DUBUQUE - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has added White Pine Hollow State Preserve to the areas where it will be conducting prescribed burns this spring. Fire was historically an important part of perpetuating this unique forest ecosystem and area managers will include fire more frequently to properly manage this site.
The Iowa DNR’s Maquoketa Wildlife Unit has scheduled burns in Barber Creek and Goose Lake in Clinton County; Buffalo Creek in Delaware County; White Pine Hollow and Whitewater in Dubuque County; Green Island in Jackson County; Muskrat Slough and Oxford Junction in Jones County; Crow Creek, Lost Grove Lake and Princeton in Scott County.
Prescribed burns are used to improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities and reduce wildfire potential and vary in size from a few acres to several hundred acres. Areas are typically burned every one to five years.
Ground nesting birds such as pheasants, mallards, bobolinks, dickscissels and others benefit from habitat improved with periodic prescribed fire. Prescribed burns typically begin mid to late morning and are completed by late afternoon or early evening between late March and early May. Burns will be conducted on a day that meets the objectives and weather conditions defined in the burn plan.
Contact DNR wildlife biologist Curt Kemmerer at 563-357-2035 with any questions or concerns.