Prescribed Fire

Burning the Meadow

Prescribed fire is a commonly used tool in meadow management that yields important outcomes, including:

• Removal of woody plants that encroach and over time convert meadows into woodlands
• Control of undesirable and invasive species, which are sometimes less adapted to fire than the desirable species in our meadow
• Release of nutrients for more vigorous plant growth and in turn, more wildlife use and diversity
• Preparation of the seed bed for increased germination rates

Thanks to support from our partners with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department (BIFD), the City of Bainbridge Island granted our organization our first agricultural exemption from local burn bans in spring of 2024. This exemption allowed us to execute a controlled burn before the fall rains came and when the meadow was still dry enough to carry fire. Each burn is conducted under an approved burn permit issued by the fire department and carried out by trained professionals. BIFD uses these opportunities to further train and provide experience to their personnel while reducing wildfire risk in this location.

Our most recent burns took place on August 25th, 2025 and August 17, 2026, and were very successful, consuming 1 ¼ acres in 2025 and just under 1 acre in 2026 of meadow vegetation.

Prescribed burn on August 25, 2025.

Top: ground-level view of the fire moving through the burn unit, photos by H. Wiggins.

Middle and bottom: aerial views of fire activity. Bottom left is the meadow before the burn, bottom right is immediately following the burn, shared by Bainbridge Prepares.