UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Arboretum at Penn State, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, will conduct a prescribed burn on a 12-acre portion of the Arboretum site between Nov. 1 and Nov. 22.
The operation will take place within a single workday during this timeframe. Follow-up notifications will be provided as the schedule is finalized, including a pre-burn notice 24 hours before the beginning of the operation, which requires favorable weather conditions. Originally planned for April or May of this year, the burn was postponed due to unfavorable weather in the spring.
The burn site will be located in College Township near Big Hollow and Tower roads. The prescribed burn is being conducted as part of the Arboretum’s ongoing prairie restoration project, through which an old livestock pasture is being converted into a more species-diverse meadow or “prairie patch” containing native grasses and wildflowers. Periodic fire is an essential tool for this type of ecological restoration.
The Arboretum has previously carried out two prescribed fires with The Nature Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The burn will be conducted in accordance with the Pennsylvania Prescribed Burning Practices Act (Act 17 of 2009) and associated prescribed fire standards.