Controlled Burns
12/01/2020 Seasonal Burns will take place around the district for the next two weeks dependent on weather.
12/01/2020 –
12/03/2020 – Yorkshire Woods, Beacon Point Wetlands, Rhorhsen Road Basin and Shoefactory Road Basin
12/04/2020 – Winding Trails and Hunters Ridge
12/09/2020 – Charlamagne Park and Pine Park
12/10/2020 – The Club and Winding Trails Basin
Each Spring and Fall, our Parks Services Division has scheduled “ecological burns” for several of our natural areas throughout our parks. The burns are an effective way of burning away plant life. There are many benefits to this process, including helping to eliminate non-native, invasive plant species, adds nutrients to the soil and stimulates native species.
Are burns safe?
The Park District has two Prescribed Burn Managers on staff who are certified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. A Prescribed Burn Manager is present onsite at each burn to conduct safe controlled burns. Prior to a burn, wind direction and speed, humidity, air temperature and the type of vegetation and amount of moisture in the vegetation are all considered. The fire and police departments are notified the day of a scheduled burn a minimum of one hour prior to starting and are notified at the end of the burn. While the smoke does emit carbon into the atmosphere, research suggests that by stimulating the accelerated growth of plants, burns actually benefit the ecosystem in the long run. Wildlife is safe as well, as they will instinctively evacuate the area and benefit from the renewed plant growth long term.
There are 30 natural area sites tentatively scheduled and permitted throughout the district this burn season. The permit process and scheduling begins in July and the burn season runs from November 1 through April 30, depending on the weather.
Contact for Controlled Burns: Matt Schiller 847-285-5473, mschiller@heparks.org
