Tag Archives: Bill Kleiman

September, 2024 GRN workshop scheduled to be at Nachusa Grasslands

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman We don’t have the specific dates yet, but September, 2024 looks to be the month for our GRN workshop in Franklin Grove Illinois, about two hours west of Chicago. We last hosted the GRN back in 2014. … Continue reading →

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Lespedeza: friend and foe

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman Our area has five species in the genus Lespedeza, and two are invasive. Here is a quick summary of the five species and a link at the end to a lengthier set of images with pointers. Lespedeza … Continue reading →

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More lessons learned planting prairie

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman SHRUBS: We want some of our prairies free of shrubs for various birds and other wildlife that want prairie without shrubs everywhere.  We will end up with lots of shrublands in the future as there is a … Continue reading →

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Pasture to prairie seeding experiment – initial thoughts

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman If you are trying to turn a low diversity cool season grass pasture into high diversity prairie should you just seed the recently prescribed burnt sod?  Or first apply glyphosate herbicide or grass herbicide, then burn it, … Continue reading →

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Nachusa Prescribed fire Summary Report, Fall 2022 through Spring 2023

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

by Bill Kleiman The full report with more images and incites is here: https://www.nachusagrasslands.org/uploads/5/8/4/6/58466593/nachusa_fire_report_fall_2022_through_spring_2023_2_opt.pdf American beak grass has greatly increased in a woodland unit we have burned frequently for two decades.  The brush layer is diminished, and the oak and … Continue reading →

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Oak woods management: a short list of descriptions of how and why we manage oak woods with fire and thinning.

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

Assembled by Bill Kleiman If you have suggestions for this list please simply add them in comments or email me. Let the Sun Shine In is a program that is helping inspire the recovery of oak ecosystems  https://www.letthesunshinein.life/oak-forest-system/ Oak Savannas.org … Continue reading →

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Photo monitoring results

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman On the left is the Hill Site owned and managed by the Middle Rock Conservation Partners. On the right is how the left used to look before a brush mower did a lot of work, followed up … Continue reading →

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Hay rakes for fire breaks – an equipment review with November 2022 updates

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman At Nachusa Grasslands we have miles of fire breaks that are mowed once a year in the Fall.   We typically use a batwing rotary mower or a flail mower and mow two to four passes with the … Continue reading →

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Weed sweeping with a tractor

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman For years I have been using a small 30 hp tractor to cruise around grassland habitats looking for weed occurrences. The foot crews will be working with backpacks in certain areas and I will be off solo … Continue reading →

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Monitoring vegetation with GIS Field Maps

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman Arc GIS Field Maps, known previously as Collector, is a powerful phone app. The app is free, but you do need a GIS online program to run it, which typically means you need your employer to support … Continue reading →

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