Prescribed Burn of Tall Grass Prairie at Hullett Provincial Wildlife Area

In April of this year, the Huron Stewardship Council will be conducting a prescribed burn of the Tall Grass Prairie grassland areas at the Hullett P.W.A. The objective of this burn will be to maintain the health of the Tall Grass species found at the site. The species found at Hullett include Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, and Switch Grass. In Southern Ontario, tall grass used to cover about 1000 square kilometres, now there's only about 21 km squared scattered throughout the area in 130 remnant sites. An exceptional site on the Tall Grass of Ontario can be found at www.tallgrassontario.org.

The burn will encompass an approximately 5.4 hectare area and a 5.8 hectare area in separate locations on the property. The burn will allow the propagation of the grassland species in the areas.

The reasons for the burn are:

1.) To reduce fuel loading and lessen fire hazard in the area.

2.) To remove invasive species (ie. autumn olive, spotted knapweed).

3.) To promote new growth of native grasses and their seedbeds.

4.) To release nutrients in dead plant material, returning it to the soil.

5.) To renew and sustain the grassland and the wildlife within.

6.) To prevent the growth of woody vegetation in the grassland.

Fire will maintain the grasslands and improve the sustainability of the tall grass species onsite. Without a prescribed burn, the grassland area would change into an early successional forest ecosystem over time. This would mean nesting waterfowl would have to breed elsewhere.

A detailed burn plan must be prepared and followed by the 'Burn Boss'. All safety concerns must be addressed. The burn is very much weather-dependant. Too much rain, or if the day is too hot and dry, or even too windy, it's a no-go.

Preliminary measurement of duff layer, slope and a tree tally, helps to calculate: expected flame height, rate of spread, fuel loading, and fire-line intensity. This is of great assistance to the Burn Boss to show how the fire will behave and it's potential problems. It also helps us to make measurements pre- and post-burn to measure the effectiveness of the process.

The burn is the first of it's kind for Hullett and should bring media coverage from around the area and some community and regional interest from the general public. It will be good publicity for the Park and it's many amenities. The date for the burn will be confirmed 72 hours prior to the event's start.