Land Department staff at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community conducted a prescribed burn on the 5-acres of wetland near Dakotah Parkway and County Road 42 Thursday afternoon. A prescribed burn is an intentionally lit, low-intensity fire used by land managers to replicate natural fires. Prescribed burns benefit natural communities by removing dead biomass, adding nutrients to the soil, releasing native seed banks and killing non-native species. In a natural setting, a low-intensity fire would burn a wetland complex on a three- to five-year cycle. Fire prevention activities leave most natural areas overgrown and susceptible to invasion by non-native species. SMSC land department staff conducted the burn with Mdewakanton Emergency Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs fire personnel. To see a slide show of the prescribed burn, follow the link. (Photo slide show by Shawn Hogendorf) -- Shawn Hogendorf