In cooperation with Hot City Outdoor Alliance and the Thermopolis Fire Department, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is planning a prescribed burn at the Wedding of the Waters Public Access Area near Thermopolis later this week.
 
On the morning of March 21, crews plan to burn one half acre of phragmites, an invasive perennial reed grass, along the shoreline of the Bighorn River, upstream and downstream of the boat ramp. Ignition is tentatively planned for 10 a.m. The prescribed burn is weather dependent. 
 
Sportspersons should be aware that access to the boat ramp may be delayed for a short period of time while the burn is in progress. 
 
The prescribed burn aims to alleviate mid-summer congestion at the boat ramp by opening access to the shoreline and increasing staging areas for recreationists using personal watercraft and inner tubes. This issue and subsequent solution was identified by Hot City Outdoor Alliance and local community members. 
 
The most effective way to control the spread of this invasive grass is to burn the plant while it is dormant, then treat it with herbicide in following years. The timing of this initiative is based on the availability of local volunteers, the appropriate weather conditions, and the opportunity to burn phragmites in its dormant stage.