On Sunday March 2nd Pizzo and Associates Ltd. were contracted by the Village of Bridgeview to perform a controlled burn within the Bridgeview Court Natural Area, a.k.a. the Shooting Star Prairie, at 76th & Harlem Avenue to prepare it for the spring season. Harlem Ave. or Sayre Ave. traffic may have noticed smoke from the burn from around 1pm to 6pm.
Prescribed burning is an important management tool used by natural area managers throughout the Chicago area for a variety of reasons. Non-native, less desirable plant species cannot tolerate fire while the native, more desirable prairie wetland plant species benefit from the burn. Burning taller plants and groups of non-native plants reduces competition and frees up space for new native plants to grow. The ash from the burn also adds fertility to the soil for the spring seeds to bolster their growth. The controlled burn replicates naturally occurring burns, safely stewarding the prairie and ensuring it remains an oasis for native flora and fauna.
