I have been using ArcGIS to get insights into the early vegetational history of Pleasant Valley Conservancy. Chris Noll, one of our former interns, helped me work out the approach,…

Today we cleaned out the kestrel houses and put in new wood shavings.We have two kestrel houses and one of them has been used for the past three years. As…

Last Saturday Kathie and I joined a group of volunteers to plant some prairie and wetland areas at Madison Audubon Society's Goose Pond Sanctuary. The day was crystal clear and…

Yesterday was the first of March and we decided it was time to start thinking about spring.Pleasant Valley Conservancy has been fairly quiet this winter, since the deep snow has…

On Saturday, Feb 27, 2010 the Annual Banquet of the Prairie Enthusiasts (TPE) was held in Monroe, WI, hosted by the Prairie Bluff Chapter. Members of this chapter were part…

I just finished entering all my 2009 field notes in an Excel file. I have been doing this every year for the past seven or eight years, and it has…

Kathie and I spent a week in South Carolina and part of the time we visited several interesting longleaf pine savannas. The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is a fascinating fire-controlled…

The cut stems of some clonal species, such as gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), are quite sensitive to glyphosate but grow as dense stands with lots of small stem close together.…

Over the years that I have been watching the snow melt on the south-facing slope of Pleasant Valley Conservancy, I have noticed the patchiness of the melt. As the photo…

Pleasant Valley Conservancy is part of a group of natural areas in southern Wisconsin that share five summer interns through the Madison Audubon Society. There are five organizations, called the…