If you happened to see fire and smoke creeping across the prairie at Ohio State University’s Marion campus on Thursday, March 29, you were hopefully not too alarmed. The fire was set on purpose to encourage growth at the nature preserve.
Muskingum Valley Woodland Services conducted the controlled burn of the 11-acre Larry Yoder Prairie at Ohio State Marion. The last time a burn was conducted was in 2008. The burn last week lasted most of the afternoon.
Ohio State Marion Prairie Coordinator Emily Meyer explained that it’s ideal to conduct a burn about every three to five years to emulate the prairie’s natural cycle. She said the burns are essential for the prairie to help control invasive plants, prevent an uncontrolled fire, and allow new prairie seeds to germinate and emerge.
Technicians conducted a pre-fire briefing, taking into account current and forecast weather conditions. They said winds of five to six miles per hour from the north and clear skies made for ideal burn conditions.
The technicians, who are wild-fire firefighters by trade, started the controlled burn in the southeast corner of the prairie, making sure the burn stayed on the downwind side of the prairie so it could be kept under control.
The controlled burn cost $5,000 and is being paid for out of the Ohio State Marion Prairie Endowment, started by Trella Romine and other patrons when the prairie was first established in the 1970s. Romine watched the burn from the prairie shelter house named in her honor.
It is expected that new seedlings will begin emerging in just a few weeks following the burn.
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