Three Rivers Conducts Prescribed Burns To Help Prairie Habitat
It doesn’t take much to get people out to a park on a nice day. But at Crow-Hassan Park Reserve in Rogers, crews with the Three Rivers Park District came out Monday morning for a specific purpose – a prescribed burn.
“I mean we have some amazing prairies here at the park district, especially here at Crow-Hassan and we wouldn’t be able to have the quality and the size of the prairie that we have here if we didn’t do the fires internally like we do,” said Steven Hogg, a senior wildlife manager with Three Rivers.
A crew of about a dozen people worked in conjunction with one another to burn a 25-acre patch of prairie.
They use a drip torch, water and knowledge of the wind patterns to ensure things don’t get out of control.
“All of those people together is what it takes to put on these prescribed fires,” said Hogg.
A crew at Crow-Hassan Park Reserve in Rogers prepares to do a prescribed burn.
Prescribed fires happen every spring throughout the district. They help to get rid of invasive species and make room for native plants.
The entire process generally lasts about an hour.
Once the section of prairie has been burned, crews will come back in a few weeks armed with several hundred pounds of seeds.
“We have a seed collection program that takes place every fall, and we’ll collect hundreds of pounds of seed,” said Hogg. “And we put that back on the prairie to enhance the prairies that we have.”
In the end, this work benefits wildlife habitat and makes it a beautiful place to visit.
Meanwhile, another prescribed burn will take place early next week at Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove.
Related: Three Rivers Paddleshare Offers New Way to Experience Wildlife
