Prescribed burn conducted at Leech Lake

This week, local, state, tribal and federal officials conducted a series of prescribed burns of “wet meadows” on public property along Leech Lake and Boy rivers, near the City of Federal Dam, Minn.

Wet meadow wetlands in the Federal Dam area are important to certain species of wildlife. Through research, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources U.S. Forest Service and Leech Lake Tribal Department of Resource Management have deemed that historically, wild fires occurred naturally before human settlement and were important to native plants and animals.

The City of Federal Dam also benefits for arson and wild fire prevention. The Corps of Engineers benefits in the form of wild fire prevention, environmental stewardship and by preventing brush and trees from growing on dikes that exist within the burn area. Due to their expertise in fire management, the U.S. Forest Service was the lead agency.