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,…

It’s not too early to think about next spring’s controlled burns. One point that arises is burn frequency. Restoration should be guided by the goals of the project. Thus, if…

A neighbor scouting for deer in the North-facing oak woods that we had recently burned spotted nine female deer with their heads down, feeding. Eating on what? Acorns, of course.…

Can a "native" species be called an invader? Whether an invader is native or not is irrelevant. If it spreads into an area, forms monocultures, and results in a marked…

Woody encroachment is a major problem throughout prairie and savanna sites in Central North America, and the principal reason for this is insufficient fire. The purpose of this paper is…

Choosing the right day for a fall burn is always tricky. If you burn too early, most of the leaves (the principal fuel) aren’t down yet. And if you burn…