News Release

National Park Service to Conduct Pile Burning: Winter 2026

NPS Photo

News Release Date: January 15, 2026

ST. CROIX FALLS, Wis. — The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway plans to burn numerous brush piles in the Riverway corridor from January through March of 2026. The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting these burns to improve prairie, savanna, and forest habitat along the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers.

The areas where piles are to be burned are:

• Arcola; located in Washington County, 4 miles north of Stillwater, Minnesota. The site has approximately 5 piles. Arcola is being restored to prairie and oak savanna.
• Tewksbury; located in Polk County, 2 miles Southeast of Osceola, Wisconsin. The site has 15 piles. Tewksbury is being restored to prairie/bedrock glade.
• Rice Lake Flats; located in St. Croix County, five miles northwest of Somerset, Wisconsin. There are 20 brush piles located on this site. Rice Lake Flats is being restored to savanna and mixed forest habitat.
• Osceola Glade; located in Polk County, two miles west of Dresser, Wisconsin. This site has approximately 60 piles. Osceola Glade is being restored to oak savanna, mixed hardwood, and prairie habitat.
• Peaslee Island; located in Polk County, 3 miles south of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. This site has approximately 10 piles. Peaslee Island is being restored to oak savanna.

The NPS has developed detailed plans for pile burning and the fires are carried out by trained and certified personnel. The plans address temperature, relative humidity, wind, and other conditions under which a burn can take place, protection of adjacent properties, communications, needed manpower and equipment, safety, and other considerations.

The piles will be burned while surrounding vegetation is not flammable. If conditions are not favorable on the day when burning is planned or while piles are still hot, the burn will be rescheduled or piles may be extinguished.

Prescribed fires are one aspect of St. Croix National Scenic Riverway’s Fire Management Plan, which is updated regularly and is available for review upon request.

For additional information, contact the St. Croix River Visitor Center in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, at 715-483-2274.

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, a unit of the National Park System, was established by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968. It is one of a group of eight rivers in the country which first received this recognition. For over 200 miles, the St. Croix and its tributary, the Namekagon, flow through some of the most scenic and least developed country in the Upper Midwest.