In late December, the Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department, Fort Worth Fire Department’s Wildland Fire Team, and Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge staff collaborated to execute three prescribed burns on the front meadows of Tandy Hills Natural Area in the Meadowbrook area. This marks the first planned burn in the park's history.
Prescribed burns, a strategic land management tool, play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by reducing dense vegetation, replenishing soil nutrients, and improving habitats for wildlife. By conducting controlled burns, the risk of uncontrolled wildfires is also minimized, while enhancing water filtration and carbon sequestration.
Jared Hall, natural resource specialist and certified burn manager with Fort Worth Park & Recreation, explained, “The goals of the burns will be to reduce wildfire risk, decrease plant material buildup, increase carbon sequestration, reduce invasive species, and improve plant communities.”
Don Young, founder of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, shared his enthusiasm: “I’m still pinching myself to make sure this is real. We are another step closer to a new reality.”
More prescribed burns are scheduled for Tandy Hills in 2025.
