Brandywine Creek State Park’s meadow will go up in flames this month.
But it will be back and better than ever in April.
That’s because DNREC and the Delaware Forest Service will conduct a prescribed burn on the nearly 30 acres of meadowland to prevent it from becoming a forest.
The tactic mimics natural fires, which were common on the East Coast before the 1900s.
For the past 10 years, Brandywine Creek’s meadow has been managed by mowing.
But DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation Natural Resource Manager Alison Van Vorst says mowing leaves behind a layer of thatch.
“And when you run a prescribed burn in that field, it burns up all of that thatch layer. So it allows sunlight to hit the soil surface, and allows for the germination of new seeds without competition from the old meadow,” she explained.
The last controlled burn at Brandywine Creek was held in 2013, but it’s a fairly common practice in Delaware.
It’s useful in land management practices such as mitigating the spread of disease and controlling invasive species growth.
“This controlled burn we expect to encourage the growth of native wildflowers and warm season grasses,” said Van Vorst. “And we think that this management is going to create a more suitable habitat for nesting grassland birds, native pollinator insects and other grassland-dependent animals.”
Eastern bluebirds and common yellowthroats are some nesting grassland birds visitors can expect to see, as well as pollinators like the orange suplhur and monarch butterflies.
The meadow may also look a little different when it grows back.
“There are actually some species of plants that have evolved to germinate specifically when fire hits them. So they germinate a little bit better when the warmth of the fire cracks open the seed,” said Van Vorst.
Butterfly milkweed, goldenrod, indian grass, and bluestem grass are examples of native plants that do exceptionally well following prescribed burns.
The park will close the day of the burn, and traffic around it will be managed in case any smoke blows toward the roadways.
DNREC is working closely with its Division of Air Quality, and does not anticipate any air quality concerns on the burn day.
The exact date is uncertain, as it is dependent on the weather to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Residents should get used to this protocol. After a 10 year break, DNREC hopes to establish a regular burn cycle at Brandywine Creek.
“That would mean almost every year we would do a burn of a few meadows, so we wouldn’t burn all of the meadows at the park at once, but we would sort of burn them on a 3 to 4 year cycle,” said Van Vorst.
The March 2024 prescribed burn date will be announced on the Brandywine Creek’s Facebook and Instagram accounts once it is known.
