On April 27, 2023, firefighters from agencies across the Great Lakes region, including Indiana Dunes National Park and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, met at Cross Plains, Wisconsin, and burned 74 acres of previously untouched land. It was the first prescribed fire on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, and it had been years in the making.
The Savanna North and South prescribed fire units. Parts of the north unit were burned on private land with the owners' cooperation. Credit: National Park Service.
From farm to trail land
The National Trails System Act allows interpretive sites along national scenic trails. In 2001 Congress provided money to buy land from James and Jane Wilkie near Cross Plains, part of the Ice Age Reserve, for an Ice Age National Scenic Trail Interpretive Site. The National Park Service bought it in 2002, and the transfer was complete by early 2008.
Getting ready to burn
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 2009 | The NPS Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team begins restoring the woods of the former Wilkie Farm, clearing invasive shrubs such as buckthorn and honeysuckle; over 12 years, most of the invasives are removed |
| 2021 | The NPS Great Lakes Fire Management Zone, based at Indiana Dunes, drafts a Fire Management Plan for the Park Service's land in the Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains (begun in July, approved that fall) |
| February 2022 | Zone staff burn about 150 piles of logs, branches and debris left from removing unwanted or dangerous trees, over five days, reducing the wildfire risk and helping restore certain ecosystems |
| 2022 | A Prescribed Fire Plan is drafted and approved, allowing broadcast burning on the Park Service's land |
| April 27, 2023 | The first prescribed fire: 74 acres |
With the piles reduced to ash, the larger threat of wildfire was lower, and the way was clear for burning across the land itself. The crews drew on all that earlier work, planning and experience to carry it off successfully.
Sources
Based on "Prescribed Fire at Ice Age National Scenic Trail," National Park Service Wildland Fire Program, a work of the United States government in the public domain.
In these publicationsIndiana Dunes National ParkIce Age National Scenic Trail
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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