tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89348353438032494612024-03-17T22:00:53.658-05:00Good Oak NewsFrankOnABikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267797775403219384noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-50365574409850082212023-10-06T10:06:00.000-05:002023-10-06T10:06:21.610-05:00What are the Last Native Flower to Bloom in Wisconsin?<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">As we move through fall, blooming flowers begin to wink-out one by one. But if you’re looking for just a bit more bright colorful wildflower cheer, here are the latest blooming native plants in our area (and where to find them).</span></span></p><h2 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jerusalem artichoke (<i>Helianthus tuberosus</i>)</span></b></h2><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This may not be the latest blooming wildflower, but its big, showy, blooms for a long time. It blooms through most of October. Another more common sunflower, sawtooth sunflower, can also bloom pretty late. It has narrower leaves, and its most-likely the one you see blooming on the roadside as you drive by.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnvWXNUHvucbW3WmYM_WLsTF47bGwEMs9k_eTWWT8lgoNAIadrQgJFndGqnIkQFMs4r5lXZLUC22DadroCy2xR7xuBtqe1h3KVw9cNtyFFr7Au3j6rt7Zwsf9loZGj6wHnIQW6MUPZfJ_jfeZn39_7ZWN45iCCJ6-v4jWkz0Xlzn2l5U6_F1BaS0IwSU/s1200/Helianthus%20tuberosus%20(Jerusalem%20artichoke)1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnvWXNUHvucbW3WmYM_WLsTF47bGwEMs9k_eTWWT8lgoNAIadrQgJFndGqnIkQFMs4r5lXZLUC22DadroCy2xR7xuBtqe1h3KVw9cNtyFFr7Au3j6rt7Zwsf9loZGj6wHnIQW6MUPZfJ_jfeZn39_7ZWN45iCCJ6-v4jWkz0Xlzn2l5U6_F1BaS0IwSU/w426-h640/Helianthus%20tuberosus%20(Jerusalem%20artichoke)1.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerusalem artichoke (<i>Helianthus tuberosus</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bottle Gentian (<i>Gentiana andrewsii</i>)</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gentians are a delight in the early fall with their bright blue flowers that really pop-out in a landscape where most other plants are fading. The last of them bloom about when the trees are in the fall colors. Bottle gentian can be found in undisturbed wetlands and is often planted in rain gardens.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTP_BGstxVyLF3R3-K4laIjI7CCRP5DIfAfkTOjaQ6754EKo05QSUimzieII-QT0Gl66hSoalzbSpjBgRBg_I0-gKOJfyDjicm7NrgeNuYDLTWs2o9nTlJhyphenhyphenkMpIghrq9u8oLEOgg_t6Os3zVilHTKn01Na2b4zcHwYaBJckvL6hAJfS_EH7ZbUr0z79c/s1200/bottle%20gentian%20(Gentiana%20andrewsii)1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTP_BGstxVyLF3R3-K4laIjI7CCRP5DIfAfkTOjaQ6754EKo05QSUimzieII-QT0Gl66hSoalzbSpjBgRBg_I0-gKOJfyDjicm7NrgeNuYDLTWs2o9nTlJhyphenhyphenkMpIghrq9u8oLEOgg_t6Os3zVilHTKn01Na2b4zcHwYaBJckvL6hAJfS_EH7ZbUr0z79c/w426-h640/bottle%20gentian%20(Gentiana%20andrewsii)1.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottle Gentian (<i>Gentiana andrewsii</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hairy Aster (<i>Symphyotrichum pilosum</i>)</span></b></h2><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another common name for hairy aster is frost aster, because it can bloom through the first frost. It’s a simple white flower with several native look-a-likes. Its unique in its ability to brighten up an otherwise weedy area. This species is our most common white aster, it is sometimes in prairie seed mixes, but spreads very well on its own to any disturbed area, urban or rural.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0f696pOpeUjCdvwyKnOh6mn0KWlvR9zYVrc7MoB6xtD0vKwkQiamOUVUW_dVTntc1aBcngNyQn8cqqrSdbGzrBwZf2VukMwnS5fEt9i7AUpSBhEqaLLsd5kTUA6o5u5WZeokduWOT_tHutRSM4-jUNW-v7fqLSfdRJ40NA94OU28pHieUx05ID5q42w/s1200/Symphyotrichum%20pilosum%20(hairy%20aster)1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0f696pOpeUjCdvwyKnOh6mn0KWlvR9zYVrc7MoB6xtD0vKwkQiamOUVUW_dVTntc1aBcngNyQn8cqqrSdbGzrBwZf2VukMwnS5fEt9i7AUpSBhEqaLLsd5kTUA6o5u5WZeokduWOT_tHutRSM4-jUNW-v7fqLSfdRJ40NA94OU28pHieUx05ID5q42w/w640-h480/Symphyotrichum%20pilosum%20(hairy%20aster)1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hairy Aster (<i>Symphyotrichum pilosum</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Aromatic Aster (<i>Symphyotrichum oblongifolium</i>)</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Asters are known as a fall-blooming group in-general. Aromatic aster is one of the last to start blooming, hitting its stride in mid-October, and weather permitting, carrying on into November. In the wild this species lives in dry rocky places, but its quite happy (maybe a little <i>too</i> happy) in regular garden soil.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1moUe3CSwXq38rvFtb-QhRDaXE21z-_58kh2HTxiym2ZJeKxQRyAm_7AfYJWQyG-9Vj_K8fXcrr4hhNXFFCYrOJHn_pd9nuzqHlm686fbqJPZIQph3wv031qDp13VJmQ5EI6puggeVAXAjgUM4KSusQ5CD_SRWxvioJ10oEP-5SFbTSIq6ngTTajEGU/s1200/Symphyotrichum%20oblongifolium%20(Aromatic%20aster)1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1moUe3CSwXq38rvFtb-QhRDaXE21z-_58kh2HTxiym2ZJeKxQRyAm_7AfYJWQyG-9Vj_K8fXcrr4hhNXFFCYrOJHn_pd9nuzqHlm686fbqJPZIQph3wv031qDp13VJmQ5EI6puggeVAXAjgUM4KSusQ5CD_SRWxvioJ10oEP-5SFbTSIq6ngTTajEGU/w480-h640/Symphyotrichum%20oblongifolium%20(Aromatic%20aster)1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aromatic Aster (<i>Symphyotrichum oblongifolium</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Harebell (<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i>)</span></b></h2><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though their primary bloom season is in late-spring and early-summer, harebells will often put out additional flowers at other times of year if conditions are favorable, such as high soil moisture content and/or moderate temperatures. The photo below was taken on November 16th! Harebell is typically found in dry prairies.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WaAbkly2KSdZ0Gjycwzhi0SrBdFPJ6CVrMqTSCspPVnWJbE78hmt7-H55KcXZdbnZnLKYlEdVRhq_MTSm0z1HW3ZYsOoVWRFI89Cul3lEYG5QymTiQvqbmW-ttsO3HJ8uiVKox0rmjaAkmd70rsyiEkdoO7xvr8hN9U7_-3eYB4Mpo9ceoi-0Zbpt3k/s1200/Campanula%20rotundifolia%20(harebell)1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WaAbkly2KSdZ0Gjycwzhi0SrBdFPJ6CVrMqTSCspPVnWJbE78hmt7-H55KcXZdbnZnLKYlEdVRhq_MTSm0z1HW3ZYsOoVWRFI89Cul3lEYG5QymTiQvqbmW-ttsO3HJ8uiVKox0rmjaAkmd70rsyiEkdoO7xvr8hN9U7_-3eYB4Mpo9ceoi-0Zbpt3k/w480-h640/Campanula%20rotundifolia%20(harebell)1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harebell (<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Common Witch hazel (<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>)</span></b></h2><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This shrub’s leaves turn bright yellow in late October. If you look closely at witch hazel during this period, you’ll see the flowers just <i>starting</i> to open. Most bees and butterflies are dead or dormant by this time, so witch hazel is pollinated by small flies and wasps. They may not be the prettiest flower on this list, but witch hazel may be the only plant still blooming when winter officially starts on the solstice. They are most often found in rich moist areas of forests, often on in steep terrain.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgw_lABcFqRRHGDCNR_gL-F7bpIvXMhrdoBniwVh6cY14OgaDwXoa7KcQDmHzFeY7CHDQJsrSoAzLDn9rrGZjXI-zr0SOG_2S2zSHYcOOGoFFJ5I-b25KGfbha-uMi9p3WPDLXO9IDCB1ScQ18LW3JI2VS89e7K1tf5Hyx5EmjKrLqx9bXDPASCVXZ8c/s1024/witchhazel%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgw_lABcFqRRHGDCNR_gL-F7bpIvXMhrdoBniwVh6cY14OgaDwXoa7KcQDmHzFeY7CHDQJsrSoAzLDn9rrGZjXI-zr0SOG_2S2zSHYcOOGoFFJ5I-b25KGfbha-uMi9p3WPDLXO9IDCB1ScQ18LW3JI2VS89e7K1tf5Hyx5EmjKrLqx9bXDPASCVXZ8c/w426-h640/witchhazel%202.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Witch hazel (<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>) flowers</td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCaKhWQmu8MweVcZ2QCv42G3WNX5RFoFrDCaqBd-g7lUhyphenhypheng9Oj6cXEpfMHDFUJK6Px3UO9Q7nv6oX5DYUqtfg2HdKgMx6h3igleDrHidURuIWEjr4SdkXGekG8iiIla3u6KRK_9TqVA0NICEWfjKpQbPcQMHvmCYV7hdY-bVyvqwsuLUgUHQCQHp_DMc/s1024/witchhazel%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCaKhWQmu8MweVcZ2QCv42G3WNX5RFoFrDCaqBd-g7lUhyphenhypheng9Oj6cXEpfMHDFUJK6Px3UO9Q7nv6oX5DYUqtfg2HdKgMx6h3igleDrHidURuIWEjr4SdkXGekG8iiIla3u6KRK_9TqVA0NICEWfjKpQbPcQMHvmCYV7hdY-bVyvqwsuLUgUHQCQHp_DMc/w426-h640/witchhazel%201.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Common Witch hazel (<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-80619536160603466512023-03-27T15:04:00.003-05:002023-03-27T15:04:47.318-05:00Madison-Area Spring Wildflower Walk Series 2023<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN9a5Ll8FJ68Ewrd7p_b1n-Yor7sBIT3ZwG6FCN_E3Depm5_jieSaCoFkamzZmWqttDW4u2QRjdU6pkyeyqhlvEUu3pS9a9Fz_lo9wnXV-1h2gHim58KM9a6J8gkJW5P4lKGU5WOtKp-r-in4MCHsi30EVwYL-q-p77KD-CwhEykcXK1AXeHErTVy/s1200/SpringBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN9a5Ll8FJ68Ewrd7p_b1n-Yor7sBIT3ZwG6FCN_E3Depm5_jieSaCoFkamzZmWqttDW4u2QRjdU6pkyeyqhlvEUu3pS9a9Fz_lo9wnXV-1h2gHim58KM9a6J8gkJW5P4lKGU5WOtKp-r-in4MCHsi30EVwYL-q-p77KD-CwhEykcXK1AXeHErTVy/w640-h334/SpringBanner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Good Oak is Partnering with Wild Ones Madison on a series of wildflower walks, to explore some of the great native plants in our local natural areas.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px;"><span> </span>During this series of wildflower walks, we’ll visit a variety of natural areas in and near Madison and explore some of the earliest blooming plants of the year. You can learn to identify many species of native wildflowers. We’ll discuss the ecology of the habitats these plants are found in and the implications for plants and animals that rely on our urban and suburban natural areas for survival.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span> </span>These hikes are free and open to the public. Wear clothing appropriate for walking on and off trails in naturals areas, such as sturdy boots/shoes and long pants, and be prepared to be outside in whatever the spring throws at us for weather for several hours. A drink and a snack are recommended. Ticks or mosquitos may be present, so take precautions as necessary.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Thursday, March 30th, 6-7:15pm</b></p><h4 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>Skunk Cabbage, The Harbinger of Spring at the UW Arboretum</b></span></h4><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On this walk we will learn about the unique biology and ecology of Wisconsin’s earliest-blooming, and perhaps most unique wildflower. Along the way we’ll look for other early signs of spring.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: blue; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/BLwhAkyEZ1g3rrrE7">Meet at the Wingra Springs Parking Lot</a></span>, on top of the hill, south of the Arboretum's main Visitors Center.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Saturday April 22, 10am - 1pm</b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>Earth Day Celebration: Hoyt Park Wildflower Walk, Garlic Mustard Pull, and Picnic</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Wild Ones is teaming up with the Friends of Hoyt Park to join in on their annual garlic mustard pull, a short early spring wildflower walk and a picnic. Join us for all, or just one part of this event, we will be <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/NC6PaW5xESj9iyvm9"><span class="s2" style="color: blue;">meeting back at the main shelter at Hoyt Park</span></a> for each.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Schedule:</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>10:00am - garlic mustard pull!</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>11:45am-12:30pm - wildflower hike</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12:00pm to 1:30pm: Picnic!</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For the picnic, bring yourself, bring a lunch for yourself and food to share if you’d like.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Thursday May 4th,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>6-8pm</b></p><h4 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>Early Prairie Wildflowers at Westport Drumlin</b></span></h4><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Come and see pasque flower, prairie smoke, buttercups, violets and more at this unique remnant on a glacial drumlin. This walk will include over a mile of hiking, including on steep and rough terrain.</p><p class="p4" style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/ciEfExYJ1DcaAY7x8">Meet at the parking lot for Empire Prairies State Natural Area - Westport Drumlin Prairie</a></span><span class="s3" style="color: black;"> at the high point on Bong Road east of Waunaukee.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Thursday May 11th 6-7:30pm</b></p><h4 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>Trillium Show at Heritage Sanctuary and Elvehjem Nature Sanctuary</b></span></h4><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Heritage Sanctuary is famous for a carpet of great white trillium in the spring. These small East-Side hidden gems have a great diversity of spring wildflower to enjoy. <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/QtBL841P3ZcFXkRh7"><span class="s2" style="color: blue;">Meet at the west side of Heritage Heights Park</span></a>, with parking along Meadowlark Drive, Madison.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Wednesday May 17th, 6-8pm</b></p><h4 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>Late-Spring Woodland Wildflowers at Reese Woods and the UW Lakeshore Preserve<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></h4><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We’ll check out some rocky, west-side woodlands to see a diverse mix of late-spring wildflower color. Columbine, yellow pimpernel, red trillium, Virginia bluebells, and more!</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Park on Tally Ho Lane, near Highbury Rd. <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/gyrXNqtCk82jMQgL9"><span class="s2" style="color: blue;">Meet near Reese Woods in Shorewood Hills</span></a>. Park on Tally Ho Lane, near Highbury Rd. We plan to head over to Lakeshore Nature Preserve for additional wildflower viewing.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Check out the </b><a href="https://madison.wildones.org/chapter-events/"><span class="s2" style="color: blue;"><b>Wild Ones Madison Calendar</b></span></a><b> for more events.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></p>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-88559063520549277432022-06-08T10:54:00.003-05:002022-06-08T10:54:28.411-05:00List of Southern Wisconsin Native Plants for Pollinators<h4 style="text-align: left;">As part of my recent Gardening for Pollinators presentation, I have created a list of over 200 native perennials, shrubs and vines that provide the best resources for pollinators.</h4><p>Click on the below link to download:</p>
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/10TV7NA6hxh35NwgHeWlrR3uT8KqtUGt8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">List of Southern Wisconsin Native Perennials, Shrubs and Vines for Pollinators</span></b></a>
<div><br /></div><div><b>Note:</b> This list is pretty complete, but I have a couple more hours of clean-up to do to remove some excess data. This should work for now, and I will update this note when the final version is available in a few days.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7fLhFbSsgMmNKe2zZD8fP4OYlkFGxY1-H7ankJcShouVoV-zFNbPhPIK0_RzptJjd2I4gH5HnZdwp2oj1Ui_bo-h0PBjEIWFQee3QM82dp_iH1Yrqf-vVGytIs6vL1AnO4D0FEtARr4TZMGWyGvYCgOqsgnoW2DsAGQZBukHpsE_WwVWiWej-Kv3/s4288/DSC_8870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7fLhFbSsgMmNKe2zZD8fP4OYlkFGxY1-H7ankJcShouVoV-zFNbPhPIK0_RzptJjd2I4gH5HnZdwp2oj1Ui_bo-h0PBjEIWFQee3QM82dp_iH1Yrqf-vVGytIs6vL1AnO4D0FEtARr4TZMGWyGvYCgOqsgnoW2DsAGQZBukHpsE_WwVWiWej-Kv3/w640-h426/DSC_8870.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-35659899952968830312022-03-11T19:23:00.000-06:002022-03-11T19:23:12.031-06:00The Process of Oak Woodland Restoration<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you’ve read my previous articles about the history of oak woodlands in the Midwest and how to assess the health of oak woodlands, it should now be clear that most woodlands in our region (and particularly, in southern Wisconsin) are in pretty bad shape and need active management to restore them to ecological health. In this article I’ll explain how we go about doing that.</span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Site Assessment, Site History Research and Planning:</span></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Look at the Maps</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I always prepare for a site evaluation by looking at modern areal imagery for a site and topographic maps. You can use Google Maps, but many counties have GIS websites that help you get more detailed imagery, the property lines, and sometimes other valuable layers such as soil type or historic areal imagery. Just do an internet search for “(your county’s name) GIS” and you should find what you’re looking for. This information gives me a basic understanding of the topographical, geological and hydrological aspects of the site. I can also see what the current vegetation cover conditions are, which gives me some idea what to expect when I get on-site.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPri_oitjB6nIgcuNJmnhPV5FYbJ0Se4pImIJ4PjZsjLGju6J8x7KmuTbZJtV2xUTzG6MH2kxuMGk1ywSufUyzcti8m1Tn7VedoiYvskkAJskzDWvblerFWvE0jJ7LlI5u78fBTzc8lN6O7lnQLIGp9Kzw-2EjcZEMW2BTM0V7I2eplAmtOIGM8aQT=s2178" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="2178" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPri_oitjB6nIgcuNJmnhPV5FYbJ0Se4pImIJ4PjZsjLGju6J8x7KmuTbZJtV2xUTzG6MH2kxuMGk1ywSufUyzcti8m1Tn7VedoiYvskkAJskzDWvblerFWvE0jJ7LlI5u78fBTzc8lN6O7lnQLIGp9Kzw-2EjcZEMW2BTM0V7I2eplAmtOIGM8aQT=w640-h526" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This areal image of Cherokee Marsh in Dane County, WI shows a lot of detail useful to understanding the ecosystem. Property lines can be seen in yellow.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On-the-Ground Site Assessment</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A lot of the basics of site assessment are covered in my <a href="http://goodoakllc.blogspot.com/2022/02/assessing-health-of-oak-woodlands-guide.html" target="_blank">previous article</a>. Evaluating things on the ground allows me to understand the current site conditions and have some idea of the history of the site. Documenting the plant and animal species you find on a site is a key part of the assessment. Having a thorough plant inventory for the site will tell you a lot about the original natural community on the site, how much it has been impacted, and give you some guidance as to how to go forward as you try to re-establish a healthy natural community.</span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZROwWyoOiZcLXEx1RvIi84yNHPnmkETbLkLzCGcwJ399TT_zR9hT_uOTy1kTTHapHvNWuk-ehp0Zji8bNEimmp2RC-18Sw73E7nsNf16MYg28WLC6hWhY0uVzu1QnQ26xcosVR2SFiASpQG0CBLoBL7MmYwN0vnxSbDrFskSEFK2CRhm-ZuKYodq-=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZROwWyoOiZcLXEx1RvIi84yNHPnmkETbLkLzCGcwJ399TT_zR9hT_uOTy1kTTHapHvNWuk-ehp0Zji8bNEimmp2RC-18Sw73E7nsNf16MYg28WLC6hWhY0uVzu1QnQ26xcosVR2SFiASpQG0CBLoBL7MmYwN0vnxSbDrFskSEFK2CRhm-ZuKYodq-=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A detailed plant survey from many moons ago. Thanks for your help Lane.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Site History Research</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In Wisconsin, we have a remarkable resource available to us in the form of scans of the original land surveyors’ notes from the 1830’s. So go to <a href="https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/SurveyNotes/">Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records website</a> and look up what those surveyors found in your area. (Some instructions are available on the website to help guide you through the process.) Though they often don’t have a lot of detail, these notes are invaluable in developing an understanding of what the immediate area was like at the time of settlement. (Hint: there weren’t nearly as many trees, and the ones that were there were probably oaks.)<br /><br />Then I start to look at historic areal imagery. These go back as far as 1937 and, for Wisconsin, can be found at the <a href="https://maps.sco.wisc.edu/WHAIFinder/#7/44.871/-89.750" target="_blank">Wisconsin Areal Imagery Finder</a>. Go ahead and compare that imagery to your modern satellite photo. You will probably see that in 1937 there were not nearly as many trees as there are today!<br /><br />If you wish to see areal imagery from later in the 20th Century, through today, there are a couple possibilities. Some county GIS websites have these images. (<a href="https://dcimapapps.countyofdane.com/dcmapviewer/" target="_blank">Dane County DCI Maps</a> is such a great resource!) Using <a href="https://www.google.com/earth/versions/" target="_blank">Google Earth Pro desktop</a>, you can get imagery as far back as the 1990’s and sometimes earlier. If you’re up for a trip, the state transportation department or a state geography library will have hard copies of the areal images taken from the 1930’s to the 1990’s. In Wisconsin, this means a trip to the Geology Library in Science Hall on the UW campus.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtOoR_AF5NG9Le3k2lSbLfk6dzeIhEqg20QpBThIah_j22clz4rr-Gx_E7R34OICHC2wHCPcSmMnxsOp1fObTxA9JJ_zYWEDVxDtSVtASNeNbPp5zWZVHEmNIJ8euMfL_1NucyXSnpo9d0f8MK4DhtinZ_eb6uhpwuzGzy1w_DOKFVPA17Ro1a8qBg=s949" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="949" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtOoR_AF5NG9Le3k2lSbLfk6dzeIhEqg20QpBThIah_j22clz4rr-Gx_E7R34OICHC2wHCPcSmMnxsOp1fObTxA9JJ_zYWEDVxDtSVtASNeNbPp5zWZVHEmNIJ8euMfL_1NucyXSnpo9d0f8MK4DhtinZ_eb6uhpwuzGzy1w_DOKFVPA17Ro1a8qBg=w640-h412" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A scan of original surveyors notes from the <a href="https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=article&byte=21841972&isize=L&twp=T006NR006E" target="_blank">Wisconsin Public Lands Survey Records</a> website.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVvSQ-3_SJlX1kB9FbHdss39XW0hEvzUdM3gQJOhUEwNXohxtriwH72CIUyYhlhCjLlaVafAGiZ_PRj7EPV_L_sHEF-vCB0eevx-8irUBQmNlARfluZb93xyvSqVcHBZXrFAbqpI-mH6xtotcU0KrATzSMlCkK5qkUb0auVlbikBkLwwaTUGLoDSAA=s2871" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2167" data-original-width="2871" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVvSQ-3_SJlX1kB9FbHdss39XW0hEvzUdM3gQJOhUEwNXohxtriwH72CIUyYhlhCjLlaVafAGiZ_PRj7EPV_L_sHEF-vCB0eevx-8irUBQmNlARfluZb93xyvSqVcHBZXrFAbqpI-mH6xtotcU0KrATzSMlCkK5qkUb0auVlbikBkLwwaTUGLoDSAA=w640-h484" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1937 areal image of what is now Edna Taylor Conservation park in Madison, WI.</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Developing a Target Community Type, and A Plan to Get There</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now that you have an understanding of the history of the site and its current conditions you can start putting together a plan to restore it going forward. The first step is to develop a target natural community. Sometimes, the goal should be to return the site to the natural community type found on the site before settlement. Other times the reality of current conditions make establishing a different natural community more practical. For example, surveyors’ notes and 1937 photos may indicate that your woodland was originally an open savanna of bur oak and white oak. However, today you may have numerous straight-trunked red oak along with your white oak in your woodland, and bur oak are now absent (due to logging). In a case like this, it may be better to work with the mature red and white oaks that you have to establish an oak woodland, rather than to cut down a lot of red oaks and then plant bur oaks to recreate a savanna.<br /><br />One thing I consider strongly is ground layer vegetation. If you find any prairie species, it’s best to open the site up as much as possible to an open savanna condition. Similarly, if you find savanna plants, you should at least open the canopy to a very open woodland condition (50% canopy cover or less). Planning your target community becomes an act of balancing the model of the original plant community with the reality of what you are dealing with right now.<br /><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Woodland Restoration Work, on the Ground</span></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Clearing Invasive Brush</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The first step on the ground is always clearing invasive brush. Non-native species such as <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/buckthorn.pdf" target="_blank">common buckthorn</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/honeysuckle.pdf" target="_blank">bush honeysuckle</a>, and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/whitemulberry.pdf" target="_blank">white mulberry</a> get most of the attention. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/barberry.pdf" target="_blank">Japanese barberry</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/multiflorarose.pdf" target="_blank">multiflora rose</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/orientalbittersweet.pdf" target="_blank">Oriental bittersweet</a> are (currently) less common invasive shrubs, but equally deserving of elimination. <br /><br />It is also important to understand that native shrubs and trees can become over-abundant as well, and large monocultures of these shrubs reduces the biodiversity potential of a site. So we often clear <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/pricklyash.pdf" target="_blank">prickly ash</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/greydogwood.pdf">grey dogwood</a>, and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/sumac.pdf" target="_blank">sumac</a>, with the goal of reducing their populations, but not eliminating them entirely. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/boxelder.pdf" target="_blank">Box elder</a> is a native tree and not part of an upland woodland community, so remove this prolific species just like you would buckthorn or honeysuckle. <br /><br />By removing these invasive non-native, and aggressive native woody plants, you eliminate them from competing with desirable native plants for sunlight and soil moisture. This also has the effect of making the woodland more open, and easier to move through, and work in.<br /><br />We do brush clearing and tree thinning in the winter months to avoid harming desirable native plants and to avoid causing soil compaction or erosion. There are many ways to go about clearing brush, but our basic approach is:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Cut each stem as low to the ground as possible.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Treat each cut stem with concentrated herbicide. (For specific recommendations see our Weed Identification and Control Sheets linked at each species name above.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Clean-up is the most labor intensive part of this process. However, if the cut brush is widely scattered and does not inhibit moving through and working in the woodland, then you may not need to clean up. But typically, some clean-up is needed. This can be done by dragging brush by hand. But when possible, we prefer to use a tractor or skid loader with a grapple attachment, just be sure the ground is frozen and preferably snow covered so that you don’t disturb the soil by compaction or erosion.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Piling and burning: Piles should be placed carefully to avoid harming high-quality ground-layer vegetation or sending too much heat into any trees’ canopies or trunks. While we’re out there clearing brush, we start with a small fire and slowly build it to a brush-eating bonfire. Fortunately, live ‘green’ buckthorn and honeysuckle both happen to burn very well. Keep the number of brush piles limited by feeding the fire as you work, and cut the brush to 6’ lengths, or shorter, to limit the footprint of the burn pile and allow for a more efficient fire.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Follow-up treatment in the following growing season is critical, as some brush will resprout, and you will likely see many small invasive woody plants that you had missed during the winter brush clearing work, or that have sprouted since. Early-to-mid summer after these resprouting woody plants have fully leafed out is a good time to spot treat these plants with a basal bark herbicide application.</span></li></ul></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiygh9nqTsVI2yoVf9xxjeuIhMSiCiY5JzIi8_qDrdC3TqyA5qGYMv8q8T0WGRFsxCx5b6yvMMXCQctyBV2YaQ2UsQ43kV6hUMWin87k89_6xu6m161Gcee3EdyL1nTvtY0i9MgCfyUPLDwdAu_7UPdJYulbom_GackHtILfQWG2khgiFIU9GU6Eji5=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiygh9nqTsVI2yoVf9xxjeuIhMSiCiY5JzIi8_qDrdC3TqyA5qGYMv8q8T0WGRFsxCx5b6yvMMXCQctyBV2YaQ2UsQ43kV6hUMWin87k89_6xu6m161Gcee3EdyL1nTvtY0i9MgCfyUPLDwdAu_7UPdJYulbom_GackHtILfQWG2khgiFIU9GU6Eji5=w640-h422" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting buckthorn with a brushcutter.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiroDSYbPCIz1e32Zfe5-6cNYMU463-4pSxDb3xbLq1yKzT40CbaiwsFJjkSqZeMhjiPdXTXDYiMRyt2UKdSaZH8t9DlkU6yDB4zxG98ybqEPExZ6vCMiSY3I86y0XoVQFQ8gkAOsFxze7MWR0qMWLC_KtPnN9m51SpF0jceQx0VMWazNHLzA01KQD=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiroDSYbPCIz1e32Zfe5-6cNYMU463-4pSxDb3xbLq1yKzT40CbaiwsFJjkSqZeMhjiPdXTXDYiMRyt2UKdSaZH8t9DlkU6yDB4zxG98ybqEPExZ6vCMiSY3I86y0XoVQFQ8gkAOsFxze7MWR0qMWLC_KtPnN9m51SpF0jceQx0VMWazNHLzA01KQD=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each stump is treated with herbicide.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLUO1uVSxzyWr-S3H79cMUcmk8YKekEKyi5qLJtg4X7XDxtfjXPoaIJ1sAl9xpmhGMgLYvUYgjIhjnK5Zt_OOpen4tzZAmH-raN2aNKBYVd6ev5hlDm85n3YS_UyN2KJNUWhr0lzql_e8KqoicNe3qMyktRvLdyF7q6UBhgzI_CdUasA36ML2lENp3=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLUO1uVSxzyWr-S3H79cMUcmk8YKekEKyi5qLJtg4X7XDxtfjXPoaIJ1sAl9xpmhGMgLYvUYgjIhjnK5Zt_OOpen4tzZAmH-raN2aNKBYVd6ev5hlDm85n3YS_UyN2KJNUWhr0lzql_e8KqoicNe3qMyktRvLdyF7q6UBhgzI_CdUasA36ML2lENp3=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the resulting brush is burned in a pile.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjz4WfVXy4BYUCcfDie5GeWfcksPAul6D5eSG2SR-WMiOwKGxC_ZupD56_fqEvQaKDBVjsN6dUrzNiUeUqqUJ50CmQ6gAjqAV7izLDIBuvJ4pOYlK11wRbxEbXA3dPgCfjn8-XVG9oK11vYFT-ke9Zq_xukr087QFonWq0xRyHd-d9FsgvXzgD5ym7F=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjz4WfVXy4BYUCcfDie5GeWfcksPAul6D5eSG2SR-WMiOwKGxC_ZupD56_fqEvQaKDBVjsN6dUrzNiUeUqqUJ50CmQ6gAjqAV7izLDIBuvJ4pOYlK11wRbxEbXA3dPgCfjn8-XVG9oK11vYFT-ke9Zq_xukr087QFonWq0xRyHd-d9FsgvXzgD5ym7F=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For larger projects, forestry mowing is an option. But this should only be done on firm, frozen ground, and follow-up resprout treatment is essential.</td></tr></tbody></table></span><br /></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><h3 style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Removing Aggressive/Over-Abundant Trees</span></h3></div> Typically we do this while we’re already out there clearing brush and the brush piles are burning. Restoring oak woodlands often involves removing a large number of young, small diameter non-oak trees that have filled in the woodland since pre-settlement times (and largely in the past 40 years). We will fell some of these trees, but larger trees (>10”) we typically girdle and leave standing to reduce the workload and create wildlife habitat. <br /><br />An examples of thinning prescription might include:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Remove non-oak trees that are in poor health; cherries with black knot disease, elms with dutch elm disease, or trees which have been damaged by other trees falling on them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Remove any trees impinging on mature oaks. We try to cut down any non-oak tree growing within 10-20’ of an oak canopy (many small trees will grow right up into the oak canopy). These keystone tree species need some growing space to be healthy.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Remove any non-oak tree less than 6” or 8” in diameter. These are the youngest up-start trees that haven’t been in the woods very long.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Canopy cover needs to be reduced to no more than 70% if you hope to get oak regeneration or shade tolerant wildflowers and grasses established. 50% canopy cover is probably more appropriate for restoring an oak woodland and less than 50% if savanna is your restoration target.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For savanna restorations, typically the only trees we are leaving are oaks and hickories, and sometimes we are even thinning northern pin oak, shagbark hickory and butternut hickory if there is an abundance of these species.</span></li></ul>An upcoming blog post will cover how to decide what undesirable trees to remove to restore an oak woodland in more detail. Stay tuned.</span></div><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD6Vu387azpmkomzqLPX_ncM2wIWvkIhFp1nynhfDo-N3A54S8jGzH0tOEPk6gKup9NbW8OI-7J6Q9dbG9kblSrFKGrEcTCA8mksOjIVToOsTdGTU4otaL3IsO0wflc8FE3xbbmyAxU9rs8sKgLZgaXjc_G_u9Bpb-19q0noLoJeS-Vd9dR8RzNNQF=s3264" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD6Vu387azpmkomzqLPX_ncM2wIWvkIhFp1nynhfDo-N3A54S8jGzH0tOEPk6gKup9NbW8OI-7J6Q9dbG9kblSrFKGrEcTCA8mksOjIVToOsTdGTU4otaL3IsO0wflc8FE3xbbmyAxU9rs8sKgLZgaXjc_G_u9Bpb-19q0noLoJeS-Vd9dR8RzNNQF=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judging by its open branching structure, this big white oak originally grew in a savanna. Many small hackberries will need to be removed to to preserve the health of this heritage oak.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Controlling Herbaceous Invasive Species</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As you are clearing the weedy woody component of a woodland, be sure not to clear so much area that you can’t mange the weeds that come up in that area in the following growing seasons. I describe <a href="http://goodoakllc.blogspot.com/2013/04/eradicating-garlic-mustard-requires.html" target="_blank">garlic mustard control in detail in this blog post</a>. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/damesrocket.pdf" target="_blank">Dames rocket</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/motherwort.pdf" target="_blank">motherwort</a>, and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/japanesehedgeparsley.pdf" target="_blank">Japanese hedge parsley</a> are similarly troublesome invasive biennials that should be treated while you are working to control garlic mustard. In sunnier sites, other weeds that might come up could include <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/burdock.pdf" target="_blank">burdock</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/bullthistle.pdf" target="_blank">biennial thistles</a>, <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/canadathistle.pdf" target="_blank">Canada thistle</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/mullein.pdf" target="_blank">mullein</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Got Brambles?</span></h3></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many sites with a history of grazing may have a lot of <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/raspberry.pdf" target="_blank">raspberry</a> brambles and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/gooseberries.pdf" target="_blank">gooseberries</a>. Again, these are native plants, having some of them is a good thing, but too many of them reduces biodiversity and makes it difficult to move through and work in the woods. The best way to keep these thorny native shrubs in check is to mow (or selectively cut) them right after they leaf out in the spring, and repeat this mowing as soon as they resprout for the entire growing season. The goal is to reduce their numbers, and allow growing space for other native plants, not eliminate them entirely.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Reintroducing a Prescribed Fire Regime</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This can be a big turning point in woodland restoration. In sites with a lot of oak leaf litter, this may be done shortly after brush clearing. In sites with less oak leaf litter as fuel, you will need a few years to establish ground layer flora that can contribute to the fuel load. Prescribed burns can greatly help in the control of invasive plants such as garlic mustard and buckthorn seedlings. Often a burn will reveal and invigorate native grasses and wildflowers that have been struggling to survive, or invigorate new seedlings coming up from long-dormant seed. Burning off the leaf litter can also prepare a site for interseeding.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaJbEEYKQQVyo9E4Up5MpfOMWUBGYA9MKTZF4IZVQM2gjg-p0FgTEGl9smCJTw8KhSOgxGNVsc9h2p6HjxEHTLDzc6pvd2jahjE_5Zyx6YIZGKR_FgsxaoQzWIcl3jRixIghZZ_e8VhUSPKU4VfLUem8lfGUh-3kEJS8hImO3gUhWW3rdFZq9yNFN8=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaJbEEYKQQVyo9E4Up5MpfOMWUBGYA9MKTZF4IZVQM2gjg-p0FgTEGl9smCJTw8KhSOgxGNVsc9h2p6HjxEHTLDzc6pvd2jahjE_5Zyx6YIZGKR_FgsxaoQzWIcl3jRixIghZZ_e8VhUSPKU4VfLUem8lfGUh-3kEJS8hImO3gUhWW3rdFZq9yNFN8=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fires in oak woodland are not as dramatic as you might think.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Reintroducing Extirpated Plants by Seed</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Even the best intact woodlands will require some reintroduction of species that have gone locally extinct. Most sites will need a lot of species reintroduced. We usually start by spreading a commercial seed mix appropriate for the habitat type (woodland or savanna) and soil conditions (dry, mesic or wet). If you are DIY-ing your woodland restoration, you may want to buy some seed or trade seed (for other seed or volunteer labor) with local conservation groups.<br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Reintroducing by Planting Live Plants</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some species, particularly spring-ephemerals and the more shade-loving woodland species, are not available as seed, or don’t establish easily by dried seed. For these species you will need to plant live plants. We usually recommend doing this in small pods where you can keep track of them and water and weed them as necessary, and even put a small fence around them to exclude deer and turkey until the plants are better established. <br /><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Long Term Maintenance</span></h3><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Long term maintenance will depend on where you start. If you have a lot of garlic mustard, you will probably be managing it for a decade or more. Continued prescribed burns will help move everything in the right direction favoring native plants and discouraging invasive species. You will need to continue to monitor the site for resurgence of any invasive species, and positive or negative patterns in plant establishment. Hopefully you have a pretty thorough plant inventory by now. Start comparing the plant species on your site to nearby, healthier oak woodland communities. This should allow you to understand what species you are missing. Continual interseeding and exchanging seed with other sites will help increase plant diversity, which in turn will increase the value of the site to a variety of wildlife, and the resiliency of the site from everything from invasive species, to erosion, to climate change.<br /><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Benchmarks for Woodland Restoration</span></h2><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Here are three key things to look for to assess if you are seeing success in your restoration project:</b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A healthy woodland will have a wide diversity of native wildflowers and grasses, with flowers blooming throughout the growing season, from April to October. Spring ephemerals should put on a show first thing in the spring, but having a variety of mid-summer flowers is the strongest indicator that you’re on the right track.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> The work you do should preserve the health of old oaks and other mature trees: reducing competition from other woody plants, increasing soil moisture and nutrient availability while reducing erosion.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Oaks should successfully germinate amongst the ground layer vegetation over time, and survive to grow into the canopy. If you don’t see this happening, you probably need to open the canopy further to let more light to the ground, or work on controlling over-abundant deer that could be eating all your oak saplings every winter.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Restoration work should stabilize soils, reducing erosion and starting to rebuild an organic-matter-rich surface soil. Never run equipment in such a way that it causes rutting, compaction or erosion.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Wildlife return: You should see more pollinators, both bees and butterflies. You should see more songbirds, if you’re lucky you may get a visit from eastern bluebirds or the rare red-headed woodpecker.</span></li></ul> When in doubt, conduct prescribed burns more frequently, and keep adding native seed and plants to areas where more native plants are needed.<br /><br />In the next article, I’ll talk about why its so important that we begin the process of restoration in these woodlands that need our help.</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5KFzJxnzIIW8UR5_R6FyJNZgWewagHTgrlwes5kLZuh10zi0TOefs0yIVNOJ-8hC0GZoOnwRzpYOUIvBVEqGnkHwY66aO0Di0D9dZ-gHfk4Lxet5kC8WL0IWjo6kjjzgbC1cr43EJRAKlgWHdqwSXJnv-vsAtyrkjgCRMxqJwENLdnZdM9nc32DWM=s4928" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5KFzJxnzIIW8UR5_R6FyJNZgWewagHTgrlwes5kLZuh10zi0TOefs0yIVNOJ-8hC0GZoOnwRzpYOUIvBVEqGnkHwY66aO0Di0D9dZ-gHfk4Lxet5kC8WL0IWjo6kjjzgbC1cr43EJRAKlgWHdqwSXJnv-vsAtyrkjgCRMxqJwENLdnZdM9nc32DWM=w640-h424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A healthy restored woodland.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-12417355916189407992022-02-18T10:01:00.002-06:002022-03-11T16:45:03.699-06:00Assessing the Health of Oak Woodlands, a Guide for Land Owners and Land Managers<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In my last blog post, I presented an abbreviated history of oak woodlands in our region, from their ‘pristine’ pre-settlement condition to the unfortunate reality of the present: that most of our woodlands are degraded from the impacts of nearly two centuries of settlement, development, and neglect. In this post, I’m going to give you some tools to evaluate the health of your woodland, and you won’t need a degree in ecology to do it. By asking the questions below, you can start to get an idea of the health of your woodland and develop a vision for how it can improve. While this guide is specific to southern Wisconsin, it should be a useful guide anywhere in the upper Midwest, south of the Tension Zone.</span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Woodland Structure:</span></h2><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How far can you see into your woodlands?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">During the growing season, does it become a green wall that you can’t peer into, or can you see for quite a distance? Early settlers reported that you could see for up to a mile through woodlands at that time. They were able to drive a wagon or carriage through oak woodlands or even ride a horse at a gallop! If this all seems hard to imagine, then your woodland is too dense with brush and trees.</span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsk3rrulLaEKobPgj9a5IyXJaskqjt3-2JDEJ12LxjhmPjtFwkhbk9nWoWz-T4SjcpwCxAjDvcU58Fbahr89YePVWfNKS7UcWrLduVPnByNhqUxAbo7QyoBsZsNNTFZBLLoaQloMTOoG3Lp-JvfTU0q4KnupLPijzgpmfXjrfck4i2jCI4mzXhHFbe=s4288" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsk3rrulLaEKobPgj9a5IyXJaskqjt3-2JDEJ12LxjhmPjtFwkhbk9nWoWz-T4SjcpwCxAjDvcU58Fbahr89YePVWfNKS7UcWrLduVPnByNhqUxAbo7QyoBsZsNNTFZBLLoaQloMTOoG3Lp-JvfTU0q4KnupLPijzgpmfXjrfck4i2jCI4mzXhHFbe=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If the edge of your woodland is a 'wall of green' like this, that's not normal or healthy.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How much sunlight can you see through the tree canopy?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Is it 90% leaves and 10% blue sky? Or is it 50/50? A typical target for woodland restoration is to have between 50% and 70% canopy (50-30% blue sky!), and for savannas, we like to see less than 50% canopy.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQLmPiVMZ-eW-neIFvCPP0A6QZ8AftxutSXquW16M_L6D0iQJLxS2BPaCpboTJvk43iNeP5A-Oamxi8HICb-GJmiRRGFk7IdyzSDwlp4HRFRceBwC-yIJioRYeL8wvI7kcPSP_CDNSCzrojllH2yCjyhn7bKzEhe8Kcgf1pMsiS8l571H7BGLxRoEu=s1296" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1296" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQLmPiVMZ-eW-neIFvCPP0A6QZ8AftxutSXquW16M_L6D0iQJLxS2BPaCpboTJvk43iNeP5A-Oamxi8HICb-GJmiRRGFk7IdyzSDwlp4HRFRceBwC-yIJioRYeL8wvI7kcPSP_CDNSCzrojllH2yCjyhn7bKzEhe8Kcgf1pMsiS8l571H7BGLxRoEu=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This woodland canopy is about 75% full, this is within the natural range of variability for a woodland, but some minor thinning might stimulate ground layer vegetation and oak sapling growth.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What kind of trees are your oldest trees?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">OK, this does take a little botanical knowledge, but we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. If you can identify an oak vs any other kind of tree, you should start to see some patterns emerge. If a site has historically been an oak woodland, you should see that the largest trees are oaks. A typical pattern is that the largest and oldest trees are oaks, but the more numerous and younger trees are other species such as cherry, boxelder, mulberry, elm, hackberry, walnut, maple, and basswood, among others. Many times, there is a pretty big gap in age with the oaks being over 100 years old, and all other tree species behind less than 50 years old. These younger trees do not belong in an oak woodland, and are taking up growing space, sunlight and water that would be better used by young oaks, wildflowers and grasses.<br /><br />Sometimes you might see other trees like maple, basswood or cherry that are nearly as large, but they may still be much younger since they grow faster than oaks (at least the above-ground portion of the trees grows faster).</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Lastly, there are certainly cases where the largest maples and basswoods are as large, or larger than the oaks, and red oak are the most numerous oak species. In these cases, you probably have a site that was a closed-canopy, mixed-hardwood forest to begin with.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsTG7cZerwDPorGhClkVJrm1AJBO9xkwN87P0_tVLjEuCfkLv2HtQSwIfeC_YyTcIgXasYDuUv9YWQk4OydwJAIVmLhgFxY_l0dc5IF2v9eThjEfS6zYXyWzDpfvDxtp74nbJuCMTlzCEcUC8h5O_veoB0GMidUO4dFUceYLE3hdRNlM6NP3C_gAIJ=s3216" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2136" data-original-width="3216" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsTG7cZerwDPorGhClkVJrm1AJBO9xkwN87P0_tVLjEuCfkLv2HtQSwIfeC_YyTcIgXasYDuUv9YWQk4OydwJAIVmLhgFxY_l0dc5IF2v9eThjEfS6zYXyWzDpfvDxtp74nbJuCMTlzCEcUC8h5O_veoB0GMidUO4dFUceYLE3hdRNlM6NP3C_gAIJ=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this woodland the two largest trees are white oak (left) and red oak (right), these are also the oldest trees around 100 years old, maybe a little older. The many skinny 'poles' are sugar maple and are much younger, less than 30 years old, and there is also some elm and cherry which are likely less than 50 years old.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How big are the largest trees in your woodland?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Tree growth rates vary a lot between species, so it’s not easy to compare the age of an oak versus a maple based on size. Even within a species, growth rates can vary wildly based on soil type and moisture availability, competition, site aspect, environmental stresses, and land use among other factors. With that in-mind, here are some rough estimates that I use to assess ages of white and bur oak are:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A 16” diameter at breast height (DBH) oak is about 70 years old.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A 20” DBH oak is about 100 years old.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A 24” oak is probably over 150 years old.</span></li></ul>If you have multiple oaks which are a little over 2’ in diameter, that probably indicates they sprouted around the time of Euro-American settlement. This may have been the result of fire-suppressed “grub oaks” sprouting after regular fires ceased, or as new seedlings that sprouted after the original woodland on the site was cleared. Oaks larger than this are probably pre-settlement, “old growth” oaks. But again, growth rates vary a lot from site to site; on dry sites, a 24” bur oak oak may be more than 250 years old!<br /><br />If your largest oaks are under 20” (and your site is not particularly dry), it’s likely that the site has been logged in the last century. Sometimes your biggest trees are 12-16” DBH, that typically means these trees are roughly 40-70 years old. Also look for multi-stemmed trees. If you see a lot of multi-stemmed trees that is usually a sign that the area was clearcut and these multi stemmed trees are resprouts from the root of a tree that was cut.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHStjxYvhEnhjTwOmEIJ5w91rf0McxgszSHGqtryJbqivDcPgaEaCNYVFDH5ORQdOiGrDDeiM6e8KP2lsJHlsRO6IFBwr7ACs9IEpXI_u16zXRz8DNrOF5Sazo6j94Isiepc6JE-oEuSwUa7qKMquCmpEn05R2u549rlWnnm9c9Fz4JVupjaVRxEga=s1632" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1224" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHStjxYvhEnhjTwOmEIJ5w91rf0McxgszSHGqtryJbqivDcPgaEaCNYVFDH5ORQdOiGrDDeiM6e8KP2lsJHlsRO6IFBwr7ACs9IEpXI_u16zXRz8DNrOF5Sazo6j94Isiepc6JE-oEuSwUa7qKMquCmpEn05R2u549rlWnnm9c9Fz4JVupjaVRxEga=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ~4-foot diameter bur oak is easily over 300 years old.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you see any young oak trees?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you don’t see young and middle-aged oaks, that means the oaks are not reproducing. If there are no young oaks to replace the old oaks, before too long the keystone species of this community will be lost.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4EMjt3sJajDgJ-ytZRANxkH-2o0WvgY_Si86ziT-voX2VoDKDdUNFEzEssJj9cfc0hbqGQUIC2LjgXJ6Zf52c21BQXuoWZ0rKLetu_PMCAs8TezvdJpyNfwgJn-TNtE8f9btBqhnGyy_NdS2eRnvhMZg8MnRhYXkyBRLarU2BSpdynUFSxy4kHwtx=s1822" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="1696" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4EMjt3sJajDgJ-ytZRANxkH-2o0WvgY_Si86ziT-voX2VoDKDdUNFEzEssJj9cfc0hbqGQUIC2LjgXJ6Zf52c21BQXuoWZ0rKLetu_PMCAs8TezvdJpyNfwgJn-TNtE8f9btBqhnGyy_NdS2eRnvhMZg8MnRhYXkyBRLarU2BSpdynUFSxy4kHwtx=w596-h640" width="596" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young oak trees, like this chinquapin oak sapling, are now among the most rare plants on the landscape.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ground Layer Vegetation:</span></h2><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Is the ground layer in your woods “green” or “brown”?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Once the growing season is in full swing, it is not natural or healthy for there to be “brown” areas in your woodland that only have dead leaves or bare soil. A healthy woodland will be “green” with plants growing on or over every inch of soil surface by late-spring. If there are areas of barren soil, this is usually a sign that the tree canopy or brush layer is too dense and not allowing light to the ground for groundlayer wildflowers and grasses to grow. Bare soil can also be the result of compaction or erosion, or browsing by over-abundant deer.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY84UpU0pCJFgqrFagjAzYwQjFLcwdq-eafzeJ8gDwM1NnTqbBdfEu2w16AiSgTkPcNGyGbZ6dnig7l3tnKJcvN_Fo7bv7X1YFnKTJIqNgiVstrGqw2PLRAr14Bjq007HYgeNnSkd-Khx7eBDqzDgf7NrB901usaGzgK-SDtDjZFOfMVfT4g8NxNM8=s4928" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY84UpU0pCJFgqrFagjAzYwQjFLcwdq-eafzeJ8gDwM1NnTqbBdfEu2w16AiSgTkPcNGyGbZ6dnig7l3tnKJcvN_Fo7bv7X1YFnKTJIqNgiVstrGqw2PLRAr14Bjq007HYgeNnSkd-Khx7eBDqzDgf7NrB901usaGzgK-SDtDjZFOfMVfT4g8NxNM8=w640-h424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here buckthorn has shaded out all of the ground layer vegetation. Historic grazing probably had already weekend the ground layer flora. Excessive native trees, especially sugar maple, can have the same effect (see above).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Are there many spring ephemeral wildflowers in your woodland?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Spring ephemeral wildflowers go through their entire life cycle in roughly the first 2 months of the growing season. They are among the first plants to sprout in the spring; they flower before trees have fully leafed-out and then go dormant before the heat of summer with a long-lived perennial root that lies dormant until the following spring. Most commonly recognized spring ephemerals include trillium, spring beauty and Virginia bluebell. Do you see many flowers in the early spring, but then the entire plant turns yellow and disappears by early-summer? Many woodlands that have been heavily grazed over the years have lost their spring ephemeral component, either to direct consumption, or trampling or erosion. If you still have some spring ephemeral wildflowers that’s good - if you have a carpet of them, that’s great!<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvJlRSaLwXvI-tjUeRAtBKd6PCJcAodUgRwCHCJ5S1HmsR8Wtsvv8eK9mRmZM7NMv8utf1tkjjgp0IBS69lZwoO-P0l6hCp6Ga3HuzWFMefkgmMPRnvcolo6Ze5RBWpvH5LDi3zQASBcuaWNehwH28lXhBXtZubVER6rHRuwYPGl3CM7S27q6GKrtI=s3008" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvJlRSaLwXvI-tjUeRAtBKd6PCJcAodUgRwCHCJ5S1HmsR8Wtsvv8eK9mRmZM7NMv8utf1tkjjgp0IBS69lZwoO-P0l6hCp6Ga3HuzWFMefkgmMPRnvcolo6Ze5RBWpvH5LDi3zQASBcuaWNehwH28lXhBXtZubVER6rHRuwYPGl3CM7S27q6GKrtI=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you have lots of flowers blooming in the early spring, that's a good sign that grazing was less intense, and there is a greater chance for more native plants to come up with restoration work.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Are there flowers blooming in your woods throughout the entire growing season?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many woodlands have a burst of wildflowers in the spring, but then nothing blooming mid summer… and then just a few goldenrods and asters blooming in the fall. Or maybe you just have flowers blooming on the edge of your woods, but not the interior? That’s not normal. A healthy woodland should have a variety of species blooming throughout the entire growing season. If you have few wildflowers in your woodland overall, that’s likely a result of over-grazing and erosion. If you have spring ephemerals and some fall bloomers, but not much during the bulk of the growing season, then that is typically the result of too much shade from the tree canopy or shrub layer.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY1GF3hLo_RLQwxbEw0cLyAhDxtvb-d5vajSTwhepA3Y1gT_LfH5VMXZBB8LHQ2c8rBKd94NNi6U__YZ4vyRWk56wbe_I6pwMHc0LprKL9bm1pG1lL7TYc5-pKPIYgr4q4W_jDgN_4KU8b3Bs57LRQdfvHAK3RKIWZkbzPSqgxDoSkOmlsR6jOnMVg=s4288" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY1GF3hLo_RLQwxbEw0cLyAhDxtvb-d5vajSTwhepA3Y1gT_LfH5VMXZBB8LHQ2c8rBKd94NNi6U__YZ4vyRWk56wbe_I6pwMHc0LprKL9bm1pG1lL7TYc5-pKPIYgr4q4W_jDgN_4KU8b3Bs57LRQdfvHAK3RKIWZkbzPSqgxDoSkOmlsR6jOnMVg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a healthy woodland (Somme Prairie Grove) in August in the middle of the drought of 2012!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you encounter a lot of thorny plants?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you go-off trail in your woodland, do you quickly get poked by lots of thorny raspberries, gooseberries, and prickly ash? An abundance of thorny brambles and shrubs indicates a history of heavy grazing. The mechanism here is simple, cows don’t want to eat thorny things. In an environment where grazing pressure is intense, less palatable plants will have a competitive advantage. Over decades of grazing, these thorny plants dominate. More recently, browsing by over-abundant white-tailed deer have maintained the status quo. Though these thorny shrubs are native, a diverse assemblage of plant species is important for woodland health. So having a small number of thorny species taking up a large amount of the growing space is not a healthy situation.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9tXsEHkw7W8nLEOfYnAr477WbKe1lLHbtrcX7gf5ZcXC3YOaTAHUX0TA0g8XGoB8cO0tupwPFsCF63-QhgxY9iu2E8qe0qsuv27NIbUG3An9oI0IMlu2YPppAKmLpadS8OSDNEzCqibQZw4LF1E5l3iOrRZYacn0CuNhTAqLsAUxPS5VJnbYpAkLP=s4288" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4288" data-original-width="2848" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9tXsEHkw7W8nLEOfYnAr477WbKe1lLHbtrcX7gf5ZcXC3YOaTAHUX0TA0g8XGoB8cO0tupwPFsCF63-QhgxY9iu2E8qe0qsuv27NIbUG3An9oI0IMlu2YPppAKmLpadS8OSDNEzCqibQZw4LF1E5l3iOrRZYacn0CuNhTAqLsAUxPS5VJnbYpAkLP=w426-h640" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see why cattle would not want to browse on wild gooseberry! Seeing a lot of these plants, or raspberries, or prickly ash, is usually a sign your woodland was heavily grazed in the past.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you get a lot of seeds stuck to your clothing?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These plants are adapted to have their seeds distributed by large mammals. So it follows that, a woodland with a lot of sticky-seeded plants has experience a heavily grazed past, and/or an over-abundance of deer in the present. With the exception of the notorious burdock, most of the sticky-seeded plants in our woodlands are actually native. These includes stickseed (the worst!), enchanters nightshade and wood avens. These weedy natives are much more common in our woodlands today than they should be.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0j3tkZieQrWMfkQ68_UG-QxdMyiICHAxmwjBpJBWjsz2-_3qJmUBX9Ss-aS-GaidAQCwyMTAKKp9QXLj0bw02O0Z0W9MsI04NnUt5OktZJtRNbRVgrV_ub3qYwWvkr7LsELI3VgVZOJnwhGUF1jnpjvpB6_IUuL9kK6E_jzm_wddLP1sCfO9wBIjx=s1651" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1651" data-original-width="1315" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0j3tkZieQrWMfkQ68_UG-QxdMyiICHAxmwjBpJBWjsz2-_3qJmUBX9Ss-aS-GaidAQCwyMTAKKp9QXLj0bw02O0Z0W9MsI04NnUt5OktZJtRNbRVgrV_ub3qYwWvkr7LsELI3VgVZOJnwhGUF1jnpjvpB6_IUuL9kK6E_jzm_wddLP1sCfO9wBIjx=w510-h640" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The notorious Stickseed, if abundant, is a sign of grazing impacts, and/or over abundant deer.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Soils and Water:</span></h2><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Soils are perhaps the most important component in our ecosystem, and yet their value is rarely recognized. Healthy soils provide many ecosystem services such as purifying surface and ground water, providing good conditions for seed germination, and providing habitat for organisms ranging from bacteria to badgers. Unfortunately, land-use practices such as row-crop agriculture, grazing, mining and urban development destroy or severely damage soils and often lead to erosion. Let’s take a look at the soils in your woodland:<br /><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Does your soil have a lot of rocks, or a lot of organic matter?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The “O-Horizon” is a layer of partially decomposed organic matter on top of the mineral soil. Do you have an O-Horizon, or do you have relatively intact leaf-litter over top of bare mineral soil? It’s important to consider that soil types can vary a lot across our landscapes. Even healthy soils may have a lot of rock, gravel, and sand since glaciation left many deposits of these materials across the landscape. Furthermore, in the Driftless region, bedrock is often pretty close to the surface. With that in mind, on average a healthier woodland will have better developed (less eroded) soils than a less healthy site.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Is your surface soil dark or light in color?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The “A-Horizon” is the upper layer of mineral soil, and will have a fair amount of organic matter mixed in with it It’s usually black or dark in color. This layer also has the most living organisms in it. A healthy soil should have a solid matrix of plant roots and soil organisms. Across the slopes and upland areas of your woodland, if you find that you have fairly beige soils with a lot of clay or rock at the surface, it’s likely that original O and A soil horizons in your woodland have eroded away.<br /><br />There are many causes of soil erosion. By far, the greatest impact is from over a century of heavy grazing that most of our woodlands in southern Wisconsin have experienced. Conversely, in northern Illinois soil loss is less severe because there were fewer dairy farms and therefore fewer cattle grazing in the woodlands. Other causes of erosion include an overly-dense tree canopy which leaves no light for ground layer plants. These ground layer plants are critical to holding and developing soils; without them soil washes away and the system cannot recover. Furthermore, we now find non-native earthworms across most of the landscape, which can consume and diminish the O horizon, making it more difficult for many native plants to establish, and therefore accelerating erosion as well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do your oldest trees have a lot of exposed root flare or roots?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Root flare is the lowest part of the truck of a tree where it starts to spread out and transition to the roots. Having a little root flare visible is normal, and natural, and, in fact is an important guideline when planting a tree. With some exception, most trees will have only a gentle outward curve in the lower ~10” of the trunk, and will never establish roots above ground. If you start looking at the base of your trees, on some sites you can see old oak trees which record 8-12” of soil loss around their base.<br /><br />Inversely, if you have trees at the bottom of a slope do they lack root flair? This may be because soil has washed down from higher up the slope and settled there, effecting burying the base of the tree. Roots that are exposed to air can develop bark to protect themselves. But tree trunks cannot shed their bark if buried, and trunk rot and tree death can result.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM5IsN-h8g95TmjCyxbxQBWxiWTp1zuVjsgLy-oCwuFyGcyoqlamYCQ2yMPWldfeKeCH7c_Gjv1Ztykmpgrr0n8ZiRfcsaDk3jyfRbXZdPtANCSOE-iyafTErqtwgVqBEHkxZwPyJsCykCa534LI5nD7cPBS-spyMaOhH-wpbfV1Mhsa2fbdXP_pr3=s1098" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1098" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgM5IsN-h8g95TmjCyxbxQBWxiWTp1zuVjsgLy-oCwuFyGcyoqlamYCQ2yMPWldfeKeCH7c_Gjv1Ztykmpgrr0n8ZiRfcsaDk3jyfRbXZdPtANCSOE-iyafTErqtwgVqBEHkxZwPyJsCykCa534LI5nD7cPBS-spyMaOhH-wpbfV1Mhsa2fbdXP_pr3=w640-h490" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see some modest root flare on the red oak on the right, and significant root flare on the white oak on the far left. I would estimate that this site (which is relatively flat) has lost about 6" of topsoil since pre-settlement times.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Is there a lot of old junk in your woods?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you have a lot of junk in your woods, ranging from bottles and cans to ancient farm equipment, it suggests that your woodland has perhaps been abused, but at least has been heavily used.<br /><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Wildlife:</span></h2><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Wildlife, by and large, respond to the plant community and geophysical structure of a site. While all wildlife will benefit from a healthier ecosystem, with increased diversity, numbers and health, certain species are more sensitive than others to ecological degradation. And certainly, some species are more visible than others. Here’s what you can look-out for:<br /><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Have you ever seen a bluebird or redheaded woodpecker in your woodland?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you have, that’s great news! These birds, which were once abundant in our landscape, require open woodlands and savanna environments. So if bluebirds or redheads are nesting in your woodland, that suggests that you at least have the habitat structure that these stunning birds are looking for. If you don’t have them, consider what you can do to make your woodland a place they could call home.<br /><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you see many bees and butterflies in your woodland?</span></h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A healthy woodland should be home to plenty of pollinators. These pollinators need the above-mentioned flowers blooming throughout the growing season. Butterflies also need their larval host plants.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWAKTR96rlLICcUR_XTqtYt4qOFD8w_IkJlujnutq2IvEi3jui_1LJ_KmVcWKnLmFAKSGYnVIWcwqLeoy5cr9_wiEOX6kDhrB8-Ia79yOdLl80181O7Zt_Waxf2yErzEaA8lMGw5ebtDvebxUykBcH5rPZb1ibvj7XisVEVFjRw9AL2CbFEjNp0a7Z=s2240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="2240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWAKTR96rlLICcUR_XTqtYt4qOFD8w_IkJlujnutq2IvEi3jui_1LJ_KmVcWKnLmFAKSGYnVIWcwqLeoy5cr9_wiEOX6kDhrB8-Ia79yOdLl80181O7Zt_Waxf2yErzEaA8lMGw5ebtDvebxUykBcH5rPZb1ibvj7XisVEVFjRw9AL2CbFEjNp0a7Z=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A monarch catapillar on poke milkweed, which is our true woodland milkweed species.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Conclusion:</span></h2><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Aldo Leopold once wrote:<br /><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.</i></span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Now perhaps you can see some of the wounds in your woodland. But we can heal these wounds through ecological restoration. In the next article in this series, I’ll talk about the benefits that come with restoring oak woodlands to health.</span></div></div>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-61262148762408604962022-02-05T12:22:00.002-06:002022-02-17T11:00:07.749-06:00 A Brief History of Oak Woodland in the Midwest in General, and Southern Wisconsin in Particular<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is the first post in a series of three about Wisconsin oak woodland history, health and restoration. In this first installment, we’ll cover an overview of oak woodland types in our region and how human activities have impacted them from pre-settlement times to today. In order to keep this brief and digestible, this post simplifies complex ecology and history. </span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A lot of people take our woodlands in the Midwest for granted and many people don’t give them much thought. However, we’re at a critical time for our oak woodlands. Many are nearing a breaking point - a point of ecological collapse from which restoration will be difficult, if not impossible. So what is going on? To understand that, you need to understand what oak woodlands were like two centuries ago or more, and how human-caused changes have created the more depauperate woodlands we see today.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Pre-Settlement Woodlands of the Midwest</span></b></h2><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In pre-Euro-American settlement times, the most common woodland types in the region were:</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><a href="https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/documents/elowch7/CTSAV004WI.pdf" target="_blank">Savannas</a></b> - The Wisconsin DNR calls these “oak openings” with as few as one oak tree per acre. Those scattered trees were usually bur oak or white oak, but black oak savannas occurred on sites with sandy soils.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOduV_wrj_KBTTpkBIkERe9FVNAPa0AIB5X73FkGkJ6b3juVD5s5rHDTz7hOax9kW8CQmhd3gv4uHr7vvVlMoDvYqRVOzK-qLNpb0KacwyxI_kXrE-kJlHQh54s_9wyHkrUMBOqAdlGOSvdeNQ_jLlFhLFRoJcHTfEi1rQhiATA8qXSweMeIjTtdAA=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOduV_wrj_KBTTpkBIkERe9FVNAPa0AIB5X73FkGkJ6b3juVD5s5rHDTz7hOax9kW8CQmhd3gv4uHr7vvVlMoDvYqRVOzK-qLNpb0KacwyxI_kXrE-kJlHQh54s_9wyHkrUMBOqAdlGOSvdeNQ_jLlFhLFRoJcHTfEi1rQhiATA8qXSweMeIjTtdAA=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Savanna restoration at <a href="https://pheasantbranch.org/conservancy/" target="_blank">Pheasant Branch Conservancy</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b><a href="https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/documents/elowch7/CTFOR010WI.pdf" target="_blank">Oak Woodlands</a></b> - A very open canopy, no more than 50-80% canopy cover. A more diverse assemblage of oaks inhabited these woodlands, with some hickory and rarely other tree species.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2_0AY1UNzcSwrTyyGDCbPsNRo_8-CTBW_b6aRMnQbZ7lu2F2yzZiDu5_jluy8aFA2VVX2dmseItKDsaowRMa0F8M4JvUmn-n6LjUrUPJ7q4uYaMwD85RUZNeSsi1pvX5rMbF2oSlqf6n7sUwVMrdtKKa7SgcUaznoiD0Z2NlLeTFK2PWQdgOVytLW=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2_0AY1UNzcSwrTyyGDCbPsNRo_8-CTBW_b6aRMnQbZ7lu2F2yzZiDu5_jluy8aFA2VVX2dmseItKDsaowRMa0F8M4JvUmn-n6LjUrUPJ7q4uYaMwD85RUZNeSsi1pvX5rMbF2oSlqf6n7sUwVMrdtKKa7SgcUaznoiD0Z2NlLeTFK2PWQdgOVytLW=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A white oak woodland are in the <a href="https://www.nachusagrasslands.org/stone-barn-savannah-tour.html" target="_blank">Stone Barn Savanna</a> complex in <a href="https://www.nachusagrasslands.org/" target="_blank">Nachusa Grassland</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These were very open woodland types with a lot of sunlight reaching the ground layer vegetation. As a result, there was abundant energy to drive photosynthesis, which allowed for a rich flora of wildflowers, grasses and shrubs. These plants then served as the food source for pollinators, grazing insects and mammalian grazers such as deer, elk and occasionally, bison. These insects fed a great diversity of songbirds and game birds such as turkey, quail and grouse, and large predators such as wolves, bobcats, mountain lions and black bears.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These were the dominant “forest” types in the southern 1/3rd of Wisconsin, all of Iowa, northern Missouri, and the northern 3/4th of Illinois and Indiana. In this post I’ll just be focusing the portion of Wisconsin south of the <a href="https://grow.cals.wisc.edu/deprecated/agriculture/five-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-tension-zone" target="_blank">Tension Zone</a> to narrow this discussion to our local conditions. These were fire-regulated systems, with frequent, low-intensity fires with a burn return interval of roughly 1-3 years. Oaks, being amongst the most fire tolerant trees in our region, out-competed fire-intolerant trees. Across most of the landscape, trees that were not in the <i>Quercus</i> (oak) genus, were not often seen.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ9V5oLyqT8Ke_VLTDArcvnIxm62kk2bhJHGZG5tb1dKOK6kzCnpsmGur1iSMP8Tp0I69aq08hMJw2YYkf1SZYMVhh2DlyatALiqGMrFDJaYIG0fKT3FWdD6-DUT2OSE6tqe4xa-WnFMk90DoqPyTlIgcEvvLNEq_e-G-GTo7FD_Ywan2CDR1LYvsq=s1506" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="1442" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ9V5oLyqT8Ke_VLTDArcvnIxm62kk2bhJHGZG5tb1dKOK6kzCnpsmGur1iSMP8Tp0I69aq08hMJw2YYkf1SZYMVhh2DlyatALiqGMrFDJaYIG0fKT3FWdD6-DUT2OSE6tqe4xa-WnFMk90DoqPyTlIgcEvvLNEq_e-G-GTo7FD_Ywan2CDR1LYvsq=w612-h640" width="612" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This map from the <a href="https://grow.cals.wisc.edu/deprecated/agriculture/five-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-tension-zone">UW Extension </a>illustrates the Tension Zone in WI, south of it, in lime-green oak woodlands were the dominant "forest" type.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1K5v4ZQPRUZA8fNfyTCBOlH92460bJ09dMoDnUdXL7g4ndbyCICagdDnPCj9nSM_PTBZedq8ppWVRVseFxsjnX5TuqTN3-ifmN_yJiSdq1UPo1e22EV4SlIjElVIL9b1Cf8iZqxwaM5LbWSjboahq21o8Q9WpS9apIYuCC87kPOBdZRB9O4jpoh_d=s2239" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2239" data-original-width="2079" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1K5v4ZQPRUZA8fNfyTCBOlH92460bJ09dMoDnUdXL7g4ndbyCICagdDnPCj9nSM_PTBZedq8ppWVRVseFxsjnX5TuqTN3-ifmN_yJiSdq1UPo1e22EV4SlIjElVIL9b1Cf8iZqxwaM5LbWSjboahq21o8Q9WpS9apIYuCC87kPOBdZRB9O4jpoh_d=w594-h640" width="594" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Finley map of pre-settlement vegetation types, the brown and orange are oak woodlands and savannas respectively. See <a href="https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/documents/StateMaps/Map_S2_Finley.pdf" target="_blank">this link </a>for a more detailed PDF.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">More dense canopy forests were uncommon in southern Wisconsin and restricted to areas where the topography and hydrology reduced the frequency and intensity of fires. These were limited to areas such as floodplain forests, areas with lake and wetland complexes, and steep north facing slopes in the Driftless region, particularly where wetlands or streams were at the bottom of that slope. These small forested areas varied quite a bit in composition so it can be difficult to generalize about them. Overall they were more often inhabited by trees that were more tolerant of shade, but intolerant of fire such as maple, basswood, cherry, walnut, elm, aspen, hackberries and others. Some oaks were present as well, particularly red oak, and occasionally white oak. Though there was more diversity in the tree canopy, the ground layer, which received much less energy from the sun, was accordingly less productive and therefore had less animal and plant diversity and abundance compared to more open woodlands. Still, a healthy and intact hardwood forest is much more rich than most woodlands today.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On a landscape level, these more shaded closed-canopy forest communities were mere pinpoints or ribbons on a landscape dominated by open prairie, savanna and woodland. So why are most of our wooded areas dense with trees and brush today?</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Oak woodlands, savannas, prairies, and wetlands in our region were maintained by frequent, low-intensity fires. Fires lit by by the Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, Sauk and Dakota Peoples who lived across this region could at times burn for days, and travel across hundreds of square miles. As a result, much of the landscape likely burned nearly every year. Woodlands may have burned every 1-3 years. Most people today are familiar with prairie fires, but there was little to stop these fires from simply continuing into woodlands and wetlands. These fires kept woody species suppressed, especially fire intolerant trees.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOQ4uJMLG9qKTr1c9F8gZs-QTu6y8jxcApgFc09o5nECRgiJVcuVis6deR6DQalZ9ksSGSp1t9z-VH5llO8p2s5l7cXQ9B6lmJMQoUiOedwlrNnJYOysCSrKzElIuR58MGGsJomOVGmlRAPFXqulw9dMYJj7juFSKN9y4GSJqJiBOS5ff19sP1EhrI=s3521" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2888" data-original-width="3521" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOQ4uJMLG9qKTr1c9F8gZs-QTu6y8jxcApgFc09o5nECRgiJVcuVis6deR6DQalZ9ksSGSp1t9z-VH5llO8p2s5l7cXQ9B6lmJMQoUiOedwlrNnJYOysCSrKzElIuR58MGGsJomOVGmlRAPFXqulw9dMYJj7juFSKN9y4GSJqJiBOS5ff19sP1EhrI=w640-h524" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A modern prescribed fire backing through an oak savanna.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Oaks are on average more tolerant of fire than other genera of trees. This is exemplified by bur oak which has a number of adaptations to fire. First, they have a large acorn with a lot of stored energy, which allows them to set down roots into the ground quickly upon germination. Second, bur oaks rapidly put on root mass. Many people believe that oaks grow slowly, but this isn't strictly true. Oaks put on much of their growth below ground in a massive root system. The benefit of this is that if the above-ground portion of the tree is destroyed by fire, animal activity, or weather, they have substantial reserves underground to re-route rapidly. There are reported cases where oaks have been burned over regularly for decades. These trees never got larger than a shrub above ground, but could have a root system as large as a mature tree. In the event that there was an absence of fire for just a few years, these ‘grub oaks’ could grow rapidly to a mature size where they were less vulnerable to fire. This brings me to the final adaptation bur oaks have to fire: thick insulating bark that, once mature, can withstand the frequent, low-intensity fires that were common in the region.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Other management activities conducted by indigenous peoples such as wood harvesting, materials gathering, food foraging and agriculture also had an impact on the structure and ecology of these woodlands. It is clear that active management by indigenous peoples across the Midwest was what maintained a rich mosaic landscape of prairie, savanna and woodland. Before contact with Europeans, these people thrived with a suitable abundance of game, gathered foods, crops, medicines, building materials and other resources available for their use. Good stewardship by indigenous nations also provided resources for a diversity and abundance of plants, animals, fungi and all the other forms of life that inhabit a rich and complex ecosystem. We should be grateful for the stewardship the Potowatami and Ho-Chuck provided for this ecosystem for so many generations (and their continued leadership in environmental stewardship today).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Changes in Land Use with Euro-American Settlement:</span></b></h2><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Public Land Survey of Wisconsin began in 1832. Though there was scattered Euro-American settlement before this time, more settlers arrived in larger numbers from the mid-1830’s to the 1860’s. This change in control of the land from indigenous nations to colonizers of European ancestry had a number of profound impacts on the landscape. Some of the most impactful actions of settlers included:</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Settlers partitioned up the land; developed roads, plowed fields. This had the effect of fragmenting natural communities into smaller units, reducing the ability of plants and small animals to disperse from one habitat patch to another.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">New settlers actively suppressed fires. New roads and agricultural fields became unintentional fire breaks, preventing fires from spreading. Active suppression, including fighting wildfires, reduced fire's impact on the landscape further. Fires were effectively eliminated by the Smokey The Bear era in the late 20th century. This eliminated a key ecosystem regulator from the landscape.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many woodlands were logged for building materials. This resulted in the loss of these woodlands as they were transitioned to grazing land or agricultural fields.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Other woodlands were left uncut and used as graze land. This kept trees and brush suppressed, at least temporarily, but also greatly reduced the diversity and abundance of native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs in the woodlands.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Grazing dairy cattle was widespread across the entire landscape and was also very intense denuding all vegetation from the soil surface.</span></li></ol><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrtZcmTOdCMQh4fDerOrF-XCeVKb-n6bduAC9NWDQhbVxbxuGiPJVBzDqR6LrBEqlTCGdlgfD7IAeVMEcXVcd2JkQv0JIb0fd4qF4wIOsx3R_49pO2uhPRUNTdnSzrLWk56JXlKaixubQux_gC0FqOf4FYpkLphQzHARqyOE4ThoJEt8c1Ii9PUGZh=s1062" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1062" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrtZcmTOdCMQh4fDerOrF-XCeVKb-n6bduAC9NWDQhbVxbxuGiPJVBzDqR6LrBEqlTCGdlgfD7IAeVMEcXVcd2JkQv0JIb0fd4qF4wIOsx3R_49pO2uhPRUNTdnSzrLWk56JXlKaixubQux_gC0FqOf4FYpkLphQzHARqyOE4ThoJEt8c1Ii9PUGZh=w640-h301" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo from the Driftless region in the 1930's gives you some idea how bad erosion could be. All indications are that heavy soil loss was common throughout the Midwest at this time.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dairy farming really picked up steam in Wisconsin in the 1860’s, peaking in the early 20th Century. As a result, it's likely that just about every woodland in the region was heavily grazed for over 100 years. The impacts of this grazing are apparent today in many woodlands:</span></div><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is a low diversity of native wildflowers. For example, heavily grazed woods often have few spring ephemeral wildflowers such as spring beauty, trillium and trout lily.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Heavily grazed woodlands often have an abundance of thorny shrubs, particularly raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries and prickly ash.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Erosion can be observed by seeing the root flair and exposed root on old oak trees. Some sites have lost 6-10” of topsoil. As a result, these soils are of poor quality, and often rocky. This also means the seed bank for native plants has been washed away as well.</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the latter half of the 20th century the dairy industry in Wisconsin changed dramatically. The number of small dairy producers decreased over time and dairy production became more industrialized. The impacts on woodlands in the region is apparent.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">First, you can often see in areal photographs woodlands that were fairly open in the late 1930 and into the 1960’s become more dense with trees in the 1970s and 1980’s. This trend continued to the closed tree canopies and dark woodlands we see today.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Second, you can see these effects on the ground. There are many non-oak trees in formerly oak dominated woodlands that are small in diameter (<10”) and less than 40 years old.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Third, you do not see young oaks because they need more sunlight than is available to successfully germinate, grow and reach maturity.</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGzxag6NKgkHcR9-tvundQFD3yCa64SKxGcZBlUIS_Mc3VFaqkca6EsVOgUCwUsTQ2GBH5ZRpQSungzGvR6FyhPgcd86HqkWGc1psNhriflmtNzCz2WVN2e1voY3f833wYXJs0O3ks0BBihOvzq3uIEWd-HhL4bDyJzPDgDV_zWwwFkALIbk1Q2VD0=s2871" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2167" data-original-width="2871" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGzxag6NKgkHcR9-tvundQFD3yCa64SKxGcZBlUIS_Mc3VFaqkca6EsVOgUCwUsTQ2GBH5ZRpQSungzGvR6FyhPgcd86HqkWGc1psNhriflmtNzCz2WVN2e1voY3f833wYXJs0O3ks0BBihOvzq3uIEWd-HhL4bDyJzPDgDV_zWwwFkALIbk1Q2VD0=w640-h484" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Taylor Conservation Park in Madison circa 1937. Overall, this is an example of a savanna environment. Note that this image was taken in June, with the leaves on the trees.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNVQ72BxQSZLQu41XqMGptFTBpELYA5xIEg9Amsx1jNNzg0kUrMmLjPmFycrnnKxbL2nnvJ8NqYzw8VtqGtTpMK6VpZqkthGGmBHoIiaee2M4P4ziVFt9vEdffyCDttytHAyR5YTUu94YV6-KNxZUG_edTtRxLrRJLp4BVa_T5C15jehy9iJ1vJnfR=s2872" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2171" data-original-width="2872" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNVQ72BxQSZLQu41XqMGptFTBpELYA5xIEg9Amsx1jNNzg0kUrMmLjPmFycrnnKxbL2nnvJ8NqYzw8VtqGtTpMK6VpZqkthGGmBHoIiaee2M4P4ziVFt9vEdffyCDttytHAyR5YTUu94YV6-KNxZUG_edTtRxLrRJLp4BVa_T5C15jehy9iJ1vJnfR=w640-h484" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Taylor Conservation Park in Madison in 1974. Notice how much more dense the wooded area is, with additional trees sprouting elsewhere in what used to be pasture.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg53HGN3Dl6blUaGgr_lcUNwc-oxW1iN7hQWEzZuW9kkcB0_KXqnjeABixUtodA8FwSYWMWkCeT6g5wzACDO867uyKzju48nEyMeqv65MT6gHQY0yYA1nUO7wL15CBMfKzdDA5Y-tM1G7LcBRc5Oy_SR3LbxVIFwVnreI02TvrSEN0e6aKrdQ4No51B=s2872" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2167" data-original-width="2872" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg53HGN3Dl6blUaGgr_lcUNwc-oxW1iN7hQWEzZuW9kkcB0_KXqnjeABixUtodA8FwSYWMWkCeT6g5wzACDO867uyKzju48nEyMeqv65MT6gHQY0yYA1nUO7wL15CBMfKzdDA5Y-tM1G7LcBRc5Oy_SR3LbxVIFwVnreI02TvrSEN0e6aKrdQ4No51B=w640-h482" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Taylor Conservation Park in Madison in 2014. Note that this is an early-April, leaf-off image, and yet the woodland looks much more dense than its 1937 counterpart! You can see restoration work has begun in the southern 1/3rd of the park but not the north.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many invasive plants were introduced that have spread rapidly into these already compromised woodland habitats. Common buckthorn and bush honeysuckle are the most common examples of invasive woody plants in our region, though there are many others. These started to arrive with <i>intentional</i> introductions in the 1960’s through the early 1980’s. From isolated introductions they spread across the landscape. These invasive plants further impacted already degraded woodlands, further increasing shading and erosion and suppressing the growth of oaks, wildflowers, grasses and the wildlife that depend on these plants for survival. These conditions are ideal for other invasive plants such as garlic mustard, motherwort and dames rocket to establish and spread rapidly.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5Zlj-fuYx0l3DX4UeWLInMmVbHAxtdl58VfHdTIZyVIxTmURnhUG-9wpkuiOpoD2ccYCiNBFpl31jTjJYXimfIVvkzm5jjlwUx7se6nGDL1i9TcJKgW0IYRG0BKnKuxY4zw8PuVZrFOhacP8m9kiLeW2Or9OURV4Ehprp9Znj5fJQ60VEPu5xikZi=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5Zlj-fuYx0l3DX4UeWLInMmVbHAxtdl58VfHdTIZyVIxTmURnhUG-9wpkuiOpoD2ccYCiNBFpl31jTjJYXimfIVvkzm5jjlwUx7se6nGDL1i9TcJKgW0IYRG0BKnKuxY4zw8PuVZrFOhacP8m9kiLeW2Or9OURV4Ehprp9Znj5fJQ60VEPu5xikZi=w640-h424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This "wall of buckthorn" is neither 'natural' nor healthy. But sadly this is the most common state of our oak woodlands today. This is an ecological dead end. Restoration work is needed to get things back on track.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Conclusion</span></h2><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We are roughly two centuries past a time when our oak woodlands were healthy and well maintained. Nearly 200 years of fragmenting, degrading and ignoring our woodlands have left them in a critical condition today. These systems are resilient and full of living things ranging from oak trees, to wildflowers, to rusty patch bumble bees continue to fight hard for survival. But we are now at an inflection point; these systems can’t take much more before they collapse. The old oaks will only live so long, and conditions are poor for their replacement.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We still have time to act. But we should act now. With proper management, we can restore our oak woodlands to health. This involves removing brush and excessive non-oak trees, controlling invasive ground-layer plants, and reintroducing native plant species that have been lost by seeding and planting. As for the wildlife, it really is a ‘if you make it they will come’ situation. Once there are food resources available for them they return remarkably quickly, especially birds.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In my next post, I’ll share some ways that you can evaluate the health of your woodland, even if you aren’t a trained ecologist. And following that we’ll talk about the many ways that restoring your woodland will benefit your woods, yourself and your community (natural or otherwise).</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-7040318838328462482021-10-17T11:32:00.006-05:002021-10-31T20:56:59.088-05:00ACTION ALERT: Save Bell Bowl Prairie!<p>UPDATE 10/28/21: In the face of multiple lawsuits by local environmental advocacy groups, airport has relented! At least temporarily. According to the local news channel website, <a href="https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/rockford-airport-agrees-to-halt-expansion-project-spare-bell-bowl-prairie/?fbclid=IwAR1dUBWi-lXsuznxIS2utPyYPi2_SYGdm2RMj_BGxyZES2u0dKazXgqvtE4">mystateline.com</a>, Zack Oakley, the Deputy Director of Operations and Planning at RFD, released the following statement: “During the coming months, we will continue to work with the FAA, IDNR, and the USFWS to ensure the project continues and we can plan and develop in compliance with the Federal and state regulations for the endangered species. The FAA is reinitiating consultation under the Endangered Species Act with the USFWS to evaluate impacts to the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, so planned construction initially scheduled to continue on November 1 will be suspended until further consultation is completed. We anticipate the resumption of the project in the spring of 2022.” </p><p>This doesn't exactly proclaim that the airport is committed to preserving the remaining ~18 acres of virgin prairie at Bell Bowl. As such, local conservationists are cautiously optimistic, and watching for the airports next move carefully. Be sure you keep yourself informed at the links below. Special Thanks to the <a href="https://www.naturalland.org/">Natural Lands Institute</a> for spearheading the resistance.<br /></p><p>------<br /></p><p>This is my statement, on behalf of <a href="http://goodoak.com" target="_blank">Good Oak Ecological Services</a>, on the imminent threat to <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Bowl_Prairie" target="_blank">Bell Bowl Prairie</a> adjacent to the Chicago-Rockford International Airport in Rockford, IL. This irreplaceable prairie remnant is scheduled to be destroyed on Nov. 1st,</b> unless we can convince the Greater Rockford Airport Authority Board of Commissioners and other stakeholders to yield to public outcry and literally stop the bulldozers.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Find out what you can do at: <a href="https://www.savebellbowlprairie.org/home/#what-can-i-do">https://www.savebellbowlprairie.org/home/#what-can-i-do</a><br /></b></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Keep updated on the latest news at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/savebellbowlprairie">https://www.facebook.com/groups/savebellbowlprairie</a></b></span></h3><p><b> </b></p><p><b>#SaveBellBowlPrairie</b></p><p> </p><p>I was born, and raised on a farm in “The Prairie State.” I was actively involved in Boy Scouts, and did a lot of camping, hiking, biking and fishing as a child. But like most Illinois residents, I went my entire youth without seeing an actual prairie. That was, until my first week at the University of Illinois, when I accidentally signed-up for a prairie tour at Quad Day. What I experienced on that tour was so stunning and delightful that it shook my understanding of the world, and reset the course of my career and my life.<br /><br />But I understand that most people have not been as fortunate as I have to have such an experience. After all, there is so precious little prairie left (less than 1/100th of 1%, or the equivalent of 1 penny left out of $100), that it’s no wonder that most people have never had the opportunity to visit a real prairie remnant. And therefore most people have never had the chance to develop a concept of what once was, and what we have left.<br /><br />So, it is difficult for us to put into perspective what the loss of Bell Bowl Prairie would mean. For a more contemporary example: Suppose that, 50 years from now, we have logged, slashed and burned our way across the Amazon basin, and there are just a few-dozen acres of Amazon rainforest left. These ecosystem fragments are scattered across thousands of square miles of a landscape dominated tropical graze-land and soybean fields. And then, what if there was a plan to bulldoze one of these last gems of rainforest for something as meaningless as a highway expansion? <i>Shouldn’t we protect these last remaining fragments? Shouldn’t we simply move the highway someplace else?</i><br /><br />Or what if, 50 years from now we have destroyed all but the last patches of coral reef around the globe through climate change? Should we be willing to wreck one of the last few intact coral reefs <i>in the world, or rather, in all of the universe</i>, for something as relatively inconsequential as a port expansion project?<br /><br />This is exactly what is being proposed being done to the Bell Bowl Prairie at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport. One of the last few original fragments of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallgrass_prairie" target="_blank">tallgrass prairie </a>in the world, and furthermore it is a specialized habitat called a gravel hill prairie, is scheduled to be destroyed November 1st. And this destruction is entirely unnecessary. The airport owns hundreds of acres just slightly further south where this expansion could go instead. This is not a case of ‘the economy vs nature;’ this destruction of our irreplaceable natural heritage is entirely unnecessary.<br /><br />There are thousands of species of plants, animals and fungi - yes thousands - that inhabit the Bell Bowl Prairie, most of which are now rare and nearing extinction globally. But to highlight at least one species in particular, there is the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/factsheetrpbb.html" target="_blank">Rusty Patch Bumblebee</a> which is listed federally as an Endangered Species. Endangered status is supposed to be the greatest level of protection possible for the species at most risk of extinction, from ceasing to exist forever. However, this status is not protecting this population of bees and the habitat they rely on for continued survival.<br /><br />Delaying the bulldozing of Bell Bowl Prairie until November 1st is meaningless in preventing the destruction of this population of endangered pollinators. Rusty Patch Bumblebees nest primarily in abandoned burrows of small mammals. The queen bees survive through the winter sleeping in these burrows, which are certainly located within the bounds of the prairie, until they can emerge in the warm days of early spring. Whether these bees are killed while they are above ground, or unsuspectingly in their sleep - these bees are still being killed. Surely, this destruction of endangered animals violates the intention of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">Endangered Species Act</a>.<br /><br />As the world’s premier biologist, E. O. Wilson has said: “<i>We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.</i>” Or, in the words of pioneering conservationist Aldo Leopold: “<i>…To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.</i>” <br /><br />Infrastructure can be moved or replaced. Though this development project at the airport may seem urgent now, it can be changed. The same is not true for a prairie. </p><p>I have spent my 25-year career learning about ecology and implementing projects to restore and attempt to replace natural areas. <b>As someone who has dedicated their life to this work, I can tell you that the complex matrix of living organisms that is a prairie remnant is something that we do not today, and probably will never have, the knowledge and technology to replace.</b> This is particularly the case if we needlessly destroy all of our scraps, wheels and cogs before we even try to restore what we have damaged.<br /><br />There is another path we can take. Do the right thing and turn the bulldozers around. Rework the project plan for a location a bit further south. Preserve this rare gem of original Illinois prairie. In the future we can celebrate what the Greater Rockford Airport Authority has done to preserve and steward this site, and share it with the local community, and visitors alike.<br /><br />I am asking those with the power to change this, the Greater Rockford Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and others, to please, take the following steps:<br /><br /></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Delay and reposition this development project to an alternate location where it will not destroy or negatively impact Bell Bowl Prairie.</li><li>Make assurances that this prairie will be preserved perpetually, such as submitting it for protection as a State Nature Preserve.</li><li>Work with experts in the field to plant a native vegetation buffer around the prairie remnant to help protect it from impacts of surrounding development.</li><li>Allow the establishment of a volunteer stewardship group to access and conduct management of the prairie in order to restore, preserve and enhance the Bell Bowl Prairie.</li></ol><p><br />Most Sincerely,<br />Frank Hassler<br />Owner, and Chief Ecologist<br /><a href="http://goodoak.com" target="_blank">Good Oak Ecological Services</a><br /></p><p>PS: I have never been to Bell Bowl Prairie (I can only hope that I will have a chance in the future!), but I thought I'd finish with some photos I have taken at other gravel hill prairies that are here in southern Wisconsin:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKHMrFAcZPyVc9uzX8Y0GGX0k7QJLyNNUGwy6gxqmwy9LUNzCXm3ZHP-ppgESClMtZfXnIj33H-xpBdDmolQ3ybCRk4obGlF_huZfBUrBsv9NAqWeA7CG0esP7luzg78ecGrp_rCjiqU/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+048.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKHMrFAcZPyVc9uzX8Y0GGX0k7QJLyNNUGwy6gxqmwy9LUNzCXm3ZHP-ppgESClMtZfXnIj33H-xpBdDmolQ3ybCRk4obGlF_huZfBUrBsv9NAqWeA7CG0esP7luzg78ecGrp_rCjiqU/w640-h426/GravelHillPriarie+048.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/rettenmund_prairie" target="_blank">Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie</a> in July.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhjgsfHrU1SnPSnpD8bPsTDWwKYw8VINoCl8mTT510L_B0oX0xLsKbbt9SgCBIDg4Nx4ah1wekVxIiwBK_EWAfgT0_TTnC6-4XXNSBSeakqT9SYfzL_uZL-jL6K8YFxv6YCqqbOzeZD0/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+016.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhjgsfHrU1SnPSnpD8bPsTDWwKYw8VINoCl8mTT510L_B0oX0xLsKbbt9SgCBIDg4Nx4ah1wekVxIiwBK_EWAfgT0_TTnC6-4XXNSBSeakqT9SYfzL_uZL-jL6K8YFxv6YCqqbOzeZD0/w640-h480/GravelHillPriarie+016.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasque flower at <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists/423882-Empire-Prairies-State-Natural-Area--Westport-Drumlin--Check-List" target="_blank">Westport Drumlin</a>, among the first flower to bloom each April.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zrwx7iyl_2r5sa1L4Do3CcBTBaN1hXFskNeubSSPBKAssQLB62wJM6E46xJF-tuqks8M7AM6zsMANnvQlQG0tbn9QcD9vlPKKMerHOV5xZp36wvWsn153G6R32NfTBeOQJQhgzrg5ts/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+035.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zrwx7iyl_2r5sa1L4Do3CcBTBaN1hXFskNeubSSPBKAssQLB62wJM6E46xJF-tuqks8M7AM6zsMANnvQlQG0tbn9QcD9vlPKKMerHOV5xZp36wvWsn153G6R32NfTBeOQJQhgzrg5ts/w640-h480/GravelHillPriarie+035.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birdsfoot Violet has leaves like no Violet you have ever seen. These were at Westport Drumlin Prairie.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qdvTxNcR5nWi9LUoA9P-Zz5alVKLsX5_k04MHUhGR0akvMwAbfup64V0vIWRuRjxWDw8DXx9qR3jiNTBPLO38QusU09HZaYEeKzpXMA__qSQ8JtBK_zLTQ2FuF2kftchP_BnfE7OjX8/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qdvTxNcR5nWi9LUoA9P-Zz5alVKLsX5_k04MHUhGR0akvMwAbfup64V0vIWRuRjxWDw8DXx9qR3jiNTBPLO38QusU09HZaYEeKzpXMA__qSQ8JtBK_zLTQ2FuF2kftchP_BnfE7OjX8/w426-h640/GravelHillPriarie+001.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoary puccoon, and the other prairie puccoons, are plants that are only found on prairie remnants because we have not been able to figure out how to grow them from seed. They will only survive as long as we preserver remnants like Bell Bowl Prairie.There were photographed at nearby <a href="https://www.nachusagrasslands.org" target="_blank">Nachusa Grassland</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG8E0gM63XbWTxh271TW4vZzhLHGl40Gr6CZcb-BX7zmaLrlSLhCFxTJftjBgYUcFr3OC7CfEis3LYja7QcINzF3Nz-DVtGidKu7Gvh3xyWeqz9-M3a3MjHc5H_iUULGzFxglh_Wgv4k/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+083.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="681" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG8E0gM63XbWTxh271TW4vZzhLHGl40Gr6CZcb-BX7zmaLrlSLhCFxTJftjBgYUcFr3OC7CfEis3LYja7QcINzF3Nz-DVtGidKu7Gvh3xyWeqz9-M3a3MjHc5H_iUULGzFxglh_Wgv4k/w426-h640/GravelHillPriarie+083.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aphrodite Fritallary on rough blazing star at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MeiYbagqByCkU3wTBaXgO6JeVtEbG4EhabK-FFQ-x5ZecxnP1y68q9dLwLkUqSq8Cpgm241J4298NLdn-dy6BCpBTBTZHqbSbSLWWD8DKHtm2u77HqHn_9LB9t9ouWl1GvigHyReopA/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+051.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MeiYbagqByCkU3wTBaXgO6JeVtEbG4EhabK-FFQ-x5ZecxnP1y68q9dLwLkUqSq8Cpgm241J4298NLdn-dy6BCpBTBTZHqbSbSLWWD8DKHtm2u77HqHn_9LB9t9ouWl1GvigHyReopA/w480-h640/GravelHillPriarie+051.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood lily at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RyMeY5pA73Ct6LZblW_b6hNGgiLmxlsquLcc8cMGN-thbddERNHBfXJgCGjBp9_9BgOCASHocGVHk0T2viFEiffvsjXNYy6TpG5fRsuFcUI2JBi9F0LnL6fFzgtCBwFtNZoBxPUNejo/s1024/GravelHillPriarie+079.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="688" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RyMeY5pA73Ct6LZblW_b6hNGgiLmxlsquLcc8cMGN-thbddERNHBfXJgCGjBp9_9BgOCASHocGVHk0T2viFEiffvsjXNYy6TpG5fRsuFcUI2JBi9F0LnL6fFzgtCBwFtNZoBxPUNejo/w430-h640/GravelHillPriarie+079.jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black swallowtail on dwarf blazingstar at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-12660659726820647932021-07-13T13:11:00.001-05:002021-07-13T13:11:45.122-05:00Rehabilitating Middleton Hills Prairie<p> We've been working for the Middleton Hills Neighborhood Association for 11 years now, and I thought this might be a good opportunity to share an example of the work involved in, and successful results from rehabilitation of a failed prairie planting.</p><p>Here's the location. Take a visit if you're in the area, it looks spectacular now!:</p>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">2010: Introduction</h2><p>When I first saw the site in fall of 2010, the "prairie" was literally more weed than it was prairie plants. Though there were native prairie plant scattered throughout from the seeding done a few years prior, I would say that coverage was 80% or more weeds and invasive plants, only 20%, or less, natives. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon result from poorly planned and implemented prairie plantings done by folks who don't have a background in ecological land management. When <a href="http://goodoak.com/prairie.html#planting">painting a prairie</a>, three things are critical:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Thorough site preparation in the growing season, or two before the planting to eliminate weeds and invasive plants</li><li>Spreading a sufficient amount of a diverse native seed mix that is tuned to the exact soil and sunlight conditions of the site</li><li>Thorough stewardship, weed management, monitoring and interseeding, if needed, for several years after planting.</li></ol><p></p><p>This site had none of that, and the results were predictable. I informed the representative of the Neighborhood Association who was showing me around that it would be faster, easier and less expensive if we just tilled the whole site in and started from scratch following the guidelines above. The Association didn't want to do that, they wanted to retain what they had so far. So, I developed a plan to start getting this prairie on the right track.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5N5Lmy88Ed1So6YyZ3faoMzSi4eSwZJkiW0uVd4vDXGYKBx4Ye9uWXv3kKAMB0MEiwwWFKund-5YRUI6yUjv5AtSPCKkh57rDJRCAEFwfcfAwfaUl0rp_xHhmIhSzo-8mTYspqXYIkg/s1280/MiddletonHills+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5N5Lmy88Ed1So6YyZ3faoMzSi4eSwZJkiW0uVd4vDXGYKBx4Ye9uWXv3kKAMB0MEiwwWFKund-5YRUI6yUjv5AtSPCKkh57rDJRCAEFwfcfAwfaUl0rp_xHhmIhSzo-8mTYspqXYIkg/w640-h424/MiddletonHills+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the bottom here you can see a lot of <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/birdsfoottrefoil.pdf" target="_blank">birdsfoot trefoil</a>, an invasive perennial. A few of the taller plants are prairie species, including New England aster and false sunflower. Indian grass flops over as it has no prairie neighbors to lean on!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIoCQF6qbGsORmzkatl9YEbpU1_1Uc47LIRvGIw-eM4rpmjTwgBccER9v2GO-bQrtpt-XE3z2D1VsNXqL2mz6pYOGi0BAugmK2SxGvb-mc_DDGVrkjOKZtjuANwKRlDIANorgD1w77oc/s1280/MiddletonHills+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="850" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIoCQF6qbGsORmzkatl9YEbpU1_1Uc47LIRvGIw-eM4rpmjTwgBccER9v2GO-bQrtpt-XE3z2D1VsNXqL2mz6pYOGi0BAugmK2SxGvb-mc_DDGVrkjOKZtjuANwKRlDIANorgD1w77oc/w424-h640/MiddletonHills+-+2.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The walking path through the prairie was itself a problem. A common issue at prairie edges is lawn grasses spreading into the prairie. Fescue is pretty easy to control with fire, but Kentucky blue grass (not from Kentucky!) is an aggressive spreader and difficult to control. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/kentuckybluegrass.pdf" target="_blank">Kentucky blue grass</a> is one of the most widespread invasive plants in North America. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBMDnGzJWoIBD0C_0p-e6f9UBui_ab9m1wrfA23uQL-f31VpIv6tBlhMTYH6tvj1dMOxLVS720t9d6m_JaJB_-2x5O6YEo7iU3CPrjG1BjOk60vw152zomD-qlW4H6ChuiRZg3q7bp_o/s1280/MiddletonHills+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifBMDnGzJWoIBD0C_0p-e6f9UBui_ab9m1wrfA23uQL-f31VpIv6tBlhMTYH6tvj1dMOxLVS720t9d6m_JaJB_-2x5O6YEo7iU3CPrjG1BjOk60vw152zomD-qlW4H6ChuiRZg3q7bp_o/w640-h424/MiddletonHills+-+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the native Indian grass in th background, most of the grass in the foreground is exotic fescue. The light green plant spreading in the center is western ragweed. This rhizomatous perennial was a new one to me, it was probably brought in on the tires or tracks of the equipment used to establish the above power lines. It seems do do well in this area where the soil is particularly compacted.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtfbCYqizvBP2y9KGwSNZmCnhieYWpo5AwsTWerjbfUDd-NRqrL5tCBEDFnbK9xshtasTRELCz3Xg7WMOs0O6tK_1sLP4F72PeG3-loVdlqXdIrYXiAU-HUJ8G96wYljoqgQncgHajaU/s1280/MiddletonHills+-+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtfbCYqizvBP2y9KGwSNZmCnhieYWpo5AwsTWerjbfUDd-NRqrL5tCBEDFnbK9xshtasTRELCz3Xg7WMOs0O6tK_1sLP4F72PeG3-loVdlqXdIrYXiAU-HUJ8G96wYljoqgQncgHajaU/w640-h424/MiddletonHills+-+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/canadiangoldenrod.pdf" target="_blank">Canada goldenrod</a>! Though this species is native (and does provide a great nectar resource for pollinators), it is very aggressive and can spread to form monocultures that exclude all other species. Though this species is an important one to suppress, it would have to wait as we had bigger fish to fry in the mean time.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2011: Work Begins</h2><p>We set up an annual budget that the association could set-aside for prairie maintenance, and did as much as we could each year within the budget, with the goal of slowly eliminating invasive plants and weeds, and introducing native plants over time. Below are some photos taken in July of 2011, of the results of our first efforts at weed management during June of 2011. </p><p>In the early years, we often used an herbicide called Milestone. Plants in the aster family (Asteraceae) and legume family (Fabaceae) are particularly susceptible to this herbicide, so is leafy spurge. Many plants in other families are not harmed by this herbicide. This allowed us to be very selective when trying to control Canada thistle (aster family) and birdsfoot trefoil (legume family). However, a lot of prairie species are in those families too, so we had to carefully work around the remaining natives.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mqTk8wQovEk6a-jU2biN3x0Kaw-07ocX04L39lF0hpuZ_o49hw3BIqbN8UIi_d-YQ7Z0nd0OYdYowEwJPbnZ_erxay5OIDGSxK94NkSKJ-_GWqxVLX-yxWe8RcLlPQ7ZIEbgTsilCeQ/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mqTk8wQovEk6a-jU2biN3x0Kaw-07ocX04L39lF0hpuZ_o49hw3BIqbN8UIi_d-YQ7Z0nd0OYdYowEwJPbnZ_erxay5OIDGSxK94NkSKJ-_GWqxVLX-yxWe8RcLlPQ7ZIEbgTsilCeQ/w640-h480/MiddletonHills11+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western ragweed carpeted large areas in the prairie, with very few native prairie plant surviving in-between. This species would prove to be a bit of a puzzle to develop a control strategy for. Not only does this species spread quickly by rhizomes, it seems to be strongly allelopathic.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcBUn4T3dqdawnJRR4RGlCTKaO2uEZ34YWzDqph5ggKIkF_zlgA4a8T7I8p3WkwPHi9iLm3rVlkfjfqk6iBtGSRRYDGHthjNFr3HmE3WdnqcaeFux0ZuKYZLnGdMOsiQYad1ItcV8AfA/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcBUn4T3dqdawnJRR4RGlCTKaO2uEZ34YWzDqph5ggKIkF_zlgA4a8T7I8p3WkwPHi9iLm3rVlkfjfqk6iBtGSRRYDGHthjNFr3HmE3WdnqcaeFux0ZuKYZLnGdMOsiQYad1ItcV8AfA/w480-h640/MiddletonHills11+-+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dead <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/leafyspurge.pdf" target="_blank">leafy spurge</a>. Note how the Milestone had no impact on the grasses around it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz_ORi28DpvyogHYYL6F-A_guFxHUkQqtwoIGYGdLxZOZs10UF-Sf3Y8ntyAJQI_Edmlabp-6KyaO4dyKvMAcps2wIqSGdoZ19mWruTTgcW8G8fq99161mJ6xGJG9KyhkNVw4DKTQV4g/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz_ORi28DpvyogHYYL6F-A_guFxHUkQqtwoIGYGdLxZOZs10UF-Sf3Y8ntyAJQI_Edmlabp-6KyaO4dyKvMAcps2wIqSGdoZ19mWruTTgcW8G8fq99161mJ6xGJG9KyhkNVw4DKTQV4g/w480-h640/MiddletonHills11+-+3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birdsfoot trefoil creeping from the lawn path into the prairie. We're going to have to do something about that.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy6Noew2ppvUEuhNZfWvzC97WtI5ctyrBpZp2QAw_jBx3I5KfVEo0EPEzYxDzW_69JlKVVO4IZLq7AXBBCqWzgUehCPm6j87wmf-iG06xaiC8QK55Whz-0HjVnE9lynSzK0jj1I_VFQ8/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy6Noew2ppvUEuhNZfWvzC97WtI5ctyrBpZp2QAw_jBx3I5KfVEo0EPEzYxDzW_69JlKVVO4IZLq7AXBBCqWzgUehCPm6j87wmf-iG06xaiC8QK55Whz-0HjVnE9lynSzK0jj1I_VFQ8/w640-h480/MiddletonHills11+-+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A patch of <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/canadathistle.pdf" target="_blank">Canada thistle</a> sprayed while working to avoid surrounding vegetation.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIhKKbfUq_Oi8r8N5IbAfgStaQiaFoFVb7Z27ufrzsWsVSHX182iLO7ByuEQZMktl4c2kbuD4p9ueWP1t5_r-S4hA3JRNpnZLSSXnQmVH-XWi33FGFxx0lPqmLOccXKDxEPnaYTZuptE/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIhKKbfUq_Oi8r8N5IbAfgStaQiaFoFVb7Z27ufrzsWsVSHX182iLO7ByuEQZMktl4c2kbuD4p9ueWP1t5_r-S4hA3JRNpnZLSSXnQmVH-XWi33FGFxx0lPqmLOccXKDxEPnaYTZuptE/w480-h640/MiddletonHills11+-+5.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I sprayed Canada thistle on either side of these couple of native plants. Notice how the wild bergamot on the left, which is in the mint family is completely unaffected. On the right is false sunflower, which is absorbed a small amount of the Milestone either though drift or through the soil. It is injured by this, but will recover and look normal the following year. If you look carefully at other photos in this series you can see other native plants with curling stems, almost all of which survived.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirWO1S5-bjbYd0JhPE1egpyIDgQM_lFkvWMnFaVK3ZpQFZmmsvAecbJsv5WHehKjdHJ-lAxoTncZUE38z_oR5FiRp7-Hev1P-F1AamFOb-x_H8lnHbol9rlGkWJV3fBO05KG3lRcZIbs/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirWO1S5-bjbYd0JhPE1egpyIDgQM_lFkvWMnFaVK3ZpQFZmmsvAecbJsv5WHehKjdHJ-lAxoTncZUE38z_oR5FiRp7-Hev1P-F1AamFOb-x_H8lnHbol9rlGkWJV3fBO05KG3lRcZIbs/w640-h480/MiddletonHills11+-+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It wasn't all bad news! Here we see wild bergamot, false sunflower and butterfly milkweed blooming. There is also some rosinweed in the upper right, and stiff goldenrod to the lower right.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hRwqy-ZgNG1t_Bktww5Izh5epQrhXvpu7O0V8zgmDOm1WBApN1trDN9K91V3HLSFEC5w1c2sIzcsMxJWP31M_neXkp6yGIJhjtCdXFSERFMTdQKN9ixckJwLj1geswUYuEf-8bz036c/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hRwqy-ZgNG1t_Bktww5Izh5epQrhXvpu7O0V8zgmDOm1WBApN1trDN9K91V3HLSFEC5w1c2sIzcsMxJWP31M_neXkp6yGIJhjtCdXFSERFMTdQKN9ixckJwLj1geswUYuEf-8bz036c/w480-h640/MiddletonHills11+-+7.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/lettuce.pdf" target="_blank">Prickly lettuce</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/motherwort.pdf" target="_blank">motherwort</a> are also weeds, but they are not as aggressive or impactful as some other species, and we had to let them be for a while while we got the worst invasive species under control.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdtL9Al-JrA6XauIrHX9VKuFdJ6QtnT_3ET3NMMiUYMR8l3pQcX-MD7IVQ3znowyYItMTyGuK8uev6QqFfHLzyq9EFC6-Ds7NKRbtS0e_B3rC9cbheTn40qPwMcPOxncz8HkXN2d2oZs/s1280/MiddletonHills11+-+8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdtL9Al-JrA6XauIrHX9VKuFdJ6QtnT_3ET3NMMiUYMR8l3pQcX-MD7IVQ3znowyYItMTyGuK8uev6QqFfHLzyq9EFC6-Ds7NKRbtS0e_B3rC9cbheTn40qPwMcPOxncz8HkXN2d2oZs/w640-h480/MiddletonHills11+-+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its a challenging situation when you have <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/reedcanarygrass.pdf" target="_blank">reed canary grass</a> mixed in with native plants like this. Carefully timed treatments are important to harm this aggressive exotic grass while minimizing harm to the native plants. Another good example why it is important to plan ahead and do a good job establishing a prairie in the first place so you aren't face with these challenges.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2012: First Burn!</h2><p>We conducted an early burn in March of 2012 to clear off existing vegetation and to encourage the weeds to come up. Why do we want to encourage the weeds? By creating conditions that promote the growth of exotic cool-season grasses and weeds like birdsfoot trefoil and Canada thistle in April, we could treat them with herbicide before most of the native plants emerged for the season and while all of the plants were small and separated, making spot spraying the weeds and avoiding the native plants easier.</p><p>Note also that 2012 was a drought year. We had some 80-degre days in March, which allowed for such an early burn, but also left the vegetation looking sparse and dry by summer. Native plants are adapted to our local climate, including periodic droughts, so in the long run I think this favored the prairie species over the invaders.</p><p>Up until now, the biggest priority was eliminating invasive plants. Now that we were seeing progress on that front, I believe the fall of 2012 was the first year we started to seed more prairie plants back into the site. Interseeding would continue to a greater or lesser extent, for every year there-after.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfC8MBb9D8P8YjUSN_fkOTM0rr7FUe2JlHXuv-tOBsMgHTzFyK_AQIAxq4dasbZ257_eBPNagtIy0BytNQPcsZU1WecwOpM8LXM-cTs5XzP2j06ds-vYf4ymVe2IJg4RPk1FOhjOfwUY/s1280/MiddletonHills12+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfC8MBb9D8P8YjUSN_fkOTM0rr7FUe2JlHXuv-tOBsMgHTzFyK_AQIAxq4dasbZ257_eBPNagtIy0BytNQPcsZU1WecwOpM8LXM-cTs5XzP2j06ds-vYf4ymVe2IJg4RPk1FOhjOfwUY/w640-h480/MiddletonHills12+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Burn! Nice clean control lines in a tight urban environment. The crew did a great job that day. You can see Joy in the upper-right putting down a wetline in advance of the fire.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighaOBDU00NWrumhHYynpIcZbBh-42p5hK1YM0acxurK2emspJaRGdxuLByLNvvBp7to_ccqZANWxD4R1op7nUYNaA9j_Xqje8Q8zX0Tc60DH2CwL9FSlsYImYFcFo9A1wVK-p2RBFBi0/s1280/MiddletonHills12+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighaOBDU00NWrumhHYynpIcZbBh-42p5hK1YM0acxurK2emspJaRGdxuLByLNvvBp7to_ccqZANWxD4R1op7nUYNaA9j_Xqje8Q8zX0Tc60DH2CwL9FSlsYImYFcFo9A1wVK-p2RBFBi0/w640-h480/MiddletonHills12+-+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pale purple coneflower, the only <i>Echinacea</i> native to Wisconsin, is really starting to thrive after the burn and competition from weeds being removed. Sarah does some hand-weeding in the background.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2013: Eliminating Sources of Weeds</h2><p>Instead of another burn in 2013, I decided the best use of the budget for the year was to eliminate the weed source that was the mowed path down the middle. So we used herbicide to kill the vegetation in the path (and where they had spread into the adjacent prairie as well) and covered it with hardwood chip mulch shortly there after. That summer we were able to start to do more manual weed management.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58lZFYXwXJaAtZzdhT1R5_664FXF7ffN8bwATTkcwFyxb7VzXlLjsv3LHeavDIlyo9GtyI3_zM9h2i9x2T-E3IrKYP32cDDo27DyuY5Vdiyx7hlJmVq0ejmSu0SW0cfsm-sx2G0n63aw/s1280/MiddletonHills13+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58lZFYXwXJaAtZzdhT1R5_664FXF7ffN8bwATTkcwFyxb7VzXlLjsv3LHeavDIlyo9GtyI3_zM9h2i9x2T-E3IrKYP32cDDo27DyuY5Vdiyx7hlJmVq0ejmSu0SW0cfsm-sx2G0n63aw/w640-h480/MiddletonHills13+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mulched path eliminates some of the edge effects of having such a small prairie in an urban area, and directly eliminates the source of many weeds.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxlZcSjyNTRMnPdj029OTR7FGEiw0luCmB2f_rvrU27aB4SgyHVY3htarOY3tfNqY-uO172orpkr-HwsoesgMWwzU49Ve9979zeVjhH-mknl13p3Q8gTEP3HJ45xvkCmprfF4C2JhNiQ/s1280/MiddletonHills13+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxlZcSjyNTRMnPdj029OTR7FGEiw0luCmB2f_rvrU27aB4SgyHVY3htarOY3tfNqY-uO172orpkr-HwsoesgMWwzU49Ve9979zeVjhH-mknl13p3Q8gTEP3HJ45xvkCmprfF4C2JhNiQ/w480-h640/MiddletonHills13+-+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athena works on pulling a stubborn <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/queenanneslace.pdf" target="_blank">wild carrot</a>. It is not uncommon for biennial weeds like carrot and sweet clover to be abundant the growing season after a burn We pulled <i>thousands</i> of wild carrot on this stewardship visit and the following one.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2014: Recovery begins</h2><p>Another Burn in the spring of 2014, it wasn't as dramatic since we had killed so-many weeds, there was less fuel for the fire to burn. We also conducted the burn fairly late to have the greatest impact on exotic cool-season grasses and non-native weeds. We followed-up with the same early-season weed treatment. The burns themselves had a lot of impact, encouraging native plants and weakening the weeds. This combined with four seasons of fairly aggressive herbicide application were beginning to pay-off.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuAnz1uzT3qzhtNux_aUmAoM8wwOUuc3xlodXUopRn9Zwe2Lx6bvGXd4cHh4ZeDSO6auF3pDchjLEZZ_VAegn1hXRx7TId4k7P-N2ctBCfzWHicyDXkeUsAo9Tsy-D7igwGQmpcMcFVc/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuAnz1uzT3qzhtNux_aUmAoM8wwOUuc3xlodXUopRn9Zwe2Lx6bvGXd4cHh4ZeDSO6auF3pDchjLEZZ_VAegn1hXRx7TId4k7P-N2ctBCfzWHicyDXkeUsAo9Tsy-D7igwGQmpcMcFVc/w640-h480/MiddletonHills14+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ray checks the fireline. You can see the exotic cool-season grasses already greening-up in the prairie. They will be weekend by this fire.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGe6S8gdeBp3dqj0_ehv2_0_LmrCu2Nd7BOrQWiDZRwTM3FDDBgxdJ_UaYZK1jki_7qpp_zGjp76hw2lmwKAKvnQ8i4QXQAFHFUA7y7FXTU6f_G85d6diYwvpWASp2nC1MXzWNYMFLOc/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGe6S8gdeBp3dqj0_ehv2_0_LmrCu2Nd7BOrQWiDZRwTM3FDDBgxdJ_UaYZK1jki_7qpp_zGjp76hw2lmwKAKvnQ8i4QXQAFHFUA7y7FXTU6f_G85d6diYwvpWASp2nC1MXzWNYMFLOc/w640-h480/MiddletonHills14+-+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compare this with the 2012 image of pale purple coneflower. 2014 is so much more lush!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dmCfm9e7BLdWCE595oSu8jFWRbuQV1eo-NJNze2x23uz6CugeTeetn4QXxHMRaXEz22O_tqwkzZ-SgaBX97W4DKHI4bwCUPom_wxo8LHuBhfJmaC36guxMc2xziGjAbP4yLRpgesskM/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dmCfm9e7BLdWCE595oSu8jFWRbuQV1eo-NJNze2x23uz6CugeTeetn4QXxHMRaXEz22O_tqwkzZ-SgaBX97W4DKHI4bwCUPom_wxo8LHuBhfJmaC36guxMc2xziGjAbP4yLRpgesskM/w480-h640/MiddletonHills14+-+3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First blooming compass plant.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdCNgQhgFMnQnYluNdN65JeQjuiPLjOLOBYgePhqgaWZC9_GIq2gpoVUERdTH2lTITyZU1rq8Xhp4YR-r1HoqmTPndpmepMF0CGP_A1AEuMUTTqoaVRmm7hWbV9Uq8Oc6L7ufnozju3o/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdCNgQhgFMnQnYluNdN65JeQjuiPLjOLOBYgePhqgaWZC9_GIq2gpoVUERdTH2lTITyZU1rq8Xhp4YR-r1HoqmTPndpmepMF0CGP_A1AEuMUTTqoaVRmm7hWbV9Uq8Oc6L7ufnozju3o/w640-h480/MiddletonHills14+-+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A variety of prairie plants filling in a real that used to be weeds! Still, to my land-manager eye, I can't help but see the small yellow flowers, which are birdsfoot trefoil, and the reed canary grass seed-head at the bottom.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIBuWXyhvPLOsIfLY2bCJiy1yaSux7U4Fur7RtZ_VCLkAtKviHjVIvE38O_wMrTfyoxhKhSYxWHn8zLOkmMxC6pZmvlNCB9aDXYQO6GmkrX_gRHOyz56PblxOyebSpIK_QUafCWQdZPw/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIBuWXyhvPLOsIfLY2bCJiy1yaSux7U4Fur7RtZ_VCLkAtKviHjVIvE38O_wMrTfyoxhKhSYxWHn8zLOkmMxC6pZmvlNCB9aDXYQO6GmkrX_gRHOyz56PblxOyebSpIK_QUafCWQdZPw/w480-h640/MiddletonHills14+-+5.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remember feeling pretty victorious when I took this photo, a swath pf prairie plants, butterfly milkweed in the foreground, pale purple coneflower in the background, along with fleabanes and penstemon.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbBeRKbtHZYGCbft8lV6Adrsph-owpRoxWDqA0J-wfZdHJcSvXkIenyKaz61lTgXAKyxTjErZDaWO8PlTZ_dw1rAlizWCPLToPGFLclDpqJxyC3Ge_CyuckhOwU4pmGbk33hRWVePAR8/s1280/MiddletonHills14+-+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbBeRKbtHZYGCbft8lV6Adrsph-owpRoxWDqA0J-wfZdHJcSvXkIenyKaz61lTgXAKyxTjErZDaWO8PlTZ_dw1rAlizWCPLToPGFLclDpqJxyC3Ge_CyuckhOwU4pmGbk33hRWVePAR8/w640-h480/MiddletonHills14+-+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spiderwort! Still some little yellow dots of birdsfoot trefoil among the vegetation though. We're on the right track, but there is more work to be done.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">2015 to 2019: Steady Progress and New Challenges</h2><p>We had gotten the worst of the weeds under control at this point. The patient was out of critical condition and now it was time to move them to physical therapy. Another project manager, Rob took over for me at Middleton Hills for several of these years. He was able to back-off on the use of herbicide substantially, almost all of our work at this point was manual and mechanical control of individual invasive plants. With one exception; we used a very targeted technique called <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/?m=0" target="_blank">leaf-spritzing</a> to begin to control the Canada goldenrod. The approach involved using just a couple drops of concentrated Garlon 4 herbicide (the same concentration we used to kill buckthorn stumps) on each stem of the clone. Using this approach, we were able to push back the large areas of goldenrod without harming any neighboring prairie plants. </p><p>Rob also focused much more on adding more native prairie flora to the site through annual fall seedings and even planting some live plants as the budget allowed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5kRRSmB6i7CKtJWSBXzMQbMu4aDohBZESQdGoOQziw_ORCrSbr4E_l2ZL_2S_EprTH3gHi-S7_1gkN8jwd7w4ZdKeCluwiMd9HKiIz08KOeIBgJrRHvZoh9g8VY_5ewKbV_9UiPLIsQ/s1280/MiddletonHills15+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5kRRSmB6i7CKtJWSBXzMQbMu4aDohBZESQdGoOQziw_ORCrSbr4E_l2ZL_2S_EprTH3gHi-S7_1gkN8jwd7w4ZdKeCluwiMd9HKiIz08KOeIBgJrRHvZoh9g8VY_5ewKbV_9UiPLIsQ/w640-h480/MiddletonHills15+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dramatic spring fire in 2015.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kWnAJ2ZXGFi-0caRxrF6RTsDP65jEAaTxuG9tfGiZ7hwL1hslk_QVlqFdjBBV6FUdhBYdie80qaZZoKGoDKp7caVsUCJocW_XsqGmUjuKtdlMf6xeQRCIPoTJoI4N4igCW58hg9e220/s1280/MiddletonHills15+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kWnAJ2ZXGFi-0caRxrF6RTsDP65jEAaTxuG9tfGiZ7hwL1hslk_QVlqFdjBBV6FUdhBYdie80qaZZoKGoDKp7caVsUCJocW_XsqGmUjuKtdlMf6xeQRCIPoTJoI4N4igCW58hg9e220/w640-h480/MiddletonHills15+-+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The prairie begins to fill in more completely after several years of interseeding.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD65cYyL3rlsSb6bSXNlyhMNhBZAzkthsUSk2tQ6xg1-vu_5WUU2pmqZoobihFnMFIqXBisF07xZX3DQzwtj2W2TqNkaV-bZhZI5deHbFpHVjB7_1fILelobHH-LJDAGg9pAWete2at2I/s1280/MiddletonHills15+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD65cYyL3rlsSb6bSXNlyhMNhBZAzkthsUSk2tQ6xg1-vu_5WUU2pmqZoobihFnMFIqXBisF07xZX3DQzwtj2W2TqNkaV-bZhZI5deHbFpHVjB7_1fILelobHH-LJDAGg9pAWete2at2I/w640-h480/MiddletonHills15+-+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A red admiral butterfly nectarine on pale purple coneflower.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f1W-TmbmDupHcYXDbikOGBo_GBOyBcnlTWPeg02l5qziAaqkoioWme0q0MA0nLT1wNmHKd6Fxu6jrcEkWOIWkTLsWG9nqnvwu7nXbHjtGhuf3tArjYBEUomOfUwT7-sPYrP5iJGE0QA/s1280/MiddletonHills15+-+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f1W-TmbmDupHcYXDbikOGBo_GBOyBcnlTWPeg02l5qziAaqkoioWme0q0MA0nLT1wNmHKd6Fxu6jrcEkWOIWkTLsWG9nqnvwu7nXbHjtGhuf3tArjYBEUomOfUwT7-sPYrP5iJGE0QA/w640-h480/MiddletonHills15+-+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A stand of stiff goldenrod in early-fall 2015 where once we had nothing but Western ragweed!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWJm3QAGSzsF5rnkoV_RCxUMX87f8KZlXE3ItcTOe7WdWxhChIbARXXDi1Q8Nz0Aq6PHlHzJ4rr0quQa2LykJ_9ftcEp8s_DvCQH-bntVEFG3mNvo3zkTTJB8MBruRzmIPtE9Kt4rFB0/s1280/MiddletonHills18+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWJm3QAGSzsF5rnkoV_RCxUMX87f8KZlXE3ItcTOe7WdWxhChIbARXXDi1Q8Nz0Aq6PHlHzJ4rr0quQa2LykJ_9ftcEp8s_DvCQH-bntVEFG3mNvo3zkTTJB8MBruRzmIPtE9Kt4rFB0/w480-h640/MiddletonHills18+-+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoA2atvl6-kiJ4do79CUqFobEATPC1g9zCreDdCL-fuS5ESyeaKP3-vuGLLe7S5Jc2owSIooAFY-40EHI6DYF0-W3VlyPtAGLf_djyPa65tsRT71tWqcDNTLi8unYz5gQG2-5ykVQaCBM/s1280/MiddletonHills18+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoA2atvl6-kiJ4do79CUqFobEATPC1g9zCreDdCL-fuS5ESyeaKP3-vuGLLe7S5Jc2owSIooAFY-40EHI6DYF0-W3VlyPtAGLf_djyPa65tsRT71tWqcDNTLi8unYz5gQG2-5ykVQaCBM/w640-h480/MiddletonHills18+-+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsNn1WGJ3DGVMlfXbwfhdSbRK7NfDteQUMGIdxNFEFSogIyOAPtNxWohYF1zDt-5EdqVyi8Iin2AZMwgY3A85WEoQk90FhruTD82QNs_OO0J2e3NwlKPx4CYWheIfbChJTGQMK8-TnYA/s1280/MiddletonHills18+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsNn1WGJ3DGVMlfXbwfhdSbRK7NfDteQUMGIdxNFEFSogIyOAPtNxWohYF1zDt-5EdqVyi8Iin2AZMwgY3A85WEoQk90FhruTD82QNs_OO0J2e3NwlKPx4CYWheIfbChJTGQMK8-TnYA/w640-h480/MiddletonHills18+-+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This area ws previously solid Canada goldenrod (same utility pole from the 2010 image above). The good news is that we have spiderwort (blue flowers) coming in along with foxglove beardtongue (white flowers). The bad news is that there is also a lot of <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/weeds/curlydock.pdf" target="_blank">curly dock</a> filling in the gaps where goldenrod used to be. More weed management and more seeding are needed. We use a <a href="https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/parsnip_predator" target="_blank">Parsnip Predator</a> to pop out the curly dock and remove the plant, and the thousands of seeds on each, from the site.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">2020 and 2021: Glamor Shots</h2><p>We have largely moved into the maintenance phase of managing this prairie. These years we did regular but short visits to control many of the above-mentioned weeds in the prairie at just the right time for each. We focused on continuing to beat back the Canada goldenrod, and the weeds that came-up in their place. We also were able to work on improving the surroundings around the prairie. In January of 2020 and 2021, we cleared invasive buckthorn, honeysuckle, mulberry and boxelder from areas in and around to the prairie to reduce their impact (mostly via shade) and potential to invade.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYLQ9mlcmMX4KG5GNkWLrWeA_i9Ff9hw4G5Z8i9CxTCJa8IteR3mbZ896AleSVliFWWSxAcNLFDnVTY6-rpkY8exCORfKtjo0Vl4JpMrGspF1heZ7SvycIYHeSkwu6Uj32mXtFuhokAc/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYLQ9mlcmMX4KG5GNkWLrWeA_i9Ff9hw4G5Z8i9CxTCJa8IteR3mbZ896AleSVliFWWSxAcNLFDnVTY6-rpkY8exCORfKtjo0Vl4JpMrGspF1heZ7SvycIYHeSkwu6Uj32mXtFuhokAc/w480-h640/MiddletonHills20+-+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild lupine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznqHGevDAvVMgSEHNs9bnzXxmF3lQum43quLQYBgSGQCUioze9yI-Og6D3KN3UWQqBtBPNGULRWi_96AD8JaWtoaVuWH3DvcgX7XLapwCLYtIv5BoRtwWfDmkw2d6DtKiRBGDkO5uSVw/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznqHGevDAvVMgSEHNs9bnzXxmF3lQum43quLQYBgSGQCUioze9yI-Og6D3KN3UWQqBtBPNGULRWi_96AD8JaWtoaVuWH3DvcgX7XLapwCLYtIv5BoRtwWfDmkw2d6DtKiRBGDkO5uSVw/w640-h480/MiddletonHills20+-+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This patch of reed canary grass avoided our wrath for a while, but we took it down in mid-May 2020. Photo was taken about 2 weeks after treatment. On the left we used a glyphosate-based herbicide (AquaNeat), on the right we used a grass-specific herbicide sethoxydim (Poast) which took longer to act, and was somewhat less effective. Below right was my accidental control group, where I forgot to spray it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ9Qd9yubzNnd_92QoKMpeDTNyIjd6MxuXVLa1XdI9SeJAgY5ad9C3HnW5cDm2DFth7aa2y08gKv0yjv8EM-RuaymEb3KCRFer8H31boCoV1wr4ZVoUXEnhoRWfMfFgBaEkJEX6i7eTo/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ9Qd9yubzNnd_92QoKMpeDTNyIjd6MxuXVLa1XdI9SeJAgY5ad9C3HnW5cDm2DFth7aa2y08gKv0yjv8EM-RuaymEb3KCRFer8H31boCoV1wr4ZVoUXEnhoRWfMfFgBaEkJEX6i7eTo/w640-h480/MiddletonHills20+-+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild bergamot, switch grass and false sunflower</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivComwyT2VRZ_Hk5eeaR7aUIdkQVNGpx75RX_a2ZQ1tB5IWpsGhDa5AhKUK45A-x0PGCfi56gzhWRgRm542GvH6FdEI5gNLB0bbmooHYDB_QjS97NR8bQPZ0-NW8dLcgLDoOM5DK3APqo/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivComwyT2VRZ_Hk5eeaR7aUIdkQVNGpx75RX_a2ZQ1tB5IWpsGhDa5AhKUK45A-x0PGCfi56gzhWRgRm542GvH6FdEI5gNLB0bbmooHYDB_QjS97NR8bQPZ0-NW8dLcgLDoOM5DK3APqo/w480-h640/MiddletonHills20+-+4.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoary vervain among other, previously mentioned prairie flowers.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYt70_HfgUm8xMjZfTAGyY46VwiognaGnFmlob-TD7jJgU6rN2pemCOLBd3JcR2weRcuI7568x3YHp-phxBZgII3dPgLezOCjpfXqOB6ELRXl39xp9Tk6pQHhgfHwVHpd0abiEHEET5I/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYt70_HfgUm8xMjZfTAGyY46VwiognaGnFmlob-TD7jJgU6rN2pemCOLBd3JcR2weRcuI7568x3YHp-phxBZgII3dPgLezOCjpfXqOB6ELRXl39xp9Tk6pQHhgfHwVHpd0abiEHEET5I/w640-h480/MiddletonHills20+-+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZNPqKDBO4SSW_tGxROkrjHeR4s8umtf8jA_9qrQxndoTz6TGvxPFbjlvpP0DcgMWlN7UJBMmasueIJcG6MCzoVPSQgJrOWFYCmhPDn3vC0sN0Ael78ZkcmhdXoHooVVbGt964oP3qXY/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZNPqKDBO4SSW_tGxROkrjHeR4s8umtf8jA_9qrQxndoTz6TGvxPFbjlvpP0DcgMWlN7UJBMmasueIJcG6MCzoVPSQgJrOWFYCmhPDn3vC0sN0Ael78ZkcmhdXoHooVVbGt964oP3qXY/w640-h480/MiddletonHills20+-+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monarch nectarine on purple prairie clover.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZU-lERRTyHau1DBAbL6W2SQG_CUO2qgQ0xDkcjKOnyhljSJ3ncxhZPHhfl_HAq_9I_jGCXWQ1SPsB7WCKkeitLdswX4_lmRxQBwhyphenhyphen1DFfoGXAzf16lTRGQaYU1S-f3539ISxtGIfdhs/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZU-lERRTyHau1DBAbL6W2SQG_CUO2qgQ0xDkcjKOnyhljSJ3ncxhZPHhfl_HAq_9I_jGCXWQ1SPsB7WCKkeitLdswX4_lmRxQBwhyphenhyphen1DFfoGXAzf16lTRGQaYU1S-f3539ISxtGIfdhs/w360-h640/MiddletonHills20+-+7.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">According to <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app" target="_blank">Seek</a>, this is a black and gold bumblebee feeding on wild bergamot. She was a big one!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPIikOmQeN5OjJKspOWbBLU9UWoJS8NVIoFVQ5SJ_9dVVQLWotbY0izuRRRBx8J4f0HYktEfaQlBhSGq4tnqShR7f0BmCrh_fN5yL_j1JmAhfZkMk1F57QiN_2_rcjlWI7q4uqkB1wNo/s1280/MiddletonHills20+-+8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPIikOmQeN5OjJKspOWbBLU9UWoJS8NVIoFVQ5SJ_9dVVQLWotbY0izuRRRBx8J4f0HYktEfaQlBhSGq4tnqShR7f0BmCrh_fN5yL_j1JmAhfZkMk1F57QiN_2_rcjlWI7q4uqkB1wNo/w640-h480/MiddletonHills20+-+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh mulch! Hardwood chips are more durable than shredded bark mulch, and easier to walk on, though they can wash-away more easily in areas of water flow.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">And the Future?</h2><p>In the short term, we still have perennial weeds to control. Birdsfoot trefoil persists, Canada goldenrod is on the decline, but not gone yet, and Western ragweed has made an alarming comeback. Some early-fall mowing followed by a carefully targeted late-fall spot herbicide should go a long way towards control of these. We will burn again next spring and follow-up on these, as well as remaining exotic cool-season grasses.</p><p>Over the next couple of years the amount of our work needed on this site will begin to diminish. We should get to a point soon where we conduct a burn every 2-3 years, replace the mulch in the trail every 2-3 years and have just 3 short visits throughout each the growing season to keep the weed population very low. In a site like this, a very small (1 acre) prairie in an urban environment like this there will always be an influx of weeds.</p><p><br /></p>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-27726915895883682312021-02-20T15:31:00.009-06:002021-02-20T15:32:25.472-06:00Native Plants for Any Garden<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here is the list of plants we recommend as part of our Native Plants for Any Garden presentation. These are all plants that are native to southern Wisconsin and are commercially available. They are also species that are showy and tidy. There are several "bonus species" on these lists that are not included in the presentation due to time constraints.<br /></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Designator Key:<br /></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">D = Prefer dry soils.</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">E = Spring Ephemeral: Will not tolerate “hard shade” of buildings or evergreens.</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">G = Groundcover.</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">J = Juglone tolerant. Can be planted under walnut.</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">W = Suitable for rain gardens wet spots, or clay soils.</span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Full Sun-- Over 8 hours of direct sunlight</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">prairie dropseed (<i>Sporobolus heterolepis</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">little bluestem (<i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">side-oats grama (<i>Bouteloua curtipendula</i>) D</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">June grass (<i>Koeleria macrantha</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">nodding wild onion (<i>Allium cernuum</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">butterfly milkweed (<i>Asclepias tuberosa</i>) D</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">harebell (<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i>) D</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Purple prairie clover (<i>Dalea purpurea</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">pale purple coneflower (<i>Echinacea pallida</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">prairie spurge (<i>Euphorbia corollata</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">wild strawberry (<i>Fragaria virginiana</i>) G</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">bottle gentian (<i>Gentiana andrewsii</i>) W</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">rough blazing star (<i>Liatris aspera</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">great blue lobelia (<i>Lobelia siphilitica</i>) W</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Balsam ragwort (<i>Packera pauperacula</i>) G</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">prairie phlox (<i>Phlox pilosa</i>) D</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Riddell's goldenrod (<i>Solidago riddellii</i>) W</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">silky aster (<i>Symphyotrichum sericeum</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">aromatic aster (<i>Symphyotrichum oblongifolium</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">flax leaved aster (<i>Ionactis linariifolia</i>) D</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">common spiderwort (<i>Tradescantia ohiensis</i>)</span><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Part Shade-- 4-8 hours of direct sunlight</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Springell's sedge (<i>Carex sprengellii</i>) J<br />ivory sedge (<i>Carex eburnea</i>) G J<br />Pennsylvania sedge (<i>Carex pensylvanica</i>) G J<br />rosy sedge (<i>Carex rosea</i>) G J<br />Gray's sedge (<i>Carex grayi</i>) W J<br />bottlebrush grass (<i>Elymus histrix</i>) J<br />nodding wild onion (<i>Allium cernuum</i>) J<br />downy wood mint (<i>Blephilia ciliata</i>) J<br />American bellflower (<i>Campanula americana</i>) J<br />eastern shooting star (<i>Dodecatheon meadia</i>) D<br />big leaf aster (<i>Eurybia macrophylla</i>) D G J<br />woodland strawberry (<i>Fragaria vesca</i>) G<br />wild geranium (<i>Geranium maculatum</i>) J<br />blue flag iris (<i>Iris virginica</i>) W<br />great blue lobelia (<i>Lobelia siphilitica</i>)<br />Virginia bluebells (<i>Mertensia virginica</i>) E<br />woodland phlox (<i>Phlox divaricata</i>) E<br />Jacob's ladder (<i>Polemonium reptans</i>) W J<br />elm-leaved goldenrod (<i>Solidago ulmifolia</i>) J<br />heart-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum cordifolium</i>) J<br />Short's aster (<i>Symphyotrichum shortii</i>) J<br />arrow-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum urophyllum</i>) J<br />great white trillium (T<i>rillium grandiflorum</i>) E J<br />red trillium (<i>Trillium recurvatum</i>) E J<br />culver's root (<i>Veronicastrum virginicum</i>)<br />cardinal flower (<i>Lobelia cardinalis</i>) W<br />culver's root (<i>Veronicastrum virginicum</i>) W<br /></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Full” Shade-- 1-4 hours of sunlight</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">rosy sedge (<i>Carex rosea</i>) G J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Springell's sedge (<i>Carex sprengellii</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">doll's eyes (<i>Actea pachypoda</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">red baneberry (<i>Actea rubra</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">wild ginger (<i>Asarum canadense</i>) G J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">big leaf aster (<i>Eurybia macrophylla</i>) D G J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">wild geranium (<i>Geranium maculatum</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Virginia waterleaf (<i>Hydrophyllum virginianum</i>) G W J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">great blue lobelia (<i>Lobelia siphilitica</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Virginia bluebells (<i>Mertensia virginica</i>) E J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">woodland phlox (<i>Phlox divaricata</i>) E</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">elm-leaved goldenrod (<i>Solidago ulmifolia</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">heart-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum cordifolium</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Short's aster (<i>Symphyotrichum shortii</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">arrow-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum urophyllum</i>) J</span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">great white trillium (<i>Trillium grandiflorum</i>) E J</span><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dense shade-- less than 1 hour of direct sunlight</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">cinnamon fern (<i>Osmunda cinnamomea</i>) J<br />marginal shield fern (<i>Dryopteris marginalis</i>) W J<br />doll's eyes (<i>Actaea pachypoda</i>)<br />red baneberry (<i>Actaea rubra</i>)<br />Jack-in-the-Pulpit (<i>Arisaema atrorubens</i>) J<br />wild ginger (<i>Asarum canadense</i>) G J<br />Dutchman's breeches (<i>Dicentra cucullaria</i>) E J<br />big leaf aster (<i>Eurybia macrophylla</i>) D G J<br />wild geranium (<i>Geranium maculatum</i>) J<br />bloodroot (<i>Sanguinaria canadensis</i>) E J<br />bishop's cap (<i>Mitella diphylla</i>) J<br />Solomon's seal (<i>Polygonatum biflorum</i>) J<br />heart-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum cordifolium</i>) J<br />Short's aster (<i>Symphyotrichum shortii</i>) J<br />arrow-leaved (<i>Symphyotrichum urophyllum</i>) J<br />rue anemone (<i>Thalictrum thalictroides</i>) E J<br /></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Small Shrubs</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Black chokeberry (<i>Aronia melanocarpa</i>)<br />New Jersey tea (<i>Ceanothus americanus</i>)<br />hazelnut (<i>Corylus americana</i>)<br />bush honeysuckle (<i>Diervilla lonicera</i>) D<br />Kalm’s St. John’s-wort (<i>Hypericum kalmianum</i>)<br />shrubby cinquefoil (<i>Potentilla fruticosa</i>) W<br />black currant (<i>Ribes americanum</i>)<br />early wild rose (<i>Rosa blanda</i>)<br /></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Large Shrubs / Small Trees</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">downy serviceberry (<i>Amelanchier laevis</i>)<br />musclewood (<i>Carpinus caroliniana</i>)<br />pagoda dogwood (<i>Cornus alternifolia</i>)<br />American hazelnut (<i>Corylus americana</i>)<br />downy hawthorn (<i>Crataegus mollis</i>)<br />witchhazel (<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>)<br />eastern red cedar (<i>Juniperus virginiana</i>)<br />wild plum (<i>Prunus americana</i>)<br />arborvitae (<i>Thuja occidentalis</i>)<br />nannyberry viburnum (<i>Viburnum lentago</i>)<br /></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Large Shade Trees</span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></h4><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">sugar maple (<i>Acer saccharum</i>)<br />river birch (<i>Betula nigra</i>) W<br />shagbark hickory (<i>Carya ovata</i>)<br />hackberry (<i>Celtis occidentalis</i>)<br />white pine (<i>Pinus strobus</i>)<br />swamp white oak (<i>Quercus bicolor</i>) R<br />northern pin oak (<i>Quercus ellipsoidalis</i>)<br />bur oak (<i>Quercus macrocarpa</i>)<br />red oak (<i>Quercus rubra</i>)<br />eastern hemlock (<i>Tsuga canadensis</i>) W<br /></span></p>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-4796062554816356852020-11-22T15:28:00.005-06:002021-02-10T14:54:06.095-06:00Fire is Medicine: Fall Prescribed Burns<p> NOTE: I originally wrote this piece for the Wild Ones Madison newsletter. However, I felt it was a good fit for Good Oak's blog as well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4295B7m03v9Cdhsde1x_Q4qYwhBIJ_P3JsWYw2vwQVNJ4hom1HMuh5Qk9pEYL9bOIEPPHjgue3MwTGQWUs6FQEpiIfpK6kzid9y7grkIP3t2LYhFGRO7ny6QoC1qI4Rfd1zimeexBeHs/s2048/IMG_1473.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4295B7m03v9Cdhsde1x_Q4qYwhBIJ_P3JsWYw2vwQVNJ4hom1HMuh5Qk9pEYL9bOIEPPHjgue3MwTGQWUs6FQEpiIfpK6kzid9y7grkIP3t2LYhFGRO7ny6QoC1qI4Rfd1zimeexBeHs/w640-h480/IMG_1473.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>This fall, we've had some good long dry spells which have allowed us to conduct several prescribed burns. Of course, this in the context of some truly terrifying wildfires out west this fall, particularly in Colorado and California. It definitely felt strange at times purposefully lighting up woodlands and prairies, on the same days as the headlines told of wildfires burning tens-of-thousands of acres in a day, or racing over 11,000-foot ridges on the continental divide. Yet in Wisconsin, these fall prescribed burns were mild, even compared to spring burns in the same setting, and had very different ecological impacts.<br /><br />You may have read an article this fall about <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-western-states-can-learn-from-native-american-wildfire-management-strategies-120731" target="_blank">What Western States Can Learn from Native America Wildfire Management Strategies</a> or <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adambarsouk/2018/11/18/native-americans-may-know-secret-to-preventing-forest-fires-and-more/?sh=10e8bb787788" target="_blank">Native Americans Reveal Their Secrets To Prevent Forest Fires And More</a>, with the implication that this is new knowledge that is just seeing the light of day. But the truth is that ecologists have understood how valuable fire is to natural communities across the continent for over 70 years. Indeed, the understanding of role of fire in our ecosystems is nearly as old as the science of Ecology itself. Some of the first modern implementation of prescribed burns was done here at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum by early researchers including John Curtis and Aldo Leopold. The role of fire in our ecosystems is no recent revelation. Scientists and land managers have understood these lessons from Indigenous Americans for quite some time.<br /><br />In our part of the world, from the Midwest to the East Coast, before Euro-American settlement, “wildfires” were primarily light by Indigenous Americans. These fires had many purposes. Fires would be lit to drive game during a hunt. They would be used to clear out vegetation around a village to make it easier to see approaching enemies, or as an offensive tactic in a battle. Clearing the landscape of vegetation by fire made travel much easier. Overall, it is clear that the Ho-Chuck here in south-central Wisconsin, and indigenous people across the region, understood the many ecological benefits of fire; how it would improve plant productivity for better wild food production, provide better forage for game, and keep encroaching woody vegetation at-bay.<br /><br />Most of these fires were ignited in the fall, most likely as soon as vegetation was sufficiently cured to burn. And it wasn’t just prairies that burned. Wetlands would frequently burn, on a windy day fire could even carry in vegetation over open water. Woodlands burned too, in fact, the oak dominance of our local woodlands is a direct result of indigenous fire management. Our climate is very well suited for growing trees, it is only the frequent fires that created the tallgrass prairie, and that led to the dominance of fire-tolerant oaks and hickories (which coincidentally (or not?), are the most valuable trees for wildlife) in wooded areas. Prairies and savannas would likely burn nearly every year. There were however a few areas where water and topography conspired to 'protect' areas and reduce fire frequency. These include the near-shore areas of our Four Lakes and north facing slopes uphill from streams in the Driftless region. These are the only areas in the region where you would originally have seen less fire-tolerant tree such as red oak, sugar maple, elm and black cherry, among others. But even these forests patches would burn every few years; frequently enough to keep native shrubs and saplings in-check, while occasionally allowing a tree to get large enough to survive these very mild fires and reach the canopy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLptXKWpC1KULomxbXdBf-LYtfskwMulMMWYqC72mmIK31cxuAPKMZfC_IjqX91XxLV8yW3bufA_KDEEIbeQZaZjRQKaMT98o37lCbq5W452Xk0tFJwVfnXssNaXw31_O2YY1R5mLJDFQ/s2048/IMG_1512.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLptXKWpC1KULomxbXdBf-LYtfskwMulMMWYqC72mmIK31cxuAPKMZfC_IjqX91XxLV8yW3bufA_KDEEIbeQZaZjRQKaMT98o37lCbq5W452Xk0tFJwVfnXssNaXw31_O2YY1R5mLJDFQ/w640-h480/IMG_1512.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note How much partially-burned vegetation remains on the ground behind the fire.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFkV8ho3A1RSmjMYjZ0iqMMHDOqn3pjvkJThVQI1x32PxEOghM9oyesu3GAvOtPknYXBU2jdhSelLxtgugkRTVRawnKn08M3-cJfi2ZHG_8jXaAFA3Qjoc0JMMR06JI3vWZhJaWAB0jE/s1008/IMG_1482.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFkV8ho3A1RSmjMYjZ0iqMMHDOqn3pjvkJThVQI1x32PxEOghM9oyesu3GAvOtPknYXBU2jdhSelLxtgugkRTVRawnKn08M3-cJfi2ZHG_8jXaAFA3Qjoc0JMMR06JI3vWZhJaWAB0jE/w480-h640/IMG_1482.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmTsPzscGJ-XLEMmDkd_aNCct4oalEDGBu7tMYjY4AJGh7sMB11AikE_upBrRSPjXvwjeVER3FNelC04UM3Y1mXqigyqLQR3G0gJsMoVKfJyVwhn0aDAGS3hIQJYG5DlcXb5vhPP1FE8/s2048/IMG_1468.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmTsPzscGJ-XLEMmDkd_aNCct4oalEDGBu7tMYjY4AJGh7sMB11AikE_upBrRSPjXvwjeVER3FNelC04UM3Y1mXqigyqLQR3G0gJsMoVKfJyVwhn0aDAGS3hIQJYG5DlcXb5vhPP1FE8/w480-h640/IMG_1468.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br />So what does this mean for prescribed burns today and what did I learn this fall?<ol style="text-align: left;"><li> We need to burn our natural areas much, <i>much</i> more often. We should be burning roughly 1/3rd of the natural areas in our conservation parks, county and state parks, and state conservation areas each year. Unfortunately, right now, we’re only burning a tiny percentage of that on an annual basis, with severe ecological consequences.</li><li> It can be hard to find good conditions for fall burns. The vegetation that burns during a prescribed burn, grasses, forbs and leaf litter, need to relatively free of water to ignite. First, we usually can’t burn until these plants go dormant, and/or until the leaves fall from canopy trees. That means the burn season doesn’t start until about Halloween each year. Second, with the shorter daylight length periods and increasingly cooler temperatures in fall, evaporation doesn’t happen as quickly as it does during the spring burn season. So often, you need 3-4 precipitation-free days to dry out fuel. Typically, by Thanksgiving the temperatures are too cold and the daylight length period is too short to allow vegetation to dry sufficiently for a burn.</li><li> Even when the weather allows for good drying, other factors mean there is just more water in the vegetation in the fall. First, a surprising amount of water can be bound in the cellular tissues of plants. Over the winter, the frequent freeze and thaw causes tiny ice crystals start to perforate the cells of the plant. By spring, this dead vegetation can dry out more thoroughly than it can in the fall. Also, with shorter daylight periods in fall, and soils start to freeze overnight, soils tend to hold more moisture. Vegetation near the ground wicks up some of this moisture, making it more difficult to ignite. This is more of an issue for clay and loamy soils, and much less of an issue for better-drained sandy or gravelly soils.</li><li> Fall burns are safer and easier to conduct. The devastating wildfires out west are the result of decades of fuel build-up, very dry fuels and very low humidity... and then, just a spark. But fuel moisture and humidity in the Midwest never get so extremely low. In spring, we sometimes get dry and windy days that produce extreme fire behavior and spot-fires. It takes good planning, experience, caution and skill to burn on those days, and some days we decide its just too risky. But in the fall you are unlikely to get very low-humidity days with very dry fuels, and so its a safer time of year for novice burners, or safer for more experience teams to burn more area more quickly. </li><li> Fall burns often leave more refugia for wildlife as unburned areas often remain in the burn unit where animals can find shelter and food. Even a few inches of unburned duff at the ground layer, or tiny patches that don’t burn can provide refuge for overwintering insect eggs or adults. Sometimes as fire practitioners we want to see our whole burn unit 'black' when the fire is finished. But we need to get used to the idea that some unburned areas allow for wildlife refugia and healthy habitat heterogeneity.<br /></li><li> Fall burns favor wildflowers over grasses. We often see prairie plantings that are so dominated by warm-season prairie grasses (big bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass, etc.) that hardly any pollinator-feeding wildflowers remain. This is often because the initial seed mix was too heavy on the grasses, and little interseeding has been done since to improve forb diversity and abundance. However, the issue is exacerbated since most prescribed burns are conducted in mid-to-late-spring, which strongly favors these warm-season grasses. Fall burns give the wildflowers, sedges and native cool-season grasses a head-start on growth in the spring before the tall grasses emerge around mid-May.</li><li> Fall burns are better for adding more plant diversity by seeding. Again, one can imagine that in-situ seeds will be better able to survive in a few inches of unburned duff on the ground than they would in a hotter spring burn when the fire burns all the way down to bare mineral soil. But clearing the soil surface of most vegetation gives any seeds you spread within the burn unit good contact with the soil and access to sunlight so they are able to germinate in the spring.</li></ol><p><br />Generally, fall burns have different effects than the more widely practiced spring burns and are arguably more beneficial, especially for managing remnant sites or when trying to increase plant diversity and insect abundance. So in contrast to current practices, I would recommend land owners and land managers try to do as much burning as they can in the fall. If conditions don’t allow you to conduct the burn in the fall, your fire breaks and burn plans will already be set and you’ll be ready to conduct the burn first thing in the spring. By planning to take advantage of burn opportunities in the fall, we can have more time to burn every year, and see the ecological benefits of burning across more of our landscape.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRZ0vh48MLz1aCZ9cnD6np3j6BdWayhPPFNjpp9LryMbi9ytk-zzOay9CcxyhGmiMpX_hyN2eIoHVcsH6yl9loMoT9qx6pW-H1-ApQsX9ld-6KMxtdeTNkKCoI08jCC5NcUwso0Ry05M/s2048/IMG_1474.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRZ0vh48MLz1aCZ9cnD6np3j6BdWayhPPFNjpp9LryMbi9ytk-zzOay9CcxyhGmiMpX_hyN2eIoHVcsH6yl9loMoT9qx6pW-H1-ApQsX9ld-6KMxtdeTNkKCoI08jCC5NcUwso0Ry05M/w640-h480/IMG_1474.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-61492012829579165412020-03-20T20:48:00.005-05:002020-04-15T08:10:57.062-05:00Good Oak's Coronavirus Response<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UPDATE 3/25/20: Since the Coronavirus issue, and government guidelines around it are changing rapidly, I am updating this post, with the most current information. The original blog post can be found starting below the first image.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Update: 4/15/20: We are resuming landscaping services! See the fourth bullet-point below.</span></h4>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Good Oak to Continue Operations as a Critical Trade</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Greetings All,<br /><br />After careful review of the <a href="https://www.channel3000.com/content/uploads/2020/03/Health-Order-12-Safer-At-Home.pdf">Safer At Home Order</a> provided by the State of Wisconsin on Tuesday, March 24th, and after discussion with other local small business owners who also provide ecological land management services, Good Oak Ecological Services plans to continue all operations under the following grounds:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, the Order deems “pesticide application” as a Critical Trade. That would include the management of invasive plants, such as the garlic mustard control work which we are currently engaged in. It would follow that other non-chemical, pest management techniques, mechanical or manual, would also be allowed. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, “forestry and arborists” are also listed as Critical Trades, these trades are strongly associated with ecological land management. The State has delegated the management of prescribed fires to the Forestry division of the Wisconsin DNR. As such, it would follow that prescribed burning is a practice associated with forestry and therefore can also continue, provided local fire officials are still allowing it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Third, we maintain natural areas on public lands, ranging from stormwater management areas to outdoor recreational parks. According to the Order, “Essential Infrastructure shall be construed broadly to avoid any impacts to essential infrastructure, broadly defined.” Therefore it seems reasonable that any management of natural areas on public lands should be deemed essential to prevent ecological degradation. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) landscaping is considered "essential" as part of the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce advisory list, listed under Public Works and Infrastructure Support Services.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Managing natural areas and running a small business are always full of uncertainty. The coronavirus has leveled-up the uncertainty we deal with considerably. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We appreciate your patience as we have had to take time and effort to adjust our operations to assure that we are operating in a safe and responsible manner during the Covid-19 outbreak. We will continue monitoring the situation to be sure we are practicing within the guidelines of the current, and any future, Emergency Orders. We will be regularly re-evaluating whether continuing operations is both safe for our staff and clients, and responsible for our community. In the mean time, we are following the safety protocols as listed on the following page to ensure safety.<br /><br />If you are waiting to hear from us, we will be in touch soon! We are, however, now limiting in-person site visits unless absolutely necessary. Furthermore, if you are uncomfortable or unable to continue a project with us at this time, we will respect your decision, so please let me know.<br /><br />Stay Well,<br /><b>Frank Hassler</b><br />Owner / Chief Ecologist, Good Oak Ecological Services<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Good Oak’s Coronavirus Protocols (As of 3/25/20):</span></h3>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are instructing our staff to follow all general CDC guidelines: washing hands, cleaning surfaces, maintaining a distance of 6’-10’, staying home if they feel sick, and project managers are now working from home.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have broken our staff up into two smaller teams of 4-6 individuals. No members of any one team will have any direct contact with any members of the other teams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Members of the same team will be driving to work sites separately, only meeting on worksites and therefore will only interact outdoors where they can maintain a safe distance. A single crew member will be driving, and accessing the interior of the work truck.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Only one staff member will be accessing the office portion of our building. Only the two crew members in charge of truck management will be accessing the shop portion of our building. Those two crew members are instructed to coordinate in order to avoid being in the shop at the same time. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All shared equipment will be sanitized after each use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Staff will at all times wear gloves appropriate for the task at hand, while working on-site.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are ceasing most in-person site-visits, except when absolutely necessary. In the case that we are going to meet with clients, we will knock on the door when we arrive and then step back to maintain a 6’ to 10’ distance. We will politely refuse any invitation inside. During the outdoor site visit, we will insist that clients maintain a safe distance per CDC guidelines, at all times. </span></li>
</ol>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The below was originally posted on 3/20/20:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayFet7cTCtIsItsF0_4Ni9f1BPqCVu8d75rlZzBgWDSgLEWgsb138B6J0tGSlXabHjtlSf5dx0BWg1FrmcMygAkkm8xh65ZCpjLyMyujeDa1bihYRmGE7HrlRYBWnpP5sHth2B-QWSeY/s1600/IMG_7457.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayFet7cTCtIsItsF0_4Ni9f1BPqCVu8d75rlZzBgWDSgLEWgsb138B6J0tGSlXabHjtlSf5dx0BWg1FrmcMygAkkm8xh65ZCpjLyMyujeDa1bihYRmGE7HrlRYBWnpP5sHth2B-QWSeY/s400/IMG_7457.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All Good Oak
project managers are working from home. A few staff members will
periodically be stopping by the shop for supplies, materials and
paperwork, but they will be coordinating among themselves to avoid
contact.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <br />I wanted to take a moment to inform you of the steps Good Oak is taking during the Coronavirus Pandemic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good Oak is continuing operations for the foreseeable future, with many precautions which I will explain below. While we must take steps to ensure the safety of our human community, we feel that the work we do to restore and maintain the health of our natural communities must carry on. This work is both time sensitive and weather dependent. Effective natural area management cannot be postponed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That said, we are dedicated to being good community members and prioritizing the health and safety of our staff, our loved-ones, and our community. As such, we have decided to make drastic changes to how we operate in order to avoid aiding the spread of this dangerous virus.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are instructing our staff to follow the CDC guidelines: washing hands, cleaning surfaces, maintaining a distance of 6’-10’, staying home if they feel sick(!), and project managers are now working from their new home offices.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we have gone beyond these basic steps to further isolate our employees. We have broken our staff up into two teams of four to six individuals. No members of any one team will have any direct contact with any members of the other teams. Members of the same team will be driving to work sites separately, only meeting on worksites and therefore will only interact outdoors where they can maintain a safe distance.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are reducing travel and in-person contact with clients as much as possible, but we will continue doing site-visits, as needed. If we are going to meet with you during this time, we will knock on your door when we arrive and then step back to maintain a 6’-10’ distance. We will have to politely refuse any invitation inside. If you will be joining us outside during the visit, we request that you always maintain that distance per CDC guidelines.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Through these measures we feel we can maintain operations with minimal risk of spreading Covid-19 among our staff and to those around us, while keeping our staff gainfully employed and continuing to provide our ecological restoration and sustainable landscaping services to our clients. If the time comes, we will be obeying any “shelter in place” or “stay at home” order that is put in place. Let's hope it doesn’t come to that in Wisconsin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One last note: Times are about to get tough for everyone, but especially for small businesses like Good Oak and our very hard working crew. We know that many people and organizations will not be able to carry on with intended projects, due to their own financial challenges. I’d just like to ask that if you are in a fairly stable financial position, please consider throwing us a bit more work than usual. I am especially worried that our workload will slow down to a critical level come summer and fall.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZNB8ykcvHHH5qo9pnjNaubAoxl3t97BCUOqpZLUMWQt4C3AL9urHWCkKVglf4yvEMeLP5LsM5qXhe74pVyPmtxGti5ETSjJ4u1l9xzLgBphmoCk5KQggd2B2ah1bQWbnojWpm0dcdZQ/s1600/IMG_7460.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZNB8ykcvHHH5qo9pnjNaubAoxl3t97BCUOqpZLUMWQt4C3AL9urHWCkKVglf4yvEMeLP5LsM5qXhe74pVyPmtxGti5ETSjJ4u1l9xzLgBphmoCk5KQggd2B2ah1bQWbnojWpm0dcdZQ/s640/IMG_7460.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started Good
Oak in this home office, and it will persevere in this home office. As a
bonus, I get a window seat with a nice view! </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take care of yourself. And remember, spring is on its way!<br /><br /><br />-- Frank</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-70604039783174280222019-02-04T11:36:00.001-06:002019-02-05T10:00:58.327-06:00Now Hiring - Sutainable Landscaping Manager and Ecological Restoration Manager<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If
you'd like to get your hands dirty making a positive change for our
environment, we're currently growing our crew for the 2019 season! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">- <a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/LandscapingManager19.pdf" target="_blank">Sustainable Landscaping Manager</a><b class="">:</b>
We're seeking individuals that are qualified to
lead our sustainable landscaping division. The ideal candidate will be </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">someone with a strong background in horticulture and landscaping, and at least some knowledge of native plants and their importance in the landscape. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br class="" /></span></div>
<div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- <a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/EcologicalManager19.pdf" target="_blank">Ecological Land Manager</a><b class="">:</b>
We're always interested in meeting people that are qualified to
lead a team conducting land management and restoration work in the field, and work with
clients on developing and executing plans. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b class="">- </b><a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/Internship2019.pdf" target="_blank">Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Landscaping Internship:</a> We’re
also looking for spring and summer interns - students and recent
graduates who are looking to learn while they work. This could grow into
a year-round, full-time Apprenticeship for the right candidates.
Applications are due March 8th for the Spring Internship, and April 19th for the Summer Internship. We're also looking to extend our
internships to a year-round, full-time Apprentice position for good
candidates, ask us about it when you apply.</span> </span></div>
<div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Please pass on to any potentially-interested
parties!</span></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGHwwHie92MxXuJexnIQt006msGNVyG2qB9TsIFfscY0AL0v9pNFwJlvJGlm1hKp8tz6Qs1FGvYLOoUR2cGh6IMTDZtRYZ0-widG9U8gu2n4aE8MFApSGxb4UmTm3EpeyCzZI_REH_uk/s1600/IMG_7203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGHwwHie92MxXuJexnIQt006msGNVyG2qB9TsIFfscY0AL0v9pNFwJlvJGlm1hKp8tz6Qs1FGvYLOoUR2cGh6IMTDZtRYZ0-widG9U8gu2n4aE8MFApSGxb4UmTm3EpeyCzZI_REH_uk/s640/IMG_7203.jpg" width="640" /></a>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-32081431468327046162018-09-10T13:25:00.003-05:002021-08-11T16:19:19.046-05:00Goldenrods of the Upper Midwest Part 1, Prairies, Fields and Roadsides<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Part 1: Goldenrods of Full-Sun sites, Prairies, Fields and Roadsides</span></b></h2>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Goldenrods are blooming all around us now in late-August and September, some will bloom all the way into October. There are 25 species of goldenrod (In the genera <i>Solidago</i> and <i>Euthamia</i>) in Wisconsin and telling them all apart can be confusing. I'm writing this to help educate our staff, but I thought I'd share with everyone. I have to say, I learned a few things myself as I worked to clear things up here. I'll be covering 18 of the most common and notable species of goldenrod, not every goldenrod in the Midwest, but the most common species.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Throughout this guide I'll be <u>underlining key identification information</u> that I use to tell one species from the other, so if you're skimming for identification guidance, look for that.</span><br />
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<span face="helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Part 1 of this guide is for sunny areas, both disturbed sites and prairie remnants. If you are at a site with some shade, check out Part 2 for woodland and savanna goldenrods.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">Common, Weedy and Confusing Goldenrods:</span></h3>
<h4>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">Canada goldenrod (<i>Solidago canadensis</i>)</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>This is, by far, our most common goldenrod</u> species and really, one of the most common plant species overall in the Midwestern landscape. This is a native species that does well in disturbed environments. Roadsides, abandoned fields, even urban areas, are common habitats, but it can also be found abundantly in planted prairies and degraded remnants. It can spread by seed and by rhizomes, and is able to form massive colonies, that can actually really retard prairie restoration efforts.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Usually,<u> these form a large monoculture</u> of yellow flowers in early-fall. They can grow to 3-6’. The <u>leaves are alternate and</u></span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u> stay about the same size from the bottom to the top</u>, </span> become only slightly smaller towards the apex of the plant. The margins of the leaves are toothed or smooth with a lanceolate to broadly linear shape to them. White <u>hairs can be found on the stems and the underside of the leaves are pubescent </u></span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><u>and slightly rough to the touch</u></span>. Relatively small flowers are arranged on the</span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> flower stalks, also called the "rachis", which arches out gently and which are generally horizontal.</span> Notably, the stems are rough "scabrous", with short, stiff hairs. This is key differentiator between Canada goldenrod and giant goldenrod.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 1</span></span></span><br />
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<h4>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">tall goldenrod (<i>Solidago altissima</i>)</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Also known as late goldenrod, this species is very difficult to tell apart from Canada goldenrod. Some would say they are subspecies or varieties of the same. Most of my favorite reference books and the <a href="http://wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu/index.php">Online Flora of Wisconsin</a> separate them out into different species, but interestingly <a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=2&controller=product">Black and Judziewicz’s <i>Wildflowers of Wisconsin</i></a> make no mention of tall goldenrod at all. The following descriptive notes reference Wilhelm and Rericha’s Flora of the Chicago Region and <a href="http://illinoiswildflowers.info/">John Hilty’s Illinois Wildflowers</a>: (who in-turn references Vascular Flora of Illinois by Robert Mohlenbrock, 2002):<br /><br />Tall goldenrod blooms later than Canada goldenrod. In tall goldenrod, the phyllaries (the overlapping whorl of bracts which subtend each composite flower, also called involucres) are always more than 3mm long, and they are shorter than 3mm in Canada goldenrod.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">To me, that's a pretty minor nuance to use to split out a separate species among plants that, ecologically and morphologically, are very similar. However, the apparent differences in flowering times suggest we are looking at populations that cannot interbreed.<u> I think its OK for anyone short of the professional botanist to lump these two species together under the 'Canada goldenrod' banner.</u> It certainly makes no difference for land management purposes.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 1</span></span></span>
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</span><h4>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">giant goldenrod (<i>Solidago gigantea</i>)</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This species is also very similar to Canada goldenrod, and is generally found in similar habitats. From an ecological perspective <u>giant goldenrod tends towards wetter areas</u>. It is <u>weedy and forms colonies</u>, but it is not <i>as weedy</i> as Canada goldenrod. Physically, the easiest way to tell them apart is by the stems. <u>Giant goldenrod has smooth, "glabrous" stems which are often reddish, and which also often have a translucent white, waxy "glaucus" coating that you can wipe off with your fingers</u>. There are some minor differences between giant and Canada goldenrod in the flower arrangement and size as well as the leaf shape and how the leaves attach to the stem. However, there is enough subtlety and variability in these features that they aren't particularly useful for quick field identification. Just remember:<u> giant goldenrod has smooth stems, and Canada goldenrod has rough stems</u>.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 3</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">Prairie Goldenrods, Mesic to Dry Sites:</span></h3>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">early goldenrod (<i>Solidago juncea</i>) </span></h4>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;"><u>If you see a goldenrod blooming in July, this is it.</u> The flower period can extend into mid-August in Wisconsin, but early goldenrod is generally <i>finished</i> blooming before the similar Missouri and old-field goldenrods <i>start</i> to bloom. This species has <u>smooth stems and leaves and its leaves get sequentially smaller from the bottom of the plant to the top</u>. Its <u>inflorescences all tend to arch out charmingly to the side.</u> Its a really attractive, short-stature plant, and with its usual bloom time, its a shame its not more readily available for use in landscaping.</span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">Missouri goldenrod (<i>Solidago missouriensis</i>) </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I'll admit, this is a species that has always confused me. Its a lot like early goldenrod. It blooms earlier than most goldenrods, but not as early as early goldenrod. Its <u>stem and leaves are generally smooth</u> like giant goldenrod and early goldenrod. </span><span face=""helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Its <u>inflorescences all arch outward gracefully</u>. </span><span face=""helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The best way, that I can tell, to differentiate it from early goldenrod is that </span><u>Missouri goldenrod typically has serrated leaf edges, where as early goldenrod usually has smooth leaf edges</u><span face=""helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif">. Compared to giant goldenrod, its much shorter, and giant goldenrod is among the last goldenrods to bloom. This species could easily be placed among the "confusing" goldenrods listed above, but I don't think its common enough to make that list. This species is typically found in prairie remnants whether in good condition, or degraded.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 7</span></span> </span><br /></span>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">old-field goldenrod (<i>Solidago nemoralis</i>)</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Old field goldenrod looks a lot like early goldenrod with its <u>short stature, large basal leaves, and small leaves towards to tops</u>. They often grow in similar habitats too, from dry-mesic to dry prairies and I've seen them in a few savannas and barrens... However, old-field goldenrod, ironically, never grows in old fields. It does seem to stick around in degraded prairies longer than many species, so perhaps it should be called "old-prairie goldenrod"? Its other common name, grey goldenrod, may be more appropriate, because it has a sort-of <u>frosted, grey appearance to the foliage</u>. Its rough to the touch, and blooms in the typical goldenrod season of late-August to early-September, so despite having the same gestalt as early goldenrod, they are easy to tell apart. </span>Its <u>inflorescences generally arch off charmingly to one side</u>. This is another shorter, more charming species that should be used in landscaping more.</span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">C = 4</span></span></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">showy goldenrod (<i>Solidago speciosa</i>)</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This
species is fairly common in wet-mesic to dry-mesic prairies, and is
often found in prairie plantings and wildflower gardens. Its attractive
and easy to propagate, but it gets too tall and floppy in relatively rich garden soil.
Showy goldenrod is <u>a fairly smooth plant</u>. Its leaves are somewhat smaller as they ascend the stem, and especially small just below the flower plume. <u>Stems are often, but not always, reddish-maroon</u>. <u>The inflorescence (flower plume) is more upright that most goldenrods, (individual flower heads are larger than most), kind of like a big plume of feathers</u>.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 5</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">stiff goldenrod (<i>Solidago rigida</i>)</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Stiff goldenrod is pretty unique looking among goldenrods Its fairly tall, but very, well, stiff looking, with a thick, rough stem. <u>Leaves are rounded at the tip and have a rough texture</u>. <u>It has relatively large flower heads, that arrange themselves in relatively a flat-topped structure</u>. Some botanists are now assigning this species to a new genus, as <i>Oligoneuron rigidum</i>. With its rather distinctive appearance, this seems justified to me.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This species looks tidy in a prairie remnant, but its another one that becomes an oversized ogre in gardens. It is common in planted prairie reconstructions where it can compete well with other tall grasses and forbs.</span></span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 5</span></span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">White</span></span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"> </span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Goldenrods...?</span></span></h4>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">upland white goldenrod (<i>Solidago ptarmicoides</i>)</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It seems a contradiction in terms, but there are in-fact a few white-flowered goldenrods. As the story goes, upland white goldenrod was considered an aster once upon a time (called "stiff aster"), until one botanist noticed that they would hybridize with rough goldenrod. Solidago it is then, white flower or not!</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This species blooms in late summer or early fall in rocky soils, often on dry sites. Each plant has a handful of<u> white flowers</u>, </span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">which are relatively large among the goldenrods,</span> clearly separated from each other,<u> with all the flowers at more or less the same height</u>. These flowers are all at about the same height at the very top of the plant.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Note that some botanists are now splitting this species into a new genus as </span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span><i>Oligoneuron
album</i></span>. Its not reverse discrimination because its white, several other yellow-flowering goldenrods are being put into this genus as well (see above).</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 8</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">There are two other "white goldenrods" in our area, <b>silver-rod (<i>Solidago bicolor</i>)</b> </span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 7, </span></span>and <b>white goldenrod (<i>Solidago hispida</i>)</b>, </span><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = 6.</span></span> However, these are considerably less common. They also have white flowers that are most-likely to be confused with asters, and both have vertical stalks of flowers, rather than the flat-top of upland white goldenrod. </span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Interesting side-note: these species are staying in the <i>Solidago</i> genus (rather than being moved to </span><i>Oligoneuron)</i><span face=""helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif">, as far as I can tell, so it appears that yellow flowers are not necessarily a defining trait of the goldenrods.</span><br />
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</span><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">An Invasive Goldenrod...? </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>seaside<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> goldenrod (<i>Solidago sempervirens</i>)</span></b></span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This species is from the East Coast and has been moving inland along the interstate highway system. All the excess salt spread on our roadways is creating an environment in which this species has a competitive advantage over other vegetation. Is it truly invasive? I'd call it opportunistic.</span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The easiest way to identify this species is to note that its <u>always along roadways</u>. It also <u>blooms later than any native goldenrod</u>, in fact it often doesn't start blooming until other goldenrods have finished. We're talking late-October and November here. Leaves and stems are smooth to the touch. Overall appearance is similar to giant goldenrod or an oversized Missouri goldenrod. Leaf shape is distinctively elongated with toothless margins.</span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">C = n/a</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;">To Be Continued...</span></h2>
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>In: Goldenrods of the Upper Midwest... Part 2, Woodlands and Wetlands</b></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-85177729502259226282018-08-03T13:05:00.000-05:002018-08-03T13:05:00.307-05:00 Native Plant Care After Planting We are quite often providing our clients information on how to care for plants after we have installed them for them. I thought I'd post this information here to make it easier to share. <i>These are the care instructions we require clients to follow in order to qualify for our plant warranty</i>. As always, I may have gone into more detail than is necessary, but the key points to follow are highlighted in <b>bold.</b><br />
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<h3>
Perennial Care:</h3>
Native species will grow slowly at first since they are putting most of their energy into their substantial root systems. Because of their substantial root systems native plants need no watering once they are established and are very hardy. However, “baby” plants need a little more care to get established. Larger gallon-sized plants can often be showy in the first year they are
planted, but smaller quart and 2.5" plug-sized plants will take at
least a season to get established before they start to show off.<br />
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<b>We recommend watering the plants <i>extremely</i>-heavily every-other day for the first two weeks after they are planted</b> if mother nature doesn't take care of this for you. <b>By "<i>extremely</i>-heavy", I mean you need to water them to the point that you are sure you are drowning the plants, then continue watering</b> for a while longer! By doing this, you are saturating the soil column several feet down, and encouraging deep root growth to follow that water down into the soil. By taking a day off between these heavy waterings, you give the surface soil some time to dry out to be sure enough oxygen is getting to the roots to avoid rot and to promote optimal growth.<br />
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Be sure to avoid run-off with this very heavy watering. I usually just rotate the watering around the planting bed as I am watering, moving from one area to another as each gets saturated and starts to form puddles. Once the puddles drain, I return and saturate the soil there again, and repeat.<br />
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Also <b>water the plants during any prolonged dry spell during their first growing season.</b> A lack of significant rainfall for a full week constitutes a "prolonged" dry spell. Look for the leaves on the plants "flagging" as an indication that they are drought-stressed.<br />
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If you wish to accelerate the establishment of your plants a bit, you can water them regularly throughout the first growing season.<br />
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Weed your planting about every 2-4 weeks during the first two growing seasons, as needed. Muched perennial plantings don't require much weeding at all for the first year.<br />
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<h3>
Trees & Shrubs Care:</h3>
Any tree or shrub will need lots of watering in its first year of life. Larger plants that come in the 'ball and burlap' (B&B) form are especially sensitive since so much of their
root mass, particularly their fine roots, were cut-off when these plants were dug from the ground at the nursery. For this reason, we prefer to plant smaller woody plants that come in containers whenever possible, or some larger trees (up to 1.5" caliper) are now available in root bags and these are much hardier than equivalent B&B plants.<br />
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Any tree species is also going to be sensitive to dry soils since their root structure (which focuses on large, permanent roots) is less adaptable than that of a shrub (which tend to have smaller roots that can be replaced more easily).<br />
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As a general rule, <b>trees less than 1” in diameter
(or shrubs of equivalent size) or less will only need watering for the first
growing season they are in the ground. For each additional inch of
width, you should water it for one more year.</b> I'll call this time period based on plant size the <i>supplimental watering period</i>. So a 4” caliper tree will have a supplemental watering period of four years installation. This
is another good reason to choose a smaller plant to begin with.
Typically, shrubs in 5-20 gallon containers will only need watering
during their first year on site. These small plants also grow faster than larger plants which suffer more from "transplant shock" and often halt growth for a year or two after planting.<br />
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No matter what size plants you have<b>, watering should be done frequently and intensely. For the first two weeks after planting, we recommend the same watering regime for woody plans as we do for perennials: water <i>extremely</i>-heavily every other day for two weeks, as described above. </b>This is probably the equivalent of 6"-8" of rainfall for each of those first two weeks.<b></b><br />
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Once the young woody plant has been in the ground it will be slightly better able to handle drought stress so you can back off a bit. <b>A good rule of thumb for any tree or shrub is that they will do best with the equivalent of 2” of rainfall a week during the entire supplemental watering period</b>, whether provided by you, or the weather. If you are using a sprinkler to water your plants then leave out a small container in the area, and once it fills up with water 2” deep, you can turn the sprinkler off. Soaker hoses help reduce any leaf mildy issues that can arise from frequent use of a sprinkler, and are generally more efficient uses of water but are more difficult to monitor. Remember, you are trying to saturate the soil in the entire area surrounding the plant, but also, giving the soil time to drain between watering.<br />
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Weeding is less necessary for tree and shrub health. However, weeds often come in the pot with the plant, so check them a few times in the first growing season or two for dandelions, thistles and various biennial weeds such as foxtail grasses.Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-10506883104865910312018-02-19T17:27:00.004-06:002018-02-19T17:36:00.625-06:00Hosting Wildland Firefighter Training: S130/190 and S290<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Good Oak is teaming up with Ken Terrill of <a href="https://www.incidentmanagementspecialist.com/home.html" target="_blank">Incident Management Specialists</a> to host two NWCG wildland firefighter training courses this spring. These courses will be held here at Good Oak Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Basic Wildfire Firefighter & Prescribed Fire Training</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"> (S-130 / S-190, I-100, L-180)
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Friday, March 16th 2018, 9am to 5pm</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This program is designed for entry-level personnel with little or no formal training in wildfire fire suppression or
prescribe fire.
</span>This 32‐hour program </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">(24 hrs. online and 8 hrs. formal workshop)</span> encompasses S‐130 Fire Fighter, S‐190 Introduction to
Wildland Fire Behavior (self-study), L‐180 Human Factors on the Fireline, and I-100 Introduction to the Incident Command
System (self-study) training. It is designed for entry level firefighters and personnel and required by the National Wildfire
Coordinating Group (NWCG) for agencies subscribing to National Interagency Management System (NIMS). Upon successful completion of this course, students will earn a NWCG certificate which is necessary to work on
wildfires or to participate in prescribe fires sponsored by some agencies.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Sign up by March 9th, as a substantial portion of the course is conducted online, and must be completed before the classroom day!</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://nebula.wsimg.com/5b39db34458585cf1cdc5553c6ef9d81?AccessKeyId=E58149B51478DDF9F003&disposition=0&alloworigin=1" target="_blank">Click Here to Learn More and Register for S130/S190! </a></span></b></span></span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfsVNgIzYgCXGodXI98WaAMijw3Q4cyFhqERYiYxp3zRPpyukR2-coyV2MzDeAQLlwpdEuuXyy8SIWgTwjmm_c4rki4qmyYQy5a1HHEjhbDrKvOiDuycobb7ZDQdqT1sRRozKmCHOoP4/s1600/fire5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfsVNgIzYgCXGodXI98WaAMijw3Q4cyFhqERYiYxp3zRPpyukR2-coyV2MzDeAQLlwpdEuuXyy8SIWgTwjmm_c4rki4qmyYQy5a1HHEjhbDrKvOiDuycobb7ZDQdqT1sRRozKmCHOoP4/s1600/fire5.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior S-290</span></span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Friday March 23rd, 9am to 5pm</b></span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">This course is National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) certified. The online course work can be
completed in approximately fifteen hours (current average), and consists of a pre-course test and twelve online modules with a test
for each that the student must successfully complete before attending the classroom portion and
becoming eligible to receive a certificate. The classroom portion of the course (March 23rd) involves discuss of the
areas of fuels, weather and topography and how they determine what the fire behavior will be on a
specific site in Wisconsin.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This S-290 course is the second course in five course sequence developing wildland fire behavior
prediction knowledge and skills. It builds upon the basics in S-190, Introduction to Wildland Fire
Behavior, but with more detailed information about characteristics and interactions of the wildland fire
environment (fuels, weather, and topography) that affect wildland fire behavior for safety purposes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://nebula.wsimg.com/d2103459e4d41b3e67537e9cabeb4355?AccessKeyId=E58149B51478DDF9F003&disposition=0&alloworigin=1" target="_blank"><b>Click Here to Learn More Register for S290!</b></a></span></span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>For more information, contact Ken from the <a href="https://www.incidentmanagementspecialist.com/registration---contact-us2.html" target="_blank">IMS Website</a>.</b></span></span></span></h4>
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<br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-88518923456705374812018-02-07T17:35:00.001-06:002018-02-09T08:58:37.857-06:00Good Oak at Garden Expo 2018!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.wigardenexpo.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.wigardenexpo.com/" border="0" data-original-height="91" data-original-width="608" src="https://www.wigardenexpo.com/sites/default/files/images/logo.png" title="Wisconsin Garden Expo" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Booth: </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good Oak will again be attending the <a href="http://www.wigardenexpo.com/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Garden Expo</a>,
this weekend, February 9th - 11th. See us at booth 324! We'd love to
talk to folks about ecological land management and sustainable landscaping
practices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We will also be selling items from our <a href="http://goodoak.com/store/index.php" target="_blank">Sustainable Garden Center</a>,
including quality tools and books on a variety of topics including
natural landscaping, edible wild plants, pollinators, and restoration
practices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Presentations:</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year Frank will be giving four presentations, at least one each day of the Expo. Here's what's on the schedule:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Planting a Prairie: Choose Your Own Adventure</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Friday, Feb. 9, @ 5:15 pm</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Room: Mendota 5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Add beauty to your landscape, reduce maintenance costs and provide a critical haven for wildlife. This talk will outline the process of prairie establishment and help you chart a course that fits the needs of your site. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Handouts: <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/handouts/PrairiePlants&Books.pdf" target="_blank">Prairie Plant Sources, Books and Websites</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Restoring Your Woodland to Health</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Saturday, Feb. 10, @ 4:45 pm<br />Room: Waubesa/Kegonsa</b><br />Learn the steps necessary to restore your woodland to a stable, healthy habitat and home for birds, butterflies, bees and wildflowers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Handouts: <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/handouts/HandOutline.pdf" target="_blank">Woodand Restoration HandOutline</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gardening for Pollinators</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sunday, Feb. 11, @ 10:15 am<br />Room: Mendota 8</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pollinators provide critical ecosystem services and are under threat from a variety of human impacts. Learn what you can do to make your yard a haven for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and the many other "little things that run the world".<br /><b>Handouts: <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/handouts/PlantSources&Info2.7.pdf" target="_blank">Native Plant Sources, Books and Web</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/handouts/Bee-HummingbirdPlants.pdf" target="_blank">Native Bee and Hummingbird Plants</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rain Gardens: The Next Generation</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Feb. 11, @ 2:00 pm<br />Room: Mendota 8 </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rain gardens help us control runoff and clean up our lakes and streams. They can also present many design challenges. Learn why we need rain gardens, how they work and how you can make your next generation rain garden better. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Handouts: </b></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://goodoak.com/info/handouts/PlantSources&Info2.7.pdf" target="_blank">Native Plant Sources, Books and Web</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reference: <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/shorelandzoning/documents/rgmanual.pdf" target="_blank">Rain Gardens: A How-To Manual for Homeowners</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We look forward to seeing you there!</span><br />
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Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-77519399650531938522018-01-31T10:45:00.001-06:002018-01-31T11:06:50.440-06:00Now Hiring: Interns, Technicians and Managers (oh my!)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to get your hands dirty making a positive change for our environment, we're currently growing our crew for the 2018 season! </span><br />
<div class="" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /> </span><b class="">-</b><a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/Technician18.pdf">Ecological Land Management Technician:</a> We’re looking for folks experienced in landscaping or natural areas management work to join our team as a Technician, getting ecological land management work done on the ground. This is a permanent, full-time position with benefits. Applications are due February 16th, so act fast!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br class="" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b class="">- </b><a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/Internship2018.pdf">Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Landscaping Internship:</a> We’re also looking for spring and summer interns, students and recent graduates who are looking to learn while they work. This could grow into a year-round, full-time Apprenticeship for the right candidates. Applications are due February 19th for the Spring Internship, and March 2nd for the Summer Internship. We're also looking to extend our internships to a year-round, full-time Apprentice position for good candidates, ask us about it when you apply.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- <a class="" href="http://goodoak.com/RestorationManager18.pdf">Ecological Restoration Manager</a><b class="">:</b> We're always interested in meeting people that might be qualified to lead a team conducting land management work in the field, and work with clients on developing and executing plans. Get in touch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are multiple application due dates, but the first, are coming up quickly on February 16th! Please pass on to any potentially-interested parties.</span></div>
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Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-61923049171751649882017-10-18T12:18:00.000-05:002017-10-25T12:04:38.392-05:00<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good Oak's Fall Native Plant Sale!</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As is our tradition, we're selling off a little overstock of native plants this fall. We have over 600 native wildflowers, grasses and sedges that need homes! Below is our live inventory with pricing. Savings up to 75% off on some plants!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To order, email us at <a href="mailto:info@goodoak.com">info@goodoak.com</a> with the subject line: "Fall Plant Sale Order", and list the species and sizes you'd like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or stop in to browse, but please text or phone first (608-209-0607), since we may be out working instead of at the shop!</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">UPDATE!:</span>
As an added bonus, we're going to offer 10% off our top four planting
tools with any plant purchase as part of this sale!* Check out these
great tools:</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=29&controller=product">Nisaku Hori Hori</a> </span></li>
<li><a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=90&controller=product"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nisaku Premium Hori Hori</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=64&controller=product"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Power Planter</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=32&controller=product"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wilcox Long-Handled Trowel</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://goodoak.com/store/index.php?id_product=89&controller=product">Nisaku Triangle Hoe</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Offer applies to in-store purchase only.</span></span><br />
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<iframe height="910" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSJifXnRtT5oZc6m99fJm99aD_Dvladv-8GkokR1buioa-ylxb-IaQCA2Eda2w55waeSBkG9XDoy9c8/pubhtml?gid=1707407569&single=true&widget=true&headers=false" width="475"></iframe>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-72346186089064962382017-07-01T11:26:00.003-05:002017-07-07T14:46:57.046-05:00We're Hirining!: Starting in Early Fall<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hi All,
If you'd like to get your hands dirty making a positive change for our environment, we're currently hiring! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Applications are due July 28th for our <a href="http://goodoak.com/Technician17.pdf">Ecological Restoration / Sustainable Landscaping Technician</a> position. THis position is the the core of our work, getting things done on the ground. We're planning for a starting date around September 1st. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Applications for our <a href="http://goodoak.com/AssistPM2017.pdf">Assistant Ecological Land Manager Position</a> are due by August 4th. This position requires extensive ecological restoration experience, and is intended to be a starting point for someone looking to move into a full Ecological Land Manager... project manager type, position within a year or so of joining our team. Also looking for an early-September start date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always, we're certainly interested in hearing from anyone with experience in the field of ecological restoration and/or sustainable landscaping who's interested in joining our team. So we've posted the job descriptions for our Manager positions on the <a href="http://goodoak.com/employment.html">Employment Page</a> as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I hope to hear from some of you folks soon! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Frank </span><br />
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Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-10230547967697006142017-06-08T10:54:00.002-05:002017-07-01T11:00:47.886-05:00Global Warming, Apple Computers and Saving the World, One Piece at a Time<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Its our busy early-summer season. I hardly have time to eat some days, let alone blog. But a few things have been swirling around the environmental world lately that I feel the need to address in a quick post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Roots:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">When I was in college at the University of Illinois, I was involved in several environmental clubs. I had some friends who gravitated towards political action. There were big issues on campus and in the state that needed addressing. But for me, I always found political action frustrating. You could work extremely hard on a project, pour your heart into it, and in the end, if a vote doesn't go your way, all that was for nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I gravitated towards hands-on projects. We did clean-ups of some local streams. We did a bicycle repair fundraiser. I got most heavily involved in Red Bison, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the student prairie restoration club</span>. Interacting with the plants, animals and other organisms of our little prairie plot was, of course, rewarding, and part of the appeal. But most of all, I felt a great senses of satisfaction at the end of the day looking at the work we had gotten done, pulling weeds or planting prairie seedlings, and knowing I had made a difference that day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Disheartening Current Events:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The United States pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement is an example of exactly what I find frustrating about politics. I have strong feelings about the issue, as do many millions of Americans, but I feel powerless to do anything about it. But its important we don't give up hope in improving our environment. Forget about politics. There is a lot that homeowners, rural landowners, and businesses (that<i><b> you</b></i>!) can do right now, to protected clean water, clean air and counteract human-induced climate change.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back Yard Action:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lori Otto, Found of Wild Ones said: </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.24px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"You can do wonderful things on your own property to protect the environment. Each little island, each corridor will help bring back the butterflies and birds."</span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lawn doesn't sequester much carbon. A rich assemblage of native plants do. Oh, and they also provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, help keep our surface and ground water clean, reduce air pollution and urban heat island effect. <a href="http://goodoak.com/landscaping.html">Learn more here.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Join <a href="http://www.wildonesmadison.org/">our local Wild Ones chapter</a> to get involved in the native landscaping movement and learn more about what you can do in your yard. </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets, or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing, and human spirits would soar."</span><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">- Lorrie Otto</span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Back Forty Action:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On larger properties, any wild plant cover, even weeds and invasive plants, do a better job keeping our air and water clean than farm fields and lawns (or parking lots and subdivisions for that matter). But <i>healthy</i> natural habitats, prairies, woodlands, wetlands, etc., with a diversity of native plants do a notably better job in providing <i>all </i>of the ecosystem services that keep our environment healthy. Prairies are particularly good at sequestering carbon with their deep roots, and old-growth oaks of our woodlands and savannas can lock-up carbon for decades. These can be big, long-term projects, but start small and expand as you can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://accountsolution.gcion.com/redirect/?returnSessionKey=true&returnAutoLogin=true&redirectURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desmoinesregister.com%2Fstory%2Flife%2F2017%2F04%2F19%2Fiowa-landowner-who-brought-creek-back-life%2F100388248%2F%3Ffrom%3Dglobal">Here is an incredible story</a> from the Des Moines Register of an Iowa landowner who restored a stream, which had been degraded and repressed to the point it was little more than a wet spot in a stream, back into a high quality trout-stream, the trickling of the stream in this video is particularly pleasant knowing the story behind it:<a href="http://dmreg.co/2oTwiku"> http://dmreg.co/2oTwiku</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Learn more about Ecological Restoration here:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://goodoak.com/restoration.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">General</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://goodoak.com/prairie.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prairies</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://goodoak.com/woodland.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Woodlands</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://goodoak.com/shoreline.html">Shorelines</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Become A Volunteer or Donate to a Local Cause:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">If you don't have your own space where you can 'heal the Earth', <a href="http://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/content.asp?contentid=159">The Prairie Enthusiasts</a> are always looking for volunteers. Same story at the <a href="https://arboretum.wisc.edu/get-involved/volunteer/">UW Arboretum,</a> the <a href="https://lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu/volunteer.htm">Lakeshore Preserve</a>, and <a href="http://www.pheasantbranch.org/restoration.html">Pheasant Branch Conservancy</a>. I myself am leading <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493518010678457/">a modest effort at Blue Mound State Park</a>. Come help us pull garlic mustard this Saturday morning!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Considering donating to local conservation organizations need your help to do great environmental work in our local communities:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.wisconservation.org/"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Natural Resource Foundation of Wisconsin</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://madisonaudubon.org/"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Madison Audubon Society</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/content.asp?contentid=160"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Prairie Enthusiasts</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.friendslakeshorepreserve.com/support-us.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friends of the Lakeshore Preserve</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://arboretum.wisc.edu/get-involved/donate/"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friends of the UW Arboretum</span></a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.pheasantbranch.org/membershipForm.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friends of Pheasant Branch </span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/wisconsin">Sierra Club, Wisconsin John Muir Chapter</a></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Business Taking Action:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Honestly, one of the biggest inspirations for this post is a couple things Apple Computers has been working on lately. They are building an impressive new campus, with 80% of the land being dedicated to natural areas with fruit trees, native oaks and a variety of native and drought tolerant, low maintenance plants. <a href="https://backchannel.com/apple-parks-tree-whisperer-6badcef983e9">Read this interesting article</a> from Backchannel on the project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Then there's Apple's latest ad, seemingly a direct response to recent political events, which is simply beautiful nature scenes with the voice-over from Carl Sagan reading his book <i>The Pale Blue Dot</i>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I'm not saying Apple is the only business taking positive action. Subaru for example has <a href="https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/subaru-celebrates-10-years-zero-landfill-manufacturing.html">developed zero-waste factories</a> here in the US, and is <a href="http://media.subaru.com/pressrelease/738/124/subaru-america-partners-national-park-foundation-celebrate-national">supporting the National Parks Foundation</a>. The point is, work to the organization you work for more environmentally responsible, and you can leverage a much greater positive impact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">All Politics are Local</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course we need to engage in our state, national and international communities and the environmental issues in those areas if humanity is going to have a bright, green future. There are plenty of resources online to help you contact your political representatives and get involved in campaigns to put pressure on our politicians. I encourage you to take a few minutes to do just that.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But I think, taking action locally, whether its getting your own hands dirty or funding projects that you can see the results of in your own community, is extremely satisfying, and a very productive way to make a difference. Or as Mahatma Gandhi said:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."</span></span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></i></span> </span>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-7029462684078433352017-04-04T15:57:00.001-05:002017-04-04T20:55:38.996-05:00Eleven Tips for Getting a Job in Natural Resources, from the Perspective of an Employer<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> With <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">g</span>raduation coming up soon, and the summer work season looming, I thought I'd share some advice for finding jobs and making a career in conservation. The advice range<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s from the basic <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">mechanics</span> of applying for a job <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(which m<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ost <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">people</span> are not very good at) to to general self-improvement. I hope I'm not too blunt!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>Getting a job in the natural resources field isn’t easy. There really aren’t many jobs, and there are a lot of us that are drawn to this kind of work. On the other side of the coin, employers like myself actually have a hard time finding well-qualified candidates to fill our position. A lot of people <i>want to</i> work in this field, but few have the necessary skills and experience, and most aren’t very good at presenting themselves for these position. And so, for your benefit, mine, and the benefit of the <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">future of the planet as a whole</span>, here are my tips for applying for a job, and developing yourself as a professional.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) Don’t apply for jobs you’re not qualified for. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I get a lot of people who just graduated for college applying for manager positions, even though it says on the application that we require a <i>minimum</i> of 3 years of experience. Or people with forestry backgrounds applying for a landscaper position. This is a waste of my time, and yours, and it does not reflect well on you. If you want to get on our radar, but don’t see a position that fits you, then just send a general job inquiry with your resume. If we like what we see, we’ll be in touch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) Follow the instructions on the job announcement. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have simple instructions for job applicants: submit your resume and cover letter in PDF format. We end up getting every file type from .doc, to .rtf, I’d say less than 1 in 4 are .pdf files as we request. The fact that you send me the wrong file type says one of two things about you: A) you don’t have basic competency with a computer and can’t create a PDF file or B) You didn’t read the job announcement carefully and follow instructions. Neither looks good<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3) Put your resume and cover letter in PDF format. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The reason we have the above mentioned instruction is two-fold: First, it’s much easier to just deal with one file format that can be opened and view on any device. Second, it’s really easy for someone to alter a text file. Do you really think it’s a good idea to be sending your resume out into the world in an easily manipulated file type?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4) The filename for your resume and cover letter should include your name. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I get a lot of cover letters with the document named something like “good_oak_cover_letter.doc”. Seeing as I work at Good Oak, I already know that you’re submitting your cover letter to Good Oak. What I don’t know, without opening the file anyway, is who you are or what position you are applying for. Think about the perspective of the person receiving your information. What do they need to know about you? What will make it easiest for them to view and organize your information? Using your name in the file name for your resume and cover letter make it easier for me to hire you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5) Make yourself stand out. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thinking about the perspective of the person reading your application is a good rule for the content of your resume and cover letter too. It needs to be easy for me to glean relevant information from your documents. Since I may be reading dozens of similar applications, they all may end up blur<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ring together after a while</span>. So make yourself stand out. I still remember when Tim included in his resume that he was on his college football team. As we were going through the application process, we thought of him as “the football player”. We remembered who he was and were able to identify him as an individual whereas other applicants were perhaps not as clear in our minds. What is special about you that you want us to remember you for? It could be anything, the woman who worked at The Nature Conservancy, or the guy who plays ultimate frisbee. Give us something to hang onto, preferably something that is relevant to the job you’re applying for, but barring that, anything interesting about you will do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6) You<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">r</span> college degree doesn’t really do anything for you. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a tip for recent college graduates. You’re schooling, while a<i> good foundation</i> for the knowledge and skills you will need for a successful career in natural resources, does not, in itself, mean you’re a qualified candidate. In Wisconsin, thousands of people graduate with degrees in ecology, forestry, natural resources, wildlife biology, etc. every year, and apply for the few hundreds of jobs available. Don’t be fooled into thinking you are knowledgeable in this really broad, really complicated field. <b>Don’t wait until after you graduate to develop actual experience in the field.</b><br /> What about graduate school? An M.S. on your resume certainly opens doors, and in my experience seems to impress upon the average person that I must know what I’m talking about. It does show you're a <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">intelligent</span>, hard-work<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ing,</span> capable person able to <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">take on a <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">challenging</span> project and stay committed to see it <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">thorough. </span></span>But if its just more schooling for the sake of schooling, it may not make you qualified for any jobs, aside from research, of course. Is your research relevant to the job<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> you are applying for?</span> Experience trumps education.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7) Get experience in the field, an internship, or <i>anything</i>. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting a good, permanent job in this field is hard. But getting an internship or basic entry-level job is not. If you can’t get the coveted Audubon Society summer internship, a job mowing lawns and planting trees for your local parks department at least gives you experience operating small equipment, working outside. Go from seasonal job to seasonal job for a while if you have to, eventually you’ll build the experience, and connections, to land a full-time position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8) Volunteer. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I view someone with volunteer experience as much more valuable than someone with an equivalent amount of job experience. First, this shows you are passionate enough about this work that you’re willing to do it in your free time, because its what you want to do. Second, most of the volunteer groups around here are run by our regions leading experts in ecology, prairies, botany, weed management, etc. So by volunteering, you get to work with these experts and learn from them. You’ll make great career connections, and it doesn’t hurt to have some of the region's leading experts on your list of references.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9) Invest in your own training. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People with wildland fire S130/190 training, a pesticide applicators license, chainsaw training, etc, go right to the top of my list of applicants for any job. I don’t need to spend time and money training you, and I know you can get to work right away. This shows you have either experience, forethought or both. People who know how to operate skid loaders, tractors, ATV’s, GIS applications, or know how to repair small engines, or have advanced botanical training, etc. are especially valuable at <i>any level</i> of an organization.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10) Be passionate. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spend time outside in natural areas. Learn plants, learn birds, learn soils, learn whatever sparks your interest. Go to conferences. Read books, read articles, read classic environmental literature (Pro Tip: if you don’t know where the name of my company came from, <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">you probably shouldn't be</span> applying here.) Study off the internet. Get involved in environmental groups. Your time is limited, use it wisely. Through all this you will learn more, become more confident in the importance of your work, and I hope, share your passion with others. When meeting job applicants, its pretty obvious who is passionate and who isn’t.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">11) Don’t give up. </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking for fulfilling work is hard. It can be demoralizing. If you're really <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">passionate</span> about this work, if you really think <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">this is the best way you can make a<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> positive contribution to this wor<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ld</span></span></span>, don’t give up. You may need to apply for dozens of jobs <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and/or</span> move from one low-paying, limited term job to another for a couple years. Keep pushing forward. Incorporate hard work, study and networking with the tips above and you’ll get the job you want eventually.<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I</span>ts worth it.</span>FrankOnABikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267797775403219384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-15929976585586104432017-02-28T07:39:00.000-06:002017-02-28T07:39:51.279-06:00Spring 2017 Pre-Order Plant Sale<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This Spring save on select garden kits at Good Oak! </b></span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Retail price <strike>$128 </strike> - Sale Price <span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="background-color: #38761d;"><span style="background-color: white;">$99</span></span></span><br /><br />Garden kits come as a flat of 32 - 2.5” plugs.<br /><br />Substitutions may apply due to nursery stock availability. We will call you in spring when the plants are ready! </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>To order</b> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">contact Natalie by email (natalie@goodoak.com) or phone
(608-209-0607). Plants can be picked up at the Good Oak Land Stewardship Center, 4606 Pflaum
Rd., by appointment. </span></span></h3>
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<br />Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-46438214323995612282017-02-10T10:35:00.001-06:002017-02-10T10:35:59.324-06:00See us at Garden Expo 2017!<h2>
The Booth: </h2>
Good Oak will again be attending the <a href="http://www.wigardenexpo.com/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Garden Expo</a>, this weekend, February 10th - 12th. See us at booth 324! We'd love to talk to folks about ecological restoration and sustainable. landscaping practices.<br />
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We will also be selling items from our <a href="http://goodoak.com/store/index.php" target="_blank">Sustainable Garden Center</a>, including quality tools and books on a variety of topics including natural landscaping, edible wild plants, pollinators, and restoration practices.<br />
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Presentations:</h2>
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This year we will be giving three presentations in the Mendota 3 Room:<br />
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<li>On Friday from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Frank he will be speaking about <b>"Rain Gardens: The Next Generation</b>". <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj_tt3204XSAhVI2GMKHYLVDw0QFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdnr.wi.gov%2Ftopic%2Fshorelandzoning%2Fdocuments%2Frgmanual.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHpAhvWhXpin_YeC_-p7_lQ-zbm1A&sig2=P114tDkXgCJmqB2RupJiIQ">Here is a link to the Wisconsin DNR's Rain Garden Manual</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/PlantSourcesWI.pdf">click here for our list of nurseries and recommended resources</a>. </li>
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<li>Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. learn about <b>"Native Plants for Any Garden"</b> with Amy Jo. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/AnyGardenNatives.pdf">Click here for our Any Garden Natives species list</a> and <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/PlantSourcesWI.pdf">click here for our list of nurseries and recommended resources</a>. </li>
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<li>Join Frank again on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. when he will share strategies for<b> </b>managing<b> <br />"Weeds and Invasive Plants"</b>. <a href="http://goodoak.com/info/WeedHandout.pdf">Click here for the handout</a> for this talk.<b><br /></b></li>
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<b></b> Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-7540034578704690332016-11-12T13:16:00.004-06:002017-08-14T12:24:32.341-05:00Vegetation Management Along Starkweather Creek<h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Background on the Stream Corridor Restoration</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting in the spring of 2016, Good Oak has been working with the City of Madison Engineering division on a “vegetation management” project. What this really entails is rescuing a stretch of stream shoreline that has become overcome with invasive plants just a few years after a major shoreline reconstruction project.<br />The section of Starkweather Creek in question runs from Commercial Avenue on the north end down to Milwaukee Avenue on the south. In the middle is the busy East Washington Avenue corridor. In 2008 the City initiated work along shoreline of the creek here to stabilize the shoreline and provide an aesthetic improvement to a scruffy-looking part of the creek.<br />Prairie is the ideal plant community to establish along these stream corridors. The deep, diverse roots of prairie plants do an excellent job holding the soil, preventing erosion and stabilizing the entire shoreline soil mass. The roots, stems and leaves of the prairie plants capture inflowing water, slowing it down and helping to filter out silt, nutrients and other pollutants that might otherwise flow into the creek. The prairie wildflowers provide nectar and pollen for pollinators, and other parts of these plants are the natural food for many beneficial insects, birds and other creatures. Finally, a well-managed prairie is a beautiful sight, with tall native grasses and a variety of wildflowers blooming throughout the growing season, and who’s structure provides winter interest as well.<br />Establishing a healthy natural community, in a previously weedy area that has recently had heavy equipment operating in it, is no easy task. Prairie seed was spread in the vegetative corridor on either side of the creek in 2008, but the innumerable invasive plants and seeds that were already established on the site quickly overwhelmed the prairie seedlings. Despite efforts in the years following to suppress weeds in this area, by the spring of 2016 invasive plants dominated this entire stream corridor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ecological Dead End</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When evaluating the site in the early spring of 2016, I estimated that exotic invasive plants cover roughly 90% of the vegetative buffer area.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgya48Rf5u0h8D32OjrWnfWQzcmiQw_hbUBzqc9cwVEbfALOWKdlEkExXlLl04FqRpvVr2hCcgmKb_kQgt4_vyRcaor-absAq63bGDDSG34nNdJwvc3ABnu0woKtbBaT1oDKeeqEKKjhSwy/s1600/IMGP1328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgya48Rf5u0h8D32OjrWnfWQzcmiQw_hbUBzqc9cwVEbfALOWKdlEkExXlLl04FqRpvVr2hCcgmKb_kQgt4_vyRcaor-absAq63bGDDSG34nNdJwvc3ABnu0woKtbBaT1oDKeeqEKKjhSwy/s1600/IMGP1328.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed canary grass along the Starkweather Creek north of the project area.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />The most abundant invasive plant in the project area, by far, is reed canary grass (<i>Phalaris arundinacea</i>). It probably accounted for 80-85% of the plant cover, all by itself, when we started work this spring. Reed canary grass is the most d<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span>str<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">u</span>ctive invasive plant in the midwest. According to the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Herbarium, reed canary grass is “the worst invasive species in Wisconsin, to date” having destroyed more native plant cover than any other invasive species in the state, and throughout the Midwest.<br />It can spread rapidly by both rhizomes and seed and aggressively displace native plants in wet and moist sites and along shorelines. It is particularly aggressive in disturbed sites, sites with high water/soil nutrient and silt loads, and fluctuating water levels... all of which are the case with Starkweather Creek. It is poor at erosion control because its shallow and coarse root system are easily undercut, not a desirable trait for a shoreline stabilization project.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwPecTsFSiU2IcsZToROAnSFR5ciKvjx51zTQZ1YZJUA1rCXyoWnWiYU1KJJ4fsap6hrclxn0sJy31fXnWwpqkmb8QDeHRAsyqfsnnPjyShOd6BPKJkje7FjxS59n-zfoUBh9p6tgnr2k/s1600/IMG_2396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwPecTsFSiU2IcsZToROAnSFR5ciKvjx51zTQZ1YZJUA1rCXyoWnWiYU1KJJ4fsap6hrclxn0sJy31fXnWwpqkmb8QDeHRAsyqfsnnPjyShOd6BPKJkje7FjxS59n-zfoUBh9p6tgnr2k/s1600/IMG_2396.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canada thistle is a difficult weed to control.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />There are many other invasive plants in this area including: Kentucky bluegrass, quack grass, brome grass, orchard grass, fescue, garlic mustard, great burdock, Canada thistle, plumeless thistle, sweet clover, and wild carrot. In addition to these exotic weeds, Canada goldenrod also has a significant cover. This species is native, and its yellow early-fall flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. However, it is a very aggressive species that can form monocultures <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that</span> exclude other plants, particularly in disturbed sites and young prairie plantings.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1m3E5vRhrY_JX8qTNZSWBCez0yMyTwHOrQGb4JnfcRJa28UQx5PkDaxdAEZ68dOzVFX8a8mwJCsc6snwENwcZnYXy_Js-zS6DH9Kg2oYG5rtWIXkkiLsTQek8Ojy4rY64LKmJnHyMs-f/s1600/DSC_5508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1m3E5vRhrY_JX8qTNZSWBCez0yMyTwHOrQGb4JnfcRJa28UQx5PkDaxdAEZ68dOzVFX8a8mwJCsc6snwENwcZnYXy_Js-zS6DH9Kg2oYG5rtWIXkkiLsTQek8Ojy4rY64LKmJnHyMs-f/s1600/DSC_5508.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though native to Wisconsin, Canada goldenrod can spread aggressively and exclude other plants.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Plan for Restoration</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Control of reed canary grass is extremely difficult. Mowing and burning can weaken the plants, but a herbicide application is necessary to kill the roots. Even when herbicide is applied, reed canary grass readily resprouts from dormant buds. If live plants are killed off after multiple herbicide applications, new seedlings will emerge from the seedbank. Therefore, multiple years of treatment are needed to eradicate reed canary grass from any <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">si</span>te.<br />In early summer 2016, we began managing reed canary grass by mowing during their blooming period to weaken the plants and to prevent them to from developing seeds. We also spot-herbicided broadleaf weeds and remo<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ved</span> invasive brush during several trips in late-spring and summer. Due to the wet and warm growing season we had, we needed to mow the reed canary grass again in August to set it back further. We also mowed the Canada goldenrod at this time.<br />Thought there is still a long road ahead, we’re beginning to see positive results from our weed management work: Patches of prairie grasses such as big bluestem and indian grass are waving their seed-heads high this fall. Several prairie flowers managed to bloom this summer including the yellow, black-eyed Susans and false sunflowers, as did some hoary vervain, purple coneflower, marsh milkweeds and New England asters.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_6VnfcGxnMEbGvX68qFmiW3EaNWjKSWxzjiN60x4pr0Vy8khV-B_z8D1LBykxU1_6bhctSATJz4oCDQmTM_-P6qkL1LsGe2wDmJugQVpYI67cKckaLKlGYa-6farfEMDiyinZ4JUOKPS/s1600/good+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_6VnfcGxnMEbGvX68qFmiW3EaNWjKSWxzjiN60x4pr0Vy8khV-B_z8D1LBykxU1_6bhctSATJz4oCDQmTM_-P6qkL1LsGe2wDmJugQVpYI67cKckaLKlGYa-6farfEMDiyinZ4JUOKPS/s400/good+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marsh milkweed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-eNOYNOGSx1KIhuqPWDiCASMKkzHhPZlq0oeeHaaRKIIQNRgJfVnetl7jmr5TwaRkg6ZK6N5C8QmvKktFkamN4yUn4vTb1ua4pq8RxE6GlRDg4A0RRiDo-aFTSDPeiKuwJ274HRxCMce/s1600/good.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-eNOYNOGSx1KIhuqPWDiCASMKkzHhPZlq0oeeHaaRKIIQNRgJfVnetl7jmr5TwaRkg6ZK6N5C8QmvKktFkamN4yUn4vTb1ua4pq8RxE6GlRDg4A0RRiDo-aFTSDPeiKuwJ274HRxCMce/s400/good.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hoary vervain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29_IdBAd77iDLPPGsSLAkDKdSpOcP7UATAXXHUZE5dmx4I0EOMFt_aPQvC_5dIngrRrEa_m2qAx2Q131JbGbnw-QY-1TBDwewYTW6S5F-tgtCGXydzk3R4htvjS2Ksac0RGOt4HyvTxou/s1600/good+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29_IdBAd77iDLPPGsSLAkDKdSpOcP7UATAXXHUZE5dmx4I0EOMFt_aPQvC_5dIngrRrEa_m2qAx2Q131JbGbnw-QY-1TBDwewYTW6S5F-tgtCGXydzk3R4htvjS2Ksac0RGOt4HyvTxou/s400/good+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">false sunflower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7B08oFPVjvnxiicN2e9gv6y_T6VA16JgsOG5KUFnm4RaV2Faf3qi1unJs3gXROWHThWfcQ0s6ViFSiVOUItp7KD5EMBAu8jutsEjESI0LkVA88dyAUP3ZokXIV87n0uojp1wS-5Ha4ny/s1600/good+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7B08oFPVjvnxiicN2e9gv6y_T6VA16JgsOG5KUFnm4RaV2Faf3qi1unJs3gXROWHThWfcQ0s6ViFSiVOUItp7KD5EMBAu8jutsEjESI0LkVA88dyAUP3ZokXIV87n0uojp1wS-5Ha4ny/s400/good+2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">black-eyed Susan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWfwTJpUX6aslmolekobA_2VgyggLvKnfuQmHchhCRj-0COtgYY9t0DQyzENVk2WIy-jVZmayhLeR_mY-uKtD0KjlmkSUfXWJWf7hlrP7bymnBoS2NDgipsHw54YfYyIY8wBdezKOQqsH/s1600/good+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWfwTJpUX6aslmolekobA_2VgyggLvKnfuQmHchhCRj-0COtgYY9t0DQyzENVk2WIy-jVZmayhLeR_mY-uKtD0KjlmkSUfXWJWf7hlrP7bymnBoS2NDgipsHw54YfYyIY8wBdezKOQqsH/s400/good+1.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New England aster</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />We’re now gearing of for what will be a substantial herbicide application to this reed canary grass. By waiting until late-fall, we can avoid accidentally harming native plants in the area which have largely gone dormant for the season, but effectively treat the reed canary grass which is still green and growing in mid-November… especially during this unusually warm fall. So, <strike>in the near future</strike> <b>no</b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>w</b> </span>you will see a whole lot of blue dye in the Starkweather Creek corridor, a marker we add to our herbicide so we can see where it has been sprayed.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Few Words about Pesticide Application</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The herbicide we are using to control reed canary grass is called AquaNeat. AquaNeat is a special, “aquatic-approved” formulation with the active ingredient is <a href="http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html">glyphosate</a>. Glyphosate has been tested to be “low to very low toxicity” to animals, it has been described as being roughly as toxic as table salt. In warm conditions, it can break down completely within two weeks (it will no doubt take longer to break down in November and into winter). It binds well to clay particles in the soil so it has a low likelihood of being washed into the stream or into our lakes.<br />We only use as much herbicide as is necessary to kill the invasive plants that we are targeting, being careful to avoid overspray onto other plants and elsewhere in the surroundings. Everyone on our Good Oak field crew is license to apply herbicide in Wisconsin, and we all practice a variety of safety techniques to limit exposure to ourselves and the environment.<br />Due the abundance of caution we practice with any pesticide, we’d recommend staying out of the area until the blue dye is no longer visible. The dye is more persistent than the herbicide itself, so the lack of visible dye should indicate there is no longer any herbicide present. If you do find blue dye on yourself, your clothes, or your pet, simply wash with soap and water to remove.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2017, and Beyond</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While 2016 has focused on weed control, 2017 should see the site less dominated by the worst invasive plants… but then what? Early in 2017 we’re again planning an herbicide application to reed canary grass and broadleaf weeds. Then we need to observe the site and see how the vegetation is reacting. Will other invasive plants sprout to take the place of the weeds we are controlling? Will native plants that have been suppressed by the weeds grow with more vigor? Will new prairie seedlings sprout from dormant seeds?<br />Mostly likely, all of these things will occur, and more. While the majority of the herbicide application will be behind us, in 2017 and 2018 we’ll be spot herbiciding, mowing, pulling and doing other work to control the well established weed populations, and prevent new ones from sprouting. We’ll be spreading additional prairie, savanna and wetland seed in either the spring or fall of 2017, once we feel enough of the invasive plants have been suppressed that new prairie seedlings will have a good chance of getting established. We’d love to get help from volunteers as the project moves forward, doing more planting of prairie wildflowers and maybe even weed pulling.</span>FrankOnABikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267797775403219384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934835343803249461.post-43365544594893455712016-10-25T11:46:00.002-05:002016-11-02T10:07:37.087-05:00Brush Clearing Time Lapse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's a time laps video of a day's worth of brush clearing work from
early last winter. We're professional land managers, not professional
videographers, so I'd say it turned out pretty well:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DNZqS2z9upY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DNZqS2z9upY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe>Good Oakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02339507460924509787noreply@blogger.com0