As a management tool, the Elmhurst Prairie was first burned in 1977 and almost every year since. The burn is conducted by interested citizens and students with the assistance of the the Elmhurst Fire Department. The original prairies were stable ecosystems maintained primarily by fire, set either by lightning strikes or by Native Americans driving game. Prairie fires, which sweep quickly over the ground, do not harm the deeply rooted prairie plants, but destroy the bark and wood of the trees and shrubs which are not part of the prairie ecosystem. Fire renews the soil by returning nutrients in the form of ash.
Prairie animals escape the fire by running, flying or retreating to their burrows.
Within a few weeks after the burn, the well established prairie plants begin to emerge from the ground once more. Other prairie management practices include cutting woody growth and spreading high quality native seeds to add more kinds of plants to the varieties that have always been there. Seedlings started in the Elmhurst Park District greenhouse are planted each year to expand and enhance the native species already growing. Prairie plant growth and brush removal are also monitored. In addition to this brochure and other written material, tours, slide presentations, a public display case at Berkley Avenue and the Prairie Path, and programs for school children in the classroom are available.