Naperville Park District to conduct seasonal controlled burns

Posted March 19, 2019 11:00 pm

Submitted by Naperville Park District

In late March, Naperville Park District crews will be conducting prescribed ground-level burns in various areas throughout the city in an effort to improve the habitat for native plants.

"Controlled burns mimic nature's way of keeping weeds under control so that native vegetation can thrive in the natural areas of our parks," said Kevin Finnegan, director of parks.

Timing of the burns depends on ground temperature after the snow melts.

"There's actually a small window of time during which we can complete spring burns," added Finnegan. "The ground needs to be sufficiently warm, but the grass must remain dormant for the burn to be successful."

Additionally, weather conditions and wind velocity and direction permit only a few sites to be burned each year, during either the spring or fall burn seasons.

Trained crews supervise this process, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Naperville Fire Department issues an annual permit to the park district for this activity.

Weather conditions permitting, staff will conduct controlled burns at the following parks:

• Arrowhead Park, 711 Iroquois Ave.

• Baileywood Park, 1588 Oxford Lane

• Brighton Ridge Park, 775 Torrington Road

• Carol Acres, 787 Fort Hill Drive

• Century Farms Park, 715 Sigmund Road

• Commissioners Park, 3704 111th St.

• Country Lakes Park, 1835 N. Aurora Road

• Dorothea Weigand Riverfront Park, 2436 S. Washington St.

• DuPage River Park, 808 Royce Road

• Frontier Sports Complex, 3380 Cedar Glade Drive

• Hobson West Ponds, 1047 S. West St.

• Kingsley Prairie, 160 Ring Road

• Knoch Knolls Park, 336 Knoch Knolls Road

• May Watts Park, 804 S. Whispering Hills Drive

• Meadow Glens, 1303 Muirhead Ave.

• Nike Sports Complex, 1520 N. Mill St.

• Pioneer Park, 1212 S. Washington St.

• Rock Ridge Park, 1316 Green Trails Drive

• Seager Park, 1163 Plank Road

• Sindt Woods, Riverwalk Park, 500 W. Jackson Ave.

• Sportsman's Park, 735 S. West St.

• Westglen Commons, 467 Westglen Drive

• Wildflower Park, 2122 Aurora Ave.

• Wil-O-Way Commons, 1701 W. Jefferson Ave.

• Winding Creek Park, 144 W. Bailey Road

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