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In April, 2010, John Blakeman of Meadow Environments, conducted a prairie fire at the historic Wheeler property in Milan Township. In recent years, about 35 acres of native prairie grass was planted on the site, and to thrive, tallgrass prairies must be burned from time to time. At one time, 30% of Erie County was covered with this tall, golden prairie grass and even the Indians who lived in this area burned their fields each spring. To legally burn, several important items must be gotten from proper agencies. For this burn, authorization from the Ohio Division of Forestry and the Ohio EPA were obtained. Open prairie fires like this can be conducted only in the presence of an Ohio Certified Prescribed Fire Manager, in this case Mr. Blakeman, who has been conducting scientific prairie fires since the 1970s. John Blackman is shown below in the yellow hard hat explaining the burn to us. |
