MDC conducts controlled burns at Wildcat Glades

JOPLIN, Mo. — You may have noticed some smoke on your daily commute Thursday.

The Missouri Department of Conservation was conducting a glade burn at the Shoal Creek Conservation Center at Wildcat Glades.

Fire is a natural part of the glade. Conservation department Supervisor Nick Burrell says the area hasn’t been burned for several years, so they’re starting a rotation to burn it every three to four years.

Nick Burrell – Conservation Department Frontier District Supervisor, said, “What happens over time is the vegetation that grows every year causes a lot of dead biomass buildup, and when we run fire through there it removes all that buildup.”

Burrell adds this also opens the ground up for new seeds to germinate and helps the grasses come back.