Today I spotted a small patch of violet-flowered plants on the lower part of our south-facing slope. We soon ID'd it as crown vetch, a ghastly invasive plant that we…

This seems to be a good year for purple milkweeds (Asclepias purpurascens) and right now they are at their peak. This is an excellent time to search for new populations,…

We have now moved into summer brush and weed control mode. During the period after our spring burns we controlled brush by foliar spraying with Garlon 3A aqueous the small…

While working in an open savanna area I flushed a brown thrasher off its nest. I followed the line of flight back to the ground and found, among a small…

We have just added two full-time interns to our work crew and we are off and running for the summer. We will be working at least one day a week…

It is not surprising, considering everything else that has happened this spring; I saw my first wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum) in flower a week ago at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie.…

Yesterday our crew plus three volunteers (Kathie, Tom, and Michael) spent most of the day spraying woody plant resprouts in areas at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie that had been burned…

Those following this blog know that we have been working hard to eradicate sumac from our prairies and savannas. This requires multiple techniques, including: Basal bark treatment Cut and treat…

For any area that has been burned, May is a good time for spot spraying resprouts of woody vegetation. Right now we are canvassing our savannas and spraying all resprouts…

Although Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie is one of the finest prairie remnants in southern Wisconsin, it still suffers from the legacy of past degradation. When restoration was first started in…