DEEP Will Burn, Revegetate Suffield Wildlife Management Area

SUFFIELD, CT — Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection plans to conduct "prescribed burns" at three of the state's parks this season — and the Suffield Wildlife Management Area is among them.

DEEP will burn a 49.5-acre section of the Wildlife Management Area sometime this spring, weather- and conditions-permitting, officials said. An exact date has not been announced.

The preserve will be closed to public access while the burn is taking place, and officials said anyone nearby may see rising smoke during the process.

The prescribed fire is part of an overall plan to sustain and enhance sand plain grassland habitat, which many species on Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species List need to survive. Those species include the upland sandpiper, grasshopper sparrow, eastern meadowlark, and savannah sparrow, DEEP said.

Following the burn, DEEP said, an increased amount of native warm season grasses will grow in the area, causing a decrease in woody invasive plants.

DEEP has divided the revegetation project into six burn units, and officials said only a portion of the total area will be treated each year. Portions will be burned on a 2- to 10-year basis to continue sustaining and enhancing the grassland, officials said.

DEEP relayed its plans for the burn to Suffield's municipal leaders and fire departments, and its forestry division personnel will use an operational and safety plan to ensure they're safe and effective, officials said.