Hillside Prairie Parcel is Brush Cut by the DNR

Forestry mowing of smothering brush is conducted January 2025.

The Southern Trails section of the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area is where you'll find a unique micro-environment. This parcel of the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant is owned, and managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Hillside Prairie has been the priority for our volunteer ecological restoration program since 2006, although volunteer work at the site began in the late 1990s. The site is important ecologically, as it is the highest quality remnant of the ancient Sauk Prairie within the Badger landscape. A landscape that was once a nearly 14,000-acre garden of fire-dependent vegetation.

The route to Hillside Prairie is a bit meandering.

Unfortunately, the use of prescribed burning is not an option. Although a handful of controlled burns have been conducted on this small parcel since 2006, a burn just outside of the Hillside Prairie section caused a chain reaction that led to the banning of prescribed fire on the DNR parcel of the Badger lands.

Here's a handy timeline:

2020 prescribed burn by the DNR caused residual soil contaminants to ignite, producing orange smoke.

For more information, click the button below.

“Unknown Substance” Burns at Badger Army Ammunition Plant Sep 3, 2020

2022 DNR leadership convened an ad-hoc committee to address the future of prescribed burning at SPSRA.

2024 DNR determines to halt prescribed burns on SPSRA given the continued potential for health & safety risks associated with the BAAP.

Hillside Prairie - November 2024

This means that instead of fire, alternative methods of vegetation management must be employed. One of which is through our volunteers who hand remove and treat invasive. Another effective tool is the use of forestry mowers. These large machines make quick work of the smothering brush. Although they may rapidly mow down the encroaching shrubs, a later application of herbicide aimed at eliminating woody species will need to be applied.

DNR Wildlife Management Southern District Biologist Nancy Frost received a grant from The Cherish Wisconsin Outdoor Fund. This fund is managed by The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and is a public-private partnership. Part of this fund comes from the DNR’s sale of hunting an fishing licenses, as well as private donations. This generous grant then allowed for the implementation of "forestry" mowing, where large brush cutting machinery is used to cut down all the woody plants that have covered the grassland. This will be followed up by professional herbicide application to the cuttings before spring arrives.

The mowing was completed on January 17, 2025!