[0:00] - So today I'm at Parker's Picnic Area, [0:02] where we performed the prescribed burn [0:04] of approximately eight to 10 acres. [0:06] Oak Savannah Restoration completed a few years ago under a [0:10] CPL grant project funded through the state [0:12] and run through Parks and Recreation. [0:14] After that project was done by a contractor, [0:16] park maintenance picked it up. [0:17] We've been managing it ourselves annually, [0:20] and this is the first time we've gotten fire on it. [0:22] And probably the first time ever we've done prescribed burns [0:26] in the river bottoms. [0:27] So it's a pretty significant project, [0:29] pretty significant accomplishment. [0:31] It meets a lot of our goals, a lot of goals [0:33] that we've had outlined in our prioritization plan [0:35] and our river bottoms natural resources plan. [0:38] We collaborated with the fire department, fish and Wildlife. [0:41] So we had about 40 people out on site during the burn, [0:44] making sure that nothing got away, [0:45] making sure everything was safe. [0:47] And then the following two days, [0:48] park maintenance staff was on site. [0:50] We've been kind of cleaning up a lot of the woody material [0:53] that is burned along the side with the leaves [0:55] and vegetation on the hillside, [0:56] making sure the burning logs were getting cut up, [0:59] making sure those logs were burning out. [1:02] Part of our objective with that is to kind [1:04] of give some biomass removal from all the, [1:07] the woody growth on here [1:08] and create a more open oak savanna type ecosystem. [1:11] And another objective of these projects is [1:12] to establish ground layer vegetation. [1:15] So Park staff came out today [1:16] and threw down some native grass seed all along the burned [1:19] areas in hopes to get more dense ground vegetation, [1:22] more fuel for future burns to achieve our goals more fully. [1:27] So this will be part of 60 acres of river bottom lands [1:30] that has been restored within the last 10 years. [1:33] And we have a push to keep continuing on [1:36] with more work here. This kind of work we intend [1:38] to do throughout the River Valley. [1:40] So if you want more information on what's happening in [1:42] natural resources in Bloomington, go to the city's website, [1:45] search natural resources, [1:47] and you will be brought to a page that explains [1:49] where we're doing projects and how we do it [1:51] and what our goals are behind them.