Richard Bong State Recreation Area announces fall controlled burns.
Normally, controlled burns are completed in the spring, but this November the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will conduct several controlled burns on Richard Bong State Recreation Area as conditions allow.
The burns are part of a management program to restore and maintain prairies and oak savannas and are necessary to complete funding requirements this year.
Bong cannot always tell in advance which day they are going to burn, as optimum conditions are dependent on the weather.
Several burns will be in non-hunting areas but 45 acres of habitat open to hunting will be affected.
This area is on the southern side of Hwy BB and east of the service road. This will affect hunting short term but should improve habitat for the future.
DNR crews participating in the burns are professionally trained and well-equipped. All staff that participate in a burn have successfully completed Federal Wildland Fire Fighting Training courses.
Fire is a key component of healthy oak savanna and prairie ecosystems. Fires have always played a large part in their life cycles and once fire suppression began, these habitats began to disappear.
Without periodic fires, these areas turn into scrubby, dense woods. As the woody vegetation thickens, it shades out and eliminates native understory plants. This conversion has resulted in the decline or disappearance of many plants and animals dependent on oak savanna and prairie habitats; species that call Richard Bong State Recreation Area home. Controlled burns are an effective and efficient way to keep these rare habitats intact and healthy.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact one of the following individuals: naturalist Beth Goeppinger at 262) 878-5607 or wildlife biologist Marty Johnson at (262) 884-2391.