Getting fire breaks ready

Today, Kathie mowed the fire breaks at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie, a State Natural Area that we manage. Although we won't be burning until spring (usually late March/early April), it is a good idea to set up the fire breaks in the fall.

Fall is a good time to do fire breaks because the weather is usually favorable, and by mid October most of the vegetation is senescing, so that the mower can handle it fine. Waiting until spring is not a good idea, because one never knows when conditions are going to be favorable for a burn. With a short-grass prairie such as Black Earth Rettenmund, all it takes is two warm sunny days to bring the fuel moisture low enough for a good burn. Rushing over to mow then, when we are spending lots of time getting all the burn equipment set up, is not advisable.

Because of the burns we are planning, we needed two fire breaks. Also, we needed to give the access lane a final mowing. It took Kathie about 3 hours to get everything finished.

Friends of Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie might like to know that we have two workdays scheduled for yet this fall/early winter. These will be the second Saturday of November and December, from 9 AM until noon. Willis Brown, at 278-9308, will be in charge, and we will be controlling sumac. (This has been a very bad year for sumac!)