It turns out that 2014 was a good year for acorn production by bur oaks. What is called a good "mast" year. However, it was only now, after we had…

Catnip (Nepeta cataria). Easy to spray since there is nothing else green nearby Many perennial weeds come up early, since they overwinter as dormant buds. Right now weeds such as…

Due to Amanda's initiative and the skilled help of Integrated Restorations, Monday 6 Apr 2015 we managed to carry out two more major and complicated burns. At Pleasant Valley Conservancy…

We are in the midst of our spring burn season but scheduling has been maddeningly complex, since it has been hard to predict from one day to the next whether…

What's good for a prairie? A big wet snow right after a burn! A big wet snow brings down lots of moisture but causes no soil erosion. As the snow…

It's hard to believe that the very cold February and early March changed into a perfect season for early spring burns. As the map shows, we almost completed our planned…

This interesting research was carried out at Nature Conservancy natural areas in four States: Loess Hills (Iowa); Glacial Ridge (Minnesota); Nachusa Grasslands (Illinois); and Kankakee Sands (Indiana). In all of…

Just returned from Dubuque where Kathie and I attended the 2015 Midwest Fire Conference: "Keeping Fire Working for the Land". This was organized by the Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna…

Our goal at Pleasant Valley Conservancy is to ensure the long-term survival of one of the most endangered habitats on the earth, the oak savanna. Many of the bur oaks…

I've posted on leaf blowers before, but this deserves repeating. One of the most useful pieces of equipment for prescribed burns is a heavy duty leaf blower. We have two…