Oak savanna restoration is a long-term and expensive activity, but the results are worth it. Because it takes so long for a restored savanna to be established, careful long-range planning…

Many woody plants that are rhizomatous produce dormant buds on their roots that are capable of forming new shoots when apical dominance is eliminated. These new shoots may be called…

The 2015 Midwest Fire Conference at Dubuque, Iowa, is an event important to all landowners in the upper Midwest. This conference has been organized by the Tallgrass Prairie and Oak…

Buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus) is a calciphile and proliferates primarily in areas where the soil is rich in calcium and magnesium. In the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, soil calcium is derived…

I had some time to work up a new map which expands the number of hiking trails at Pleasant Valley Conservancy. I did the map in ArcMap 10.2, taking the…

Pleasant Valley Conservancy is in the midst of the hill country of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. We have a fine and extensive bur oak savanna on the upper part…

Hazel is a native shrub that is widespread in Eastern U.S. It is found in every county in Wisconsin, and was occasionally reported by the surveyors in the original public…

We have known intuitively almost since we started our savanna restoration work that we were benefiting wildlife, especially songbirds. Now there is some quantitative research that confirms this. The work…

So far this year things seem favorable for winter work. No significant snow and not too cold. Most of the seeds are planted but Kathie still has some special species…

Winter came early this year, but fortunately the snow was light enough so our crew could get out and plant. Since most of our habitats are already fairly well established,…