfires to clear unwanted vegetation, protect biodiversity and restore fire-dependent ecosystems such as grasslands and oak savannas. "Think of them as the rainforests of the Midwest that we must protect," a Parks and Recreation natural resources staff member said.
City staff noted that before European colonization Minnesota’s prairies covered roughly 18,000,000 acres and that today only about 1% of that original prairie remains. The department said the burns are carefully planned to account for weather and air-quality alerts and to meet objectives such as reducing wildfire risk and controlling invasive species. Residents near controlled burn areas are notified by mail and can subscribe to email notifications.
The department advised the public to maintain a safe distance if they see burn crews in parks and along trails. The city provided a web page for more information and to sign up for updates at www.saintpaul.gov/prescribedburns. No policy vote or funding decision was recorded in the announcement.
