Community Corner
Naperville Park District to Conduct Seasonal Controlled Burns
Burns will take place in parks in late March as weather permits to control weeds and promote growth of native plants.
In late March 2019 Naperville Park District crews will be conducting prescribed ground-level burns in various areas throughout the city in an effort to improve the habitat for native plants.
“Controlled burns mimic nature’s way of keeping weeds under control so that native vegetation can thrive in the natural areas of our parks,” explained Kevin Finnegan, director of parks.
Timing of the burns depends on ground temperature after the snow melts. “There’s actually a small window of time during which we can complete spring burns,” added Finnegan. “The ground needs to be sufficiently warm, but the grass must remain dormant for the burn to be successful.”
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Additionally, weather conditions and wind velocity and direction permit only a few sites to be burned each year, during either the spring or fall burn seasons. Trained crews supervise this process, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Naperville Fire Department issues an annual permit to the park district for this activity.
Weather conditions permitting, staff will conduct controlled burns at the following parks:
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Arrowhead Park, 711 Iroquois Avenue
Baileywood Park, 1588 Oxford Lane
Brighton Ridge Park, 775 Torrington Road
Carol Acres, 787 Fort Hill Drive
Century Farms Park, 715 Sigmund Road
Commissioners Park, 3704 111th Street
Country Lakes Park, 1835 N. Aurora Road
Dorothea Weigand Riverfront Park, 2436 S. Washington Street
DuPage River Park, 808 Royce Road
Frontier Sports Complex, 3380 Cedar Glade Drive
Hobson West Ponds, 1047 S. West Street
Kingsley Prairie, 160 Ring Road
Knoch Knolls Park, 336 Knoch Knolls Road
May Watts Park, 804 S. Whispering Hills Drive
Meadow Glens, 1303 Muirhead Avenue
Nike Sports Complex, 1520 N. Mill Street
Pioneer Park, 1212 S. Washington Street
Rock Ridge Park, 1316 Green Trails Drive
Seager Park, 1163 Plank Road
Sindt Woods, Riverwalk Park, 500 W. Jackson Avenue
Sportsman’s Park, 735 S. West Street
Westglen Commons, 467 Westglen Drive
Wildflower Park, 2122 Aurora Avenue
Wil-O-Way Commons, 1701 W. Jefferson Avenue
Winding Creek Park, 144 W. Bailey Road
