Jan. 3, 2022
Contact: Tim Nyander
Utilities Director
479-575-8386
tnyander@fayetteville-ar.gov
Prescribed Burn Scheduled for Tuesday at West Side Prairie
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The City of Fayetteville is planning to conduct a prescribed burn Tuesday, Jan. 4, on the prairie restoration site known as West Side Prairie. The burn will take place assuming currently predicted weather conditions; if weather conditions are not suitable, the burn will be rescheduled.
West Side Prairie is located immediately north of Woolsey Wet Prairie Sanctuary and the West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant at 15 S. Broyles Ave. Specifically, the burn will take place on a 40-acre tract that borders the west side of the solar array, to the east border of 54th Ave., and to the south of Persimmon St.
The purpose of the prescribed burn is for adaptive management of the prairie plant community within the West Side Prairie conservation easement.
Northwest Arkansas Land Trust will conduct the burn in cooperation with Arkansas Game and Fish and Comprehensive Botanical Services. The Fayetteville and Farmington fire departments will be notified and on standby to assist, if needed. Subsequent to completion of the prescribed burn, the burn crew will assure that all sparks and embers have been fully extinguished.
The prescribed burn is part of a series of management actions to restore and enhance West Side Prairie’s native plant community. This provides a unique natural resource that few communities have the opportunity to enjoy. In 2019, baseline monitoring identified 208 native plant species at the site, seven of which are species of special concern tracked by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission.
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.
This will be the second prescribed burn at West Side Prairie. Being a prairie grassland/forb fire, there will not be long-term smoldering as occurs with forest fires.
For questions, contact Marson Nance, director of land stewardship and research for Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, by phone at 479-966-4666 or mnance@nwalandtrust.org.
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