Mid July is supposed to be the best time for cutting sumac, and this is what we are doing. Because we are cutting new shoots, they are not very woody…

We had a great field trip yesterday, with 14 people plus leaders. The weather was cool and pleasant, and mostly sunny.Gary Birch, one of our trip participants, made an exciting…

Yesterday Ann Thering battled a windy day to check for wetland skippers. She kindly sent me an email report. Among her finds was a Dion Skipper (Euphyes dion), which is…

Monday the Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council met at the UW-Madison Arboretum. As a member of the Board of the Council, I attended this meeting.The morning session was a roundtable discussion…

Lots of things are in bloom now, but two plants that are especially attractive are New Jersey tea and butterfly milkweed.New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americana) is found both in prairies…

This is the time of year when the savanna grasses are blooming. These are so-called cool-season grasses, which flower earlier in the year than the warm-season prairie grasses. We have…

My earlier post described the evils of sweet clover and techniques we are using to deal with large-scale infestations. However, it is also important to find the rare sweet clover…

This time of year it is hard to realize that the prairie is predominantly grass. The commanding view is of wildflowers and the graminoids are not very prominent.In fall, on…

Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie is well known as an outstanding prairie remnant. Many people may not know that it is also heavily infested with sweet clover (Melilotus alba), one of…

Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is rightly detested in the wetland areas where it most commonly thrives. However, it is not restricted to wetlands, but also lives in upland sites,…