Controlled Burn Resets Frohring Meadows Natural Habitat
April 17, 2014

Drivers heading down Savage Lane in Bainbridge Township may have seen yellow-clad figures and the blues, greys and oranges of a field on fire last…

Drivers heading down Savage Lane in Bainbridge Township may have seen yellow-clad figures and the blues, greys and oranges of a field on fire last Wednesday.

They weren’t Martians or aliens from outer space paying a visit to the park district’s Frohring Meadows.

They were Geauga Park District employees in fire protection suits doing a down-to-earth controlled burn.

The park district’s Natural Resource Management Depart-ment is using “prescribed fire” this spring to manage property at Frohring Meadows and Burton Wetlands Nature Preserve in Burton Township.

The same was planned for Swine Creek Reservation, but will probably not happen, said Communications Specialist Sandra Ward.

“The timing of burns will be determined by when the weather conditions are suitable, factors that cannot usually be determined more than a few hours in advance,” Ward said. “Usually, we list a number of potential park properties and then, as weather allows, work down the list.”

Park Biologist Paul Pira said the controlled fire exercise is a well-regarded, best-management practice that benefits the park’s wildlife. It is used to maintain prairies.

“Burning brush material away reduces weed species, propagates seeds dispersed in 2008 and creates an opportunity for supplemental seeding of additional grasses and forbs,” Pira said.

A team of six to seven park district workers, lead by “burn boss” Bob Lange, first determines wind path and direction before the burn begins. Lange monitors the winds throughout the roughly several hour-long event, said Field Naturalist Tami Gingrich.

“He’s in control of the situation and can adjust the team accordingly,” she said.

For the Frohring burn — each park is different, Pira said — the team laid down several rows of fire via drip torch, spaced several hundred yards apart and monitored the burn path.

“We want to start the fire going against the wind. This helps create a blackline,” he said. “Then eventually, we’ll light another fire — a headfire — that goes with the wind.”

The winds will cut across one of the western fire rows and help it spread so it reaches the eastern fire row, Pira said, adding green grass and gravel beyond the eastern fire row — the blackline — acted as a fire break.

“It will stop and burn itself out. The two fires kind of meet and burn themselves out,” he added.

The practice, which has been used for at least 15 years, occurs on a rotating basis. When Frohring Meadows — last week’s burn was the first for the park — comes up on the burn list again in the future, a different section of the park will be burned and monitored, Pira said.

Not only does the burn prevent woody shrubs and trees from growing up, it allows the park district to preserve the property’s meadow-based habitat. Additionally, it benefits the soil and stimulates plant growth, he said.

In the press release, Ward said the single-day operations took place between March 24 and April 30, prior to the grassland birds’ nesting season.

To ensure safety, the team members wore protective Nomex suits. The park district also posted signs for visitors and along Savage Road, warning them of the burn.

Neighbors, the local fire department and local law enforcement were notified directly.

In addition to park district burns, the natural resource management department conducted a burn for Hiram College’s field station last Thursday. In the past, it has conducted burns for other organizations such as Case Western Reserve University, according to the district.

“The Natural Resource Management Department will survey and monitor the area at Frohring Meadows for changes in vegetation, nesting birds and insects,” Pira said.

“Yes, the fire was a little patchy, but it served its purpose and definitely altered the physical structure of the plant community, providing habitat diversity for wildlife,” Lange said. “Burning the duff, also known as dead plant material, off of the site increases mobility and foraging opportunities for small wildlife.”