Author Archives: Grassland Restoration Network blog

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About Grassland Restoration Network blog

Bill Kleiman, Julianne Mason, and Mike Saxton publish this blog. Bill's daytime job is director of Nachusa Grasslands with The Nature Conservancy. Julianne works for the Forest Preserve District of Will County. Mike Saxton works for the Missouri Botanical Garden at their Shaw Nature Reserve. We are looking for guest authors on various topics of grassland habitat restoration. Contact us with your ideas.

2026 Workshop – Shaw Nature Reserve – Registration

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Shaw Nature Reserve – Gray Summit, MO Grassland Restoration Network Annual Workshop May 27 & 28, 2026  We would like to extend an early invitation for you to join us for the annual Grassland Restoration Network Workshop. This two-day workshop … Continue reading →

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2026 – Annual Workshop – Shaw Nature Reserve

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Shaw Nature Reserve – Gray Summit, MO Grassland Restoration Network Annual Workshop May 27 & 28, 2026 – Registration opens Thursday, March 26th Registration for this year’s Grassland Restoration Network annual workshop will go live next Thursday (03/26/2026). Join us … Continue reading →

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Knife vs Hammer brush mulcher

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman Updated March 2026. We are on our second winter using a knife mulcher.    Link to a 2 minute time lapse video of a hammer mulcher clearing small brush to show off a treasure: https://youtu.be/6SrNRwR49tY Above is … Continue reading →

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Using an Articulating Hedge Trimmer on Brush and Weeds

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Don Osmund, volunteer steward The tool of choice for this is a brush saw.  But some projects may benefit by adding an articulating hedge trimmer, where the blade assembly angle is adjustable so it can cut parallel to the … Continue reading →

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Bridges between habitat and species conservation in the Great Plains

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Katharine Hogan, PhD, Director of Conservation Lauritzen Gardens, Nebraska In 2016 I came to Nebraska for what I thought was going to be a one year sojourn in TNC Nebraska’s Hubbard Fellowship program. Now it’s 2025, and I’m still here, … Continue reading →

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Control of Lespedeza cuneata

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Jeff Horn, IL DNR district heritage biologist for Ogle, Winnebago, DeKalb, Kane, and DuPage counties based out of Castle Rock State Park Lespedeza cuneata (commonly referred to as Sericea or Chinese bush clover) is a perennial wildflower introduced into … Continue reading →

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Managing against autumn olive

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman To get control of a dense invasive olive on 28-acres we brush mowed, seeded heavily, started a frequent fire program, and continue to make visits to apply basal bark herbicide to individual shrubs. We have been mostly … Continue reading →

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Wicking cattails

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Reported by Bill Kleiman Agnes Wojnarski using a herbicide wicking wand on cattails. She used Aquaneat (glyphosate) with surfactant and blue dye. Label states up to 33% glyphosate for wick/wiper applications. A coverage of about half the plant gives good … Continue reading →

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2025 GRN workshop success in Lawrence Kansas

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman About 75 attended our 20th GRN workshop from a diversity of groups and geographies. Sara Baer had opening remarks where she thanked us practitioners for doing and sharing lessons learned. Then Helen Alexander gave a talk on … Continue reading →

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How much abundance of seed should we plant to establish a good prairie in a corn field?

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman A basic question in prairie plantings is what is the weight of seed to plant per acre?  You would think that the community of prairie restoration ecologists would have answered this question in a controlled study a … Continue reading →

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