Burn My Park? Dream on!

You may be a park board member, director or other staff member, and you hear there are plans to conduct a burn at one of the parks in your system. Or, you may be driving along and see the big column of smoke coming from a park or preserve. You wonder about the smoke, the animals' safety; and why it needs to be done. Well, wonder no more. Here are the answers to most of the commonly questions about prescribed fires, controlled burns, prairie fires or whatever term you use when fire is used in the management of natural areas.

Why burn?

The short answer is: "Fire is Mother Nature's way of weeding and fertilizing."

The native plants and animals all evolved where fire has been a regular part of the natural process. Whether started by lightning or Native Americans on the Illinois prairie, fires regularly would sweep through virtually all areas. Today, fire helps "weed" by creating conditions in which the deep-rooted native grasses grow better than their shallow-rooted European competitors.

Fire also weeds by "stressing" or removing smaller trees and shrubs. Fire will not kill or remove larger trees.

Early settler accounts in Illinois spoke of being able to drive their wagons between the widely spaced trees with areas of grass and low growth between the trees. If you look at woodlands today, it is rare to see this kind of wide spacing and lack of brush.

In addition, fire fertilizes by quickly converting the accumulated dead material into ash. The ash then dissolves into rain and is carried into the root systems.

Why can they burn the prairie when I can't burn my leaves?

Leaf burning is usually done in piles in which there is little oxygen available for flaming combustion. This creates a smoldering mess that gives off lots of smoke and other pollutants. There are also other less polluting ways to dispose of leaves than burning them.

Prescribed fires are conducted under permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). In reviewing an application for Open Burning permits, the IEPA looks to see if there are less polluting ways to accomplish the objectives of the open burning requested. There are no other methods known at this time that can give all of the benefits of a prescribed fire. Many local open burning ordinances have an exclusion for prescribed fires when they are conducted with and under the conditions of an IEPA Open Burning Permit. The Federal EPA in administering