Controlled burns planned in UW campus nature preserve

If you see large clouds of smoke billowing from the western edge of the UW-Madison campus during the next week or so, don?t be alarmed: it?s man?s way of hastening what nature is slow to do. Prescribed controlled burns are planned in areas of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve to help control weeds, remove encroaching woody plants and encourage prairie plant growth, according to a news release from the UW-Madison news service. “The prairie?s exposed location allows its abundant upright fine fuels to dry quickly following precipitation,” preserve field technician Adam Gundlach said in the release, noting that leaf litter of surrounding woodlands often stays too damp to carry fire.