What are some of the common myths or misunderstandings you've heard about Devil's Lake State…
If you were in the area you could see smoke from miles away! Yesterday fire crews from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ran a prescribed burn on Roznos Meadow on the southeastern corner of Devil’s Lake State Park. We’ve got the video for you of course! You can check it out in high resolution on our YouTube channel. It will be fun to watch the black landscape turn to bright green over the next few weeks!
Why Burn?
Fire was always an important part of Wisconsin’s environment. For thousands of years, before European settlers arrived, wildfires occurred naturally through lightning strikes or were set by Native Americans to create healthy landscapes to attract game animals and to open areas for settlements. In fact, these fires were so integral to the Wisconsin landscape, that many of our native plants and animals are dependent on the fires for their very existence!
From the time Wisconsin was “settled”, the fires pretty much stopped. It was years before we realized their importance to the landscape. Today we use what we now call “prescribed” or “controlled” burns to maintain or recover healthy & diverse landscapes. These days, the rising smoke of prescribed burns has become a normal part of the spring and fall seasons in our part of Wisconsin.
For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.