Beginning as early as Saturday, April 17 and continuing through May 2, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) will be conducting prescribed, or controlled, burns on approximately 85 acres south of 122nd Street to the Wisconsin/Illinois border within the Chiwaukee Prairie. A prescribed burn is a carefully planned and executed fire used to preserve and protect wildlife that is native to a prairie. Prescribed burns are conducted to reduce the likelihood of wildfires, add nutrients to the prairie soil, and to remove undesirable woody plants and weeds.

The Nature Conservancy will work in conjunction with the Pleasant Prairie Fire & Rescue Department to assess factors such as wind speed and direction, humidity, and grass moisture to ensure safe conditions are present prior to the prescribed burns and to select days that should result in minimal inconvenience due to smoke. On the day when conditions are appropriate, the burn will begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. and will be completed by dusk. Residents living near the area of the burns can prepare by closing windows in their home and bringing any laundry indoors. After the burns are complete, residents can expect to see black, burned areas of prairie, followed by the regrowth of stronger prairie plants with fewer invasive species. Residents may also notice a reduced number of pest organisms, such as ticks and the return of taller prairie grasses along with improved diversity of prairie species.

Residents with questions related to the upcoming burns in the area described above are asked to contact Hannah Spaul with the Nature Conservancy at 608-316-6431.