The Wrack

Fire fascinates, so it's hard to resist a catching up with this "old" news in December.

Periodic controlled burns are an excellent tool for strengthening grassland habitat. Once upon a time wild fires occurred regularly, but today it's not sensible to let fires rage across the landscape. Without an occasional burn, though, New England grasslands gradually succeed to shrublands and then to forests.

April 17 was warm and dry with a light breeze, a Friday at the end of a dry week. Early in the morning, a fire crew from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service judged the conditions were just right for burning the 2-acre grassland just beyond the Wells Reserve flagpole.