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.

Finesse vs. Brute Force in Invasive Plant Management

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Part 1 – The Soapbox By: Julianne Mason, Restoration Program Coordinator, Forest Preserve District of Will County Invasive plant management often feels like a brute force exercise.  We use the language of battle when we talk about killing invasive species.  … Continue reading →

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Nachusa Grasslands Prescribed Fire Report

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman Lessons learned: The bottom line: For the complete report with more photos, map, data, and a list of fire crew go here: https://www.nachusagrasslands.org/controlled-burns.html

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A Study on Controlling Bush Honeysuckle

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Kaleb Baker Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is an invasive shrub that flourishes along forest edges and in open woodlands. Amur honeysuckle shades out native flora with its early leaf-out and prolonged leaf retention, and when left uncontrolled, can produce … Continue reading →

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GRN Workshop at Nachusa Grasslands September 10 &11, 2024

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman Registration will open in June. Here is a quick update. We would start the workshop mid-morning September 10 and end mid-afternoon on the 11th. We have limited space so we may not be able to accept all … Continue reading →

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Piston pump vs centrifugal for prescribed fires: JD-9 nozzle, hose, characteristics

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman This post is for those who spray water on prescribed fires. On our piston pump units we often use the above JD-9 Green Guard nozzle. We like it because it is easy to hold, especially while driving … Continue reading →

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Live Fire Trainings

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

We are resending this as there was a glitch in the first broadcast. Mike Saxton is the Manager of Ecological Restoration and Land Stewardship at Shaw Nature Reserve – a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden – Gray Summit, MO. … Continue reading →

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Crafting Wetlands—2023 Crew Planting

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Written by Jacob Churulo, Nachusa Grasslands Resident Fellow Every year, Nachusa’s crew plantings embody our long-standing commitment to restoring high quality prairie habitat. In 2023, the combined seed picking efforts of the summer and fall restoration crews culminated into this … Continue reading →

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Rx fire pumper units and tenders

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman As this is spring fire season in northern Illinois I thought I would highlight past posts I have done that show lessons learned about slip on pumper units and water tenders. 

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Land Abandonment, Succession and Restoration: The Wolf Run Grasslands Restoration Project at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve.

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Mike Saxton and Calvin Maginel This article was originally posted in https://mbgecologicalrestoration.wordpress.com/2023/12/19/land-abandonment-succession-and-restoration-the-wolf-run-grassland-restoration-project-at-the-missouri-botanical-gardens-shaw-nature-reserve/ Since 1950, over 1-billon acres of agricultural land have been abandoned worldwide. In certain landscape contexts, passive recovery of high levels of native biodiversity in abandoned fields … Continue reading →

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Grass-Specific Herbicide Treatment on Heavily Grass-Dominated Prairies

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Alex Conley and Dr. Andrew Kaul, Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR) is a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, located 35 miles west of St. Louis and containing roughly 300 acres of restored tallgrass … Continue reading →

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