Natural resource managers with the Dallas County Conservation Board conducted their annual controlled burn Tuesday of the tall grass prairie grounds at Voas Nature Area west of Minburn.
A controlled prairie fire helps remove dead plant material, enabling prairie grass seeds to make their way more easily into the soil. The burn also eliminates competition from other plants, including invasive species, which can take nutrients and resources from fledgling prairie grasses.
Smoke from the burning Voas prairie could be seen for miles around, a sure signal of spring in Dallas County. The county nature area is diverse in habitat, including 90 acres of oak-hickory forest and more than 600 acres of prairie-wetland complex.
