If you saw smoke in south Fort Worth on Tuesday, there was no need for concern.  A field was actually burned on purpose.

“We’re basically replicating the natural disturbance regime by burning it periodically to maintain the health of the area,” Fort Worth Park and Recreation Department Natural Resource Manager Jared Hall said.

He oversaw a prescribed burn on prairie fields at the Rolling Hills Tree Farm.

He explains that the process offers a lot of benefits over mowing or herbicides.

“This helps keep the invasive species that are not good for wildlife and pollinators out, and so we’re basically making sure that the good plants stay here and that they thrive,” Hall said.

It also reduces the dead plant material that can fuel wildfires while adding nutrients back to the soil from the ash

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