SPRING GROVE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

FISH HATCHERY PRESCRIBED BURN

 On March 14, 2009, the Spring Grove Fire Protection District was finally able to complete the prescribed burn of the ponds at the Spring Grove Fish Hatchery.  Previously scheduled attempts were met with fuel that was not yet dry, snow, rain and winds that were not conducive or unsafe to burn the land.  The Lake-McHenry Counties Wildland Team participated in the burn.

 Prescribed burns are often used during prairie restoration/maintenance to eliminate invasive plants and encourage prairie plant growth.  For the SG Hatchery, burning was chosen as an efficient means of eliminating the overgrowth of the ponds so that they could be filled with water.  Burning eliminated the need for heavy equipment which might have become stuck in the soft pond bottoms.  It also eliminated the need for chemicals to kill the plant life.

 Prescribed burns require a permit from the EPA.  The DNR, the original owner, maintains an involvement with the SG Hatchery and therefore the land could be included in the DNR’s Memo of Understanding regarding prescribed burns, an annual DNR event in the spring (e.g. Chain O’Lakes State Park). 

 The Lake-McHenry Counties Wildland Team is a division of the Specialized Response Teams sponsored by the Fire Departments of the two counties.  Their specialty is response to large field fires.  During the spring and fall, they participate in prescribed burns as part of their annual training requirement.  Team members are all firefighters on various departments throughout the two counties.  They must have had specialty Wildland Fire Training.  The team also owns a portable container of equipment that is hauled to the scene (similar to Hazmat, Technical Rescue) via a waste hauling type vehicle.  That container houses a 6-wheel ATV, chain saws, and other vital equipment.

 The Spring Grove Fire Protection District sponsors members of the Wildland Team.  In addition many of the members have completed, in addition to that included in firefighter training, specialty training in Wildland firefighting.  The SGFPD protects a portion of the Chain O’Lakes State Park and hundreds of acres of McHenry County Conservation District land, mostly located along the Nippersink Creek.

 

With the major burn completed, and the main pond flooded, it is likely that only small burns may be needed in the future.