As you make your way along the trail, you'll notice how the refuge has used prescribed burns as a management tool to improve native grasslands. Historically, periodic fires, ignited by lightning or set by Indians, have been an important part of the prairie. Early accounts indicate prairie fires were a common occurrence limited only by rainfall and natural firebreaks such as rivers and lakes. As a forest or grassland ages, the variety of food and habitat is reduced. Fire is used as a recycler, making nutrients readily available for plant growth.
Grasses have extensive root systems which remain alive after a burn.
Nitrogen tied up in decaying vegetation is released into the soil by burning and made more available for new plant growth. The blackened ground also allows the soil to warm more quickly, creating vigorous growth. New growth produces a variety of food and habitats, renewing and invigorating an aging forest or grassland. Timely burns suppress many of the less desirable plants such as wormwood, leafy spurge, and quaking aspen and allow the native grass species to flourish. Portions of the grassland trail area are burned on a 3-5 year cycle.