Prescribed Fire at Ice Age National Scenic Trail

The Savanna North and South prescribed fire units are shown on this map. Portions of the north unit burn were conducted on private property with the cooperation of private lands owners.

The National Trails System Act Legislation allowed for interpretive sites to be set up along national scenic trails. In 2001, Congress provided funds to buy land from James and Jane Wilkie to create the Ice Age National Scenic Trail Interpretive Site near Cross Plains, WI. This land was part of the Ice Age Reserve. In 2002, National Park Service purchased the land from the Wilkies, and by early 2008, the land transfer process was completed.

In 2009, the NPS Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Team began restoring the wooded areas of the former Wilkie Farm. This involved clearing invasive shrubs and removing buckthorn and honeysuckle. Over 12 years, this effort progressed to remove a majority of the invasives.

In July 2021, the NPS's Great Lakes Fire Management Zone, based at Indiana Dunes National Park, started drafting a Fire Management Plan for the NPS-owned portion of the Ice Age Complex at Cross Plains. This plan was finished and approved in fall 2021.

Pile burning at the Cross Plains Complex took place in February 2022 to reduce wildfire risk and restore certain ecosystems. Approximately 150 piles were burned over five days by staff from the Great Lakes Fire Management Zone. Piles consist of logs, branches, and debris that is left over from removal of undesired or dangerous trees from the landscape.

With completion of the pile burn plan, the piles were reduced to ash and the larger wildfire threat was lessened. This allowed for the next phase, a Prescribed Fire Plan was drafted and approved in 2022, allowing broadcast burning to start on the NPS-owned lands.

On April 27, 2023, firefighters from various agencies around the Great Lakes Region, including Indiana Dunes National Park and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, gathered in Cross Plains to carry out planned prescribed fires. Drawing on past work, plans, and experience, they successfully burned 74 acres of previously untouched land.