The Nature Conservancy is planning prescribed fires at preserves in East Chicago, Hammond and Gary this spring.
That will include more than 16 acres at the Ivanhoe Dune & Swale Nature Preserve on Gary's west side, almost 36 acres northwest of the Indiana Toll Road/Cline Avenue interchange and almost 53 acres west of Cline Avenue and north of the Grand Calumet River. All of those sites are in the middle of ecological restoration projects funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The Nature Conservancy says prescribed burns can prevent disastrous wildfires. They also help revive the rare oak savanna habitat. Burns will take place when weather conditions are right for it, and fire teams will try to notify nearby landowners on the morning of a burn.
The National Park Service recently announced it's planning five prescribed fires this spring on almost 13-hundred acres near Miller, Porter and Dune Acres. The Gary Parks Department conducted a prescribed burn in Brunswick Park on Friday.
