Beginning in March, Naperville Park District crews will be conducting prescribed ground-level burns in various areas throughout the District in an effort to improve the habitat for native plants. In Illinois’ early history, prairie fires occurred regularly with lighting strikes, and the deep-rooted native prairie plants evolved to withstand fire. Controlled burns are now an effective tool used by Park District staff to clear the ground of invasive weeds, return nutrients to the soil, and allow the native prairie plants to flourish.
Timing of the burns depends on ground temperature after the snow melts. The ground needs to be sufficiently warm, but the grass must remain dormant for the burn to be successful. Additionally, weather conditions and wind velocity and direction permit only a few sites to be burned each year, during either the spring or fall burn seasons. Trained crews supervise this process, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Naperville Fire Department issue an annual permit to the Park District for this activity.
Weather conditions permitting, staff may conduct controlled burns at some of the following parks, either in the spring or fall of 2021:
- Arrowhead Park, 711 Iroquois Avenue
- Ashbury Park, 1740 Conan Doyle Road
- Ashbury Commons, 3475 Naperville Road
- Ashwood Park, 4603 Chinaberry Lane
- Bailey Hobson Woods, 1184 Hobson Mill Drive
- Baileywood Park, 1588 Oxford Lane
- Brighton Ridge Park, 775 Torrington Road
- Brook Crossings, 1015 95th Street
- Brook Prairie, 1059 Thackery Lane
- Buttonwood Park, 803 Buttonwood Circle
- Carol Acres, 787 Fort Hill Drive
- Century Farms, 715 Sigmund Road
- Clow Creek Greenway, 4616 Haviland Court
- Commissioners Park, 3704 111th Street
- Country Lakes Park, 1835 N. Aurora Road
- Dorothea Weigand Riverfront Park, 2436 S. Washington Street
- DuPage River Park, 808 Royce Road
- DuPage River Sports Complex, 2807 S. Washington Street
- DuPage River Trail, 75th Street and Washington Street
- Fireman’s Memorial Park, 1072 W. Jefferson Avenue
- Fort Hill Activity Center grounds, 20 Fort Hill Drive
- Frontier Sports Complex, 3415 Book Road
- Heritage Woods, 1067 W. Fifth Ave.
- Hobson Grove, 1152 Blue Larkspur Lane
- Hobson West Ponds, 915 S. West Street
- Hunters Woods, 2007 Lakeview Court
- Kingsley Prairie, 160 Ring Road
- King’s Park, 308 White Oak Drive
- Knoch Knolls Commons, 323 Knoch Knolls Road
- Knoch Knolls Park, 336 Knoch Knolls Road
- Lincoln Greenway, 1052 Edgewater Drive
- May Watts Park, 804 S. Whispering Hills Drive
- Meadow Glens, 1303 Muirhead Avenue
- Naperbrook Golf Course, 22204 W. 111th Street
- Nike Sports Complex, 1520 N. Mill Street
- Oakridge Parkway, 478 E. 87th Street
- Old Farm Greenway, 75 W. 97th Street
- Old Farm Park, 195 Ring Road
- Olesen Estates, 1415 Dunrobin Road
- Pioneer Park, 1212 S. Washington Street
- Rivercrest Estates Park, 11 S087 Sheri Street
- River Run Preserve, 4343 Plainfield/Naperville Road
- Riverwoods Park, 2283 Riverwoods Drive
- Rock Ridge Park, 1316 Green Trails Drive
- Seager Park, 1163 Plank Road
- Sindt Woods, Riverwalk Park, Jackson Avenue and Cody Court
- Sportsman’s Park, 735 S. West Street
- Springbrook Crossings, 1211 Leverenz Road
- Springbrook Golf Course, 2220 W. 83rd Street
- Springbrook Parkway, 2359 Nottingham Lane/735 DeLasalle Court
- Springhill Greenway, 703 Springhill Circle
- Springhill Park, 780 Springhill Circle
- Stanford Meadows, 1991 Stanford Drive
- Summerfield Lake Park, 2003 Skylane Drive
- Tallgrass Lakes, 3320 Rollingridge Road
- Timber Creek Park, 3323 Timber Creek Lane
- University Heights Park, 1315 River Oak Drive
- Veterans Park, 303 E. Gartner Road
- Walnut Ridge Woods, 1092 Augustana Court
- Walnut Ridge Park, 2304 Keim Drive
- Westglen Commons, 467 Westglen Drive
- Wildflower Park, 2122 Aurora Avenue
- Willowgate Square, 408 Travelaire Avenue
- Wil-O-Way Commons, 1701 W. Jefferson Avenue
- Winding Creek Park, 144 W. Bailey Road
