The East Basin is our last large area under restoration. It is a 5 acre basin with fairly steep topography (and unusual geology and soil structure) that is on the…

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), a State Endangered Species, is at peak flowering right now. This plant, a characteristic savanna indicator species, first appeared spontaneously at Pleasant Valley Conservancy after we…

By now our annual mid-June hike at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie (State Natural Area) has become a tradition. Last night we had eight repeaters among the 22 (or so) people…

If you have been following my posts for the past two years, you have seen the progress we have made eradicating sumac using 20% Garlon 4 in oil as a…

Tuesday it rained all day; perfect weather for pulling sweet clover!Tuesday is our "intern day". Despite the rain, the interns were out in force, dressed for the weather. Amanda worked…

Many prairies are plagued with sweet clover, either yellow (Melilotus officinalis) or white (M. albus). Because of its long-lived endurance in the seed bank, you don't eradicate sweet clover very…

In the last couple of days we have had visitors here for short tours of Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie and Pleasant Valley Conservancy. These two State Natural Areas could not…

Those following these posts know that we have been battling invasive sunflowers for some years. When we began savanna restoration, we had fairly small patches of sunflowers around the edges…

Since it heats up early, the south-facing slope at Pleasant Valley Conservancy is always the first area to be burned (this year on 23 March 2010), and also has early…

One of the big events at Pleasant Valley Conservancy in late May each year is the arrival of a new crop of interns. This program, that Kathie and I help…