NPS - National Park Service
11/05/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2024 13:51
Fall Prescribed Burns Planned for National Park
Date:
November 5, 2024
November 5, 2024
INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK, Ind.: The National Park Service is planning to conduct four prescribed fires this fall at Indiana Dunes National Park. In the east end of the park, a prescribed fire will cover 77 acres around Dunewood Campground, clearing fallen leaves and branches to reduce wildfire threats for next year's camping season. This prescribed fire occurs every fall, as conditions allow.
Additionally, in the east end of the park, a burn will take place adjacent to Beverly Shores in the Derby Ditch area, covering 150 acres to support wetland restoration by removing overgrown vegetation. This area is bordered by East State Park Road, East Beverly Drive, the Calumet Trail and Broadway. This area was last burned in November or 2021.
Near Dune Acres, the park will be burning 35 acres of property in Cowles Bog. This wetland restoration project has seen fire used successfully as a tool to help restore former farmland back to the wetlands it was when first settled in the 1800s.
Around the Douglas Center for Environmental Education, on North Lake Street near Gary's Miller Neighborhood, the park will burn 16 acres immediately around the building in order to reduce the threat of wildland fire to the facility.
Clear management goals and objectives have been established for each burn unit. Before burning, a designated set of conditions must exist including ideal wind speed and direction, and relative humidity. Weather conditions will be monitored throughout the duration of the burn to ensure it is completed safely. Fire is used as a tool for the park's long-term habitat restoration and hazard fuel reduction efforts.
An online map of the planned prescribed fire areas can be found on this prescribed fire page.
Residents of Lake and Porter Counties may sign up to receive prescribed fire notifications through the Smart911 system. Go to www.smart911.com to sign up for this free service that provides emergency notifications, a private 911 safety profile and a vulnerable needs registry. Additionally, the National Park announces prescribed fire activity on its Facebook page.
The Indiana Dunes National Park is one of more than 400 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Located in Northwest Indiana, the park includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of biodiverse beaches, woods, prairies, and marshes.