Burn at Desert Natural Area Scheduled for March 27–28

On Thursday, March 27, and Friday, March 28, Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) and the City of Marlborough plan to hold a prescribed burn in a portion of the Desert Natural Area on the Sudbury-Marlborough line. The burn is part of a long-term habitat-restoration effort at the conservation area, which also includes SVT's Memorial Forest. 

To ensure public safety, portions of the trail in the Desert Natural Area will be closed during the days of the burn. Signs will be posted to notify visitors of the closures. See a map of the trails that will be closed.

For more than a year, SVT and the City have been planning to conduct a burn in Spring 2025, with the exact date being weather dependent. The decision to schedule for March 27 and 28 was made in consultation with our burn contractor, Star Tree Wildfire Protection LLC. 

Star Tree, SVT, and the City of Marlborough have met with the Sudbury and Marlborough Fire Departments and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's regional fire warden to discuss the plan and ensure that fire personnel will be ready to assist. 

This will be the second prescribed burn that SVT and the City have conducted at the site. In 2014, SVT and the City conducted a prescribed fire on 14 acres. Since then, the project partners have cut, thinned, and removed trees in preparation for a second burn and have also cleared fire breaks as part of the burn plan. 

For more information about this project, see Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens Restoration or watch a recording of an information session we held on February 25, 2025.