Tag Archives: Bill Kleiman

Fire Breaks make or break you

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman February is not the ideal time for us to prepare fire breaks. Frozen ant mounds are hard to mow. The mowed vegetation does not dry well if you want to rake and blow it. A tractor with … Continue reading →

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Knife vs Hammer brush mulcher

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman The last year we purchased a knife mulcher and have been comparing it to our 15 year old hammer mulcher.  This post is to compare knife vs hammer mulchers for these expensive attachments.   Link to a … Continue reading →

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Brush and fire frequency

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman On a recent blogpost I mentioned that I mowed a gray dogwood patch, Cornus racemosa, in about 1994, so 3 decades back. I only mowed it one time with a rotary mower on the back of a … Continue reading →

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Weed management

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman, Director Nachusa Grasslands, TNC The recent GRN workshop was all tour based, with 5 themed tours that ran concurrently every two hours over two days. All participants could go on all 5 tours. I led the tour … Continue reading →

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Weed management tips

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman, Nachusa Grasslands Project Director, TNC If you visit an invasive weed occurrence only once a year to treat it the weed may increase. If you visit the occurrence twice you will break even and maybe gain. If … Continue reading →

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Yellow and white sweet clover

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman There are likely a lot of opinions about if and how sweet clover should be controlled, and I encourage you to share your experiences in the comments. What follows has been my experience over 30 years at … 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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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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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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Protecting oaks with fire and from fire

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

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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