Flames danced around the swamp white oak trees surrounding the Physical Education Complex for a couple hours on the morning of November 16. Erick Howenstine, professor, geography and environmental studies and international/intercultural studies, coordinated a crew that included facilities management workers as well as students and staff from his academic department to manage a controlled burn of the savannah on campus along St. Louis Avenue.

Prairies and savannahs are burned to reduce fire hazards and restore the natural ecosystem. Such fires help return nutrients to the soil and keep non-native plants at bay.

Howenstine said, "When possible, the department burns the campus prairies and Swamp White Oaks to discourage invasive species and encourage native plants. The reestablishment of the natural vegetation for this area is coming along nicely. It relies upon these periodic fires because native species were conditioned by evolution to withstand them as they swept through this area prior to European settlement. Invasive species do not survive the heat."

Much planning and preparation is done before a burn. "A number of things have to come together: natural dryness of the grasses, previous and current weather conditions, coordination with facilities management, some preparation of the site, university announcements, borrowing the equipment, and getting the people together," said Howenstine.

Mother Nature's cooperation is especially important, as controlled burns are conducted only when weather conditions are safe and favorable, taking into account temperature, wind and humidity.

"In recent seasons we have been thwarted by a rainy spring and early snow," said Howenstine. "But we were able to get about a 95 percent burn this fall, which is excellent. It hadn't been done in the last few years, and this was important for that area."