That fire and smoke around Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton Tuesday was all part of a process to restore and replenish a critical habitat.
Nearly three acres of a switchgrass field was burned over a two-hour period. Using a drip torch and a mixture of kerosene and gasoline, 14 trained parks employees scorched the field in small segments.
The action kills noxious weeds and woody shrubs as well as the switchgrass, but it doesn’t kill the nutrients in the plants, metro parks wildlife biologist Ramsey Langford said.
The nutrients are absorbed back into the ground and in a month, a new field of fresh switchgrass — a dreamy habitat for many critters — will take its place, Langford said.
The field, located on the northern end of the park near Medina Line Road, was planted with switchgrass in the 1990s, but park biologists noticed in 2009 that it was losing the fight against less desirable vegetation. It’s now on a two-year burn cycle to keep the switchgrass dominant, Langford said.
But why switchgrass?
“There are different species of nesting birds, and a number of burrowing animals that like it. Lots of things need different habitats so we manage the habitats” to keep them healthy, he said.
During the fire, most of the animals temporarily relocate or hunker down in their burrows, where the fire won’t reach them, Langford said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.