The cool spring is delaying plant growth, but a few things are finally appearing. Prairie people generally look first for pasque flowers, which get their name from their association with…

Yesterday and Tuesday (April 13 and 12, 2011) we had great burn weather and were able to finish our planned burns for the spring. Despite the fact that we are…

Concerns are often raised about the detrimental effects of prescribed fire on animals, especially relatively nonmotile invertebrates. Since (at least some) invertebrates survive prescribed burns, escape or avoidance mechanisms must…

Finding patches of problem woody vegetation is important for prairie and savanna restoration. One of the best times to locate problem woodies is right after a burn, when they really…

After some days of unsettled weather, conditions briefly improved and we were able to conduct a major savanna burn. This burn is a vital part of our savanna restoration program…

Yesterday Kathie and I spent a couple of hours surveying the areas on the south slope that burned last Thursday. The coverage was very good, virtually 100% in most areas.The…

Getting prescribed burns done requires a lot of planning, appropriate weather, and a good crew. Because of the cold March, our burns have been considerably delayed, but yesterday everything came…

There are lots of ways of creating fire breaks, but the fastest and best is with a tractor. For the small prairie remnants that we burn here in southern Wisconsin,…

Winter seems to keep hanging on this year, which is bad for burns but good for brush work. Yesterday a group of Madison Audubon volunteers worked at Arlington Prairie, a…

Oak grubs are small trees with multiple stems. They arise from oak seedlings whose tops are killed by fire. Oaks are uniquely adapted to fire and grubs may remain alive…