Controlled Burn: Visitor Alert

Updated November 1, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

Through the remainder of 2024 and into April 2025, weather permitting, it is the season for prescribed burns in Forest Park. 

Forest Park Forever, in partnership with the City of St. Louis, are happy to report over a decade of successful prescribed burns. Controlled burns are an essential management tool for Missouri's natural habitats. Burning enables fine-tuned maintenance of large areas and helps us reduce chemicals used to achieve our overall management goals. Data collected the last 14 years indicates, the ability to repeatedly and consistently burn in the Forest Park Nature Reserve directly correlates to the habitat’s diversity and overall health. Each time we complete a prescribed burn we continue to support and progress the communities in the Park.

We will update this page with the location of burn site in the Park, also if a scheduled burn is canceled due to unfavorable weather conditions. It may be less than 24 hours in advance due to strict parameters around weather conditions.

  • This is a safe, managed and efficient way to care for select natural areas in Forest Park

  • The St. Louis Fire Department will have a representative on site

  • During burn activities, there may be short-term trail and road closures

Recap: Prescribed Burns during the 2023-24 season

Working in partnership with the city of St. Louis, Forest Park Forever burned approximately 43.6 combined acres of forest, savanna and prairie across four days in the Park. The team successfully controlled burns in Kennedy Forest Savanna (8.2 acres) and sections of Kennedy Forest Boardwalk (7.9 acres), Deer Lake Savanna (8.3 acres), areas of Successional Forest (6.7 acres), Wildlife Island (3.5 acres), the prairie surrounding the MDC Fish Hatcheries (3.6 acres), Round Lake Vista (2.8 acres) and the woodland west of Steinberg Rink (2.6 acres). With each successful burn, our Park experts grows closer to bringing all of the Forest Park Nature Reserve into a full stewardship regime.

Our team is thrilled to have burned several sections of Forest Park with spring ephemeral wildflowers! These early spring blooms are crucially important plants for spring insects and wildlife, and it is ideal to burn sites with spring ephemerals in the fall/early winter to avoid negative impacts on their natural cycles. Though the time-window is small, and these areas are challenging to complete, however, we still accomplished 77% of spring ephemeral sites and are delighted by the increased vigor and density of early spring blooms in these areas of the Park.

Our next steps begin as soon as the ash settles. The bright green leaves of invasive species like wintercreeper, Japanese honeysuckle and garlic mustard are easy to see, with few to no leaves packed on top of them. So, staff and volunteers diligently hand-pull the exposed invasive species throughout this season's burnt sites. 

As islands of natural habitat within an urban landscape, species succession and progression within Forest Park's Nature Reserve depend highly on seed introduction. Prescribed burning enhances success for natural and supplemented seeding efforts by our conservancy. Selected sites received some supplemental seed mix this season to establish a healthier, more sustainable progression of Park habitat.

three images showing the progression in a section of Deer Lake Savanna burning, burnt and growing after the 2023-24 burn season

Recap: Prescribed Burns during the 2022-23 season

(ABOVE) Controlled burn conducted in Klein Prairie on Feb. 6, 2023

Working in partnership with the city of St. Louis, Forest Park Forever burnt 27.3 combined acres of forest, savanna and prairie across three days in the Park. The team successfully controlled burns in Deer Lake Savanna South (5.1 acres), Hidden Creek Savanna (2.9 acres), Kennedy Forest (West & NW), 8.5 acres), Klein Prairie (3.7 acres), Pollinator Garden (0.3 acres), Riparian Buffers, Langenberg Field and Moore Meadow (4.5 acres).

Our next steps start as soon as the ash settles. The bright green leaves of invasive species like wintercreeper, Japanese honeysuckle and garlic mustard are easy to see, with few to no leaves packed on top of them. So, staff and volunteers are already diligently hand-pulling the exposed invasive species in the newly burned sites. 

As natural habitat islands within an urban sea, species succession and progression within Forest Park's Nature Reserve is highly dependent on seed introduction. All burned sites have received some supplemental seed mix this season to establish a healthier, more sustainable natural progression of Park habitat. 

Recap: Prescribed Burns during the 2021-22 season

Scenes from the Jan. 31, 2022 burn

Controlled burns were conducted in Deer Lake Savanna, Hatcheries Prairie and Round Lake Vista on Jan. 31.

In partnership with the City of St. Louis, Forest Park Forever conducted burns on 31 acres across four burn days during the 2021-2022 season in Forest Park. The team performed successful, safe and complete burns in Kennedy Forest (around the boardwalks) and Kennedy Savanna (near Skinker), Deer Lake Savanna, Hatcheries Prairie and Round Lake Vista, completing all highest priority units as well as two lower priority units. The total 31 acres burned were the highest total acreage in a single season since the practice was introduced to the Park a decade ago.