Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

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

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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Protecting oaks with fire and from fire

By Bill Kleiman Oak species in our area thrive in landscapes with frequent fire. White oak, bur oak, black, Hills oak…. In full sun, bur oaks will grow like this one above with characteristic outspreading limbs. Fires bring sunlight. Oaks love sunlight. … Continue reading

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Northern Illinois Native Seed Phenophases

By Matt Hokanson Have you ever discovered a population of rare native plants gorgeously in bloom and think to yourself “I must come back and collect seed from these plants to restore their population elsewhere”? Summer rolls on, life gets … Continue reading

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GRN Workshop at Nachusa Grasslands September 10-12, 2024

by Bill Kleiman Our survey last week suggested that September 10-12 were better for more people, but plenty said these dates were not their top choice. The top topics people chose were habitat restoration lessons learned, weed management strategies and science … Continue reading

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Woodland fire at Hill Site

By Bill Kleiman On November 17, 2023 Middle Rock Conservation Partners burned their Samuel and Edna Hill Site. This photo shows good ecological fire, with a slow backburn consuming oak leaf litter and some dried plants from the previous few … Continue reading

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2024 GRN workshop at Nachusa Grasslands, Illinois

We are working to plan the 2024 GRN workshop at Nachusa. We were wondering what time of year you might want the workshop, and what things you want to talk about? I made a very short survey to get your … Continue reading

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Invasive Shrub Treatment Methods – Cut Stump and Basal Bark Comparison

By: Julianne Mason, Restoration Program Coordinator It’s an understatement to say that woody invasives are a major threat to our natural areas.  They can displace native plant communities, alter wildlife habitat, and impact nutrient cycling and other ecosystem processes.  Here … Continue reading

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A different pumper unit design

by Bill Kleiman Last week’s pumper unit had the tank taking up the entire bed. It was longer and shorter. The pump, motor, torches, and hose reel were all on top of the tank. But the design above is also … Continue reading

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Prescribed fire UTV slip on unit

By Bill Kleiman Here are recent photos from a slip-on pumper unit we have at Nachusa Grasslands. We like this one. This is a 75 gallon unit with the pump, motor and reel on top of the tank. The tank … Continue reading

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