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MARSHALL -- A prescribed burn of grassland on the west side of the Southwest Minnesota State University campus is planned for this spring, university spokespeople said this week. The burn would help get rid of ground litter and unwanted plants, including non-native and invasive species.
The burn would affect part of the Wildlife Area on the west side of campus, said spokespeople from Native Resource Preservation, LLC, the Clarkfield-based contractor working with the university. A letter from Josh Peterson, a burn boss with NRP, said the burn will take place sometime after May 17 and before mid-June, depending on weather conditions.
"Every effort will be made to keep smoke away from residential areas by limiting the burn to days with a specific wind direction," Peterson said in the letter. The window of time for a prescribed burn is usually from late morning to early evening.
"Smoke duration will be short on a burn of this size," Peterson said in the letter. The burn area should be free of smoke and equipment within several hours, he said.
Peterson recommended that neighboring residences keep windows closed on the day of the burn, and turn off air exchange units during the burn to limit smoke intake.
In a Tuesday news release, SMSU senior director of communications Marcy Olson said the prescribed burn would help reduce the number of non-native plant species in the wildlife area. Doing so would enhance the area for pollinators and wildlife, and hopefully allow for more research opportunities for university students, she said.