Jasper Parklands lookout tower and prescribed burn discussed

When The Parklands plans were created, a lookout tower and amphitheater were among the items included as a future addition to the popular park.

At Tuesday’s Jasper Park and Recreation Board meeting, the board reviewed the original plans and a few options for lookout tower designs. Though no clear plan forward was set in motion, the review gave the park board an update on how that new feature could be added.

Park Director Tom Moorman said the tower likely won’t be on the project list until at least 2026. “2025 is the pool, pool accessories, and fixing the Riverwalk Bridge,” he said.

Moorman said they would like to see a public-private partnership to raise funds to add the tower to The Parklands. Many current projects have used similar partnerships as a funding mechanism, most recently the Whitey Schroeder Driving Range.

The proposed location would be at the top of the hill overlooking the parking lot in the southern area of The Parklands. A concrete pad is located there now. It is accessible from the paved switchback trail to the rock climbing feature. That trail intersects with the main loop at the splash pad near the Pavillion.

Hafer and Rundel Ernstberger Associates provided some examples of existing tower structures for the board.

The Park and Recreation Department will host a Prairie Walk on July 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This popular event usually attracts more than 50 people.

Moorman told the board that the specialists brought in to host the walk the past three years have been saying the park would need to have a prescribed burn to portions of The Parklands to help the wildflowers thrive.

Since being planted, the wildflowers have been growing and dropping seeds annually; however, in recent years, some thatch has built up, preventing seeds from reaching the ground. Additionally, they have some woody invasive species that need to be cleared out.

Moorman told the board they plan on providing information on the burn to the upcoming Prairie Walk.

The fire department, a biologist, and an invasive species specialist have assisted in completing a burn plan.

Park and Recreation Board President Roger Seger emphasized that they would need assurance from an expert that the project would not damage the prairie land in The Parklands. “I just want somebody that’s got some type of title that can guarantee us those things are coming back,” Seger told Moorman.

Dana Reckelhoff, a former Indiana DNR employee now working for the Park and Recreation Department, explained that the DNR uses prescribed burns to maintain prairie land. “Prescribed fire is something that in my career field, we have used for years to reestablish populations that you want and rid the invasives,” she said during the meeting. “So some prairie seeds need fire in order to regenerate and repopulate.”

She explained that it would be brown after the burn but then spring back very quickly.

Assistant Park Director Rob Gutgsell stated he has been trained in prescribed burns and affirmed that they benefit prairies. “The proper way to take care of a prairie is to burn it,” he said. “That is the established method of maintenance for a prairie.”

Seger said he would like an expert to write up a recommendation for the prescribed burn before they proceed.

The area for the prescribed burn is less than an acre in size and is located west of the dam to the upper pond. “It’s not a very big area,” Moorman said in an interview after the meeting.

Moorman said the Jasper Fire Department would be on hand when it was done, not only for safety but also as a training opportunity. The prescribed burn could occur in September.