FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2021
Contact: Tim Nyander
Utilities Director
479-575-8386
tnyander@fayetteville-ar.gov
Prescribed Burn at Woolsey Wet Prairie Sanctuary in Northwest Fayetteville on February 24
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The City of Fayetteville is conducting a prescribed burn at the Woolsey Wet Prairie Sanctuary, a 64.5-acre wetland mitigation site in northwest Fayetteville, just north of the West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant at 15 S. Broyles Avenue near Persimmon Street and 54th Avenue. The burn will begin around noon on Wednesday, February 24 and will take approximately two to four hours to complete.
The purpose of the prescribed burn is for adaptive management to maintain a restored remnant
wetland prairie plant community dominated by native plant species. The Woolsey Wetland Prairie is a unique natural resource that few communities have the opportunity to enjoy. In 2005, baseline monitoring identified 47 plant species at the site. As of the end of the 2020 growing season, 496 plant species have been observed, 11 of which are species of special concern tracked by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC). This will be the thirteenth prescribed burn at Woolsey Wet Prairie Sanctuary since 2008. For information about the Woolsey Farmstead and Wet Prairie Sanctuary visit this section of the City website.
A containment line has been established to maintain the fire within the designated burn area. The public is welcome to attend the prescribed burn; however, bystanders will be required to stay behind the containment line.
Ozark Ecological Restoration Incorporated (OERI), an experienced and trained burn contractor will conduct the burn under supervision of the City’s environmental consultant, Seth Pickens, Vice President of ECO, Inc. Prior to the completion of the burn, crews will assure that all sparks and embers have been fully extinguished. Being a prairie grassland/forb fire, there will not be long-term smoldering as occurs with forest fires. City of Fayetteville and City of Farmington Fire Departments will be notified and on standby status to assist, if needed.
Should you have any questions concerning the prescribed burn, please contact the City’s environmental consultant, Bruce Shackleford, by phone at (501) 765-9009 or by email at bruceshackleford@sbcglobal.net or Seth Pickens by phone at (479) 518-1819 or by email seth@ecoarkansas.com.
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