Spiranthes ovalis is a relatively uncommon member of the Orchid family. In Wisconsin it is a Special Concern species with a C value of 10. The Wisconsin Herbarium has a…

The Labor Day field trip at Pleasant Valley Conservancy has become a tradition. The first Labor Day trip was held in the 2005 and we have held one every year…

Hybrid cattail (Typha X glauca) is a highly invasive species that has become a major threat to wetlands in North America. Last year I discovered in the PVC wetland some…

We have three Overlooks at Pleasant Valley Conservancy (East, Rocky, and Far), and all three have prairie remnants. The “Far Overlook” is the most interesting because it opens out into…

Although the term “savanna” has been defined in various ways (Scholes and Archer, 1997), for the present discussion a savanna is considered a wooded area with herbaceous groundlayer (or understory)…

We first found hedge parsley (Torilis japonica) at Pleasant Valley Conservancy over 20 years ago. At that time it was essentially unknown in Wisconsin and Kathie collected seeds from a…

Sweet clover control at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie is almost finished for the summer, and we are returning to brush control activities. Yesterday was our monthly volunteer work party, ably…

This post discusses a number of prairie plant species that "should" be at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie but are not. This discussion is based on a review of the various…

I first published in 2010 on the leaf spritz technique for "selective" control of invasive plants without affect on nearby "good" plants. The spray solution is a 15-20% solution of…

According to numerous reports (reviewed in this publication), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) populations have decreased dramatically since European settlement, and conservation and restoration of this species has become a management…