Prescribed burns set a level playing field each year for native plants to "beat" invasive competitors. 

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Here in Basking Ridge, NJ, native species include milkweed and goldenrod, as they compete against invasive species like mugwort and black walnut.

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Each year, the prescribed burns performed on 5 meadows in the Somerset County Environmental Education Center recycle the nutrients from overgrown plants back into the earth, helping to fuel the regrowth of native species.

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Each year, the burn is completed before plants emerge and birds begin to nest.

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This timing ensures that the highly beneficial practice does not interfere with the natural lifecycle of plants and animals who call the meadow home.

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By making sure that the meadow remains manageable and not too overgrown by burning and mowing it each year, the park helps to prevent potentially dangerous unplanned wildfires that could spread outside the meadow's boundaries.

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