tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2013781242285582452024-03-28T17:07:56.984-07:00Strategies for Stewards: from woods to prairies Eco-restoration in tallgrass savanna, prairie, woods, and wetlands – inviting input from all – especially people participating in this newborn discipline of ecosystem healing.Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-82363841324471137182024-03-22T09:58:00.000-07:002024-03-27T07:33:45.450-07:00An Orchid Reveals its Secrets<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">By Stephen Packard and Lisa Musgrave</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dozens of volunteers have been “species stewards” for the prairie white-fringed orchid (<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platanthera_leucophaea">Platanthera leucophaea</a></i>) – a plant on the federal Threatened list. Most of the earth’s small populations of this species are in “The Prairie State” – and volunteers for the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) carefully monitor every known population. In 2023, a very dry and poor year for these orchids, a total of 223 plants were found at nineteen Illinois sites. At twelve of those sites, five or fewer orchids were recorded. Non-blooming plants can be hard to find; many more plants were likely surviving as leaves only, building their roots and waiting to bloom in a year with better weather. When the FWS approved its national Recovery Plan for this species and began recovery efforts in 1991, <a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/leave-nature-alone.html">the Somme effort</a> was adopted as a model. Seed is spread to potential good habitat, and at many sites emerging plants get “intensive care” to allow populations to build. Illinois numbers have varied from a low of 109 plants in 2006 to a high of 2,287 plants in 2020. In that good year, Somme contributed 540 plants to the tally. The United States Fish & Wildlife Service annually takes pollen and seeds from Somme to begin or enrich populations elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUOX6i1stU6TR2XsCokMqVwfpg3nBbV8YCmybWGcAzWrHs-TnPMcZYAcL6yJ-dpC-LPTZoi86Us1np5g_C9tZijnCUDPEfK1ykiJC4EwP8AjFDLXRZlUHKVxcP6rObS1xxjNcicC_fcuZ5hGKPkoCkztOEGReR1fFjPGJ8457dGhLun7tT6gQCDMcbsCG/s4000/P1020745.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUOX6i1stU6TR2XsCokMqVwfpg3nBbV8YCmybWGcAzWrHs-TnPMcZYAcL6yJ-dpC-LPTZoi86Us1np5g_C9tZijnCUDPEfK1ykiJC4EwP8AjFDLXRZlUHKVxcP6rObS1xxjNcicC_fcuZ5hGKPkoCkztOEGReR1fFjPGJ8457dGhLun7tT6gQCDMcbsCG/w480-h640/P1020745.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Orchid in "Intensive Care." A stake of cut brush supports a deer-exclusion cage. Inside it is a vole-exclusion cage. </span>The pink flagging indicates that this orchid has been hand pollinated. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">In more than four decades of careful work and study, the Somme Team has learned: <span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">These plants don't stay put.</span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>A “fairy ring” of orchids suggests a possible explanation.</b></span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Widely broadcasting seed can produce dozens to hundreds of new plants.</span></b></span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Habitat management is key.</span></b></span></li></ul><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Details below: </span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">These plants don't stay put.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Unlike most <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">conservative plants</a>, prairie white-fringed orchids seem to do well in an area for a few years and then disappear, emerging in other areas where we never saw them before or had not for years. We have in some cases initially broadcast seed in various places that seemed good, with no results. Then after maybe ten or twenty years of occasional seed broadcast, we find a plant or two, then in a few years more, and many more for five or ten years, then few or none in that area. It’s happened impressively in at least eight areas at Somme Prairie Grove and Somme Prairie – both Illinois Nature Preserves. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQhziSbBmPL_fVLV0niuiTsFyDWwzjs5nwf2P8IcG44j0Dem47ll8uqnuxMAh_18WsCagk-Gz9_-zBTp57uGIVaoHuhA_A9nRBlETRpYkVDS7dsxI_GULJARE1YBN8w1Mho_wNYigK7sVfLWJtOUrEi5eIWAaFD55gBkXuBsjQvwYqPdjTYkb-23G_0Kk/s602/P1020615.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="401" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQhziSbBmPL_fVLV0niuiTsFyDWwzjs5nwf2P8IcG44j0Dem47ll8uqnuxMAh_18WsCagk-Gz9_-zBTp57uGIVaoHuhA_A9nRBlETRpYkVDS7dsxI_GULJARE1YBN8w1Mho_wNYigK7sVfLWJtOUrEi5eIWAaFD55gBkXuBsjQvwYqPdjTYkb-23G_0Kk/w426-h640/P1020615.JPG" width="426" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: center;">Orchid pollinia. Orchid pollen doesnt travel to other plants as dust, like most species, but in dense, sticky packages called pollinia. They adhere to a toothpick or the tongue (or head) of a hawk moth by an adhesive patch, shown clearly above. </div></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A clue from a “Fairy Ring” <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Why do these populations come and go? A curious phenomenon provides a clue. For reproduction, this orchid <a href="https://as-botanicalstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40529-020-00289-z">depends on a fungus</a>. Some mushrooms are frequently found in circles called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring">fairy rings</a>. Such rings form because, as an underground mass of mushroom mycelia grows, it may use up something in the soil, and the advancing front of underground mushroom “mycelia” moves out to areas that have what it needs. When the mushrooms (the spore-bearing “fruits” of the mycelia) emerge, they rise out of that advancing circle. </span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ9_8Ux58s1PmQrXyd3cya1otFeF9E_6Fbo3oOcN1vqHyoGaUe4_Y9EBT9lILxQQur0eUfA2kqrb7pRcd0DtByhmv_BUteopPFjZe-kT8eC4Rcez4w-u7VOhDUIpD4xeHoZm6ailP_4s3PhEjT-EJH8mIdrR7PiafE27KlBCF1aDouHqQMhJii-hdDCfY/s775/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-22%20at%2011.16.32%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="775" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ9_8Ux58s1PmQrXyd3cya1otFeF9E_6Fbo3oOcN1vqHyoGaUe4_Y9EBT9lILxQQur0eUfA2kqrb7pRcd0DtByhmv_BUteopPFjZe-kT8eC4Rcez4w-u7VOhDUIpD4xeHoZm6ailP_4s3PhEjT-EJH8mIdrR7PiafE27KlBCF1aDouHqQMhJii-hdDCfY/w640-h480/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-22%20at%2011.16.32%20AM.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fairy ring mushroom photo from University of Arkansas: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uacescomm/50301990921/ </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />We’d never heard of a fairy ring made up of plants, but we found one. For many years, we had broadcast orchid seed in one swale that looked like good orchid habitat but where no orchids had been seen. Then in 2009, finally there was one beautiful orchid. It stood there by itself for years, quite a big one. We caged it and stabilized the cage with a metal stake. We ended up calling that area “the stake area.”<br /><br />It flowered annually for 8 years (missing one). That’s unusual. Most prairie white-fringed orchids die a year or two after first flowering. FWS research shows that the average life of these orchids after first flowering is 1.2 years.<br /><br />Then dramatically in 2014, a full circle of 22 orchids arose around the big staked one. The plants in the circle averaged 2.5 meters from the original plant. Most were young plants (“two-leafers”). Over the years, some bloomed, set seed, and passed into history. But many more orchids, gradually spread up and down the swale, farther and farther from the long-gone original orchid.<br /><br />To reproduce, the almost invisibly tiny orchid seeds must sprout and live underground parasitically or symbiotically with the fungus, sometimes for years, drawing nutrients from the fungus. With this in mind, there are many possible hypotheses that might explain the fairy ring observations. One is that the fungus this orchid depends on is not everywhere in the soil of orchid habitat. The fungus may deplete the resources it needs in some areas as it spreads to others. Perhaps the orchids reproduce successfully only where the fungus is thriving at that time.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HbKKPIphlN1EHh_HnOzN2Y3VTz0moKXjt3z5t4NmZ2vGHuHUqmlfK0uF0RMFSaNAp18S7iKRp7gPX12ngZaOts8_AweGMzdp4SkGvaPDdFhHkdFsxtJc53xX9xQstqsjv5TCPmMRfh-ozRoIApUg-KxbtlFt2T5v362wKq1k07CC4Th4qLwgPSOHRe8H/s3264/three%20pollinators%20b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HbKKPIphlN1EHh_HnOzN2Y3VTz0moKXjt3z5t4NmZ2vGHuHUqmlfK0uF0RMFSaNAp18S7iKRp7gPX12ngZaOts8_AweGMzdp4SkGvaPDdFhHkdFsxtJc53xX9xQstqsjv5TCPmMRfh-ozRoIApUg-KxbtlFt2T5v362wKq1k07CC4Th4qLwgPSOHRe8H/w640-h480/three%20pollinators%20b.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of these rare orchids only flower for a year or two before dying and making way for new ones. All seed in early years at Somme resulted from hand pollination by trained volunteer stewards, who feel privileged to do it. In recent years, small amounts of "natural" pollination by hawk moths has been observed. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ03K9oC1ZN_2dUk6RZpaHVztel-pEBE-1KMnPt8AYH2iZLP7AeyM61iKi7M-BktigVWpW0N4V6Gvmk3iIjc7Kyxe0naLPFIIsaBl32KzK6F_1PCNgQ_XCfeku8s87tuP0qLPrqdFvJVSTGYo19zsojMD-Kq4FjybFAusx6aCYcea6NTH7b6xnDQzQtbXN/s771/F&W%20long%20term%20graph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="771" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ03K9oC1ZN_2dUk6RZpaHVztel-pEBE-1KMnPt8AYH2iZLP7AeyM61iKi7M-BktigVWpW0N4V6Gvmk3iIjc7Kyxe0naLPFIIsaBl32KzK6F_1PCNgQ_XCfeku8s87tuP0qLPrqdFvJVSTGYo19zsojMD-Kq4FjybFAusx6aCYcea6NTH7b6xnDQzQtbXN/w640-h362/F&W%20long%20term%20graph.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Numbers of blooming orchids grown from the 190 plants found in 1991 when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife recovery plan began. But annual numbers increase and decrease dramatically. </span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Widely broadcasting seed</b><b style="text-indent: -24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> can produce dozens to hundreds of new plants.</span></b><br /></span>We’ve experimented with various approaches to spreading the orchid seed, and more careful experiments are worthwhile. But our only proven practice has been to scatter seeds widely. We like to do it on a windy day; sometimes we just break capsules and wave them around; or we tie capsules on a tall plant and let the wind gradually blow all the seeds in various directions over days or weeks. The seeds find the right places.<br /><br />One example of an experiment: The Great Transects Test. We measured out a few straight lines near a distinctive glacial bolder in what appeared to be good orchid habitat. Then we marked off intervals, kept careful records, and planted orchid seed by a variety of methods: <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Planting on the surface, just dropping seeds into the prairie duff</li><li>Pulling the duff away and dropping seeds on the exposed soil surface</li><li>Same as above, but we “roughed up” the soil a bit, to get some seeds underneath.</li></ul>Then, for the latter two approaches, we also tried:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Mixing seed with sand (making it easier to separate or un-clump the tiny seeds)</li><li>Mixing with cornmeal (because we worried that the sharp sand might injure the seeds) </li></ul>This was a lot of work, but science requires that. For the results, we found we did not require a lot of statistical analysis. No orchid emerged in or near any of those transects. A couple of decades later, orchids did emerge in a different part of this swale and gradually spread to the area of the Great Transect. <br /><br />Question: What’s the meaning of this experiment, in practical terms? Answer: We’re not smart enough to figure out exactly where this orchid ought to be. An individual orchid can make 100,000 seeds. Wind and chance may bring a few of those seeds to the right places to start a new plant.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBiBIg2AAQ9mCX6raxZRUpSVq968x_ew1XahBAws9i8yGT8FC-6W2Vkz-ux7tTt2RjBaL2OWUeIAqOqO0N2bj9KZQtZM17Ii-b0qjDL9cBlFptQrmgwmOuS3l-3WmUWlppjWS3-7JVZFvHDT6u3gdN3gfaTZzx-W69RHNhxx55P6jHeiow00nPGhHD1-0/s2283/seeds%20and%20capsules_0302.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1831" data-original-width="2283" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBiBIg2AAQ9mCX6raxZRUpSVq968x_ew1XahBAws9i8yGT8FC-6W2Vkz-ux7tTt2RjBaL2OWUeIAqOqO0N2bj9KZQtZM17Ii-b0qjDL9cBlFptQrmgwmOuS3l-3WmUWlppjWS3-7JVZFvHDT6u3gdN3gfaTZzx-W69RHNhxx55P6jHeiow00nPGhHD1-0/w640-h514/seeds%20and%20capsules_0302.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: center;">Orchids typically produce tiny seeds in huge numbers. They blow everywhere, but they contain little beside DNA. They cannot grow into a plant without connecting with a fungus that supplies what most plants get from the endosperm, embryo, radicle, cotyledons and other famous seed parts that most plants have, but orchids do not. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVYM9VWEzkyemtYXEjyZXGaUcPmoMy6f5yKoBA14ORWJp_gFC3uBwv6OvlXb8TUHw0Zz5tVMun_TjxigW8mQoTQGZpSWkDot91gd2RKO7Obfl9i7_GOa7LuVVJ6b49BKoTg4pzKuJ0uu9yLL-UUh4iHPAKIxhPrHwomj34hd8TWxU4hhPqEJ0ZFLAYA4G/s2599/tied-up%20capsules.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2599" data-original-width="2062" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVYM9VWEzkyemtYXEjyZXGaUcPmoMy6f5yKoBA14ORWJp_gFC3uBwv6OvlXb8TUHw0Zz5tVMun_TjxigW8mQoTQGZpSWkDot91gd2RKO7Obfl9i7_GOa7LuVVJ6b49BKoTg4pzKuJ0uu9yLL-UUh4iHPAKIxhPrHwomj34hd8TWxU4hhPqEJ0ZFLAYA4G/w510-h640/tied-up%20capsules.jpg" width="510" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Orchid capsules, tied to a sunflower stalk, so the seeds can blow around at a new possible orchid area. </span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXRLyLF42KsrnK63R4fQgDq3gJSgnAa5swZRTFCoZX_5v0nR-0m-Hid3yyq-UFnCUURZgugHqz5A1ODPHDcrUmTEBx4m1bV7W__FYPJvTts5w_XekCbgx89YCkQq1b_YJwFIAmV6KtTnA8fuufu84HAHm9v_xjDEDIkqI4mrgJiYBRj4MgdQdrOxVvElQ/s3517/vole%20cut%20Pla%20leu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2345" data-original-width="3517" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXRLyLF42KsrnK63R4fQgDq3gJSgnAa5swZRTFCoZX_5v0nR-0m-Hid3yyq-UFnCUURZgugHqz5A1ODPHDcrUmTEBx4m1bV7W__FYPJvTts5w_XekCbgx89YCkQq1b_YJwFIAmV6KtTnA8fuufu84HAHm9v_xjDEDIkqI4mrgJiYBRj4MgdQdrOxVvElQ/w640-h426/vole%20cut%20Pla%20leu.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An orchid stem cut and sectioned by voles. Early in the year, voles cut stems of orchids (and other plants) that human hands have touched, as we've seen again and again, perhaps because they smell or taste something that makes them curious. Later in the season, as shown here, voles want to get at the ripening seeds. So they cut the stem at vole height, pull down the rest of the stem, and cut it again, and again, until the seeds are in reach, without the vole having to climb and expose itself to predators. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Habitat management is key</span></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: left;"></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The very first area where we saw these orchids, four or five years after broadcasting seeds in many areas, worked well as habitat for them for a few years. Then it started growing a dense stand of saw-tooth sunflower. The orchids faded out there, as did the diverse vegetation that had comprised the orchids’ associates. We decided to cut (scythe) those sunflowers a couple of times a year to see what would happen. After a few years, diverse vegetation including a few orchids had returned. Then we moved on to other concerns and experiments. Now that area is dense with gray dogwood - again without orchids. This drama is a reminder that Somme Prairie Grove is still in early-stage restoration (or mid-stage? … time will tell).<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-somme-prairie-grove-experiment.html" style="font-family: inherit;">overall goal</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> of the work at Somme Prairie and Somme Prairie Grove is to restore the full diversity of natural prairie and savanna grasslands. The management consists of frequent (annual or biennial) </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/03/why-fire-is-needed.html" style="font-family: inherit;">burns</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, reduction of </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html" style="font-family: inherit;">alien or native invasives</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and </span><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-happy-do-seeds-make-us.html " style="font-family: inherit;">seeding</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> with locally gathered seed. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenFd-dWbgZl-QNNx12EPYT6XsgM1FSVLs9vlexEwPkoxmyXOZTB9veBXLyoQLG4EDyIyy4YiulOZ5fPkW2Y6jDyNvBk2hurQchCLcN0UhJpl4FMNlT0OKb_gYEeN4Y1giE5kGPOeXjXqhSXwuJ3rSB-t0csTtYY4r3G6XSrnQ7lVZGCRqzTy0S2WLldp0/s4000/Crayfish%20hole%20and%20orchid%20cage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="4000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenFd-dWbgZl-QNNx12EPYT6XsgM1FSVLs9vlexEwPkoxmyXOZTB9veBXLyoQLG4EDyIyy4YiulOZ5fPkW2Y6jDyNvBk2hurQchCLcN0UhJpl4FMNlT0OKb_gYEeN4Y1giE5kGPOeXjXqhSXwuJ3rSB-t0csTtYY4r3G6XSrnQ7lVZGCRqzTy0S2WLldp0/w640-h426/Crayfish%20hole%20and%20orchid%20cage.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The prairie white-fringed orchid has never been successfully grown in gardens. They live at Somme with some human protection - but much impacted by the challenges of nature. Here the photo shows a vole cage, one orchid stem, many stems of something else that the cage also protects (and thus perhaps has unnatural vigor), that same species clipped by voles to the left of the cage, three young tree or shrub stems that will be controlled by fire or loppers, and a crayfish burrow bringing subsoil to the surface. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">We mostly don’t pay attention to individual species except in the cases of especially rare or conservative ones that seem to need some help getting started. But in time those species will have to make it on their own – in the bosom of the ecosystem. Plants sometimes grow for a while in places where we seeded them, only to fade out as the conservative competition increases and show up where we didn’t seed them, but where seeds of those temporary plants had travelled. Good for them! Over the years, larger and larger areas have become diverse habitat for many conservative species, including this orchid. How much intensive care will it continue to need? In 2020 with 540 orchids, Lisa stopped trying to cage them all. 286 of those orchids bloomed, of which Lisa and team caged 156. Of the uncaged ones, 61 were eaten by deer, about half. Many species at Somme are badly depleted by overpopulated deer and need exclusion cages until the deer population is reduced – if they are to survive at Somme. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdINEaY_AbuesM9WL-URVFV6ATPZefn2HU9xVe6x9XXA9fMmcdmv_shyAf2XZjMGEs6qypq4pk7g7V8glt7P_GBtI4nU3iiDjq5X8bZWd-qlRrcKW9BNSdnyBuaM6Kdc-g3uxVObc7BB71udzBMQNj79uQNOn7VIfRfG4Q-1F_1pbkfFrbslcL9a8HK8Qg/s1204/LC%20emerging_1751-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdINEaY_AbuesM9WL-URVFV6ATPZefn2HU9xVe6x9XXA9fMmcdmv_shyAf2XZjMGEs6qypq4pk7g7V8glt7P_GBtI4nU3iiDjq5X8bZWd-qlRrcKW9BNSdnyBuaM6Kdc-g3uxVObc7BB71udzBMQNj79uQNOn7VIfRfG4Q-1F_1pbkfFrbslcL9a8HK8Qg/w426-h640/LC%20emerging_1751-sm.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An orchid emerging in late spring. As Lisa says, "They are beautiful even then." We try to find and install deer-exclusion cages at that time, or too many get eaten. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIW9TyU1WdPTF_CCpg7zwRguzws7X7d13qEZhxZ5UyxPLm-B5WFOkQvALuGsyghfUGcWDtWO9truDk8Q6MqDJIvFiPQ8ApF-Tr0ekNP5mbhBhPJfDuHmwAYhdNI-w7AQrCHhUy1QtwcBSZRHWQwc9OQJNFY6MBU1_2bDPxRTGGxr0uy4Pl5p-QyWlrMiyW/s2501/whole%20lisa%20adj.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2501" data-original-width="1389" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIW9TyU1WdPTF_CCpg7zwRguzws7X7d13qEZhxZ5UyxPLm-B5WFOkQvALuGsyghfUGcWDtWO9truDk8Q6MqDJIvFiPQ8ApF-Tr0ekNP5mbhBhPJfDuHmwAYhdNI-w7AQrCHhUy1QtwcBSZRHWQwc9OQJNFY6MBU1_2bDPxRTGGxr0uy4Pl5p-QyWlrMiyW/w358-h640/whole%20lisa%20adj.jpg" width="358" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">One rough experiment suggested that the needed hawk moths are now plentiful enough to do at least some of the pollination. The time we stewards spend caging and pollinating is time we can’t devote to other needs of this recovering ecosystem. Still at this point, our impression is that if we stopped intensive care, this federal Threatened species would be lost from Somme … or perhaps merely reduced to a small number of plants. We have little enthusiasm for trying the “no action” experiment now. We continue to learn. The adventure continues. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Endnote</span></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">An</span><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/leave-nature-alone.html"> earlier blog post on this orchid</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at Somme is Chapter 1 to this post's Chapter 2. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some people ask, aren't you concerned about revealing the location of this rare plant? My first response is always, yes, I'm concerned, but there's a balance to be considered. If no one celebrates rare plants, they won't get the care they need. Many populations have been lost by neglect.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Another response is that that cat is already out of the bag. Somme's orchids are already identified in many books, papers, conferences, and indeed in this blog.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">But perhaps the main reasons that these orchids haven't been poached is that 1) many people realize that this plant is so tied to the ecosystem that if you dig one up, it will just die and 2) the Somme preserves are well populated with caring people who do a great job at keeping an eye on the place. We would call the police, of course, if needed. But it's kind of inspiring that, except for garbage dumping around the edges, only people with reverence for nature seem to spend time here. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Acknowledgements</span></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Photos by Lisa Musgrave and Stephen Packard</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Somme preserves are owned and management supervised by the <a href="https://fpdcc.com/">Cook County Forest Preserves</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Most of the day to day restoration is conducted by <a href="https://sommepreserve.org/">Friends of the Somme Preserves</a> in partnership with the <a href="https://northbranchrestoration.org/">North Branch Restoration Project</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thanks to Eriko Kojima for helpful proofing and edits (and certainly more for her fine work on orchid habitat restoration). </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-85381340164543964072024-02-22T08:51:00.000-08:002024-02-28T09:46:30.962-08:00The "Wild and Crazy" Foxglove Returns<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfl-3Z9wuHlxw-K8ZvXsb1F8yL248fwvWktrHhwSQx4rAlIzGabUUwJUhLAiwMuwepbIsyZh9KtGzZuOWvUreMIm5rtjk5_el2L6vc8ahu44UohyuVuxhU5LZsA8Maml6AwuQT0Aup1KaXUMdoiwmuW52WnBf9w_2nlg7GKu_dyLPB4ie613H/s2471/three%20flowers_1396.jpeg" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2471" data-original-width="2369" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfl-3Z9wuHlxw-K8ZvXsb1F8yL248fwvWktrHhwSQx4rAlIzGabUUwJUhLAiwMuwepbIsyZh9KtGzZuOWvUreMIm5rtjk5_el2L6vc8ahu44UohyuVuxhU5LZsA8Maml6AwuQT0Aup1KaXUMdoiwmuW52WnBf9w_2nlg7GKu_dyLPB4ie613H/w614-h640/three%20flowers_1396.jpeg" width="614" /></a></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Too many so-called ecological studies are superficial to the point of uselessness because they focus on one to three species, for one to three years, on one to three acres. The ecosystem doesn’t work that way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 4.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Stuart Pimm<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">We reported on the eared false foxglove<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/12/wild-and-crazy-foxglove.html"><b>in 2012</b></a></span> following a mere two decades of study. One hundred</span> years ago, you had to “ride the crazy train” to find this easy-come/easy-go annual plant, as we then explained. Our study of how to facilitate this plant's recovery continues, and year by year we learn. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Here's a key element of our thinking: we're not doing this one species at a time. We facilitate certain needy and possibly important species within the flow of life among Somme's nearly 500 plant species as the formerly lost but now recovering, black soil savanna ecosystem changes radically – on the road to recovery, we hope. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">In 2012 we had quoted the Center for Plant Conservation on the plant then called <i>Tomanthera auriculata</i> and now called <i>Agalinis auriculata</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">This species globally has “About 40-50 known occurrences, most with populations of only 25-250 individuals. The largest populations were found in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri. Recently discovered in Kentucky. Presumed extirpated in Michigan, New Jersey and Texas.”</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Today there are more populations known, in part because people plant this false foxglove in prairie restorations. Is this hemi-parasite sustainable in its restored and original populations for the long term? </span></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8bRJ839aRqFtHj9JyaahYu-2eU35MLhv4JA6VVRChlo4kjiTNyjQ67Q03I99v3cUbtGsa-yhMg6BhaYiip7aHOilanU1Y7kDLFM8hFJXGveA2PPutvEv0rdWzGlZj9xpb9-oqbyBw3yZ9L3cqRet6r7wZjvxuaxt3Nsg5zcKWpoLycmUdfyv/s911/NatureServe%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="911" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8bRJ839aRqFtHj9JyaahYu-2eU35MLhv4JA6VVRChlo4kjiTNyjQ67Q03I99v3cUbtGsa-yhMg6BhaYiip7aHOilanU1Y7kDLFM8hFJXGveA2PPutvEv0rdWzGlZj9xpb9-oqbyBw3yZ9L3cqRet6r7wZjvxuaxt3Nsg5zcKWpoLycmUdfyv/w640-h364/NatureServe%20map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The eared false foxglove is now found in 17 states, although it is imperiled in 15 of those </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">and gone entirely from 4 others. At best, it is considered merely "vulnerable" in 2 states </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">and secure in none. Map by NatureServe. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">We first noticed plants at Somme in 1998 after broadcasting seeds from an original nearby population some years earlier. Then, we have no records, probably meaning we found none, until 2003 when 31 plants appeared near where we'd first found them. We caged some after we noticed deer eating them. Then we noticed that voles were sneaking inside the deer-exclusion cages and cutting down the foxgloves to get their seeds. In 2004, eighteen plants bloomed, but only one survived the deer and voles. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Dense areas of tall goldenrod and saw-tooth sunflower grew nearby. As we'd found these species sometimes inhibited more conservative vegetation, we began cutting them in hopes of expanding habitat for the foxglove, which seemed to work. We began a program of facilitating grown of the foxglove population by caging, scything, seed harvest, and seed broadcast to see if we could give this new species a better chance of finding niches at Somme. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Our early monitoring </span>is summarized in the graph below, showing modest numbers during this species’ 16-year long, iffy incubation period in the prairies and savannas of Somme Prairie Grove. Would it survive here? And then in 2011 – apparent success – at least for the short term:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiX_M9oPGRe5thk1JIzCbWNCIcwKWk00-gT7ORsMln8TnZBXVja9ZqWpDe2iALacNQc4kyyvaoklbS9jPKq7s8FlHirBn0hCAqg0DW5bgxrE2q4O4f_JblIrs-FAkXqfanum7ZWq7Ktc/s1600/Graph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiX_M9oPGRe5thk1JIzCbWNCIcwKWk00-gT7ORsMln8TnZBXVja9ZqWpDe2iALacNQc4kyyvaoklbS9jPKq7s8FlHirBn0hCAqg0DW5bgxrE2q4O4f_JblIrs-FAkXqfanum7ZWq7Ktc/s640/Graph.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Indeed, for three years after that report, numbers remained high. We stopped giving this species “intensive care” and didn't monitor it at all in 2016 and 2017. But when we counted in 2018, we found 54 plants. In 2019 we counted only 20.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Perhaps we should have felt fine about</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">those low numbers, as they were in the range of what the Centers for Plant Conservation cited for the size of most populations. But as an “introduced” or “restored” population, it deserved a more skeptical look –</span> especially for this kind of plant. As an annual, this false foxglove has to start over from seed every year, while growing in an ecosystem of highly-competitive perennials, densely packed. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Another troubling sign</span> – we noticed that most of the Somme plants predominantly grew in immature, temporary habitats – the very opposite of what we are working towards at Somme. Yes, perhaps this wild and crazy species has always depended on “disturbances” – but to survive here it would need to find niches in the kinds of disturbances that occur within relatively stable communities. Given where we had been finding most foxgloves, our big numbers did not indicate that it had found those niches yet.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9T6CTt84BEVJEh8JgoJNZ7yq4RTW03zRj7JpFj1MQ3sXjIwGnNnxiQ_zZgdPRKEAZ7VrCNpJAkoZ7pDws8DuCNy7gFcjWYsymsxRyXQ4klG5JonTxz6LSdvQ9Zh_eIx7kPKMsIb_9s_H5EcOZWAwI8bMEjqTy-NezOCYxiiwKrmUSN-U0DmZd/s4032/in%20community_2541.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9T6CTt84BEVJEh8JgoJNZ7yq4RTW03zRj7JpFj1MQ3sXjIwGnNnxiQ_zZgdPRKEAZ7VrCNpJAkoZ7pDws8DuCNy7gFcjWYsymsxRyXQ4klG5JonTxz6LSdvQ9Zh_eIx7kPKMsIb_9s_H5EcOZWAwI8bMEjqTy-NezOCYxiiwKrmUSN-U0DmZd/w640-h480/in%20community_2541.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span face="-webkit-standard" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="text-align: center;">Here four foxglove plants grow among slender mountain mint, sweet black-eyed Susan, slender gerardia, gray dogwood, foxglove beardtongue, saw-tooth sunflower, yellow wood sorrel, a few thin whisps of an oval sedge (perhaps Carex tenera), willow herb, Kentucky bluegrass, and a deer-eaten cream gentian. These low- and mid-conservative species comprise an attractive proto-savanna assemblage, but not a long-term stable community. With additional fire, time, and seeding it could develop into a quality prairie or savanna herb community. </div></span><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeTTod9zqDtrnPt5ctLNX6OfvlbUxndQLjOwZqsPkDaehwGGGtIamyNRG-VBDbB0txeI471cixQ27iEoLYpQyntG34WFlMM-35M_VYfHaKjViX59nFuX7e6B-fsrrUzIT1q3HJjJ6CbMR0vxfnS63ifR1BZbK0CrqlwoXEN4Ze-fX5i1_e1lJ/s4032/in%20community_2545.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeTTod9zqDtrnPt5ctLNX6OfvlbUxndQLjOwZqsPkDaehwGGGtIamyNRG-VBDbB0txeI471cixQ27iEoLYpQyntG34WFlMM-35M_VYfHaKjViX59nFuX7e6B-fsrrUzIT1q3HJjJ6CbMR0vxfnS63ifR1BZbK0CrqlwoXEN4Ze-fX5i1_e1lJ/w480-h640/in%20community_2545.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><span face="-webkit-standard" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="text-align: center;">Here, five foxglove plants are growing with spotted Joe Pye weed, saw-tooth sunflower, sneezeweed, grass-leaved goldenrod, and narrow-leaved mountain mint. This is an even poorer-quality restoration at this point. No grasses or sedges. Few shorter-statured plants. No conservatives. Far from relatively stable. Our experience has been that such areas increase in quality over time, with regular burning and seed broadcast. If that happens here, will the resulting habitat continue to work for the eared false foxglove? </div></span><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Natural communities have evolved over millions of years to be “<a href="https://prairiebotanist.com/2024/02/06/stability-part-one-why-i-recommend-frequent-dormant-season-burning/"><b>relatively stable</b></a>.” They are characterized by highly-competitive, diverse, <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-way-to-judge-ecosystem-health.html"><b>conservative plant species</b></a></span>. They are now rare in the tallgrass region (and most of the temperate world). When, for biodiversity conservation, a formerly extirpated species is restored to a site, there’s a good chance that it could fail because of missing symbiotic pollinators, fungi, bacteria, and other associates. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Somme Prairie Grove has the potential advantage that it’s partially original savanna and prairie remnants. Some crucial invertebrates, fungi, and other species may be surviving in small numbers. We found that when we broadcast seeds of the federal Endangered <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/leave-nature-alone.html">prairie white-fringed orchid</a></span>, the fungus that it totally depends on was still here. A study by U.S. Fish & Wildlife found that very fungus in the restored plants' roots at Somme. Similarly, when we started restoring structure and quality to savanna with fire, thinning, and seeding, entomologist Ron Panzer found the formerly undetectable Edwards Hairstreak butterfly – a savanna specialist – to become the commonest hairstreak on the site. According to Dr. Panzer, it had likely been surviving here in small numbers and responded to restored habitat. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Panzer’s research also found that larger, merely good-quality areas retained populations of remnant-dependent insects that no longer survived in some smaller sites that had been judged to be high-quality on the basis of conservative plants. Are the false foxgloves and other restored species here reestablishing relations with needed fungi or bacteria? We’d like to know.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvw9yRyRh7fjsqX2YcPJk68rurGJ5ZA8g5DynJwBOigYexnihUA8MM3vX7lIDKDZA_uYmLYkMl21V5liH4PGUES3j0Ttm9JZ9xhmLrbzmOffrJB49semWAzGtnbK9XU90Vqx67DwYwcz2-frU8etM3Am4aUKJIZWFRx8cAyXDVeFGCLUOxdwou/s3937/Foxglove%20map%20through%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3112" data-original-width="3937" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvw9yRyRh7fjsqX2YcPJk68rurGJ5ZA8g5DynJwBOigYexnihUA8MM3vX7lIDKDZA_uYmLYkMl21V5liH4PGUES3j0Ttm9JZ9xhmLrbzmOffrJB49semWAzGtnbK9XU90Vqx67DwYwcz2-frU8etM3Am4aUKJIZWFRx8cAyXDVeFGCLUOxdwou/w640-h506/Foxglove%20map%20through%202023.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span face="-webkit-standard" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p></o:p></span><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Two periods of intensive care have both worked well for this species at Somme – but principally on the largely bare ground of young plantings. We broadcast vastly more seed in 2022 and 2023 than ever before – mostly in fair to good recovering communities. Thus, we expect to learn a lot more in 2024. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The restoration of the Somme Prairie Grove black-soil savannas is testing a hypothesis. The number of plant species is up from about 250 when we started to about 500 now. How many of those species are here for the long term? Will these methods restore a substantial, high-quality, diverse, conservative community that has otherwise been lost? And might various now-rare species turn out to play a substantial roles? Or not? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Dt3Gk_62HYr5gbCT-mm6FcU8amXzN1CaBxYVC97wV60Bp9zSvKwIND_Wie50zSGv86fKWvNMRLf2KmiVeRsez_Uu9CFJ4-VCukgDCtI1USvAKxP4DyEXJH9m_7LLR7wHVUKsMEYaMNY1y0qdOIGMs9IW75wcp07M_vN9EerY2JXpa8YjHND/s4032/dense%20flowers_2521.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7Dt3Gk_62HYr5gbCT-mm6FcU8amXzN1CaBxYVC97wV60Bp9zSvKwIND_Wie50zSGv86fKWvNMRLf2KmiVeRsez_Uu9CFJ4-VCukgDCtI1USvAKxP4DyEXJH9m_7LLR7wHVUKsMEYaMNY1y0qdOIGMs9IW75wcp07M_vN9EerY2JXpa8YjHND/w480-h640/dense%20flowers_2521.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;">In areas with hundreds of big plants, cages somewhat protected some, but hundreds of other uncaged plants fared just fine last year. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Some might argue that the eared false foxglove doesn’t even belong in the Somme savannas. Many modern sources refer to it as a prairie species. But one possible reason for that is that there’s so little savanna left to study. The standard old floras – Fernald (1950) and Gleason (1952) – both list its habitats as prairies <i>and open woods</i>. Like savannas, <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2024/01/what-is-grade-woodland.html"><b>open woodlands aren’t what they used to be</b></a></span>, but if a species lived in both prairies and woods, it seems likely that it inhabited the savannas too. Wilhelm and Rericha (2017) give today’s habitat only as prairie, but the prairie associates listed include slender gerardia, Canada rye, tall coreopsis, and cream gentian – species that may be less characteristic of prairie than of savanna. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Ecologist Ken Klick with the Lake County Forest Preserves prepared a list of species that “may become extinct within Lake County Forest Preserves within the next decade.” The list included glade mallow (</span><i>Napea dioica</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">), bearded wheat grass (</span><i>Elymus trachycaulus</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">), Seneca snakeroot (</span><i>Polygala senega</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">), and awnless graceful sedge (</span><i>Carex formosa</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">) – all species that have dramatically increased in Somme’s savanna areas. <o:p></o:p></span>Because of the way patches of shade and sun vary dynamically in savanna – as trees grow, blow down, burn, and die – it could be that savannas offer special advantages as annual species look for niches where they fit. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Klick expressed concern that some of these species may depend on the restoration of natural conditions that are not today part of most natural areas management regimes. We hope that our “savanna restoration” experiments at Somme might help answer the questions Klick raised and inform biodiversity conservation efforts generally. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">As Reed Noss wrote in 1996, “If you think protecting species is hard, just wait until we try to protect whole ecosystems.” Many such efforts are now under way. Some fail. Some seem to be heading towards successes. We can learn from both.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>References<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Carter, Dan. Good discussions about similar issues in Wisconsin can be found at: https://prairiebotanist.com/ </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Fernald, M. L. Gray’s Manual of Botany. 1950<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Gleason, H. A. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora 1952 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">NatureServe info is at: </span><a href="https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148670/Agalinis_auriculata" style="color: #954f72;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148670/Agalinis_auriculata</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #131314;">Noss, Reed, Ecosystems as conservation targets.<b> </b>1996. </span><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/journal/Trends-in-Ecology-Evolution-0169-5347" style="color: #954f72;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: blue; padding: 0in;">Trends in Ecology & Evolution</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #131314;"> 11(8):351<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Ron-Panzer-72051112">Ron Panzer</a>, personal communication, 1992<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/pimm">Stuart Pimm</a></span>, personal communication, 1995<span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Our previous report on this species at Somme can be found <a href="http://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/12/wild-and-crazy-foxglove.html">here</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">A good overall conservation summary for this false foxglove can be found at: </span><a href="https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementDetail&selectedElement=PDSCR01130" style="color: #954f72;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementDetail&selectedElement=PDSCR01130</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>ENDNOTES<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Endnote 1.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What have we learned so far about the eared false foxglove?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Although this species often does well where brush was cut, in most such places it goes away after a couple of years and doesn’t come back. Bare ground where brush was cut is not a long-term habitat here. We will not for much longer be cutting dense brush at Somme Prairie Grove. It’s almost gone. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">If we give this false foxglove “intensive care” (caging, seed harvest, and seed broadcast), it can increase exponentially. We try not to rely too much on our limited expertise on this plant. While we broadcast some of the seed we harvest in new areas that look similar to where the foxglove has prospered, we also add some of the seed to our wet-mesic prairie and savanna seed mixes, so that it ends up in more "random" places. Often it emerges where we've planted the seed mixes in areas that "didn't look right" for this plant ... and fails to emerge in the areas that seemed "just right." <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Little tubular vole exclusion cages can help. Taller ones (10” to 12") work better than shorter ones (6”), but do not work all the time. Indeed, the voles sometimes climb over the top, then down to the bottom, then section stems, gradually pulling seed heads down. (Tying the seeds to the tops of cages prevents the voles from pulling them down.)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">If we just wait for the seeds to spread, mostly they don’t spread very far.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">We haven’t yet found this species doing well in any of the higher-quality associations at Somme. But then again, it’s a wet-mesic species, and we have very little wet-mesic high quality so far. (Recovery seems faster in our mesic and drier communities, perhaps because these burn more frequently under today's conditions.) Our goal is to establish high-quality prairie, savanna, and woodland throughout the site, as much as possible. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">This false foxglove does well at the edges of saw-tooth sunflower patches – not in the centers of them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Two species of parasitic morning glory called dodder (<i>Cuscuta grovonii</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>glomerata</i>) seem to help the hemi-parasitic false foxglove. Dodder is a valuable "regulator species" that can dramatically set back over-dense patches of saw-tooth sunflower, slender mountain mint, and others. Where dodder thinned out such species, it seemed to leave intermixed plants of the foxglove mostly alone. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">A highly-respected botanical research institution, at our request, recommended scientific experiments to help us better understand our eared false foxgloves. The recommended protocols included carefully counting numbers of seeds and placing them in a wide variety of plots and transects in spots carefully chosen to represent a variety of factors. All seeds were placed in areas of relatively stable vegetation, sometimes near existing false foxglove patches in similar vegetation, but not within them. It was a lot of work, compared to what we usually do. The educational result was that not a single false foxglove emerged from any of the seeds planted for these experiments. We learned that you can’t just pick small areas for it and seed there. It could be that this species, in areas of competition, requires special conditions that we don’t recognize. Thus, we seem to find it succeeding among competitive vegetation only here and there, and only when we broadcast seed to the wind over wide areas. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Endnote 2<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What do we want to learn?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Does the fact that the voles seem to eat all plants of this species in many places reflect a) some artifact of the modern world, b) this species lack of adaptation to this site, or most parts of this site c) the fact that we broadcast its seeds in the wrong places? Perhaps this foxglove doesn’t normally survive to produce seed in thriving grassland but instead in thin areas where brush recently burned back or bison trampled a lot. Such areas represent both less competition from other plants and less cover for voles.) <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Voles tend to get it just as the seeds start to set. Are there approaches to spraying stinky vole repellent that would work better than caging? The repellent does seem to work. Would it also repel pollinators if we spray it too early? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Might this species do better in some other specialized niche – that we’re not recognizing and where we are thus not broadcasting seed?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Will it in time adjust and show up sporadically (perhaps in places where brush has burned back or where dodder, fungus or some other stress has reduced competing vegetation)? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Does it not belong here, in the relatively stable communities we are striving to restore? Will it fade out and be gone from Somme without a lot of "horticultural" work, that would violate our current long-term goals here? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;">Are there better approaches through which we could continue to pamper it for a while and at the same time do a better job in facilitating better adaptation to existing or emerging niches? It’s a globally rare savanna plant that could be another Somme Prairie Grove success story. Or failure story? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Acknowledgements</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Thanks to Christos Economou and Eriko Kojima for many helpful edits. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Graphs by Linda Masters</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Most "intensive care" work on the eared false foxglove in recent years has been done by Eriko Kojima and Sai Ramakrishna. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -webkit-standard; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Prescribed burns and overall supervision credit goes to the Cook County Forest Preserves staff including burn manager Steven Ochab and ecologist Anna Braum. . </span></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-57081272609490171392024-02-02T10:57:00.000-08:002024-02-08T07:48:19.308-08:00Rare Grass vs the Leave-It-Alone Hypothesis<p>It was growing in the wrong county and the wrong habitat, at least according to the current books.</p><p>But tell that to the grass!</p><p>And rare? It's certainly rare in the region and habitat where we found it. Wilhelm and Rericha (2017) show it absent from Cook County and all counties north and west. They do show it in all counties to the south and east of Cook - but growing on sand. At Somme Woods, it suddenly turned up under interesting circumstances in rich woodland.</p><p>The name of the plant is deer-tongue grass (<i>Panicum </i>or<i> </i><i>Dichanthelium</i> <i>clandestinum</i>). Wilhelm and Rericha give its habitats as sandy "wet to dry habitats, often in thickets." Their associated species lists cover just two sandy habitats "wet-mesic to mesic woodlands in the dunes region" and "dry-mesic to dry sand prairies."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrVRYhogF1ARQ9LErE_yg9P8NojL1G0Z_MqC61nij0FWK5flLJTJx6Vaa5mFgm881mfPyqHNQvbWCJG-T3SaAfhoFa2_g1KcFEfFrvcZ2G92ffYjKLtFj1WzzgewB6bZTCkY6NPLjuSjtcQBbcEuSUQq3ENs7uQNfBq0XQZT39283euwyV8IYoAqTGwPH/s4032/dense%20erect_2329.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrVRYhogF1ARQ9LErE_yg9P8NojL1G0Z_MqC61nij0FWK5flLJTJx6Vaa5mFgm881mfPyqHNQvbWCJG-T3SaAfhoFa2_g1KcFEfFrvcZ2G92ffYjKLtFj1WzzgewB6bZTCkY6NPLjuSjtcQBbcEuSUQq3ENs7uQNfBq0XQZT39283euwyV8IYoAqTGwPH/w480-h640/dense%20erect_2329.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unusual for a grass, this species has wide horizontal leaves. Unlike the similar wide-leaved panic grass, the leaf-sheaths of deer-tongue grass are furry, </td></tr></tbody></table><p>The experts are usually right, but not always. And conditions have changed. Older books often have <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/09/plant-refugees.html">very different reports on where species were found</a><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/09/plant-refugees.html"> back then</a>. For example, H.S. Pepoon's Flora of the Chicago Region (1927) reported that deer-tongue grass in "woods north and west" (of Chicago) - like where Somme Woods is. He characterized this species as "frequent." </p><p>Many plant species that were once more widespread survive today in some of their former habitats but not in others. One striking example of that emerged from a kind-of-bold experiment by steward Barbara Turner. Her woodland had long been in Turner's family, and she continued to manage it when it was dedicated as Reed-Turner Woodland Nature Preserve in 1980. Until that time no Nature Preserve woodland had ever been recognized as needing fire. Barbara, a careful observer and former student of May Theilgaard Watts, was concerned that some of the rare species (including pale vetchling, on the Illinois Endangered list) seemed to have faded out nearly everywhere. Advisors recommended a burn and, indeed, she received the first ever permit to burn a Nature Preserve woods. That burn had dramatically positive results, but no pale vetchlings emerged. For many species, when they're gone, they're gone.</p><p>Barbara's lawn and house were adjacent to the preserve. One day she said, "We call it a lawn. But it's just more woods that happens to have been mowed occasionally. What if we stop mowing?" Indeed, as she stopped mowing and started burning, up popped the pale vetchling as well as another plant, then unknown in Lake County, violet bush clover. (We later found that clover growing nearby with rich savanna associates along the edge of a railroad right-of-way.) These species had survived in the area where mowing kept it sunny - but not the shade of the brush that had build up in the "preserve." Shade kills. And there's little "seed bank" from most species in woodlands. </p><p>Back to deer-tongue grass - at Somme Woods there was a "picnic grove" that had been mowed since the Forest Preserves purchased this land in the 1930s. The mowed area had widely spaced old white and bur oaks, like the adjoining preserve. About two decades ago, steward Linda Masters suggested a switch from mowing that area to restoration and burning. When the mowing stopped, the North Branch woodland seed mix was broadcast there. </p><p>But we didn't then just leave it be. We occasionally <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/irruptions-of-aggressive-species.html">selectively scythed tall goldenrod</a> from the area, as that seems sometimes to facilitate the establishment of a desirable conservative turf. And additionally, a couple of years ago we noticed that, from the adjacent never-mowed edge, woodland sunflower seemed to be invading and shading out the otherwise increasingly rich, restored vegetation. So, as we sometimes do, to see if it would help, we started selectively scything that dense sunflower too. Happily, when we did it, we noticed what seemed like a familiar quality plant we hadn't seen here before, wide-leaved panic grass, reaching unusually high toward the sun, in the shade of the woodland sunflower. </p><p>But one day as we passed by in 2023, it just looked seriously wrong. We studied it. It was deer-tongue grass, a species none of us had ever seen. When we looked more carefully, we found another plant of that same species, about 20 feet away, also on the scythed edge between the mowed lawn and the "preserved" woods. We wonder if we would ever have seen it if we hadn't scythed but "just left the place alone." </p><p>But now the question became: how could these plants have gotten there? Was this an example of the Barbara Turner experience, where a species had survived where occasional mowing kept aggressive competitors at bay? Perhaps its partly-mowed stems survived in the brighter sunlight, but the species was lost from the community where the un-mowed woods had grown increasingly dense? Or had it arrived on someone's shoe, or the wheels of a mower, years ago? For a variety of reasons, all three seemed unlikely. But there it was. </p><p>So the questions became: what to think about it, and what to do about it? Should this species just be left alone because we are unsure what to do? Should it be pulled out as a possible invader? Should deer-tongue grass seed be harvested and spread, because that added diversity would restore integrity and benefit the woodland ecosystem restoration? Is this a recovered, nearly lost species here? Or is it somehow spreading north because of global warming? And if seeds of this species go into the Somme seed mixes, should it then be another species shared among all the <a href="https://northbranchrestoration.org">North Branch Restoration Project</a> seed mixes? </p><p>The Somme Woods work was conceived by its original Forest Preserve staff and volunteers as what has seemed to many to be a noble experiment. The goal here has been much like <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-somme-prairie-grove-experiment.html">the Somme Prairie Grove experiment</a>, that is, restore all species that would likely have been there, and let them work it out, after a period of providing biodiversity with various kinds of help for at least the short term. Does deer-tongue grass fit into that vision? For now, we're just watching it to see how it behaves. </p><p>But how should we think about a plant like this? </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Endnotes</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3WiPiM2PcUaKRFhZdG7UarJs_w2NlRMChP01pfGPtcviS7JdLrdUWbSUX_k8DHolnbgSXH63l4geCk71Y217gNC9Mv8CIeAiSwLt9Tl6JIy-YF50NvSly4-c1prTXzcfKkVB5D3Ph_WPH5F2tFjzOfjT8D4GYzH-EFgdAyq8qHMn_DDeQWIP5SpnNjK5/s4032/habitat%20vertical_2336.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3WiPiM2PcUaKRFhZdG7UarJs_w2NlRMChP01pfGPtcviS7JdLrdUWbSUX_k8DHolnbgSXH63l4geCk71Y217gNC9Mv8CIeAiSwLt9Tl6JIy-YF50NvSly4-c1prTXzcfKkVB5D3Ph_WPH5F2tFjzOfjT8D4GYzH-EFgdAyq8qHMn_DDeQWIP5SpnNjK5/w480-h640/habitat%20vertical_2336.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here, the deer-tongue grass in the foreground is joined by diverse other species including three in flower: nodding wild onion (pinkish white), elm-leaved goldenrod (yellow), and woodland Joe Pye weed (pale purple). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFqardvOpSjWHKHA-frH8HBdKd5OrYfCGYjlR-eHkH4FkOtZ9rq1FyYZ28tKWX-ZRz67SyvwlqnFv1iVVngkLHHV6bnr8h8cza_8L_6le-AWyHxOZrTwlZqbD1BUN5LEcLvOVWDikRt9NTQhvO-W9O7_atwzxDXde_KOyrhv1bKzU87Vg3J865LveEC61/s4032/showing%20scythed%20area_2332.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFqardvOpSjWHKHA-frH8HBdKd5OrYfCGYjlR-eHkH4FkOtZ9rq1FyYZ28tKWX-ZRz67SyvwlqnFv1iVVngkLHHV6bnr8h8cza_8L_6le-AWyHxOZrTwlZqbD1BUN5LEcLvOVWDikRt9NTQhvO-W9O7_atwzxDXde_KOyrhv1bKzU87Vg3J865LveEC61/w480-h640/showing%20scythed%20area_2332.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The upper part of this photo gives a better sense of how dense the now-scythed vegetation had been becoming. The somewhat aggressive species include tall goldenrod, woodland sunflower, woodland Joe Pye weed, and tall coreopsis. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OqeajRqF2fVA3zxDDs_bxmWBwnnWxq2YPWRqMVVMK2TeWc6UM3ickDqCj10Z4lFza7CY4HwGkk-z2XbrjFpnE55NZFTLueQ6rOcyynbIOB_JSJklOO7FsW32B5RMqw33qznJOSCLTtGHlj7h2yTgF-ts1rHv4uBViFdwQOhuIf32-ji8d0-A0o4uumFz/s4032/Pan%20lat%20and%20cla_3099.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OqeajRqF2fVA3zxDDs_bxmWBwnnWxq2YPWRqMVVMK2TeWc6UM3ickDqCj10Z4lFza7CY4HwGkk-z2XbrjFpnE55NZFTLueQ6rOcyynbIOB_JSJklOO7FsW32B5RMqw33qznJOSCLTtGHlj7h2yTgF-ts1rHv4uBViFdwQOhuIf32-ji8d0-A0o4uumFz/w480-h640/Pan%20lat%20and%20cla_3099.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deer-tongue panic grass is on the left. Wide-leaved panic grass is on the right.<br />Notice that the sheathes (that cover the stems beneath the leaves) are furry in deer-tongue and smooth in wide-leaved. These grasses are shown here side by side for comparison, but typically, with us, the deer-tongue is taller and more erect, and wide-leaved is more spreading. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A person could argue that deer-tongue grass shouldn't get special care because, at C = 4, it is <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">less conservative</a> than many of the species increasing here, including wide-leaved panic grass at C = 8. Someone else might argue that diversity is key, including the full range of species of the natural ecosystem from C = 0 to C = 10. </div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p>Thanks for comments and suggestions to Becky Collings, Christos Economou, and Eriko Kojima.</p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-87926741821613746842024-01-26T08:04:00.000-08:002024-01-28T07:09:22.331-08:00 Destructive Herbicide in the Ecosystem<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Course Correction: From being “Invasives Killers” to “Biodiversity Conservationists”</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wake-up Call<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of what we conservation land managers do works well and is profoundly important. But we also have to look at the parts that need fixing. </span>Conservation land management can be wasteful, destructive, and incompetent. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Both staff and volunteers want our work to be successful. On paper, it looks good for hard-working professionals to secure grant funds, have contractors work on X number of acres, and put that in a report, as if that's a sufficient measurable accomplishment. But such measures – of dollars spent, acres covered, and percent successful invasives control – leave out what’s most important. How much did the long-term integrity or health of the ecosystem improve, or deteriorate?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of us want to be positive as much as possible – especially when the challenges are so great and the resources so small. But that’s also why it’s important not to waste. The five stories below are true and more common that we wish. We need to think about how to do better. Sites aren’t identified, mostly so the facts can be presented forthrightly, without antagonizing the good people in charge, who are doing their best in most cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwU_oo1x4e_pKORhArMbQ0pA7MEkkdsB-jOwbkQGiHHfPbSicFYnEL87DVLQmQ7QXt-231_Z7qCn3ecfEEM89eYKyPt1Bi8LSjPWXR-yNjJJCteAklmGppR7LBDhyphenhyphenFVuFPJN-RQgYoxohGnlvMDfLRDF7VnqjlaOXLYDdJZBUZLLqPQxZA4MFx5QIp06k/s2153/fall%20color%20-%20herbicide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2153" data-original-width="2073" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwU_oo1x4e_pKORhArMbQ0pA7MEkkdsB-jOwbkQGiHHfPbSicFYnEL87DVLQmQ7QXt-231_Z7qCn3ecfEEM89eYKyPt1Bi8LSjPWXR-yNjJJCteAklmGppR7LBDhyphenhyphenFVuFPJN-RQgYoxohGnlvMDfLRDF7VnqjlaOXLYDdJZBUZLLqPQxZA4MFx5QIp06k/w616-h640/fall%20color%20-%20herbicide.jpg" width="616" /></span></a></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This post is not an “anti herbicide” protest. Wise use of herbicide in biodiversity conservation is utterly essential. Above, buckthorn, which has been re-sprouting here after every fire for decades, has been sprayed efficiently in fall, after most other species have gone dormant. The herbicide, recognized by blue dye, is clearly also damaging some desirable species. There’s often no practical way to avoid some losses. But the adjacent species will quickly fill in where the buckthorn died. It would be possible here to avoid killing any other plant, and some perfectionists feel great angst over this kind of thing. But if we followed their advice, we’d use up too much time, and a great deal of other dearly-needed work would not get done. </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Five Examples of Dismal Failure<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Complete death of very high-quality prairie<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Grade A (very-high quality) mesic black-soil prairie was deteriorating from brush, mostly gray dogwood. Diverse prairie survived under the dogwood, but diminishingly. Professionals (from a contractor with a rep for taking extra care) painted the stems with the herbicide Garlon in winter. The whole prairie died in the areas where they worked. Next summer the ground was bare, except for small re-sprouts of the dogwood, which had the most vigorous root system. Despite covering a small part of the prairie, the death of a substantial patch of Grade A was a profound tragedy. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This heartbreak baffled many experts, who evaluated after the fact. Many people assured us that they had done “this kind of thing” without the negative impact. But was it really the same? How carefully had they studied the prairie vegetation before and after? How similar was the weather? How similar were the volumes of herbicide applied? We wish we knew. Many of us are doing more experiments to learn what we can. Fortunately, in a way, few people need to worry about impacts on Grade A prairie, because there’s so little of it. Unfortunately, saving Grade A areas is a highest priority. Do we have insufficient knowledge to do it right? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dense stems had been cut and painted in a different, poorer quality area nearby. In that area too, the prairie died, as shown below. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize00IcXtIgNt0OV1uaD0xJrpd7X9ePdOq7abHR3dD76uP6sEbeWMbAqafoXG9V5E6kpdX-l87E-buC73XSpNEEaLAtQHVS07MKdGRNXMYa-pE-CDFR0jTAeF-K4rGpmxNPJ88F8Vj-DaohyphenhyphenwbWKDTvKwM6lHpYRE24VNmUasIoYTft1fTiA7pyV6FFdZq/w480-h640/IMG_5708.jpeg" width="480" /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="text-align: center;">On the upper left, the dogwood was not cut or herbicided. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="text-align: center;">On the lower right it was. But the remnant prairie died. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="text-align: center;">For more detail on this incident, click <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2020/08/brush-puzzles-in-somme-prairie-nature.html">here</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. High-Quality Woodland Loses Diversity from repeated Reed-Canary Mistakes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>A rich woodland had patches of <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html">invasive</a></span> reed-canary grass here and there. Contractors seem to have recognized the quality of the intermixed herb vegetation and carefully sprayed only that invasive grass. Instead of a grass-specific herbicide, they used Round-up, an herbicide that kills most plants. While they eliminated the reed-canary in the centers of the patches, </span>they failed to spray the reed canary at the perimeter of the patches, which was hidden beneath the quality vegetation. Perhaps they were unable to see it underneath the good plants, as they worked quickly to spray the many patches in the contract area. But the result was that the dead zones where the Round-up had killed the remnant vegetation grew larger and larger over the years. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A better approach is to carefully and assertively spray the reed canary at the leading edge of the infestation, even at the cost of collateral damage, in order to eliminate the patch once and for all. The staff people in charge said they hadn’t had enough time for more detailed monitoring. It was as bad a loss as if those areas had been plowed … or had a Burger King built on them. We have to do better. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Foliar Spray in Good Quality Woodland Kills All – Even the Old Oaks<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s another case when the supervisors were stumped. How could this happen? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In an oak woods of hundreds of acres, the volunteer stewards made slow progress on invasive brush. Contractors were hired to help out and demonstrate effectiveness on two acres. They cut adult buckthorns and sprayed the dense seedlings. On paper, for the short term, the results looked excellent. Dense patches of seedling and sapling buckthorns were entirely dead. You could walk around the distinct edge of the two sprayed acres and see a sharp line between where buckthorn in the treatment area was brown and dead – and the adjacent area was green with young buckthorn. But by the end of the summer, all the trees had died too. Some were old bur and white oaks, many feet in circumference. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I asked questions about it but didn’t want to push too hard, so as to maintain a good relationship with the owning agency. Staff explained, “Perhaps they put a brush pile in the wrong area.” Clearly they hadn’t looked carefully – or even paid much attention to what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A year later, I asked the contractor if they ever figured out what the problem had been. The fellow was surprised by the question. Staff had never asked them about it, and the contractor hadn’t been back to check. He claimed not to know what herbicide his company had used. People clearly hoped the problem would just go away. (See Endnotes 1 and 2 for some expert opinion on what had happened). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At that point, I wondered if I’d made a mistake by not saying more at the time. I’d worried about provoking a backlash that might have had negative impacts on that agency’s overall program. But we need to understand this stuff. And by “we” – I mean to include volunteer stewards and advocates, who can be more willing to say that ‘the Emperor has no clothes’ when needed. Especially at this stage of knowledge, just leaving the evaluations to overworked staff is not good enough. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. White-fringed Orchid vs. Canada Thistle<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Federal-endangered prairie white-fringed orchid (<i>Platanthera leucophaea</i>) can grow in very high-quality grasslands and sometimes in degraded ones – but very few of them grow anywhere. Last year’s census by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service found only 223 plants. It’s a truly rare species.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One degraded prairie had scores to hundreds of them blooming every year. Then, saw-tooth sunflower over-ran parts of the orchid’s habitat and mostly eliminated it. We scythed the sunflower for a few years – hoping that this treatment would help quality vegetation recover. Gradually, the orchids returned in good numbers, and other quality vegetation like smooth phlox and yellow stargrass increased. Another problem – the invasive alien, Canada thistle, was a minor presence. A contractor working in a nearby area sprayed it, despite being asked not to do. Thinking that they knew better, they sprayed it, rather aggressively, with Round-up. The recovering prairie was badly set back. Many aggressive species began shading out the more <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-way-to-judge-ecosystem-health.html">conservative</a></span> ones. In recent years, other aggressive species dominated, and few orchids bloomed there. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Mighty Mowers followed by Massive Broadcast Spray<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are ferocious machines that can mow mature buckthorn and other brush and turn it into inches-deep “slash.” Top-killed brush resprouts the following spring, and broadcast spraying can control it. This approach can be very helpful for restoring large areas under some conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLVmLtdCrdqoxD9dY6S0kXkKlpfJJ_r8Kr2HaIDCcnI7faM7g6L1OVr59ssePOZvLLrJH5Canc7YT_W5JvHPyKG0UucdBMjwfSDR1dmV8UYUxYRUcKjhs7DT2mo5wFLXrqpUpboLkGgAvUAC6XeGqJcuM2cjdvR5GpffvCspWx6UvCroI49UMPk_bnF5P/s3264/IMG_4912.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLVmLtdCrdqoxD9dY6S0kXkKlpfJJ_r8Kr2HaIDCcnI7faM7g6L1OVr59ssePOZvLLrJH5Canc7YT_W5JvHPyKG0UucdBMjwfSDR1dmV8UYUxYRUcKjhs7DT2mo5wFLXrqpUpboLkGgAvUAC6XeGqJcuM2cjdvR5GpffvCspWx6UvCroI49UMPk_bnF5P/w640-h480/IMG_4912.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dense buckthorn can be controlled by mighty machines followed by heavy herbiciding (as shown above) or by “basal-barking” (as in Dismal Failure example 1.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What happens in oak woodlands that retained areas of remnant biota? We’ve seen this treatment wipe it out, including endangered species, and very probably much of the symbiotic soil biota as well. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps a standard practice in such areas should be to set aside some of the best remnant patches for more discriminating approaches. Then the biota of these areas could spread through the rest of the woodland over time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Comparing Two Approaches <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Consider <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/crown-vetch-how-to-combat-evil.html">crown vetch</a>, an invasive that can wipe out large areas of good prairie or savanna:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Approach 1. </b>We know sites where people have been spraying “the same” crown vetch for decades. It just doesn’t go away. They complain loudly and cynically, but it’s their own fault. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Their strategy? They go after the worst areas first, where they can kill the most with the least effort. Their work becomes endless whack-a-mole.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Approach 2. </b>We know sites where crown vetch control was successful. That is, it’s now gone. What was the difference? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The successful folks start with the smaller patches in the highest quality areas and eliminate them. They GPS or mark them on the ground and return every summer for a few years to give the final spritzing to any re-sprouts or seedlings. They search diligently around the former patch edges, as that’s where the vetch will most likely be holding on. In higher-quality areas they use one of the newer herbicides that are somewhat selective about which types of plants they control. Bit by bit, as time and resources permit, they go after the bigger patches in the poorer quality areas until those too are gone. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who’s In Charge Here?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All the concerns implied above are potential problems whether staff, volunteers, or contractors are doing the work. When, instead of a contractor, a staff person does the work, the person who evaluates results is typically that staff person. Given levels of resources, perhaps there’s no alternative. Most academic research doesn’t help with these questions. We need more practical, applied, insightful research by people who understand this field. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At some sites, expert volunteers do the most sensitive and demanding work – often taking more delicate care than it would be possible to pay contractors to do, given current budgets. Some volunteer stewards take time to study the results of extra-detailed care and write up results. At some sites staff do excellent studies and learn from each other. Perhaps there should be some sort of clearinghouse where we all could record what we’ve learned, especially as it concerns the varied approaches that work best according to different soils, ecosystem qualities, weather conditions, etc.? And some knowledgeable editor could make the info easily accessible to practical on-the-ground folks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are also broader problems that need discussion, study, and more-detailed best management practices. Remnants and all higher-quality areas need different practices and types of oversight than badly degraded sites. Perhaps a new profession is needed, sort of a “general practice doctor” for the ecosystem, who can recognize needs and recommend expert practitioners. That person wouldn’t mostly do the work but instead would evaluate, prescribe, review, and revise. People with such expertise would likely come from the ranks of on-the-ground restoration practitioners with extensive experience. <o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Is killing invasives our goal? Or restoring integrity and health to the ecosystem? Herbicides are needed. But herbicide treatments may solve one problem while ultimately not helping, or even making things worse. Restoration requires a wise overall plan with appropriate sequencing. The work then needs close oversight by someone who has a good working knowledge of the site’s ecology and the long-range impact of possible treatments. <br /><br /> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are too few people capable of providing expert supervision and review. We’re not learning as fast as we could. Contractors (some dedicated and competent, some not) are often hired on the basis of the lowest bid, and no one has time to carefully evaluate the results. Or someone checks only whether target plants died – with little attention to negative impacts. The highest concern in remnants should be for the remnant species.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnotes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 1. </b><b>Imazapyr</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan Carter wrote: Do you know what herbicide they used? This is a common error made with an herbicide called Imazapyr. Milwaukee County Parks staff killed a bunch of trees at Wehr Nature Center by spraying lesser celandine with it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnote 2. What happened to those old oaks?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another peer reviewer wrote: Since the buckthorn seedlings were densely packed, the same thing may have happened as with the dogwood clones above: too much highly concentrated herbicide migrating in soil directly or with the help of underground fungus, killing oaks by the root. Herbicide labels have a “maximum use rate” given in amount of herbicide product applied per acre per year. That is not the same as the maximum rate to control a given weed, which is stated elsewhere in the label. Max use rates may be related to such failures as this one. Or did root grafting occur between oaks & buckthorn? As Dan Carter has said, the decision to use basal bark or foliar when desirable vegetation is present above or below ground is rarely a good idea. Basal bark may work in such situations with a meticulous applicator & flawless technique, but such people are so rare it doesn’t warrant recommending that practice in general.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Acknowledgements<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for helpful suggestions from Dan Carter, Christos Economou, Eriko Kojima, and two anonymous reviewers. This post also benefitted from written exchanges among Don Osmond, Dennis Nyberg, Dan Carter, and others as found <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/08/bringing-your-game-to-herbiciding.html">here</a></span> and <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/11/improving-health-of-nature-preserves.html">here</a></span>:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><br />Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-16402822359779559382024-01-19T09:31:00.000-08:002024-02-20T09:38:32.458-08:00What is a Grade A woodland?<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ignorance kills. New priorities needed. A new tool shows promise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rare species are important. Rare ecosystems are immeasurably more important. But they’re often ignored (and therefore lost) because conservationists have not yet developed sufficiently practical and effective tools needed to save them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps the first point to make in this post is that there seem top be no Grade A woodlands left. All are degraded. Some may be able to recover high quality with good stewardship.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Serious biodiversity conservation began when we first understood that the last high-quality prairies were vanishing. (How important to an ecosystem is "high quality" - and how is it defined? See Endnote 1.) Savanna conservation emerged later, out of what we were learning from the prairies. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Still, nobody much noticed the oak woods. Common? Boring? Obviously ‘disturbed’ (at a time when ‘disturbed’ meant ‘degraded’). To some, the woods seemed to be benefitting from 'natural succession’ – which was seen as a ‘good’ or ‘beneficial’ process, leading inexorably to something </span>‘<span style="font-family: inherit;">better</span>’<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (beech-maple forest). Those people were wrong. The deep-shade-tolerant flora of the maple forest do not return because they'd not been there. The result of increasing shade is not the rich flora and fauna of a forest; the result is degraded woodland, low diversity, and ecological ill health. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Higher quality woodlands have been losing their species at the rate of 2 or 3% per year. At least, that’s what was happening to the few sites that have been carefully monitored. A few percent may not at first seem like much, but those losses continued to add up. In the 1980s, some of us advocated that oak woodlands, long protected from the ‘destructive’ impacts of fire, actually needed to burn. With trials and careful monitoring, in time a consensus emerged that fire had positive impacts and more and more woodlands gradually benefitted, somewhat. Yet few or no “very high quality” oak woods were being found and celebrated, and the gradual species losses even in Nature Preserves mostly continued. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCHTfKvGXwZM3brnJIPUcHDtcH_GNr5bB8R875PRyClkzkbWfSumqkWx4b3vwsUxH1DpzP7uEtp0_xatw7XCFYY73_2UTdIR1TyV5SAytY8uBqPSbFYSOVL11BmPS3rLlK-tIXWdX8PxKapyVJF06qn7jRlp5qFZ6-SrkL6sgPLgVl3SdpM_Lik0CdWyE/s4032/younger%20trees%20limbless_1405.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCHTfKvGXwZM3brnJIPUcHDtcH_GNr5bB8R875PRyClkzkbWfSumqkWx4b3vwsUxH1DpzP7uEtp0_xatw7XCFYY73_2UTdIR1TyV5SAytY8uBqPSbFYSOVL11BmPS3rLlK-tIXWdX8PxKapyVJF06qn7jRlp5qFZ6-SrkL6sgPLgVl3SdpM_Lik0CdWyE/w640-h480/younger%20trees%20limbless_1405.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>A degraded woodland under restoration. Some would say that no truly Grade A oak woodlands survive in the tallgrass region. </span>For photos of one of the best, see <a href="https://prairiebotanist.com/2020/11/24/army-lake-oak-woodland/">here</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>As for this post, all the photos come from an attempt to restore quality to <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-somme-prairie-grove-experiment.html">Vestal Grove</a></span>. In the photo above, the herb flora is rich and compact but still has a long way to go in comparison with a top quality remnant. The very old trees are bur oaks showing spreading limbs<span style="text-align: left;"> – </span>or the 'amputee stumps' of such limbs. The 'middle age' trees are mostly red oaks and hickories without lower limbs</span>. As trees continue to be thinned and overall light is increased, perhaps we'll see more bur oak reproduction with persistent spreading "woodland grown" limbs on their lower or mid-height trunks. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3tzU9iZ6tJDOFT22Kog1HNSk6_B4Ja6U8rp5-1fhIQF4K8bIf6WEQfpSwp_W0Cwzp2MrH9lcnvoAEP3YI-LRNbFh7utRBWLCHorRwHK9OyhBwhBSC6RHNwgVhNplJT56OzPG38kaX_lGByxsQWPXnta21_nI0sgAzJR9ZoNTJKxLklMh457eJk9C83ea/s4032/burned%20hickory%20base_1404.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3tzU9iZ6tJDOFT22Kog1HNSk6_B4Ja6U8rp5-1fhIQF4K8bIf6WEQfpSwp_W0Cwzp2MrH9lcnvoAEP3YI-LRNbFh7utRBWLCHorRwHK9OyhBwhBSC6RHNwgVhNplJT56OzPG38kaX_lGByxsQWPXnta21_nI0sgAzJR9ZoNTJKxLklMh457eJk9C83ea/w640-h480/burned%20hickory%20base_1404.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One trillium blooms with wood betony, golden Alexanders, and rue anemone. Other species visible include cut-leaved toothwort and starry campion. The tree trunk belongs to one of the many shagbark hickories. It shows fire damage at the bottom. Many woodlands today have excess numbers of red oaks and hickories, as those species reproduce more readily in fire-starved habitats. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2016</span>, a “wake-up call” made a big impact and indeed led to the “new tool” featured in this post. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan Carter was part of a crew that evaluated an obscure site for a boat launch. Were there “environmental impacts” that needed to be avoided or mitigated? The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was proposing an improved road, parking spots, handicapped access, and other facilities at Army Lake.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>The road was to reach the water through an </span>oak woodland which turned out to be “jaw-droppingly intact” – indeed, apparently the highest-quality remnant in southeastern Wisconsin and perhaps in the whole state. (There’s apparently nothing of comparably high quality in northern Illinois.) As requested, that survey team (employed by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission) checked and found one Endangered species, forked aster (<i>Eurybia furcata</i>) and some wetlands. The write-up called for avoiding or mitigating any loss of those plants and or wetlands. (Why were those two categories thought to be deserving of special care? See Endnote 2.) </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The survey team's report identified Army Lake's rare woodland as the site’s most important feature. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other concerns paled in comparison with the importance of the remnant oak ecosystem. The Nature Conservancy's ranking shows high-quality oak woodland as “G-1” – globally endangered. (How is quality determined? See Endnote 3.) </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sadly, the ecosystem didn’t</span> seem to<span style="font-family: inherit;"> count. The one Endangered plant species and the peripheral wetlands both were recognized as meriting care. But no protocol then existed to authoritatively identify the incomparably more important woodland community as a priority. It didn't fit into any official category of concern. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As it stood then, Army Lake Woods included ¾ acres of very high quality, ½ acre of good quality (very restorable) and in between about ¼ acre of badly disturbed land (ultimately restorable and therefore potentially invaluable to the long term sustainability of such a gem). Thus, we had here a prospective restored globally-endangered woodland of 1.5 acres. But it was not to be. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Official channels function in mysterious ways. Sometimes they succeed in their intended goals. In this case, they did not. Some of the old oaks were cut, and about ¼ acre of the very high-quality natural area was bulldozed. It was a painful loss to Carter. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This defeat established a clarity in the minds of Carter and others. The system wasn’t working. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An important principle is: Never waste a major loss.<a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/06/wisconsin-discovery-may-raise-standards.html"> </a>Transform failure into a ‘teachable moment’ and inspiration for needed change. Carter <a href="https://prairiebotanist.com/2020/11/24/army-lake-oak-woodland/">reported on the disaster</a> and, at their invitation, teamed up with Wisconsin DNR conservation biologists Amy Staffen and Matt Zine (along with Wisconsin Nature Conservancy regional land steward Brian Miner and others) to create the new official and authoritative “<span>Monitoring Protocol for Assessing Baseline Condition and Restoration Progress in Oak Woodland</span>.” See Endnote 4.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This inventory and monitoring tool could have a long-term impact. Wisconsin and Illinois (among leading states in natural areas conservation) have been weak in evaluating woodland sites (<span>See Endnote 3.</span>) If this tool is a step in the right direction, it will be for two principal reasons. It could help us recognize what remnants most merit conservation. And it could help us determine whether sites under management are stable, improving, or declining. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Currently, such evaluations are made for most preserves on the basis of one person’s judgment. Often the judge is the person responsible for management, and of course it can be challenging to declare your professional efforts a failure, even if the reason is lack of resources. Also, the one-person’s-judgment process has no transparency. Government doesn’t work well in areas that no one reviews. Funding for conservation comes only with public backing. Volunteer citizen scientists, advocates, and stewards can be crucial ... if they’re empowered … and if they empower themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Biodiversity conservation is popular in the abstract, but it needs more public understanding and support. One way to get that is through more transparency and public participation. The new tool does not deliver automatic protection for sites like Army Lake, but it can aid our evaluations of high-quality and restorable oak woodlands, an important next step. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnotes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnote 1. How important is "high quality" and how is it defined?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The future of life on Earth depends on its ecosystems. As we (to some extent necessarily) manipulate and simplify, we may one day desperately need the planet's once most common and now rare species. Certainly, we need their rare genes for agriculture, medicine, and industry, but we also may need some to restore an out-of-balance planet that has begun staggering toward poisonous rain, loss of oxygen, or insanely high temperatures. Ecosystems maintain balance, powered by the sun. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Natural areas conservation</span> was inspired in part by Grade A prairies. They are so rich. The INAI showed that only 1/100<sup>th</sup> of 1% of the original prairie survived as high quality. We cannot perceive all the components that constitute ecosystem quality or integrity or health. They certainly include all the interdependent plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, soils and all manner of soil biota. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the past, conservationists slowly began to realize that ecosystems lose biodiversity in response to over-grazing, plowing, draining, the elimination of predators, and other changes that helped us for some purposes. Aldo Leopold, while employed by the U.S. government to eliminate the threat of wolves, learned that "the mountain fears its deer." As Leopold succeeded and the deer massively increased, many plant and other animal species dropped out. No one at that time checked on how the fungi and bacteria were doing. </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Indeed, our overall understanding of the ecosystem is still primitive. But those gorgeous, intact, rich prairies made some people think, and act. A Grade A prairie typically has 20 or more plant species per ¼ square meter - and most of those plants are rare <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">conservatives</a></span>. A typical degraded prairie may average five common species per </span>¼ square meter. Conservative plant diversity is believed to be a good indicator of ecosystem health. The hope is that, if a remnant is big enough to sustain them, the other biota will be there too. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What does "Grade A" mean? The definition changes. The Illinois Natural Areas Inventory defined: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Grade A - Very High Quality" as "Relatively stable or undisturbed" and </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Grade B - High Quality" as "Late successional or lightly disturbed" </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">with the more detailed explanations including language like Grade A: "does not show the effects of disturbance by humans" and Grade B: "not disturbed </span>so heavily<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that the original </span>structure<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>composition<span style="font-family: inherit;"> was destroyed." </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But in recent decades it's become increasingly clear how profoundly Native American humans - through </span>fires<span style="font-family: inherit;">, hunting, etc. - influenced the "original" nature that Europe-derived science studied. How far back should we consider that "origin" to go. For most of the richest tallgrass area, the ecosystems began to assemble only 12,000 or so years ago when the most recent glacier retreated. But, bless them, scientists have also demonstrated that many of the species and relationships go back </span>hundreds<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of thousands to millions of years. They can move and re-assemble over time if given the chance. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So how should "high quality" now be defined? Perhaps the definition could now be: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b>A high quality remnant ecosystem is one that has most of its biota surviving in the structure and richness that assembled over thousands of years. </b></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Perhaps no rich Grade A savannas or woodlands survive. Very few come even close to the plant diversity of the best prairies, but some of the best do. <o:p></o:p></span>Perhaps high-quality woodlands can be restored from the healthiest remnants?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Note on soils: The INAI community classification separated areas by soil type. Sand prairies, savannas, and forests are considered separately from those on good soil, which have sometimes been referred to as "black soil savannas" or "rich-soil savannas." But the INAI just called those "savannas." Thus you have to read carefully to determine whether Illinois' savanna remnant heritage amounted to 11.2 acres (INAI Technical Report numbers for dry-mesic and mesic savanna in Table 6) or 1,300 acres (Technical Report's introduction). The difference reflected the much greater survival of sand savannas, as sand areas have not been as intensively used for agriculture and are less vulnerable to many invasive species. The potential for confusion on woodlands is even greater, as the 1978 Inventory did not distinguish between forests and woodlands. For some details of the 2011 revision of the Inventory, see <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html">here</a>.) </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEo_TKVwpq2V6hoxROYXLo7vzzBFfDn0JTs-BkyJcIUg4iEoeaaCG3z84RVletjNLTPEYUOb2DqujJxqc0A41Mao1llV5eEWLJe0TQzhRAs64NmMdZCsR7FUQVnJw4os45zWxXl7WQnDA5NM-qwPKKmLTvhp2Uh0-2dhK9AiVjc_XHi_mAecW24VElEcO/s4032/trilium%20big%20leaf%20etc_1402.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEo_TKVwpq2V6hoxROYXLo7vzzBFfDn0JTs-BkyJcIUg4iEoeaaCG3z84RVletjNLTPEYUOb2DqujJxqc0A41Mao1llV5eEWLJe0TQzhRAs64NmMdZCsR7FUQVnJw4os45zWxXl7WQnDA5NM-qwPKKmLTvhp2Uh0-2dhK9AiVjc_XHi_mAecW24VElEcO/w640-h480/trilium%20big%20leaf%20etc_1402.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnote 2 Who started this?</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Much conservation as we now understand it goes back to <i>Silent Spring</i> by Rachel Carson in 1962. Summarizing its impact, historian Jill Lepore credits <i>Silent Spring</i> with launching “environmentalism” as a global force and in the U.S. provoking the efforts that resulted in Clean Air Act (1963), the Wilderness Act (1964), the National Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Environmental Protection Agency (1970), the Clean Water and the Endangered Species Acts (both in 1972). Thus there is now widespread recognition of the importance of </span> wetlands<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>endangered species<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rachel Carson and Jill Lepore “have a way with words.” They’re both worth studying for that reason alone. Lepore praised <i>Silent Spring</i> by saying that, in the history of the planet, books with that much global impact could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Actually, the way Lepore put it reflected Carson’s many previous books, all of which reflected her love of the ocean, its tide pools, and biota. Thus, Lepore actually wrote: “The number of books that have done as much good in the world can be counted on the arms of a starfish.” (from “<i>The Deadline</i>” by Jill Lepore, 2023.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 3.</b> How do we Evaluate and Monitor ecosystems?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s relatively easy to measure Endangered Species numbers and the boundaries of wetlands. But for high quality ecosystems? Some details can be measured. But the vast universe of species and the interrelationships that make up ecosystems are for the foreseeable future beyond our grasp. So we need indicators.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Up until now, most people, if they measure or evaluate natural communities at all, use one of two methods: the Natural Areas Inventory method or various Floristic QuaIity methods. Both have advantages and disadvantages. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Inventory approach</b> was developed in Illinois through the work of John (Jack) White and others in the 1970s (see Endnote 5). Their judgements were based on "lack of disturbance" and richness of conservative species. The resulting Illinois Natural Areas Inventory taught us how to recognize ecosystem remnants and where they were, leading to the acquisition of most of the best ones. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This approach did great on prairies but found little in the way of black-soil savannas. Curtis in 1959 in Wisconsin (under the name Oak Openings) had found savanna to be the most common ecosystem type in the southwestern half of his state. Oak openings were found to have covered an astounding 5.5M acres, with forests at 3.8M acres, and prairies at 1.5M acres. (These figures for “approximate original area” lump mesic and dry-mesic for forests and prairies, as Curtis lumped mesic and dry-mesic for savannas on rich soil as “oak openings.”) Savannas had been major habitats in Illinois as well, but remnants had been degrading even more quickly than prairies. Indeed, none were surviving with conservative diversity equivalent with what the best prairies exhibited. Had they once had it? As we learned, we began “saving” and “restoring” savanna as best we could. When developing global priorities in the 1980s, The Nature Conservancy gave savannas the highest priority, G1, Globally Endangered.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Neither Curtis nor the Inventory recognized mesic oak woodland as a community separate from mesic maple forest. They seem to have been blinded by “succession” theory. Oak woodlands weren’t seen as hallowed eternal nature; they were considered a temporary state, recovering from disturbance, on the way to maple forest. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet as biodiversity conservation was studied, we began to recognize that<a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html"> the species of oak woodland were being lost</a>. Species don't evolve over night. Woodlands (like savannas) are ancient communities that depend for their integrity on regular ‘disturbance’ by fire. Some of this history is discussed in Endnote 3. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Illinois Natural Areas Inventory focused too much on lack of disturbance and, for long term use, depended too much on judgment. Different “experts” had different judgments. Once the highly-trained original team had gone on to other jobs, their work was difficult to replicate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Wisconsin approach suffered from their system's Curtis-based approach, which did not recognize the significance of mesic woodlands. The<b> </b>Coarse-level Monitoring Protocol (2023) presented (and linked to) in Endnote 4 is a new approach</span> that could help conservation practice catch up with the evolving science, in the context of <span style="font-family: inherit;"> a less-individual-judgment-based system. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Floristic Quality approach </b>was developed by Gerould Wilhelm in 1977 for a study of the vegetation of Kane County, Illinois. It became highly influential when it was expanded to cover parts of four states in Plants of the Chicago Region (1994). It had the advantage that all competent experts would arrive at the same results. It had the disadvantage that experts did argue about what those results meant. Summaries of this method and references are <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floristic_Quality_Assessment">here</a></span>, <a href="https://universalfqa.org">here</a>, <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.2825">here</a>, and <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">here</a></span>. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF44WwAHiXRWlYyxy1-PXvCZJdOjk1eOAXim0no2qlc3BAzEBo3nCO_V0BXS9mGRPCr4HFh5RDCfY-f3_mWBhSiwyheP842C1WalwQGg0tbxEqz4g-XO2EYeeHbT8FJ7q_sUiKURhf4DVfBBeET06DClMHKI9cpyICxrXc7mYIe6Ibp5bcP8KZYICbzthQ/s4032/rue%20betony%20turf_1385.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF44WwAHiXRWlYyxy1-PXvCZJdOjk1eOAXim0no2qlc3BAzEBo3nCO_V0BXS9mGRPCr4HFh5RDCfY-f3_mWBhSiwyheP842C1WalwQGg0tbxEqz4g-XO2EYeeHbT8FJ7q_sUiKURhf4DVfBBeET06DClMHKI9cpyICxrXc7mYIe6Ibp5bcP8KZYICbzthQ/w640-h480/rue%20betony%20turf_1385.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wood betony grows in both woodlands and prairies. In the prairie it tends to be yellow. In woodlands, limited experience suggests that it's often reddish. Millions of years of co-evolution with hummingbirds have resulted in some species evolving red flowers. (For more on that, see <a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2019/08/evolved-for-each-other-bird-and-flower.html">here</a>.) Much less-obvious genetic richness may be hemorrhaging from oak woodlands as animal, plant, fungal, bacterial, and other species drop out. Small sites of high quality have better potential for sustainability if nearby land can be restored to sufficient quality to support those species that need it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnote 4. The new protocol.</span></b></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></span><p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The new <b>woodland protocol</b> will be posted in the Wisconsin DNR website. It's currently posted in full <a href="https://bastardtoadflax.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/oak-woodland-sop_v1-1.pdf">here</a>. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For comparison with an officially posted </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">protocol for savanna</b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, look </span><a href="https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/biodiversity/Home/detail/communities/9168" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. For a </span>criticism<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of this sort of approach, see Endnote 6. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For some excerpts of the new woodland protocol, see below:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdsKVyf88S4SOTuzjaBHK9Rkuo5Af2YajgMAUjv1qHd-RvcH1RXY5Bh2HWHoudC3UxyycXKORAtrZUvHDM0KNZoJiTOEbZYizydQL20Mp_Aww1mGwJD09T5naL7bGKcvMlqtL8tOpcoHJ7W35N4hAkd1jW5KQqfdbulXyHqoGAc3BNyxPykEdF2dRnzCf/s832/Monitoring%20Form.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="646" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdsKVyf88S4SOTuzjaBHK9Rkuo5Af2YajgMAUjv1qHd-RvcH1RXY5Bh2HWHoudC3UxyycXKORAtrZUvHDM0KNZoJiTOEbZYizydQL20Mp_Aww1mGwJD09T5naL7bGKcvMlqtL8tOpcoHJ7W35N4hAkd1jW5KQqfdbulXyHqoGAc3BNyxPykEdF2dRnzCf/w496-h640/Monitoring%20Form.jpg" width="496" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoQ5OvkYVM-4weatMCMBW_FMla93eq1xku9rQtvFjrL1tX-B8W7-cJObTVuKgCnNm0BhMZ8AO7ArQ6a-0r5am1HfV8pAX2ECws-kXDbeu-rHOBIgma2ir8zw9buriR-6DHigRS_xpf2NpYOebEmS-YjGZnPhHzSNjkBveqKiI6dkOSRcTD7uM4WQVBXUG/s739/Indicator%20species.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="628" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoQ5OvkYVM-4weatMCMBW_FMla93eq1xku9rQtvFjrL1tX-B8W7-cJObTVuKgCnNm0BhMZ8AO7ArQ6a-0r5am1HfV8pAX2ECws-kXDbeu-rHOBIgma2ir8zw9buriR-6DHigRS_xpf2NpYOebEmS-YjGZnPhHzSNjkBveqKiI6dkOSRcTD7uM4WQVBXUG/w544-h640/Indicator%20species.jpg" width="544" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OtwFyWTXYCAA4jg-3UmIg_BWw0XrBrWx_aytjubWXWv7_IEaEz5CLrt2LOTsukXMq125GQuQp4Jh8tC5qMPehmOS_LKMmCmQz0JCF1aewJRjvqIEorHtGl3S8Ia1i5Z2KlvTkNrs3w4GytIF4s67Hf3QqX-i0KV1DKMoh4Uow4WhpSQz6hyphenhyphenA26zPVcqr/s439/Degradation%20Indicators.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="439" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OtwFyWTXYCAA4jg-3UmIg_BWw0XrBrWx_aytjubWXWv7_IEaEz5CLrt2LOTsukXMq125GQuQp4Jh8tC5qMPehmOS_LKMmCmQz0JCF1aewJRjvqIEorHtGl3S8Ia1i5Z2KlvTkNrs3w4GytIF4s67Hf3QqX-i0KV1DKMoh4Uow4WhpSQz6hyphenhyphenA26zPVcqr/w640-h524/Degradation%20Indicators.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><span><b>Endnote 5</b>. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Perhaps we would take our leadership responsibilities and opportunities more seriously if we were to reflect on how greatly our region contributed to the </span>origination of "ecosystem conservation" and "natural areas" stewardship. Henry Chandler Cowles (U. of Chicago) launched ecosystem study in the early 1900s. His student May Theilgaard Watts (Morton Arboretum etc.) wrote the books that raised constituency for it from 1957 to 1975. John C. Curtis (U. of Wisconsin) in 1959 scientifically defined the region's ecosystem types. John (Jack) White (Univ. of Illinois etc.) supervised the Earth's first Natural Areas Inventory in the 1970s. For more see <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2019/04/some-history-of-biodiversity.html">Some History of Biodiversity Conservation</a></span>.</div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 6.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">One "peer reviewer" of the draft of this post wrote:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I have to be honest, I don’t really like these checklist scoring sheet type approaches. The scoring calculation seems just as arbitrary and any other approach, and they try and force things into categories too much. </p><p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I understand their appeal (as you’ve outlined), but they aren’t my cup of tea because I have seen so many bad ones that are limited in their utility and are untested and uncalibrated with actual data. They often work in the limited context from which they were created, but when you take them to another site, they don’t apply as well. <span style="font-family: inherit;">They are often created, and barely get used, ending up in the dust bins of history. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>
<p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But Floristic Quality as an approach remains widely used and increasingly so --- in large part because it is so simple and easy to use. But, it too is not well calibrated with actual data. And its limitations and strengths aren’t well flushed out.</p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A few more photos and comments are below: </b></span></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiHJoFuUPk27qNIs2MrhUMgLuBF-1TOHsXMT0qg5uR5XUQjpQA-ZWCylGYgyMs8Yc9-MuA9oj1cQhPP5HiTVvg7R6l7s3ZS6NFbyxp59_8CoVOduo7j_VtT06YEWYcNCvIto8d68I3ePGUSgRR5zuR6OGS047T4zdyFJgkri1KVV_rqP1oNlCvtxSfTFg/s4032/richness%20with%20Brachyelytrum_1406.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiHJoFuUPk27qNIs2MrhUMgLuBF-1TOHsXMT0qg5uR5XUQjpQA-ZWCylGYgyMs8Yc9-MuA9oj1cQhPP5HiTVvg7R6l7s3ZS6NFbyxp59_8CoVOduo7j_VtT06YEWYcNCvIto8d68I3ePGUSgRR5zuR6OGS047T4zdyFJgkri1KVV_rqP1oNlCvtxSfTFg/w640-h480/richness%20with%20Brachyelytrum_1406.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The rather dense grass in the top half of this photo is awned wood grass (<i>Brachyelytrum sp.</i>). Perhaps it's so dense that the Coarse Metric would give this area a lower rating. Then again, this grass is not even on the Metric's list of woodland species. Is it naturally more characteristic of maple forest? The same questions could be asked about large-flowered trillium, big leaf aster, and some of the other species mentioned here. No one really knows the appropriate status of most species in the tallgrass region's oak woodlands. The Metric is based on field knowledge and judgment. It and other methods should improve as we continue to learn more from remnant and restored areas. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKDctlfH02W9kfYEVnV7AeKaPMdCkk5IZ5eTuAMdyQ3MkmK9YQ-B0ytmWr3xqBs2gH0ei7-xIcDcxT9WGE3LLwhCg3qc0nc9ygAA57BzxzNSrfrLbcQZZ0e45oiAVCMitg3keKSjdXw3V8KOloAkPJzZCIY3Wm6V8Ab03tckWpGF_wKn_lUNdp43yshEP/s4013/West%20Vestal%20turf%20Aug13%202022_0405.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2551" data-original-width="4013" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKDctlfH02W9kfYEVnV7AeKaPMdCkk5IZ5eTuAMdyQ3MkmK9YQ-B0ytmWr3xqBs2gH0ei7-xIcDcxT9WGE3LLwhCg3qc0nc9ygAA57BzxzNSrfrLbcQZZ0e45oiAVCMitg3keKSjdXw3V8KOloAkPJzZCIY3Wm6V8Ab03tckWpGF_wKn_lUNdp43yshEP/w640-h406/West%20Vestal%20turf%20Aug13%202022_0405.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Above, the densest species is big-leaf aster (in bloom). This area in recent years had been increasingly rank with woodland sunflower and dewberry - "Native Indicators of Degradation in Oak Woodland" according to the new Wisconsin protocol. Scything them led to increases in more conservative flora including b</span>ig-leaf aster (in bloom), zigzag goldenrod, awned wood grass and many others<span style="font-family: inherit;">. Will such "facilitated diversity recovery" in time be adequate to control the sunflowers, briars, and other "thugs"? Work and time will tell. It is truly so very much fun to learn how to be good stewards of biodiversity. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At Somme we have evaluated restoration results using both judgment and FQI. We have experienced such FQI positives as increasing site FQI and mean C, transect FQI and mean C, and average quadrat FQI and mean C. All those measures have consistently improved. Yet we’re far from confident that all proceeds well. Part of the “improvement” may be that woodland sunflower (C = 5) is massively replacing tall goldenrod (C=1). In the early stages, no problem. But over time, there are some indications that this sunflower will shade out (or allopathically reduce or eliminate) many species that had seemed secure. Our four-decades-long experiment definitely seems still in an early stage. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-8a98a6fa-7fff-e118-8c1f-87929bb8a89f" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Taft pointed out (personal communication) that our species per quadrat and FQI numbers were still rather low compared to a site in southern Illinois that he had been sampling. But that site was substantially drier, more intact, and on much poorer soils, so it was not altogether comparable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lLblhZrd_XsdtMzZZ9HQbmU28jaTeVTYqYHPAhoVw5fmhzlE9NCvFe7s2xSSTJ5qF6dAwTFrY1av-qoUNeKt5jLriq0ku40qgkZBOsYSEd4E51QhSRnIrJnYacExSij4LVzYJsswoXk493BbMNSASFBckvv9HnPX9Cwx40eb_ezYRBujO9sARpufonb5/s4032/rich%20flora%20vista_1401.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lLblhZrd_XsdtMzZZ9HQbmU28jaTeVTYqYHPAhoVw5fmhzlE9NCvFe7s2xSSTJ5qF6dAwTFrY1av-qoUNeKt5jLriq0ku40qgkZBOsYSEd4E51QhSRnIrJnYacExSij4LVzYJsswoXk493BbMNSASFBckvv9HnPX9Cwx40eb_ezYRBujO9sARpufonb5/w480-h640/rich%20flora%20vista_1401.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In restoration, different species respond differently to different approaches. Rue anemone (in bloom above) did not establish from our seeding. It was restored only through transplants from quality areas being bulldozed for housing developments. Individual transplants sat there, not reproducing, for decades - but now bloom in some areas by the hundreds. Most species came well from broadcast seed, but some, like big leaf aster, had minor success until more quality developed. Now it thrives in many areas after decades of existence as tiny, scattered leaves here and there. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuN2loNvzqYUIl4H_Cw0Z8rBRNsLTeaDiBk2ZjZdt_tA2DBR2LMX7vijLV9ju0SmNQtYVeXhIkL2N7vzE-GD_m5sNsibRUvx1MoBlCJmhi3vdlmurmiecBBY4ME9-90pop2uDSI3dU6h8ljlu7-bsDFf5LuSkLELhelfDsexP77hqGOKe-oKACmIXJnoe/s4032/May%207%2020_5424.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuN2loNvzqYUIl4H_Cw0Z8rBRNsLTeaDiBk2ZjZdt_tA2DBR2LMX7vijLV9ju0SmNQtYVeXhIkL2N7vzE-GD_m5sNsibRUvx1MoBlCJmhi3vdlmurmiecBBY4ME9-90pop2uDSI3dU6h8ljlu7-bsDFf5LuSkLELhelfDsexP77hqGOKe-oKACmIXJnoe/w480-h640/May%207%2020_5424.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some parts of Vestal Grove have developed a rich spring flora. Prominent above are wild leek, bellwort, and trillium. Will they be reduced as summer-blooming species increase? If so, people may miss the massed flowers of spring flora here. (Notice that there are few spring flora species on the Wisconsin list of woodland indicator species.) But there'll be plenty of rich spring flora elsewhere, for example under maple. </span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zpmNxoZxJvWOP9Fzc6-2AMAWfsVjsutt7WBSNaGUWLu1-7_fOYMvu7Jgq1rHoidYiBGNFuQibwWxbqANILtl9BeXR_3VqOrY3J7OW6ZogxxWmAcan-BcgXMfVrWSIpOwxalMe54KJPNoK0AAEKNMhOZdOWJ1B5f5ZAqlh4_wu-RB7xTbZ4bNxXMF_s5V/s4032/rich%20restoration%20under%20hickory_1403.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zpmNxoZxJvWOP9Fzc6-2AMAWfsVjsutt7WBSNaGUWLu1-7_fOYMvu7Jgq1rHoidYiBGNFuQibwWxbqANILtl9BeXR_3VqOrY3J7OW6ZogxxWmAcan-BcgXMfVrWSIpOwxalMe54KJPNoK0AAEKNMhOZdOWJ1B5f5ZAqlh4_wu-RB7xTbZ4bNxXMF_s5V/w640-h480/rich%20restoration%20under%20hickory_1403.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></p><div>We considered this area well on the way until, influenced by the new protocol, we noticed that the only trees in this area were hickories, red oaks, and hop hornbeams. A fine woodland may have such areas and such species. But good management should result in bur oaks reproducing here. This recovering ecosystem will probably see its original oaks reproducing and coming to dominate, soon, or decades from now. <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/05/restoring-oak-woodlands-what-it-takes_16.html">Our goals are very long term</a>. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Acknowledgements <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for helpful comments and edits from Greg Spyreas, Dan Carter, Matt Evans, Fran Harty, Rebeccah Hartz, and Eriko Kojima.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><br />Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-7270155736892178352023-11-28T13:38:00.000-08:002023-12-08T06:38:45.352-08:00What is Grade A prairie?<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">In the photo below (</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">from about 1980) Prof. Robert Betz shows me a part of the great Gensburg-Markham Prairie,</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">before restoration in this area had begun. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2442" data-original-width="3634" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmanRhGw_5vzOoAR29IVLVJuVlmujZAv1NP7kE7Os5pFTlo4vx0T9CPL0N_yD0XU7EMvaguThHW9yNqvHnmbPQMKQsLo1FAMxwEB8kJDhvqk_bGOWefxJL7JKRlglGku8lGslnOdTDTHTS4vsEHG_cCs2byrlcGKxMgs9G35X6KO0idRZo9LBhzbANBi6/w640-h430/Betz%20IBP%20with%20brushjpg.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">This is a prairie? Yes, it is. And the entire site – one of the finest prairies in the state – was also this badly degraded by brush when Betz started restoring it.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: What makes this tangle, ecologically, a prairie? </span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: All those woody plants are short-term invaders; their shade has not yet killed off most of the ancient biota here, which is comprised of hundreds of species of prairie grasses and wildflowers, as well as thousands of species of animals (bees, snakes, voles, beetles, fungi, symbiotic bacteria, and all) that represent a rare heritage of biodiversity. </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many people, including some scientists, told Betz that, if he cared about nature, it would be wrong to cut all those trees. When he started there in 1972, few people understood what either prairies or nature were. He patiently educated us.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvOWJegKPzNLMQR7RROY3AUnmdEiiYsMj0CTk6KclgwcSOLZ4l8o46edyWpM7rQvUTrn08EMrjSEJxnn4cjfwP9NXmImI8tO_JcnXb5HkrsS4bq_5-A_1DJYiHYlmXRL1EOD3PTGPcz3OIO03yJJeWeSK1sZV0R0rloIg-rvaBHj_4INkgqVb17e0AC82/s3000/Gensburg-Markham%20NP.tiff" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2017" data-original-width="3000" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvOWJegKPzNLMQR7RROY3AUnmdEiiYsMj0CTk6KclgwcSOLZ4l8o46edyWpM7rQvUTrn08EMrjSEJxnn4cjfwP9NXmImI8tO_JcnXb5HkrsS4bq_5-A_1DJYiHYlmXRL1EOD3PTGPcz3OIO03yJJeWeSK1sZV0R0rloIg-rvaBHj_4INkgqVb17e0AC82/w640-h430/Gensburg-Markham%20NP.tiff" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Betz and colleagues cleared the brush, rich prairie bloomed again, at first a few acres, then scores, then hundreds. This photo shows restored, original Gensburg-Markham Prairie in July.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Betz was a pioneer of prairie conservation. He searched for and studied prairie remnants, finding them mostly on old, fenced-off railroad rights-of-way and settler cemeteries; as he did, he began to notice that the rarest plants were highly-unevenly distributed. Some remnants had none at all. In some, great numbers of the rarest prairie plants were sprawled all over each other. </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the process, he began to clarify the meaning of the word nature. Later, in Earth's first serious search for true surviving remnants of nature, the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, building on Betz's work, settled on the following categories:</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grade D - severely disturbed</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grade C - somewhat disturbed - good quality </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grade B - high quality</span></o:p> (rare - 220 acres of mesic prairie survived in "The Prairie State" at that time)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Grade A - very high quality (</span></o:p>rarer - 54 acres survived in "The Prairie State" at that<span><span><span> </span></span></span>time)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those all-important Grade A and B prairies represented 1/100</span></o:p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: super;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">of 1% of the original. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more on how they were identified and defined, read on (and check out Endnote 1).</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The next two photos</b> show somewhat </span>clearly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> something that's </span>usually<span style="font-family: inherit;"> hard to see. They show the same spot in Somme Prairie from either side of the dividing line between “Grade A” and “Grade B” prairie. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the first photo, looking east, the Grade B ("high quality") prairie is in the foreground. You can easily see, just a few feet back, where the Grade A </span>("very high quality") <span style="font-family: inherit;">starts, abruptly. A fence once stood there, long ago, when farms stretched to the horizon in all directions. Horses or cows had grazed the now-Grade B side of the fence, enough to reduce its quality somewhat. But it still has some relatively </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">conservative species</a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">including hoary puccoon, violet wood sorrel, yellow stargrass, prairie violet, alumroot, two-flowered Cynthia, and many more. Thus, it was identified as Grade B prairie. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESXkK6UeiQqQYjRYvpdXu9W6WaT9CV07MdQHKTZIXcQ_z4P1iQyzoycyZi7opznt-dU_fRuc4cT4foiDeQu2Tv_qJSbAH0LrhKnRVf9rRSOb8TB-vGj0oOp2b_xaRYk_Ltd-dJ72RH7Bq5haWDMakyyK0MVC93AhTiwF24uG-64_7ipLErobZoI8jxjl3/s3597/B%20and%20A%20Somme.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2458" data-original-width="3597" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESXkK6UeiQqQYjRYvpdXu9W6WaT9CV07MdQHKTZIXcQ_z4P1iQyzoycyZi7opznt-dU_fRuc4cT4foiDeQu2Tv_qJSbAH0LrhKnRVf9rRSOb8TB-vGj0oOp2b_xaRYk_Ltd-dJ72RH7Bq5haWDMakyyK0MVC93AhTiwF24uG-64_7ipLErobZoI8jxjl3/w640-h438/B%20and%20A%20Somme.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In the next photo</b>, I’ve walked across the old fence line into the Grade A prairie, turned around, now facing west, and photographed the same area, from the opposite direction. Now Grade A is in the foreground, and the Grade B in the rear. The plants that stand out visually in the foreground are prairie dock, gayfeather, and rattlesnake master. But the real treasure of the Grade A is the list of highly conservative species that survived here but not in the Grade B. They included prairie gentian, cream false indigo, leadplant, prairie coreopsis, prairie lily, Kalm's brome, edible valerian, Junegrass, prairie Indian plantain, oval milkweed, alumroot, and many many more. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2479" data-original-width="3597" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzTt8mGZ6-kkF9A210FLjhnCWxSvHgugG5Qxhj_UaFbuaQGsj4XdkmPkqVxH-wgT18t4bBXt5B_7oAT8o58YSoFdQ7Oy8sQnS8HILqYHOjqRXnF68cT44DNR50lNV1RiY654R4LoNrqmNdBe9Uyl_9hZYRnkosu0ZCcF_H2oyHeyZrB_EqmNt3DMB5EwL/w640-h442/A%20and%20B%20Somme.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The old fence, once along a property line between farms, is long gone. But the impacts of the grazing on the other side of that fence line were still dramatically apparent when this photo was taken, in the 1980s. (Today, after decades of restoration, the contrast is not so dramatic.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Decades ago, the Forest Preserve District acquired the parcel with the Grade A prairie. They planted trees on it (as you can see, in the first of the two photos above), but some of the precious prairie survived. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the photo below, the land on the west side of the fence was acquired by the U.S. military</span> in Cold War 1960<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and they built a radar installation to protect us from Soviet missiles. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9N6RQBfoHbUcOPNHwUA2L4lgSQ_ZYMlSF6bmWkcr61a27e_fpMaw66ucd3etqLV-cdk8ycHamv_bW_retRp9G9rYsaRbGZUxsZek83T-fiFYU9xvpRRAbVIEtsSB1DO5CErKKPkRrNW5IiWb7VYaK7Q9rFpUUR6-heMMsplJ-o5x7ufugf19QzwIcrzKV/s911/Coast%20Guard%20installation.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="911" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9N6RQBfoHbUcOPNHwUA2L4lgSQ_ZYMlSF6bmWkcr61a27e_fpMaw66ucd3etqLV-cdk8ycHamv_bW_retRp9G9rYsaRbGZUxsZek83T-fiFYU9xvpRRAbVIEtsSB1DO5CErKKPkRrNW5IiWb7VYaK7Q9rFpUUR6-heMMsplJ-o5x7ufugf19QzwIcrzKV/w640-h446/Coast%20Guard%20installation.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here, looking north, Dundee Road is just below the bottom of the photo. North of the radar installation is Underwriters Labs. The military mowed its property occasionally. Occasional mowing does not rapidly damage the plant community. When the radar was no longer needed, this land went to the Forest Preserve District and is now part of Somme Prairie Nature Preserve. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the photo above, the Grade A prairie remnants (only two acres in total) are on the Forest Preserve land along the right (east) side of the photo. But when this rare prairie land became a Forest Preserve in the 1940s, the staff planted trees. Additional bird-dispersed and wind-dispersed) trees arrived as well, slowly degrading what was left of the prairie. Like in Markham, when restoration began, the Grade A area of Somme in the 1970s looked like an open woods, if you didn't know what all those rare grasses and wildflowers indicated. Grade A prairie is so dense with highly-competitive species that it can resist invasion by trees for decades. Thus some bits and pieces hung on, to be saved and restored. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For a bonus photo of the Grade A area of Somme Prairie in the 1980s, recovering after a few restorative burns, see below:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEpT7nouXAisjrNqtU0leH635VrXfT4M5F1OaS-eWCpprN-p4V61y14QgMzL_o0scmgeocfl36PFv24QMRhTIAAb3DRjIMJX-BDhwxmfHeXeJtnTN1s7SUH0dvRwD8_j12zquOLfPMFa0LuFW6LRLEikI8sY6LYg-oTbnrl7M8qGSATK2_gayGc7Gu8B0/s3689/Somme%20A%20best.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2453" data-original-width="3689" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEpT7nouXAisjrNqtU0leH635VrXfT4M5F1OaS-eWCpprN-p4V61y14QgMzL_o0scmgeocfl36PFv24QMRhTIAAb3DRjIMJX-BDhwxmfHeXeJtnTN1s7SUH0dvRwD8_j12zquOLfPMFa0LuFW6LRLEikI8sY6LYg-oTbnrl7M8qGSATK2_gayGc7Gu8B0/w640-h426/Somme%20A%20best.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blooming in this May photo are cream false indigo, hoary puccoon (orange), downy phlox (pink), golden Alexanders (yellow), and shooting star (pale pink). Over the summer, scores of other wildflowers and grasses will rise over these short spring species and bloom in turn, many accompanied with their associated, specialized pollinators, herbivores, and predators, from insects and spiders to prairie birds and coyotes. It's rich. <br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For another perspective on these questions, check out this <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-myth-coming-true.html">adventure story that comes with plant lists</a>, scientific names, and discussions of the rare species that indicate prairie quality.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For photos of Somme Prairie today and some restoration details, click </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2020/07/from-two-acres-to-seventy.html" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How much difference does prairie quality make?</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No one can answer this question with certainty. But much of the genetic richness created by millions of years of evolution (species and genetic alleles of great potential significance to our unique Planet of Life) may reside mostly or only in high-quality remnants. We who work to save them do so at some level because we love nature and think it ethically unconscionable for our hubristic species to </span>utterly <span style="font-family: inherit;">wipe out the last of what took millions of years to evolve. But there are practical reasons too. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We know for sure that from time to time a major food crop is threatened by some disease which, like the Irish potato famine, could result in the starvation of millions. We know for sure that agronomists go to nature to find genes in </span>wild relatives that can<span style="font-family: inherit;"> rescue such crops. We also know that biodiversity is a major sources of genes for improved nutrition, medicines, industrial solvents, lubricants, catalysts, etc. When they're gone, our planet and posterity are diminished. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But also, consider this thought experiment: There have been times on Earth when most species have rapidly gone extinct because a key balance was lost. For example, the oceans turned toxic and stopped producing oxygen. Or ice or drought covered most of the planet. We now recklessly tempt fate with planetary manipulations. Imagine a time when a global ecological catastrophe is developing and scientists discover that a solution would be to restore a billion acres of temperate grassland. But it would only work if certain bacteria or algae or nematodes were part of the mix. If those species only survived in Grade A Nature Preserves, we'd use them to rescue the planet. If they survived nowhere, we would have lost that option.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm aware that the "what ifs" above are speculative bordering on the ridiculous. Yet there are a thousand other scenarios that might depend on saving at least some nature. We're barely starting to understand what makes Earth work for life as we know it. Considering all the resources and power that our species now has, biodiversity conservation requires only a miniscule investment. We should do it. And be happy about it. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 1</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; widows: auto;">Normally you can't easily see the line separating A and B prairie. To tell the difference, you have to identify the species. Below is the list of the nine species most indicative of Grade A mesic black-soil prairie. Their coefficients of conservatism ("CC") rate “perfect tens.” (See Swink and Wilhelm or Wilhelm and Rericha). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; widows: auto;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; margin-left: -5pt;"><tbody><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Common Name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">CC</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Scientific name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />Wilhelm and Rericha<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Scientific name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />Swink and Wilhelm<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">cream wild indigo<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Baptisia leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Baptisia leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">scarlet painted-cup<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Castilleja coccinea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Castilleja coccinea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">white prairie clover<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Dalea candida<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Petalostemum candidum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 11.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 11.55pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie gentian<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Gentiana puberulenta<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Gentiana puberulenta<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 11.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 11.55pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie white-fringed orchid<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Platanthera leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Habenaria leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie lily<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Lilium philadelphicum <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Lilium philadelphicum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie panic grass<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Dichanthelium leibergii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Panicum leibergii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie dropseed<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sporobolus heterolepis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sporobolus heterolepis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">heart-leaved Alexanders<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Zizia aptera<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Zizia aptera<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a Grade A prairie, most of the above species will be plentiful, along with many others that have CCs of 9 and 8. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Grade B prairie, there may be some of the above species surviving, but only here and there in most cases, and with many of them missing entirely.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Grade C prairie, species in the 8, 9,and 10 range will be few and far between, if any occur. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; widows: auto;">The list of the nine species was a simple way to make the point. But for prairie quality assessment, the following longer list may be more helpful. These 26 characteristic mesic black-soil prairie species have conservatism coefficients 8, 9, or 10. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; widows: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; color: black; orphans: auto; widows: auto;"><tbody><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Scientific Name</span></b><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">CC</span></b><b><span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Common Name</span></b><b><span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Amorpha canescens</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Lead plant</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Asclepias sullivantii</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">8</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie milkweed</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Aster azureus<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">8<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Sky-blue aster<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Aster laevis<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">9<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Smooth blue aster<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Baptisia leucophaea</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Cream wild indigo</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Bromus kalmii<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie brome<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Carex bicknellii</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie oval sedge</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Carex meadii</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Mead’s stiff sedge</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Castilleja coccinea</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Indian paintbrush</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Eryngium yuccifolium<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">9<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Rattlesnake master<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Gentiana puberulenta</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie gentian</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Platanthera leucophaea</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie white-fringed orchid</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Heuchera richardsonii</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">8</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie alum root</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Hypoxis hirsuta</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Yellow star grass</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Lilium philadelphicum </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie lily</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Lithospermum canescens</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">8</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Hoary puccoon</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Oxalis violacea</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Violet wood sorrel</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Panicum leibergii</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie panic grass</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Pedicularis canadensis</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie betony</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Petalostemum candidum</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">White prairie clover</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Petalostemum purpureum</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Purple prairie clover</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Potentilla arguta<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">9<o:p></o:p></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie cinquefoil<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Phlox glaberrima </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">8</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Smooth phlox</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Sporobolus heterolepis</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie dropseed</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Viola pedatifida</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">9</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Prairie violet</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: gainsboro; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 97.5pt;" valign="top" width="130"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Zizia aptera</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 14.35pt;" valign="top" width="19"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">10</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 104.6pt;" valign="top" width="139"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 7.5pt;">Heart-leaved Alexanders</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For additional details and discussion, see that</span> "<a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-myth-coming-true.html">adventure story, which comes with plant lists</a>". </p><div><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For conservation purposes, the working hypothesis is that Grade A prairie will also have the best surviving associations of the (poorly known) species of bacteria, fungi, protists, pollinators, etc. that are interdependent with the various species of prairie plants and animals. However, work by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Ron-Panzer-72051112">Ron Panzer</a> has shown that some rare insect species may survive better on <i>larger</i>, <i>somewhat-degraded</i> sites than on the much smaller Grade A sites, which may be too small to sustain their populations. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">References</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: cambria, serif;">Floyd Swink and Gerould Wilhelm, <i>Plants of the Chicago Region, </i>4th edition, 1994</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: cambria, serif;">Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha, </span><i style="font-family: cambria, serif;">Flora of the Chicago Region,</i><span style="font-family: cambria, serif;"> 2017</span><span style="font-family: cambria, serif;"><i> </i></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Much of the early knowledge of prairie quality (and remnant restoration techniques) came from the wise and visionary <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-kind-of-person-does-it-take.html">Dr. Robert F. Betz</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The restored Markham photo is by Michael Jeffords and Susan Post. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know where the radar installation photo came from, possibly Northbrook Historical society? I just had it in my files. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to Christos Economou and Eriko Kojima for many helpful edits. </span></p></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-15961101133704939692023-11-02T05:13:00.010-07:002023-11-12T08:02:55.526-08:00 Comments From Dennis Nyberg on Health of Nature Preserves<p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 21pt; text-align: left;"><i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Comments by Dr. Dennis Nyberg, professor and natural areas researcher, University of Illinois Chicago, retired, and perhaps equally importantly, for decades the steward of <a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/inpc/area.area2cookcranberryslough.html">Cranberry Slough</a> Nature Preserve, and for 15 years steward of <a href="https://prairie.bios.uic.edu">UIC's prairie</a> in Glenview, IL.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">These good thoughts are a response to </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/10/morton-grove-prairie-nature-preserve.html">a recent post on the degradation of Morton Grove Nature Preserve.</a></p></blockquote><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Ownership</span></b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">: Nature Preserves in Illinois have a diverse array of owners including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, County Forest Preserves, School Districts and other government agencies, Universities, Land Trusts, private individuals, etc. It is important for the Nature Preserves Commission staff to work with each owner to assure ongoing understanding of the importance of management and to assist the agency in accomplishing it.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Needs:</span></b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> There are many who still think land acquisition is as important as it once was. Acquisition is rarely a top priority now. Restoration and management are crucial.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Management needs are complex and diverse, but just repeated fire (simple management) would do a lot for most preserves. Superficial monitoring is a minor need. Most people trained as botanists seem to be most interested in rarity. The people I know who have been the most effective conservationists tend not to be trained botanists, but they have an affection for nature, and they learn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Many botanists are observers (tourists). They focus on keeping records. Such people do not typically know about how to manage populations. So I don’t see more inventories and monitoring as the best way to spend money. (The original Illinois Natural Areas Inventory focused best on prairies. It did not do a good job of identifying natural oak woodlands.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">When Bill Glass was responsible for Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, it got burned regularly, and I thought it was the best natural area in IL, now other sites are where I take students. Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve is another site that’s suffered from lack of needed fire.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">NICHES Land Trust has done at least two things I think are wise. First, they no longer accept a donation of land without a contribution to their Stewardship Fund which provides money to manage the donated land. Second, they get volunteer help, including but not exclusively vegetation management, in exchange for white-tailed deer hunting privileges (accomplishing 2 goals at once). The focus of Nature Preserves ought to be on preserving the species of the area rather than forbidding leaving trails, collecting small plant parts for personal use, fishing etc. We need more people out enjoying and using nature. That is how they come to love it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Trees grow. In 1900 trees were harvested for many purposes. Preventing further harvest on conservation land was important at that time. Now there are bigger trees with shade and water usage that prevent the understory and its insects from flourishing. Conservation people need to support removal of large trees when fire hasn’t been sufficient to keep the canopy open enough for most original plant and animal species.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">I believe there needs to be more emphasis on the <b>species</b> that a nature preserve is protecting. Priority species have to have a population (greater than a dozen individuals) with recruitment (or potential for recruitment) and have a greater population at that preserve than other preserves. Populations can be measured concretely; communities cannot. I have maintained an interest in Cranberry Slough nature preserve though I no longer have an official role. I have a list of 17 plants species that CSNP plays a special role in maintaining regionally, i.e. have populations at Cranberry that are bigger than other regional sites that I have visited. If each preserve had a list of such species, it would direct attention to management and provide a measure of management success.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Tomlinson Nature Preserve (Champaign Co FP) does have too many hazel, and they are suppressing herbaceous vegetation. The only special species at Tomlinson (I only visited twice in last couple years) is another woody, <i>Celastrus scandens</i>, the native bittersweet which I heard is being considered for state listing. I am guessing the bittersweet preservation will make hazel reduction more difficult. There were only a few hazel plants at Cranberry and prescribed burning killed all, but when I visited Cedar Creek (in MN) the plot that had been burnt most frequently, 17 times in 30 years, had an understory dominated by hazel. Not easy to make generalizations in vegetation management.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">When I was in 8<sup>th</sup> grade the garden club of Northbrook sent me to Springfield for conservation training by IDNR. That training promoted the use of multiflora rose (in hedgerows to promote pheasant populations). I am aware that the Soil Conservation Service brought in and promoted use of kudzu and other invasive species. There was little interest in managing natural areas at that time. Today there is an interest in managing conservation lands to preserve native species. Almost all work involves the use of herbicides. I have seen good and bad results from herbicide use. I have an affection for the ways of non-economic people (e.g. indigenous) and consider the economy as the main source of loss of native plants. I believe in 50 years some of the current use of herbicide by conservation agencies will be looked on as we currently look at multiflora rose.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">At Rocky Glen in Peoria there is<span style="color: #333333;"> savanna on the steep ridges. Rocky Glen impressed me as a once nice site that is dying. Many native species are hanging on (the species list would look impressive), but very few desirable natives are producing seed. Some individual plants can live 100 years, but if they are not producing seed that successfully recruits young individuals the species will disappear. I was </span>encouraged to give my opinions to the manager, but I did not as I concluded he would not be responsive to unsolicited advice,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Good luck persuading people to pay attention to nature and making sure it persists into the future. The fact that the state of Illinois is no longer in financial straits offers hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Dennis W Nyberg<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">31 Oct 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="Standard" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-57730937060763416322023-10-27T09:17:00.018-07:002024-03-08T09:36:53.708-08:00Morton Grove Prairie - Badly Degraded By Brush. <p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This land belongs to all of our people,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">most of whom have not been born yet.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">From a commemoration plaque</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">at</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Morton Grove Prairie Nature Preserve</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The purpose of this post is to present an example of the challenges facing the Illinois Nature Preserves System and to seek productive discussions of remedies. Much of what's important in this post is at the end, under "Comments" by interested people. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ukDjXjN8dXf2u2NP6ugUlGh7rp-QWf33WqrgQK_aAqI8sP_vFG2h0hz9nu9f_xhjafm9Eh-6qj4orcpzw6XKqECta8ceGwF3uYR08YKACfP2h4vWpeSoX6ipnuv8T0QCloryIraXHOMU8TxyrEIbRZoCM5DU4m35twUpbXanERXBwwFG0WJ-hd_ZZ3U8/s854/GoogleEarth%20MGNP.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="542" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ukDjXjN8dXf2u2NP6ugUlGh7rp-QWf33WqrgQK_aAqI8sP_vFG2h0hz9nu9f_xhjafm9Eh-6qj4orcpzw6XKqECta8ceGwF3uYR08YKACfP2h4vWpeSoX6ipnuv8T0QCloryIraXHOMU8TxyrEIbRZoCM5DU4m35twUpbXanERXBwwFG0WJ-hd_ZZ3U8/w408-h640/GoogleEarth%20MGNP.jpg" width="408" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this mid-morning GoogleEarth photo, cottonwoods are shading about half of the middle part of this prairie Nature Preserve. Prairie does not survive in shade. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Technical facts</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. The entire preserve is 1.3 acres<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2. It was dedicated by the Morton Grove Bicentennial Commission and "preserved for future generations as a natural heritage" </span>in September 1975.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span>3. It</span> was identified in 1978 by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory as one of the highest quality black-soil prairies remaining in the Prairie State.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. It was legally made an Illinois Nature Preserve in October 1979 with an assumption and social contract that commits us in the future, as much as possible, to maintaining its biodiversity permanently.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 5. It is owned and managed by the Morton Grove Park District.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 6. According to the Nature Preserves statute, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources could and should help with technical advice and resources, but they're spread very thin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The current state of the preserve</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. Brush and degradation by weeds now cover well over 90% of the preserve. Of that, roughly 75% is dense enough to shade out nearly all prairie species and 25% is progressively degrading but still to some degree recoverable. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURZ755K4SYfCXFge8MucOELY6sNRo5jKz95rFa3C1IFm0vpyTbSmnqc4ElavntyPoDi3bOG0GMsNUv2-VcFi8JDmn2wSlmZcbWqa_KNfRvmZEQ0hpLQNywk28ikzcAMM9AM8O1O4EUjObCdIWke8TsLiKfIhxwtt7nsujgdsgrIrbr6Ur-NfEOf1O6KWJ/s4032/dense%20brush_2952.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURZ755K4SYfCXFge8MucOELY6sNRo5jKz95rFa3C1IFm0vpyTbSmnqc4ElavntyPoDi3bOG0GMsNUv2-VcFi8JDmn2wSlmZcbWqa_KNfRvmZEQ0hpLQNywk28ikzcAMM9AM8O1O4EUjObCdIWke8TsLiKfIhxwtt7nsujgdsgrIrbr6Ur-NfEOf1O6KWJ/w640-h480/dense%20brush_2952.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of the former prairie here is today densely covered in brush. In this photo, purplish dogwood is in the foreground and red sumac in the rear.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>2. Very little high-quality prairie appears to survive here. How recoverable is this preserve? The answer could be determined only through expert management. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 3. A bigger problem than the small brush in some areas is the stand of increasingly tall and dense cottonwood trees that block the sun from large areas during much of each morning. Prairie species, by millions of years of adaptation, need full sun. Most true prairie plants and animals do not survive in partial-day sun. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4. Two small patches of actual prairie survive, as determined by the continuing presence of <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-way-to-judge-ecosystem-health.html">conservative</a> prairie plants. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The best, about ten feet in diameter, is partially mowed for one of the trails. It is northwest of the observation platform, a bit further from the cottonwood shade, and includes such species as purple prairie clover, downy phlox, alumroot, prairie dropseed, little bluestem, wild quinine, sky-blue aster, Indian grass, prairie dock, compass plant, gray goldenrod, rattlesnake master, obedient plant, and stiff gentian. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A larger but poorer remnant, roughly 50 feet in diameter, lies near the southern edge of the preserve. It has fewer high-quality species and few or no plants of dropseed or little bluestem, but it seems readily recoverable with </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/03/why-fire-is-needed.html" style="font-family: inherit;">burning</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and seeding, using seed from the smaller, higher-quality patch or other, similar, high-quality prairies nearby, if approved. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbhMPR1KTBdvEKvfd2t9LS9eAV9H0_SU-F_Vws_ni28dGyStj4kCaagIwePW2XRNu-H8Sn9Ug74fFU3aYCEFq88Ldj-7eh71b_4L1N-tGDEOMls_AJc3VbjDTrkDJuIhMcd3XfgVE6_ztmtOpxtwL-wqiX0mDJmiTDg5CW5ACGa70FoqGetO8lXm7dxuc/s4032/from%20the%20platform_2901.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbhMPR1KTBdvEKvfd2t9LS9eAV9H0_SU-F_Vws_ni28dGyStj4kCaagIwePW2XRNu-H8Sn9Ug74fFU3aYCEFq88Ldj-7eh71b_4L1N-tGDEOMls_AJc3VbjDTrkDJuIhMcd3XfgVE6_ztmtOpxtwL-wqiX0mDJmiTDg5CW5ACGa70FoqGetO8lXm7dxuc/w640-h480/from%20the%20platform_2901.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An observation platform was installed with the objective of allowing people to view this delicate little prairie without trampling it. Intentions were good. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12RVmv8u_Xyfb89hGQjQDk5G0SGSrnb8LPHJZ8lnXcF5w9GODjrlyg8RgEIsejHEKqdZ5gKc-L5u4q-JcIn0a8ueZf371POreCIxBxmsh6ieloAZsPRiTXfldLisSDCUCXBtuPTLfQwTTSMTd2Q9MuQJlzc0X882qm1yY17sKndcBQ7SE6moXhnOui77s/s4032/ten%20foot%20patch_2954.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12RVmv8u_Xyfb89hGQjQDk5G0SGSrnb8LPHJZ8lnXcF5w9GODjrlyg8RgEIsejHEKqdZ5gKc-L5u4q-JcIn0a8ueZf371POreCIxBxmsh6ieloAZsPRiTXfldLisSDCUCXBtuPTLfQwTTSMTd2Q9MuQJlzc0X882qm1yY17sKndcBQ7SE6moXhnOui77s/w640-h480/ten%20foot%20patch_2954.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A remnant patch about ten feet across (here in the foreground) still contains many of the <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">conservative plants</a> that characterize a true prairie remnant. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_dVSP-HmpjjAmw1KJnv6ZYbT7RUg7g0UqH-ccOuHfmXn9oAo40SPRxI1j0dUPn1YkXUnS6mdPkaSiSwLFw1xAwxazdePXbLFq0IzWJeph8-5w4_f6FYAy0ObA2ODFp9piYWYnIHGRoNBmk3DDG9TjDwn01NFIpusLTzlTsUxdUQ_tt23YdI7nUdHNSdy/s4032/mowed%20and%20brush_2908.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_dVSP-HmpjjAmw1KJnv6ZYbT7RUg7g0UqH-ccOuHfmXn9oAo40SPRxI1j0dUPn1YkXUnS6mdPkaSiSwLFw1xAwxazdePXbLFq0IzWJeph8-5w4_f6FYAy0ObA2ODFp9piYWYnIHGRoNBmk3DDG9TjDwn01NFIpusLTzlTsUxdUQ_tt23YdI7nUdHNSdy/w640-h480/mowed%20and%20brush_2908.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How many visitors would perceive what's going on in this photo? Red sumac blazes to the left of a mowed path. Green buckthorn is to the right. Prairie grass, tawny or yellow, is visible in the foreground, mowed and unmowed. </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5scHGy9urcIDRyRsDxZPRZdPojTm90LT3hO-dn-yL26tjrHVw2GDVShYFOvJ7ylZP_Ht1NQz0WGkykjPHOt7w0yg4427ZximL4P9Ts_5fns8kIE_UgdLTfcFBxSl4HHA0TGoC8R5yEpiZonlerXucORAkf16od_kMfZzQ-wXiGin11fZavreONx0tvGjY/s4032/prairie%20surrounded_2957.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5scHGy9urcIDRyRsDxZPRZdPojTm90LT3hO-dn-yL26tjrHVw2GDVShYFOvJ7ylZP_Ht1NQz0WGkykjPHOt7w0yg4427ZximL4P9Ts_5fns8kIE_UgdLTfcFBxSl4HHA0TGoC8R5yEpiZonlerXucORAkf16od_kMfZzQ-wXiGin11fZavreONx0tvGjY/w640-h480/prairie%20surrounded_2957.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here a tiny patch of cordgrass and prairie dock is surrounded by dense buckthorn, dogwood, and a third major problem, especially in the partial shade, the <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html">weedy</a> tall goldenrod. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZmAkR36-p3tJzvM3KsR-eKwmju3aEWq1kn7SNVRxFQTwVFxbvre0Xb4LvtlGMR0116N5pVnh6j3HEqr1H9BcWTFo1xIkIvUks9gRZOYNukLHEhZ9eyCJE7knsF3oH9OP2TH5ko0Fsv8bObnylFpn2Zb8aJ6qtFxz9_rOMRwdlN-SXTdrUj0CCFa5Erb1/s4032/under%20sumach_2958.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZmAkR36-p3tJzvM3KsR-eKwmju3aEWq1kn7SNVRxFQTwVFxbvre0Xb4LvtlGMR0116N5pVnh6j3HEqr1H9BcWTFo1xIkIvUks9gRZOYNukLHEhZ9eyCJE7knsF3oH9OP2TH5ko0Fsv8bObnylFpn2Zb8aJ6qtFxz9_rOMRwdlN-SXTdrUj0CCFa5Erb1/w640-h480/under%20sumach_2958.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Under dense sumac, no remaining prairie is visible. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFctP9JXp6z7FD5wBCHbctglqpLdux3aXDoSjhFmzNfkTj5L-xLCvXXQu30HlDTD3a8SDzSDB5YXHVerUTFKz0SN4ZJWDBCwVZECRYOJRYB7J0fTQlam1vAsAJfGqgR4xT5yp62lVuXGya2qUO4pjAAPryTY0O9IXe_cgFx1gbQhTENAV7CFc6EOzFB5a/s4032/under%20dogwood_2959.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFctP9JXp6z7FD5wBCHbctglqpLdux3aXDoSjhFmzNfkTj5L-xLCvXXQu30HlDTD3a8SDzSDB5YXHVerUTFKz0SN4ZJWDBCwVZECRYOJRYB7J0fTQlam1vAsAJfGqgR4xT5yp62lVuXGya2qUO4pjAAPryTY0O9IXe_cgFx1gbQhTENAV7CFc6EOzFB5a/w640-h480/under%20dogwood_2959.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The view under the dogwood. When the prairie is this far gone, most plant species may not be capable of coming back without being seeded.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1DArQU95JOEdyi9K8nre_lyjdi3DWPp6yEEcBCx1A4usNilPLMviLL48vU_NHkhs1b_BPahcFyNHji4P9Npx_WFxsLA9XZQRw_eLwWK2QPYGnEa2cVGxifrhVbfw2IZvgLOn6A53vOw9xRyHvsTyhi61_LaRN80bkNX_QQbGQLYsB2ZmeFlcodmdH5Hs/s4032/long%20view%20from%20west_2951.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1DArQU95JOEdyi9K8nre_lyjdi3DWPp6yEEcBCx1A4usNilPLMviLL48vU_NHkhs1b_BPahcFyNHji4P9Npx_WFxsLA9XZQRw_eLwWK2QPYGnEa2cVGxifrhVbfw2IZvgLOn6A53vOw9xRyHvsTyhi61_LaRN80bkNX_QQbGQLYsB2ZmeFlcodmdH5Hs/w640-h480/long%20view%20from%20west_2951.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The preserve is not difficult to burn. It is surrounded by a blacktop trail and mowed lawn. Frequent burns are crucial to prairie ecosystem health. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Other bits of history</b></span><br /></span><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The prairie was discovered by Marion Cole and Mary Hellen Slater in the 1970s. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When this remnant was initially protected, some parts were somewhat degraded. It was reasonable to expect that with good management the entire preserve would recover its richness of plant species, and the restored larger habitat would help conserve many of the rare pollinators and other animals that are interdependent with the prairie plants. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For many years this Nature Preserve was largely managed for the Park District by the North Branch Restoration Project, during which time the Park District paid the Project $1,000 per year. This volunteer group still manages the ten-acre Wayside Prairie (not an original high-quality remnant, but recovering very well), in the Cook County Forest Preserves two blocks to the east. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgFX6U4obfE">A YouTube video</a> on Morton Grove Prairie by Chris Breitenbach includes an interview with Mary Hellen Slater's husband John and shows North Branch volunteers Mary Busch, Kent Fuller, and others burning the prairie. This video was made in 2009 and shows the prairie as it looked then. A</span>s of October 24, 2023, <span style="font-family: inherit;">this video had been viewed 756 times.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Nature Preserve is a part of “Prairie View Park” which also contains “Prairie View Community Center.” Both lie immediately north of “Prairie View Plaza Shopping Center” – all of which were named after this Nature Preserve prairie. It's likely that most Morton Grove residents imagine that the prairie is being cared for by someone. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t4X5QhyAZ4MXeNERFJkV2cGxBfI6DdTKJyapt2vSkHwXZ7wgC7FSLtcmMlcAkm3ErpHBVSoxJ3bsw0aOmGGEMc0rin4Mj18QUp-MiOPeEomaNKPJFxlfNnEVT0jM5-hYbLH4AvhLxFpOjbYu1PD-4G8l1xhrMHnrNAIZPdNrZp4w7wOBuPoVw6CFuVyS/s4011/unborn%20sign_2963.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2487" data-original-width="4011" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t4X5QhyAZ4MXeNERFJkV2cGxBfI6DdTKJyapt2vSkHwXZ7wgC7FSLtcmMlcAkm3ErpHBVSoxJ3bsw0aOmGGEMc0rin4Mj18QUp-MiOPeEomaNKPJFxlfNnEVT0jM5-hYbLH4AvhLxFpOjbYu1PD-4G8l1xhrMHnrNAIZPdNrZp4w7wOBuPoVw6CFuVyS/w640-h396/unborn%20sign_2963.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Indeed, part of the problem here (and for Nature Preserves generally) may be that most people would expect that all Illinois Nature Preserves certainly must be getting the care they need through official channels. Many are not. They need more.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Saving nature depends in part on organizations and institutions. But it also depends on initiative from individuals who care. This prairie would today be a housing subdivision, or a baseball diamond, or part of Prairie View Shopping Plaza if it had not been for public spirited advocacy by John and </span></span>Mary Hellen Slater and her botanist friend Marion Cole, who had in turn been inspired by their friend, early prairie volunteer <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-kind-of-person-does-it-take.html">Robert Betz</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Once dedicated as a Nature Preserve, over the years this site received care from </span>the <a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/">Illinois Department of Natural Resources</a>, <a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/inpc.html">Illinois Nature Preserves Commission</a>, <a href="https://mortongroveparks.com/">Morton Grove Park District</a>, <a href="https://northbranchrestoration.org/">North Branch Restoration Project</a>, and other stakeholders. They deserve credit for their many good efforts. But Illinois Nature Preserves grew to more than 600 sites <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-birth-of-friends-of-illinois-nature.html">while staff and resources were shrinking</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Individuals and the general public are especially crucial. Trained volunteers can provide a level of detailed care that agencies often can't match. Public support helps determine levels of funding, which are currently too low to respond to many needs of many Nature Preserves. Substantially increased resources, </span>expert staff, <span style="font-family: inherit;">and dedicated volunteers are crucial. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we first shared the draft of this post, we learned that Jeffrey Wait, Executive Director of the Morton Grove Park District, had already been talking about the state of the preserve with Matt Evans of </span> <a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org ">Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves</a> and <span style="font-family: inherit;">the Chicago Botanic Garden. As of March 4, 2024, the Friends began working with the Park District to seek stewardship volunteers, so if you're interested, contact them <a href="mailto:connect@friendsilnature.org">here</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For this site and for challenges to Nature Preserves generally, it is hoped that Comments below (including one from you?) will contribute to resurgence for nature, biodiversity, and the communities of people who care. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Credit goes to all the people and agencies that have cared for this prairie over the years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to Eriko Kojima for wise edits to this post. </span></p></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-21804198408624016772023-10-14T08:31:00.005-07:002023-10-17T08:30:58.255-07:00A Way To Judge Ecosystem Health<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Coefficients of Conservatism - measuring "plant quality" or "conservation significance"</b></span></p><p>To reverse the decline of biodiversity, there is a crucial need for more people who can see what is happening to our "protected" natural ecosystems. It's easy to notice a prairie being plowed or a woodland cut down. But most biodiversity loss today is on protected lands, and it happens gradually, by ecosystem quality decline. Many people who would otherwise come to the ecosystem's defense can't recognize that sort of change. </p><p>By learning to recognize key species and their significance, many more people could contribute much more meaningfully. It may seem like a lot of work to learn to identify species and understand their roles and lifeways. But it's fun, rewarding, and critically important. Managers of conservation lands need to hear feedback from a knowledgeable and caring public. Good land management should be applauded. Losses and threats need to evoke concern. </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Coefficients of conservatism" are numbers that help you evaluate the quality of plants in an ecosystem - in other words the health of the ecosystem itself.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4djz80Wbh_x9MGtufCcIcjzfVXrNaQBnetBYqIpyabF1DoKX_ayF1RfB1FMJddhEwiHATUagjukCC1dLvhZryL4rEwYVE0hDkG5H1L7OOYRGse9hghq2YmZxRLxYKd2Dbl-X-ZzLSbH3v3PD_1z-JiChV_xtT-lYEeuP51Jeh29tenbTlw67JN-wPM-H/s4032/Pr%20Lily%20w%20coreopsis_9686.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4djz80Wbh_x9MGtufCcIcjzfVXrNaQBnetBYqIpyabF1DoKX_ayF1RfB1FMJddhEwiHATUagjukCC1dLvhZryL4rEwYVE0hDkG5H1L7OOYRGse9hghq2YmZxRLxYKd2Dbl-X-ZzLSbH3v3PD_1z-JiChV_xtT-lYEeuP51Jeh29tenbTlw67JN-wPM-H/w640-h480/Pr%20Lily%20w%20coreopsis_9686.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How do I tell if a site is high quality - or, for that matter, if a site is recovering or degrading? <br />Knowledge of "coefficients of conservatism" is a big help.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>For a quick over-simplification, a<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "conservative plant" is the opposite of a "weed" or "invasive." Technically, the coefficients reflect the fidelity of species to high-quality natural areas, on a scale of 0 to 10. If most species at some site have coefficients in the </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">0 to 1 range - for example</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>ragweed (C = 0) and tall goldenrod (C = 1) - the site<span style="font-family: inherit;"> has suffered gross </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">degradation</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. It's probably low on the priority list for land management or restoration. <b>High-quality natural areas are the only places likely to have plentiful conservative species</b> - those in the 8 to 10 </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">range that most indicate </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">health and quality</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. These places deserve the best possible protection and care. For examples, see Endnote 1. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The coefficients for the plant species of your state or region can be found at the </span><a href="https://universalfqa.org" style="font-family: inherit;">Universal Floristic Quality Assessment Calculator</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> website. For how to use it, see Endnote 2.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For information about using these coefficients mathematically in a Floristic Quality Assessment, </span><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html" style="font-family: inherit;">click here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. But you can get a great start by merely walking through a site, identifying the species you see the most of, and checking their average coefficients, as described below. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">High-quality natural areas typically have large numbers of diverse conservative plants and associated animals. But such areas are being lost or are already gone as a result of </span>plowing, bulldozing, pollution, over-grazing, lack of fire and other human-caused changes that eliminate long-evolved species and relationships. Conservative plants are indicators. Less easily observed is the concomitant loss of now-rare animals, fungi, and other lifeforms interdependent with plants. <span style="font-family: inherit;">If we aim to conserve the temperate world's biodiversity, two vital goals are 1) to maintain the health, quality, and size of natural species populations in original high-quality natural areas and 2) to restore populations to larger areas so that fragmentation and small habitat size don't impede evolution and other processes that maintain healthy natural ecosystems. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">For those seeking to learn the plants, there are countless books and other helpful resources, many freely available online. One of the best ways to learn is in a group that needs the knowledge, stewards collecting seeds for restoration. Relevance and repetition helps the details stick. A knowledgeable mentor can expedite the process. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more details and references, see <a href="https://universalfqa.org/">here</a> and <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.2825">here</a> and <a href="https://conservationresearchinstitute.org/site-assessment-and-fqa">here</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 1: Sample Coefficients for Woodlands and Prairies</b></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">These </span>coefficients<span style="font-family: inherit;"> are from the Flora of the Chicago Region. </span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span> <span> </span></span>Sample Coefficients for Woodland Species</b></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black;"><tbody><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Scientific Name</b><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>C</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Common Name</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brachyelytrum erectum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">awned wood grass<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Calystegia spithamaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">low bindweed<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carex blanda<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">common wood sedge<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carex davisii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">awned graceful sedge<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carex gracillima<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">purple-sheathed graceful sedge<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Galium aparine<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">cleavers<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Galium concinnum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">shining bedstraw<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lathyrus ochroleucus<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">pale vetchling<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Solidago flexicaulis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">zig-zag goldenrod<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Symphyotrichum drummondii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drummond’s aster<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Symphyotrichum shortii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Short’s aster<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trillium grandiflorum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">large-flowered trillium<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="background-color: #d4d4d4; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 161.6pt;" valign="top" width="215"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trillium recurvatum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 18.2pt;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 166.3pt;" valign="top" width="222"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">prairie trillium</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"><span> <span> </span></span>Sample Coefficients for Prairie Species</b></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; width: 389px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Common Name</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">C<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> Scientific Name</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nodding wild onion<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Allium cernuum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Big bluestem<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Andropogon gerardii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Purple prairie clover<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Dalea purpurea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Biennial gaura<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Gaura biennis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wild bergamot<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Monarda fistulosa<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common evening primrose<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Oenothera biennis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yellow coneflower<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Ratibida pinnata<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Black-eyed susan<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Rudbeckia hirta<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Compass plant<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Silphium laciniatum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gray goldenrod<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Solidago decemflora<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Smooth blue aster<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Symphyotrichum leave<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 139.1pt;" valign="top" width="185"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hairy aster<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">0<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 135pt;" valign="top" width="180"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Symphyotrichum pilosum</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a list of the "Highest Quality" nine species of the classic prairie:</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; margin-left: -5pt; text-size-adjust: auto;"><tbody><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Common Name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">C</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Scientific name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />Wilhelm and Rericha<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: black; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid black; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Scientific name</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br />Swink and Wilhelm<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">cream false indigo<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Baptisia leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Baptisia leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">scarlet painted-cup<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Castilleja coccinea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Castilleja coccinea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">white prairie clover<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Dalea candida<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Petalostemum candidum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 11.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie gentian<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Gentiana puberulenta<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Gentiana puberulenta<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 11.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie white-fringed orchid<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Platanthera leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 11.55pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Habenaria leucophaea<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 9pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 9pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie lily<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Lilium philadelphicum <o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 9pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Lilium philadelphicum<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie panic grass<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Dichanthelium leibergii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Panicum leibergii<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">prairie dropseed<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sporobolus heterolepis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sporobolus heterolepis<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 8.25pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-color: black; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid black; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 3pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">heart-leaved Alexanders<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 0.25in;" valign="top" width="24"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 112.5pt;" valign="top" width="150"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Zizia aptera<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid black; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: black; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 8.25pt; padding: 0in; width: 117pt;" valign="top" width="156"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Zizia aptera<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> </span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more comprehensive lists of the species that indicate prairie quality (and some history and detail), see Endnote 3 of the post: <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-myth-coming-true.html">https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-myth-coming-true.html</a></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><b>Endnote 2: </b></o:p><b>Using the Universal Floristic Quality database in Seven Steps</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p>1. <a href="https://universalfqa.org">Click on it.</a> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p>2. Log in. Doing so will provide access and will store any data you add.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">3. Study details, if you want. Especially "FAQ" under "Help".</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">4. Or go directly to "FQA Databases". Here you'll find lists of species, coefficients, and other info for many states and regions. The most "up to date" list for the Chicago Region is found under "Flora of the Chicago Region".</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">5. You can learn to identify most plants with diligent study and a good book ... or by taking a class ... or with the coaching of any interested, supportive, knowledgeable professional or amateur botanist. Many states have a "Native Plant Society" that could help. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">6. One good start might be to map areas of conservation lands according to their priority. Areas with plentiful species in the C = 4 to 7 range are important. When such areas also have plentiful species in the C = 8 to 10 are the most important. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">7. To determine whether the quality of such an area is declining, recovering, or staying the same requires years of study. One approach is to walk a path and record numbers of key species. For example, along a narrow footpath through a prairie, you might count all plants of the "Highest Quality Species" from the list above within five feet of the trail and compare them from year to year as shown below:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span> </span>Numbers of plants along a transect - Example A</b></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; color: black; margin-left: 1.25pt; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr style="height: 27pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><b>Common name<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b>2023<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b>2028<o:p></o:p></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">cream false indigo</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">17<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">20<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 23.35pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">white prairie clover</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">52<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">54<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">prairie gentian</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">12<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">31<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">prairie lily</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">5<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">8<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20.65pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">heart-leaved Alexanders</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">16<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">15<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">102<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">128<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p>The 2023 data suggests that this site is valuable and deserves good care. The 2028 results would suggest to me that the ecosystem was recovering lost quality as a result of good stewardship. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p>On the other hand, if the results were: </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><b style="font-family: Times;"><span> </span>Numbers of plants along a transect - Example B</b></o:p></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; color: black; margin-left: 1.25pt;"><tbody><tr style="height: 27pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><b>Common name<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b>2023<o:p></o:p></b></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 27pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><b>2028<o:p></o:p></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21.55pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">cream false indigo</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">17<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 21.55pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">10</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 23.35pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">white prairie clover</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">52<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 23.35pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">34<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">prairie gentian</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">12<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">8</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">prairie lily</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">5<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">2</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 20.65pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">heart-leaved Alexanders</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">16<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 20.65pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">9</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 22pt;"><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 120pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: right;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">102<o:p></o:p></p></td><td style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top-style: none; height: 22pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 63pt;" valign="top" width="84"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">63<o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p>The results in Example B would suggest to me that something was wrong. Concern is warranted. Action is needed. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p>More sophisticated approaches can be found in the links to this blog. Collecting data on a longer (and more varied) list of species would be an improvement. But a little good data is a great deal better than no data. And for most sites today, no data is the norm. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">Thanks to Christos Economou for extensive helpful revisions. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-81527268651157993872023-09-22T10:18:00.008-07:002023-09-28T09:54:53.246-07:00Escaping From Too Much Tall Grass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8WKDMCdtF41UrQ2hfMJKxoL1Ifai3i1aKs71NyhGNtpJdjyPutZZsVd93dOUdwwzAmyyZ0iLRxAGUbgkcbR0Xy_wUZpar2pjDH9UlgfdOfFdFDteYKBr2V4w-OF8Nd11GYsL9hyqDCvQwsCNKHzU2_3_GknIDs6eIrmjBwRCIzcZDg6Uzn978fcRwsBn/s1281/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-22%20at%2012.04.40%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="1281" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8WKDMCdtF41UrQ2hfMJKxoL1Ifai3i1aKs71NyhGNtpJdjyPutZZsVd93dOUdwwzAmyyZ0iLRxAGUbgkcbR0Xy_wUZpar2pjDH9UlgfdOfFdFDteYKBr2V4w-OF8Nd11GYsL9hyqDCvQwsCNKHzU2_3_GknIDs6eIrmjBwRCIzcZDg6Uzn978fcRwsBn/w640-h192/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-22%20at%2012.04.40%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>Some people think they're in a "restored prairie" when they stand among head-high big bluestem, Indiangrass, and little else. But true prairies are complex and relatively compact mixes of mostly rarer grasses and wildflowers, the grasses and most vegetation waist-high or lower. The common grasses in a high-quality prairie are little known to most people: prairie dropseed, Leiberg's panic grass, and porcupine grass. The dense tall grass stands are almost a delusion. </p><p>Dan Carter does a <a href="https://theprairieenthusiasts.org/change-persistence-among-prairie-grasses/?fbclid=IwAR1Vwk6okPPsZyds8TJ--UboUkV9g81rOXU2VN036Si4ATK5CiXAMOLTlxQ">fine and important job (click here) summarizing the grass issues in a technical post</a>.</p><p>He also does a good job of citing the literature, though most of it is little accessible to most interested people. In fact, much of the most significant conservation writing these days is not in journals; it comes from busy, dedicated people like Dan. </p><p>A real prairie in early summer looks like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuG4iTS55JluoVmAHb8eXpxGhfW2EFwhEZA3NBMpfdGs7-x_oMIzud4ZHBfCA9e78pp-cXDG4JKz7-enII9qLahumBXXF-vzIpcmwGZ2_3m8xLT99kX23XjFlZRQMaMZO9m9Ed89n8jG4cRxQHbSlfoIrO0ncdrg_BOV6TJo2IaNhMj-7GRaBTxxB-v2H5/s5565/Grade%20A%20side%20light.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3791" data-original-width="5565" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuG4iTS55JluoVmAHb8eXpxGhfW2EFwhEZA3NBMpfdGs7-x_oMIzud4ZHBfCA9e78pp-cXDG4JKz7-enII9qLahumBXXF-vzIpcmwGZ2_3m8xLT99kX23XjFlZRQMaMZO9m9Ed89n8jG4cRxQHbSlfoIrO0ncdrg_BOV6TJo2IaNhMj-7GRaBTxxB-v2H5/w640-h436/Grade%20A%20side%20light.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And in mid summer, it looks like this: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WsE6DI8bbBokKY4xCh09HbKuODTnSxlP-0zDw7wshTetMyfW7HA9XrSJPbCG_hLQhHfYL9vw0cD81Hmm2CIAdWUs1iF78UA2cpvKl8PvdhjKZixy6Q7hCzR-EyhIC28twjCvJexsKvzyRfytKJS4dyMlcYS7hnKMWCjKpQICN_9rPbrux9BwUIVnsBcm/s4032/Pr%20Lily%20w%20coreopsis_9686.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WsE6DI8bbBokKY4xCh09HbKuODTnSxlP-0zDw7wshTetMyfW7HA9XrSJPbCG_hLQhHfYL9vw0cD81Hmm2CIAdWUs1iF78UA2cpvKl8PvdhjKZixy6Q7hCzR-EyhIC28twjCvJexsKvzyRfytKJS4dyMlcYS7hnKMWCjKpQICN_9rPbrux9BwUIVnsBcm/w640-h480/Pr%20Lily%20w%20coreopsis_9686.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Yes, the tall grasses will emerge here and there in August, but they'll be shorter and scattered, compared to a planted tall grass stand.<br /><p>I looked in vain for a late August photo of the very high quality area at Somme Prairie, the one I know best. Somehow, this is all I found:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj2DepMLIFgyMcTrB0h6CYdJCY5qZKI0P9t8Lyr6P91k1LRDABKxqK3Z_svl7nfCvaLJnAvFCo4H2hEJQ4iN9xwz3VUPS6zpSej5-GBg0RGQvqH0V1t5AXY90DU-kNBt5273GEejF131WGR80OfwTJ0GcL_6M0Gntr8C3rY3hdiyzStZNsNjTCnVvvMdZ/s4032/August%2021_7984.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj2DepMLIFgyMcTrB0h6CYdJCY5qZKI0P9t8Lyr6P91k1LRDABKxqK3Z_svl7nfCvaLJnAvFCo4H2hEJQ4iN9xwz3VUPS6zpSej5-GBg0RGQvqH0V1t5AXY90DU-kNBt5273GEejF131WGR80OfwTJ0GcL_6M0Gntr8C3rY3hdiyzStZNsNjTCnVvvMdZ/w640-h480/August%2021_7984.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>The only grass I can identify here easily is dropseed. I'll look for more photos and add them when I can. In high competition, many plants don't bloom every year. It's long been impressive to me that we rarely see even a single stem of big bluestem in the Somme high-quality area. In some years, there's lots of porcupine grass early and then much little bluestem mixed with the dropseed. In some years there'll be a lone stem of Indiangrass in every square yard or so - typically about four feet high, not six or seven. <br /><p>So, today, September 24, I took more photos. A typical one is below. It's not all that great a photo, but it does show how tall the grasses are:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_c0aqpHmmNINNRMMTeOjKIdZZKEyKwsEMImagCzieE03rWYvREQDl3bOrgruuUR0EfSoeT1_sW_3NcU00vrhCNTFHlQAmnfoc-qvwA3bOP6ZvNn-U7KLycDCh9ZdA8-KDoj_GNrybQJcA8_MnwQw4IxZFI_G3WHyyidXp9TiX2ewzORuixnre8a-JVDq/s3582/Sept%2024_2705.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2261" data-original-width="3582" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_c0aqpHmmNINNRMMTeOjKIdZZKEyKwsEMImagCzieE03rWYvREQDl3bOrgruuUR0EfSoeT1_sW_3NcU00vrhCNTFHlQAmnfoc-qvwA3bOP6ZvNn-U7KLycDCh9ZdA8-KDoj_GNrybQJcA8_MnwQw4IxZFI_G3WHyyidXp9TiX2ewzORuixnre8a-JVDq/w640-h404/Sept%2024_2705.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>There's little grass that's more than knee-high, in this mesic prairie, this dry year. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the above photo, starting at the top, there's a strip of sky, a strip of trees, and then a narrow strip of a tan color. That strip is Big Bluestem and Indiangrass, in a restored area, well away from the high-quality remnant. Many of the poorer-quality areas of the Somme preserves have vast stands of those head-high tall grasses. But, as Dan Carter makes clear, these stands of tall grass are not the goal of conservation and not true (or high-quality) tallgrass prairie. </div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-495109584094850712023-09-07T09:44:00.010-07:002023-09-17T10:20:43.266-07:00 Biodiversity Discoveries in the Dunes<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Discoveries like: a baby endangered turtle, Pitcher’s thistles, the meaning of life, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">and other revelations.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We are adventurers. We work, celebrate victories, and make obscure discoveries. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There's the rare baby endangered Blanding’s turtle (below) … happily sighted while a dozen of us were pulling malignant sweet clover. We picked it up and moved it away from trampling feet. Adult Blanding’s turtles may be rare, but babies are Super-Rare. On most sites, eggs and hatchlings are eaten by over-abundant meso-predators – raccoons and opossums. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvaDO4PwQGVwy4VtHOsY1cCgj2eXhq2YIhTThnNsyWjtPAvq3Z_JFZZwuE-ydNwalqvcAOEh4RhRMRFZVC3oxCeIk7CSJ5fjJR04QaNkuE-ITrOwObl5QKDB4Yb9uMPEY4WicwbuJNmMsmDGb48gE99x5p6kfEIi0VLQ-hbqsl3P3nuiftSHKWTJfP1ux/s1046/Blandings%20Jo.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1046" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvaDO4PwQGVwy4VtHOsY1cCgj2eXhq2YIhTThnNsyWjtPAvq3Z_JFZZwuE-ydNwalqvcAOEh4RhRMRFZVC3oxCeIk7CSJ5fjJR04QaNkuE-ITrOwObl5QKDB4Yb9uMPEY4WicwbuJNmMsmDGb48gE99x5p6kfEIi0VLQ-hbqsl3P3nuiftSHKWTJfP1ux/w640-h436/Blandings%20Jo.jpeg" width="640" /></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Thus, this toddler is a mini-miracle. Its success can be credited to this prairie’s health, diversity, and size. Coyotes patrol it. We hear them howl and harmonize. Because raccoons and opossums know what’s good for them, they tend to stay closer to edges and trees. Most high-quality prairie remnants today are less than five acres in size. This one ranges from a mile to half-a-mile wide and eight miles north to south. Here baby Blandings have a chance here. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/projects/blandings-turtle-recovery-program/">Blanding’s turtles</a> live up to 80 years. They mature enough to breed only after reaching 14 to 20 years old. According to Lake County Forest Preserves, this now rare species was once common and known from 17 places in Lake County. Most are gone. The only currently viable habitat is the eight-mile Chiwaukee-Spring Bluff-Hosah-Illinois Beach complex. That’s the miracle where we work. For this turtle, like nearly all threatened biodiversity, the main threat is loss of healthy habitat. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">(Important note: it's illegal to handle or move Endangered species without authorization. They are vulnerable to diseases that people can spread. Moving this one, so it wouldn't get stepped on, made sense. But generally, it's best and important to leave them alone.) </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWDC08_RDUKd6z5RMUsk4i8ABCmv120_owB7INh2Hl3rbiQAG-vrJXKMKkxdCWevXyDoZnMm6WtisuiLpssf55TX9cWKAld5bIx-3oaIDwxyhtgtMfZ15qi5bkqCODKM8PLODP3RVtQfxVwG6gs5saRf7qb55ft0GcfTZrG4AQ-Cy1x92kV3gyD92BhIR/s4032/clover%20swat%20on%20the%20dunes_2262.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWDC08_RDUKd6z5RMUsk4i8ABCmv120_owB7INh2Hl3rbiQAG-vrJXKMKkxdCWevXyDoZnMm6WtisuiLpssf55TX9cWKAld5bIx-3oaIDwxyhtgtMfZ15qi5bkqCODKM8PLODP3RVtQfxVwG6gs5saRf7qb55ft0GcfTZrG4AQ-Cy1x92kV3gyD92BhIR/w640-h480/clover%20swat%20on%20the%20dunes_2262.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling invasive sweet clover from sand prairie.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Intensive Care for Pitcher’s Thistle<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We found the rare beauty below while GPS-ing populations of crown vetch – a malignant plant that can wipe out acres of habitat. We’ve eliminated it from large areas of this preserve and plan to get to the rest.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISHP4mAn9utwx9uBDGCv9TUORJpQZEqnjAUimaqmlbQB5kKDQqNFLdV0GkkRRziXHjgsiL59ZFyeWhZpFTjXn__Td2HPDOF1GPH6e1AB088f05HBPTITVRV1hBh4KBa1oVsINopyg3bq1jWj9qX9kIu3xg2njevGj6DjTe8NM3qbK0RgT-MSXjEteI9bZ/s2776/Pitcher's%20Thistle_2494.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2403" data-original-width="2776" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISHP4mAn9utwx9uBDGCv9TUORJpQZEqnjAUimaqmlbQB5kKDQqNFLdV0GkkRRziXHjgsiL59ZFyeWhZpFTjXn__Td2HPDOF1GPH6e1AB088f05HBPTITVRV1hBh4KBa1oVsINopyg3bq1jWj9qX9kIu3xg2njevGj6DjTe8NM3qbK0RgT-MSXjEteI9bZ/w640-h556/Pitcher's%20Thistle_2494.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">This Endangered, yellow-flowered thistle was a surprise – near an advancing patch of the dangerous vetch. Once common around the Great Lakes, the dune habitat of Pitcher’s thistle is largely gone. The Chicago Botanic Garden, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and others launched a recovery plan for this thistle in 1991. When we reported our find to the Garden, we were told that they were “surprised and delighted” to know it was still here. They hadn’t had reports of it here for a decade. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We found two plants in one area and seven in another. This blog will give only <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2020/05/dont-ask-dont-tell.html">vague locations</a> for endangered species. None were blooming during this drought year. This species is a “monocarpic perennial” – it lives for a few years without blooming, all the while increasing the resources stored in its roots. Then, when it finally feels bullish enough, it blooms, sets seed, and dies. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Studies show that alien beetles then eat from 10% to 90% of the seeds of unprotected plants. Goldfinches may eat the rest. But, if we give it extra care for a few years, protecting and spreading seeds in good potential habitat, we can sometimes build up populations <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/09/leave-nature-alone.html">robust enough</a></span> to then <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2012/12/wild-and-crazy-foxglove.html">make it on their own</a></span>. We’ve done that with other populations of endangered species. We hope to do it next for Pitcher’s thistle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Good News. Bad News. Good News.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In August as we battled crown vetch and clovers, we regularly saw this pair of sandhill cranes. As a breeding species, it was extinct in Illinois for decades. A dramatic recent conservation success has been their resurgence. <o:p></o:p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-9kXoTo23vsX1UBLGHUJ-CElW8OPFQ-HKSRZ6Ul-68RWvuLXGcaGQcJ3Lw8Q5RTCYSb34iVrxn4eyFWE-2obOtgb-Iift3b-HAHJ_MxRznPp19daZpn5h41EU95h9JTQzhb89pi2Kq2sNsXjz2tzLGjKtRjypb2OW-BNZm15cRkaccPAEJqjWZdsPi-6/s2952/cranes%20and%20egret_2384.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2863" data-original-width="2952" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-9kXoTo23vsX1UBLGHUJ-CElW8OPFQ-HKSRZ6Ul-68RWvuLXGcaGQcJ3Lw8Q5RTCYSb34iVrxn4eyFWE-2obOtgb-Iift3b-HAHJ_MxRznPp19daZpn5h41EU95h9JTQzhb89pi2Kq2sNsXjz2tzLGjKtRjypb2OW-BNZm15cRkaccPAEJqjWZdsPi-6/w640-h620/cranes%20and%20egret_2384.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But two cranes poking around wetlands and savannas in August means that this year’s colts didn’t make it. Cranes nest on the ground. Hatchlings look for food as they follow their parents, walking. As they get bigger, coyotes want to eat them. The parents are tough customers and fight off the coyotes, at least most of the time. Cranes live for twenty years, so they don’t have to reproduce successfully each year. This year, this pair failed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But later, working along Dead River, we looked across to see the family seen below. Parents and at least one colt survived in this off-limits-to-most-people sanctuary. Bless them. </p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpn2VngzwlLHWe-dU9b-D6jECcfloEpVPEvW_KDBWhzpichsYuesutT5e2tm-NQfkx1Y3vsDqiz1NrIvXf7LlqIj6mAT4NbIVNwpOI6ChLejehF0tPRBgIjfVS03qL6ZAHlU2IkQBZW-fd79hu6PWf5MxOwFK7UCBX72ESaBMnYIN1X7IYS0fnIpS-9XY/s2437/three%20cranes%20cropped_2282.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2158" data-original-width="2437" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpn2VngzwlLHWe-dU9b-D6jECcfloEpVPEvW_KDBWhzpichsYuesutT5e2tm-NQfkx1Y3vsDqiz1NrIvXf7LlqIj6mAT4NbIVNwpOI6ChLejehF0tPRBgIjfVS03qL6ZAHlU2IkQBZW-fd79hu6PWf5MxOwFK7UCBX72ESaBMnYIN1X7IYS0fnIpS-9XY/w640-h568/three%20cranes%20cropped_2282.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>The Long View<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Illinois Beach isn’t mostly beach; it’s better called a “dunesland.” Parallel to each other, up to twenty long, low, parallel sand dunes stretch back a mile from Lake Michigan. They’re ancient, now vegetated and stable, created as Glacial Lake Chicago retreated ten millennia ago. Those parallel dunes once also covered much of the city of Chicago, where of course, they’re now mostly bulldozed, though some survive (minus their biodiversity, except for some old oak trees) in Chicago city parks. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43U6qEuPoIPHBPOWgP1uMC-jtcTeQ41TJWIU28F81imOADNhilim85-BfSV0_lYMNwgpYiFETP9drC_tb_Ux_M_l-UHBOfo8AI-D8Ktv_W8vMd29PcX1Bwx698HKOxcUJdudxGc8KvDWD7lD4H9oN-Qee8ZWXhHTiZaRQmE1LkIlaJZaMZIu-nvmBps74/s4032/dune%20formation_2452.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43U6qEuPoIPHBPOWgP1uMC-jtcTeQ41TJWIU28F81imOADNhilim85-BfSV0_lYMNwgpYiFETP9drC_tb_Ux_M_l-UHBOfo8AI-D8Ktv_W8vMd29PcX1Bwx698HKOxcUJdudxGc8KvDWD7lD4H9oN-Qee8ZWXhHTiZaRQmE1LkIlaJZaMZIu-nvmBps74/w640-h480/dune%20formation_2452.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">How bad are cities? Consider this fact: Visionaries from Chicago, Champaign, and Rockford did the major work of discovering the concept of the ecosystem, inventing biodiversity conservation, and establishing a world-model nature preserve. Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is a key jewel. Cities did it. Agriculture is good, but it didn’t. And after years of seeming safe and protected, more recently the growing Nature Preserve System has suffered fearsome degradation from <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-birth-of-friends-of-illinois-nature.html">invasive species, lack of fire, and diminished resources</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Vigorous empowered volunteer communities have made life-and-death differences to many preserves. Stewards and constituency are needed. As we restore habitat and make discoveries, we also discover how human communities grow and change the world. Not everyone can do everything. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHyPJOmx80j1fWqPDGAhOn6UNyAtLxS7iL87AZfC743Iuot1UDJhg_c4FLltjIVLyJw3I0jjLl-T0oSHtAN6H9sVoVLVCs-rW3vsaXk66d_WWZDapgJEqs2mar7gCfQav4Hh9lspsxYMmgVUI-njq4Vw_x2FzLbiePxghRdZ0EvSewCycUAJhFLd7t9q3/s4032/Do%20Not%20Enter_2221.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHyPJOmx80j1fWqPDGAhOn6UNyAtLxS7iL87AZfC743Iuot1UDJhg_c4FLltjIVLyJw3I0jjLl-T0oSHtAN6H9sVoVLVCs-rW3vsaXk66d_WWZDapgJEqs2mar7gCfQav4Hh9lspsxYMmgVUI-njq4Vw_x2FzLbiePxghRdZ0EvSewCycUAJhFLd7t9q3/w640-h480/Do%20Not%20Enter_2221.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The general public is not allowed in the square-mile expanse of prairie and black oak savanna south of the Dead River. We stewards are allowed because we’ve been <i>trained and authorized</i> … because we work for the preserve’s benefit. Trained? Let’s make that clear: You’re invited to come and learn and work. We train you on the spot. And next time, you may train somebody else. We authorize you to pull sweet clover after being trained for just that. It’s not hard to learn. Next time we may gather and disperse the seed of an endangered species “that don’t get around much anymore.” Some of us are trained to use chainsaws or apply herbicide sensitively. In time we all learn a lot from each other.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1ZsEMux1zA_zZVXmWKtLwZ20lj63PyINetrFTo-d2RFnAh-TST7pgxLi-BM9Slj36TKRsf9bqounCpH08q8B6vcO8XfzBkNdsh0o2hTbgQaXRM0kJoDklgzwReZzC3g_crO8U1KKVTe2sy7_EusJ0k0dnzsBe9eO21lb2feoEXtw-SspURB4pluPq8A8/s4023/glean%20sweet%20clover_2592.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2214" data-original-width="4023" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1ZsEMux1zA_zZVXmWKtLwZ20lj63PyINetrFTo-d2RFnAh-TST7pgxLi-BM9Slj36TKRsf9bqounCpH08q8B6vcO8XfzBkNdsh0o2hTbgQaXRM0kJoDklgzwReZzC3g_crO8U1KKVTe2sy7_EusJ0k0dnzsBe9eO21lb2feoEXtw-SspURB4pluPq8A8/w640-h352/glean%20sweet%20clover_2592.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">While doing the good of pulling sweet clover, we may meditate, discover, or have conversations. A thriving community is both varied and unified, in a comfortable way.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2whsXd6IFYck6pjgyjXJDqLotvESGgG60dlsM09ACpYe2deUh-mrnQHQ2DoEbyXSh7bccDTsjs3Io59eGfcllkyz_UFXQNS9s3zh0IIXaj2XfwZN707dwAi-GZ1CGJOMTCD1MOMliQU7rg4CnLoT78QzNyCGW-q3BzSVxrpVmeotr3MrEOmPAvHb3i7RI/s4032/Harrison%20hauling_2597.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2whsXd6IFYck6pjgyjXJDqLotvESGgG60dlsM09ACpYe2deUh-mrnQHQ2DoEbyXSh7bccDTsjs3Io59eGfcllkyz_UFXQNS9s3zh0IIXaj2XfwZN707dwAi-GZ1CGJOMTCD1MOMliQU7rg4CnLoT78QzNyCGW-q3BzSVxrpVmeotr3MrEOmPAvHb3i7RI/w640-h480/Harrison%20hauling_2597.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sweet clover, too, dies after it makes seeds. The point of pulling sweet clover is to get rid of those baleful seeds. Here Harrison collects armloads of them and hauls them to a habitat where they won’t grow. Just rot. Serves them right. </span><div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the process we experience. We find <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/08/skinners-false-foxglove-rare-and.html">endangered species</a> and such treasures that perhaps others wouldn’t notice. Our perceptions are expanded and multiplied by so many good minds. Turtles have belly buttons? Who knew? New volunteer Regina taught us on her first day. Thanks, Regina. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZnTxkuNMIGe8Wy04b9h2qGxymRu_Gmyk3-2zZB_UzaKqPBO2LCSJW2LeWs161dlE_3VLoMtoJJGuv_1K4XYdYOIHgA5Ee8M7rEwuIX67FChPsXfjoowTEfvWzAAYLgMd87BfSH6ZInzE3zvCrlPyrlo4fUOL8wufw74x1Qq65JbhLXIBS8sTcOYyirf9/s1173/Blandings%20Jo1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1097" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZnTxkuNMIGe8Wy04b9h2qGxymRu_Gmyk3-2zZB_UzaKqPBO2LCSJW2LeWs161dlE_3VLoMtoJJGuv_1K4XYdYOIHgA5Ee8M7rEwuIX67FChPsXfjoowTEfvWzAAYLgMd87BfSH6ZInzE3zvCrlPyrlo4fUOL8wufw74x1Qq65JbhLXIBS8sTcOYyirf9/w600-h640/Blandings%20Jo1.jpeg" width="600" /></a></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p>For more about Blanding's turtle threats and recovery efforts, click <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-blandings-turtles-illinois-fungus-20220621-cxopkjtkc5gk5e5sk3nmvqhx44-story.html">here</a>. </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">From the sublime (little turtle) to the ridiculous (cinder blocks in the dunes?): In the landscape below, you see sand prairie on the dunes in the foreground, and behind are oak savanna and a glimpse of Dead River.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCViyqPjZ16DCsYpwUCU5dccWBEBDL8315t4d25U-gJG06kW2OSmwXMAmppjFQXcgWctXwqh7Cu_cs4IZWgjowC_tzgMCk1t-NzeeQ1_zeGB9HZ8DXCyRCLgs6_YB-g8aBbhlpRn2ge1cEEwW52tOm8Ah-j5betKRfVoqhVBMqWZ5pwkrfT9_2Xn5pCS6o/s4032/dune%20with%20cinder%20blocks_2478.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCViyqPjZ16DCsYpwUCU5dccWBEBDL8315t4d25U-gJG06kW2OSmwXMAmppjFQXcgWctXwqh7Cu_cs4IZWgjowC_tzgMCk1t-NzeeQ1_zeGB9HZ8DXCyRCLgs6_YB-g8aBbhlpRn2ge1cEEwW52tOm8Ah-j5betKRfVoqhVBMqWZ5pwkrfT9_2Xn5pCS6o/w480-h640/dune%20with%20cinder%20blocks_2478.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But look closer, and in the dune blowout you see cinder blocks. Really? They’re not doing much harm, but should they be in this hallowed place?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGZyLLmA14PWiTxJ4DxANOkc4gYha6r9qC-OanPNnty1IaPwUOgdm_YpiCY7vAyiwg0YuJNNj76UOSs2O-1RlImMPN-7auyONDTCfyJPl_xTLn1gquDbNtNz0S5HUoNYYQ_hXNQJ_wJ_bgDL1B4KOdsnEg2XmAdhn7FznhVQHgNv6DJ1N0ElMxG6mXs_r/s1646/dune%20cinder%20cu_2478.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1646" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGZyLLmA14PWiTxJ4DxANOkc4gYha6r9qC-OanPNnty1IaPwUOgdm_YpiCY7vAyiwg0YuJNNj76UOSs2O-1RlImMPN-7auyONDTCfyJPl_xTLn1gquDbNtNz0S5HUoNYYQ_hXNQJ_wJ_bgDL1B4KOdsnEg2XmAdhn7FznhVQHgNv6DJ1N0ElMxG6mXs_r/w640-h472/dune%20cinder%20cu_2478.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We lugged them out to the main trail, and the staff came with a vehicle to haul them to oblivion, which they deserve. Bit by bit, better and better. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGv5mN2mHVH2gSJ0Mo4gyli9RaGEc00DuSkneWnOnK_HsRWbuJI2sxWrm6P049w0ddbs5H54g2OSr1bEGFnDtUILXkIZG7cqIVa6sNT35kph1FEAqSRPwCEk28v1DE83wSUae-gIPjC4Xa27DerbMxP22y5QbM4kgQuWARn0bhBVOKRz5s0dgGXnPxOduX/s4032/cinder%20blocks_2600.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGv5mN2mHVH2gSJ0Mo4gyli9RaGEc00DuSkneWnOnK_HsRWbuJI2sxWrm6P049w0ddbs5H54g2OSr1bEGFnDtUILXkIZG7cqIVa6sNT35kph1FEAqSRPwCEk28v1DE83wSUae-gIPjC4Xa27DerbMxP22y5QbM4kgQuWARn0bhBVOKRz5s0dgGXnPxOduX/w640-h480/cinder%20blocks_2600.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bERwSR5R8owiBGixnvU4bEIu8hhd5AjAtIl837Gz9y6ILYkNDV4_c7jOV1QpbfEBnp31cbr609AGU_ku9JNBjLTltCyTdA6lB31tixmNC4VHSqbDVinfSEG7POFKV9MqmP0ikq_mfis4rlnNDNkrHJtxZP-gPqRj1fNyKAdaB6y_ULhgqLtE7NxzJHF5/s4032/selfie%20group_1862.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bERwSR5R8owiBGixnvU4bEIu8hhd5AjAtIl837Gz9y6ILYkNDV4_c7jOV1QpbfEBnp31cbr609AGU_ku9JNBjLTltCyTdA6lB31tixmNC4VHSqbDVinfSEG7POFKV9MqmP0ikq_mfis4rlnNDNkrHJtxZP-gPqRj1fNyKAdaB6y_ULhgqLtE7NxzJHF5/w640-h480/selfie%20group_1862.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">We invite you (or perhaps someone you know?) to help expand and help lead this fledgling group of new biodiversity conservation stewards.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Please spread this post and the flyer below.</span><o:p style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </o:p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVapD9GUU59Lnx4gNM_6wm5U7VsTDmsOdB3VblSqtR76xX3XpopACuvdpkX7vtCTqBEACb9hzN4FCN7qFuS8IUi3wMQLuW5ME_3hxRN-i7917EljlcZqIQALeZMIa7PwdDnHmbhx7kniZOaNUmYqkYvQZ5rdSvSgWQ1E1vLDLEClf4cyryStJKi0QNJPo/s3599/Illinois%20Beach%20Sept%2016%20Kickoff%20Flyer%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3599" data-original-width="2700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVapD9GUU59Lnx4gNM_6wm5U7VsTDmsOdB3VblSqtR76xX3XpopACuvdpkX7vtCTqBEACb9hzN4FCN7qFuS8IUi3wMQLuW5ME_3hxRN-i7917EljlcZqIQALeZMIa7PwdDnHmbhx7kniZOaNUmYqkYvQZ5rdSvSgWQ1E1vLDLEClf4cyryStJKi0QNJPo/w480-h640/Illinois%20Beach%20Sept%2016%20Kickoff%20Flyer%20(4).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Following that kick-off, the new group is now organizing stewardship work initiatives every Saturday at 9 am. Meet at the Illinois Beach nature center parking lot. </span></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Thanks to Jo Sabath for taking those Blanding's turtle photos and to Jo, Eriko Kojima, and Amy Doll for edits to this post. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-18045576828169544892023-08-24T09:16:00.003-07:002023-10-10T09:25:35.574-07:00 Bringing your A game to herbiciding<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Don Osmond</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Don </span>is a long-time expert volunteer steward. He invites suggested edits and feedback generally.</span></i></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Veteran practitioners will be tempted to skip this article, but I tried to include items of interest for all skill levels using a wide variety of high quality sources plus my own experience.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If I could suggest only one thing to herbicide applicators, what would it be?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Get the herbicide operator/applicator study guide for your state & read it cover to cover. It’s easy to forget stuff or develop bad habits & hitting that guide every few years for my license renewal was an excellent way to get back on track.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">How to decide if herbicides are needed<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">An invasive species management plan is essential. It sets priorities for each invasive & land parcel based on available resources for the number of years required to suppress the invasive to the desired level. It forces you to think about the entire ecosystem, the life cycle/seed longevity of each invasive & whether herbicide use makes sense. At the steward level, you don’t need the rigor of an ecologist generated site restoration plan. It’s fun to watch the plan evolve as you learn new things & it serves as a blueprint for your successor, so all your hard won knowledge isn’t lost. There are many other benefits to a plan, such as nailing down the dates when mechanical control should start for each invasive & at what date to switch from one invasive to another.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Explaining to visitors (and reminding yourself) why herbicides are necessary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Most of us would probably not use herbicides if each nature preserve had an army of young, physically fit volunteers or contractors who were available over 4-12 consecutive years at the right time period to cut, pull or dig every weed. Since that will never be the case, most of us will need to herbicide. The exceptions are sites that are very small, have good native competition with few weeds or where the management goal is not related to preserving or increasing the percentage of conservative plant species. The following are some reasons to use herbicides:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">In the 1960’s, Rachel Carson correctly shifted public opinion away from the view that large scale use of pesticides have no risks. But concluding that all pesticide use is bad would be an overcorrection. A balanced approach is usually the best & that means using the proper techniques to apply low toxicity herbicides targeted at specific plants or patches.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mechanical control of weeds without herbiciding can overload the restorationist for several reasons. It must occur in a limited window of time. The plants usually must be in bloom to ensure finding most of them, but if you wait too long, seeds are set. Plus some weeds like wild parsnip & sweet clover have a proportion of plants with delayed emergence, requiring multiple passes separated in time, taking time away from controlling other invasives. Weeds can have occasional bumper crop years due to the plant’s life cycle, controlled burning, brush clearing, etc. Also, some years can be too hot or wet to finish mechanical control before seed drop. Seed drop must be avoided at all costs if native competition is weak or the soil microbial diversity is low, because it can set you back years, depending on seed longevity.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I used to think about each invasive plant in isolation, but now I see that all the efforts during a given growing season are related to each other. For example, if I herbicide wild parsnip in the fall & spring, that reduces the time needed to mechanically control it in summer, which in turn allows me to get white sweet clover at peak bloom when it is easily found, which in turn lengthens the knapweed window, giving me time to dig or pull the root out instead of the less effective but quicker method of wacking. So herbiciding just one invasive increases your effectiveness for multiple invasives, making it more likely you can increase your weed control area over time.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Herbicides are essential for woody plant control.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Some other advantages of herbicides are the ability to get multiple generations simultaneously for biennials, less physical toll on the body compared to mechanical control, better control for invasives that reflower compared to cutting or mowing & less disturbance of soil for invasives that must be pulled or dug (soil disturbance=more weeds).<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Keep-out areas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I don’t recommend herbiciding in high quality remnants, with the exception of careful application to crown vetch and woody plants. In addition to the possibility of off-target kill, we don’t know enough about herbicide effects on the soil microbiome. If you think herbiciding in a remnant is necessary, consult with an expert first.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">In addition, I avoid shores, riverbanks, areas known to flood if heavy rain is forecast a few days after spraying & well traveled footpaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">How do I know if herbicides are working?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Seeing the leaves curl & turn color may not be enough. You want to be sure the root was killed & not just the top. When trying a new herbicide/adjuvant or concentration, flag a spray plot & a nearby non-sprayed control plot with the same density of weeds, competition level & habitat type in each. It’s helpful to have 3 spray plots with concentrations a bit above & below your target to see if you are on the edge of effective control. Monitor a year later to verify density reduction compared to the control plot. Again, the climate should have been somewhat average during the previous year. Make sure no controlled burns occur in the year after application because that may affect results. Also, don’t experiment if the weather before spray time has been abnormally wet or dry. Relying on the experience of others can provide a starting point for herbicide use, but there are enough variables involved to warrant doing your own experiment before spending a lot of time & money.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Treatment failures<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If a treatment fails, you may not know about it for months since root death won’t be evident until the next growing season. That could mean a lot of work down the drain, so it’s important to get it right the first time. Good detective work is needed to find the root cause of failures, so it’s best to investigate your entire process for the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Errors in calculating concentrations, sprayer calibration or mixing.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Rain too soon after application or applying with too much dew on the leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Not getting enough herbicide on the plant, especially true for painting, rolling or wick/sponge application.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If multiple people have access to herbicide: somebody created a custom mix or transferred herbicide & forgot to relabel the jug.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spraying foliage when the plant isn’t actively growing or is under drought stress. Also, some plants are most vulnerable during the stage when they are pushing resources into the roots.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Using hard water with glyphosate without a water conditioning additive like spray-grade ammonium sulfate. One study found a 60% decrease in toxicity when used with water at 50 ppm hardness.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A mix that is above or below the label recommendation for concentration or rate. If you experiment with a lower rate, failures can occur even if your experiment was successful. The lower rate may work for a given competition level, stage of growth, age of plant, drought severity, etc but if those variables change, that rate may no longer work. Recommended rates create a margin that reduce the effect of variables. If you try a rate higher than recommended, it may kill the leaf too quickly, interrupting translocation to the root.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Not using an adjuvant such as methylated seed oil.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spraying rosettes too early, resulting in many new plants emerging after spray application, making you think the application failed.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Inconsistent spray method for a given applicator or inconsistency due to having multiple applicators. Also poorly trained applicators.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For clonal plants: not treating every stem or treating only part of the clone & then waiting too long to finish the rest of it. Note that clones (especially older ones) can require several years of repeat treatment, <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For woody plants<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Waiting too long between cutting/frilling & herbicide application<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For basal bark: band of herbicide too narrow or not herbiciding the entire circumference<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Not cutting stems close to the ground<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Not cutting horizontally (herbicide runs off the cut stump)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For some plants like dogwood, herbiciding when the plant is pushing sap upward in the spring.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Off-target kill<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spraying invasives when native plants are green will be a judgement call based on what is best for the entire ecosystem in the long term. Sacrificing a small number of common native plants is usually acceptable if the invasive plant being sprayed is known to displace natives, the invasion is beyond what mechanical control can handle & your management plan designates the area as high priority.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Practice proper technique regarding wind speed limits, nozzle height above ground & nozzle type (avoid those with droplet size rated as “fine”). Decide if the weed can be effectively controlled in the rosette stage when most natives are dormant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Wind causes spray drift, but with the low pressure sprayers we typically use, it is often not a big deal. Plus the wind at ground level is much less than at your head. I’ve sprayed in degraded areas with no problems up to 15 mph average as long as gusts are below 20 mph. For spraying where many natives are present, spraying near property lines or for foliar brush spraying, winds should be below 7 mph or so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Exceeding the maximum use rate on the label may result in off-target kill or unintended environmental effects. This rate is listed in a different place than the spray rates for particular weeds. For example, the Garlon 4 label states a max use rate of 8 quarts per acre per year for cut stump/basal bark. Lets say you want to basal bark a 30’ x 30’ brush clone. Convert to acres: (30 * 30) square feet/43560 square feet per acre = 0.021 acres. 8 quarts per acre * 0.021 acres = 0.168 quarts or 0.158 liters is the maximum amount of Garlon 4 you can use. If you mix Garlon 4 at 20% in bark oil, that means 0.158 liters/20% = 0.79 liters or 27 ounces of spray solution in your tank or bottle is the max you can use on that clone in a year. I use about 1.2 liters in 6 hours of cut stump treatment of small diameter brush.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If the label indicates potential for volatilization, don’t use when temperatures are in the 80’s or higher.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Don’t apply oil based solutions when ice is on the ground because the herbicide will readily move off-target.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">See the woody plant section for more.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dealing with precipitation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Some labels don’t specify rainfastness. Rain too soon after application can reduce efficacy & potentially cause off-target kill due to runoff. I shoot for 8 hours rain-free after application but that may be overkill. Basal bark requires a few days rain-free (see woody plant section).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">“I have a pair of chemical gloves from a home improvement store & I’m careful not to walk in sprayed areas that are still wet. Good enough?”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I’m afraid it isn’t. We have to think about long term exposure to any type of chemical, whether it’s in our everyday life or while herbiciding. The reason to wear protective equipment is not because herbicides are highly toxic, but instead as an insurance policy to keep exposure to a minimum over many years of use. The degree of exposure for yourself is a personal decision, but if non-applicators are present while the herbicide is wet, assume they want zero exposure. I’d like to hear from others on how they ensure volunteers at group events never walk into wet herbicide. Do you have a systematic way for applicators to follow the brush cutters? Or do you delay herbiciding until the area is clear? If the latter, how do you find all the stumps if they are small & hidden in vegetation?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">How to determine toxicity<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The herbicide label contains a signal word from most to least toxic in this order: danger, warning, caution. Try to use the least toxic herbicide, but as a point of reference, household bleach & toilet bowl cleaner are labeled “Danger”. If the label recommends chemical resistant footwear or an apron for mixing/loading, consider substituting a less toxic herbicide.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If you hear about court cases regarding herbicide toxicity, research may reveal the plaintiff is not directly claiming the herbicide caused a disease or you may find the majority of credible scientific studies don’t support the plaintiff’s claims. Public & media understanding of science is poor, so juries are easily swayed by pseudoscience or their own antagonism against corporations. Any claim that an herbicide caused cancer in an individual cannot be proven beyond doubt because so many things can cause cancer, it’s impossible to know the relative contribution of a given substance. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">What is the most risky activity?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mixing & loading because you are working with undiluted herbicide. Always wear chemical resistant gloves & some form of eyeglasses, pour liquids from below eye level, block the wind from blowing the liquid stream around, have paper towels & water available to cleanup spills & have a bottle designed for eyewashing available, filled with fresh water.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Tips to minimize exposure<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I’m not a fan of having open herbicide containers at the job site (e.g. using a paintbrush or roller) due to the potential for splashing or spilling on clothes or shoes with no means of immediately showering & changing clothes. The practice also increases the odds of getting it in your eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Always wear some form of eyeglasses when using sprayers in case the trigger is accidentally depressed with the nozzle pointed at you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Check state law, rules from your managing agency & the herbicide label to see if posting of signs is required in non-agricultural, non-landscaped areas. If herbiciding near active trails, you should post signs directing people & their pets to stay on the trail.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If you offload herbicide into a smaller container, always remove the original label of that container & relabel with herbicide name & concentration. Obtain containers that don’t look like they could hold food or drink.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Chemical resistant gloves<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">They are not a barrier, but instead slow down the process of chemicals migrating through the glove to your skin. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health says chemical protective clothing should be the last line of defense, not the first. I don’t recommend regularly contaminating gloves with diluted or undiluted herbicide because by the time you rinse them, some herbicide has likely entered the glove material & will be making its way to your skin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Material: I couldn’t find breakthrough time data (time it takes for chemicals to travel through glove material) for herbicides we use. Schwope<sup>1</sup> found that solvents (like those in Garlon 4 & bark oil) will break through the glove material sooner than most other chemicals & will take the other substances with them in the process. A generalization of their findings is that butyl rubber, nitrile rubber & PVA, all about 15 mils thick, were the best. Natural rubber & PVC were not recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Thickness: Never use thin disposable gloves. I’ve found 15 mil thick nitrile gloves are a good balance between cost, dexterity, availability & chemical protection.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Maintenance: Illinois Dept of Agriculture & herbicide labels recommend washing gloves after every use, probably partly due to breakthrough time & partly to prevent contaminating your skin during donning & doffing. I replace gloves after 10 days of use or monthly (whichever comes first) to guard against eventual herbicide migration to the inside & potential degradation of the glove by physical movement & ultraviolet rays. If I accidentally get undiluted product on them, they are discarded.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Why should I read herbicide labels when most of it is aimed at farmers?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The label is the law.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It gives the maximum application rates to avoid off-target kill & pollution of the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It gives application rates to control particular weeds. If you don’t see your weed on the label, there may be one listed in the same plant family to give you a starting point for concentration. Please don’t exceed these rates. More herbicide concentration is not necessarily better. For example, higher concentrations can kill leaves too quickly, preventing translocation to the roots. What if the label doesn’t mention spot spray but instead recommends amounts in quarts/acre? Assume you are using a 3 gallon backpack sprayer calibrated to 40 gallons/acre (see the backpack sprayer section for how to calibrate) & the label calls for a maximum of 5 quarts/acre or 1.25 gallons/acre for your weed. So to spray 1 acre you will use 1.25 gallons of product in 40 gallons of spray. 1.25/40 = 3.1%.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It states how toxic the herbicide is & what protective equipment you must wear.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It has valuable information such as use around wetlands & how persistent it is in the soil.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Labels can change so download the latest one at regular intervals.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spray additives<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Adjuvants: These include oil concentrates like methylated seed oil (creates better penetration of leaf surface-I use this in all my applications), surfactants (causes water to spread on the leaf instead of beading), water conditioners (offsets the negative effects of hard water on herbicides like glyphosate) & stickers (increases the ability of chemicals to stay on the leaf, leading to better rainfastness).<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dye: Always use it because it alerts you to missed plants, prevents walking into sprayed areas, alerts you to leaks in the sprayer & makes it apparent if herbicide accidentally gets on your skin.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Backpack sprayers<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A sprayer setup for those without a pickup truck is shown below. The herbicide tote contains dye & herbicide offloaded into small, easy to handle bottles along with nitrile gloves, measuring cup & paper towels. For transport, the sprayer is put into a large plastic tote with a pvc pipe bolted to the inside, which holds the sprayer wand. Bungees are used to hold it down. To keep things clean, a plastic baggie is wire tied over the nozzle during transport.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmhGO7I1f3Cws8e7ZWfS3f_pJ6CZue9gpNpJ5q-2-W_1IWukEh2j2duL4Hh0DL0hYYA0UWzHJBSymOxyrDaE0dE_fIpyrtHS-sKGHjSjnRQdG-_cq_f1p5RVcoNpL41jfZadoQQCamh19i4nipPhNm0Au2MFH2iWdk4I3gItTl0tvUnqoADysoSO8jS-u/s929/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="929" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmhGO7I1f3Cws8e7ZWfS3f_pJ6CZue9gpNpJ5q-2-W_1IWukEh2j2duL4Hh0DL0hYYA0UWzHJBSymOxyrDaE0dE_fIpyrtHS-sKGHjSjnRQdG-_cq_f1p5RVcoNpL41jfZadoQQCamh19i4nipPhNm0Au2MFH2iWdk4I3gItTl0tvUnqoADysoSO8jS-u/w640-h484/1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Portable backpack spraying setup</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Shoulder straps are hard on the body so I bought a harness that transfer some of the weight from shoulder to hips. Unlike hiking backpacks, they are poorly designed & often need to be modified to fit well, but are still well worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Be situationally aware & walk slowly because the sprayer throws your center of gravity off. If you trip, step in a hole or lose your balance, the added weight of the sprayer can turn a minor injury into a major one.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Get in the habit of engaging the trigger lock when not spraying to avoid accidental discharge.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Hold the spray wand upright as you walk to prevent drips.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As you walk, the sloshing herbicide can leak from the filler cap. Yep, it has happened to me-right down my back. First, look at the cap gasket to make sure it isn’t twisted from the factory. Buy gasket grease from the manufacturer & use a Q tip to apply it every month. This will help the gasket remain soft & seal better. Obtain a white sock made from absorbent material & cut a few inches wide section from it. Each time you screw the cap onto the sprayer, stretch this sock section over the cap so it rests just below the bottom edge of the cap. This will absorb leaks & will alert you to the need for gasket maintenance by dye discoloration of the sock. Walking slowly & steadily when the sprayer is full will minimize herbicide splash into the cap area. Never lean forward since that can cause herbicide to leak from the cap vent hole on some sprayers.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">You can wear a fanny pack across your chest or gear vest to carry cellphone, gps, maps, first aid, cleanup kit for sprayer leaks, water, food, etc<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For some sprayers, every few weeks use nitrile gloves to unscrew the nozzle over a drip catcher. There may be a small screen in there that can be rinsed or wiped clean. During disassembly, note the order & orientation of the nozzle components so you can put it back properly.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">At the end of the day, I put a little water in the sprayer & spray that out, then hold the sprayer up high to get all the herbicide out of the hose & wand. I don’t know if this is necessary, but I never have clogged sprayers.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Calibration<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Labels don’t always tell you how much product to use per gallon of water by volume. Instead they tell you how much product per acre to use. That’s because herbicide customers are mostly farmers & landscapers who spray large areas with herbicide mixed in a big tank. In contrast, we spot spray with handheld or backpack sprayers.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This process must be repeated for every nozzle you intend to use. You’ll need a tape measure, a way to measure time in seconds & a clear container marked in ounces. Put a gallon of water into the sprayer. Find a spot where it is safe to spray herbicide & mark a small area such as 20’ x 20’. Measure how long it takes to spray that area with the same sprayer pressure & height above ground that you typically use. Spray enough to wet the vegetation but not to the point of dripping. Now, refill the sprayer if necessary, spray into the container for the same amount of time & measure how much liquid is in the container. First, convert your test plot into acres by dividing square feet by 43560. For this case: (20’ * 20’)/43560 square feet per acre = 0.00918 acres. Let’s say you collected 56 ounces in the container. 56/128=0.4375 gallons. So you sprayed at a rate of 0.4375 gallons/0.00918 acres = 48 gallons/acre which is ballpark for a backpack sprayer with a hollow cone nozzle. If we use Garlon 4 as an example, the recommended application rate for broadleaf weeds is 1-4 quarts product per acre. If we choose 2 quarts/acre, that means we will need 2 quarts product in every 48 gallons of spray or 0.0417 quarts/gallon. 1 quart is 32 oz so that is 0.0417 * 32 = 1.3 oz product per gallon of water or 3.9 oz of product in a 3 gallon backpack sprayer. <o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Some herbaceous weeds<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Crown vetch (CV): See the 7/5/23 post on this blog. Herbicides used most often are Transline & Milestone, but be aware both are persistent in the soil & will harm some natives. The Milestone label has a good list of the plant families affected by it. The manufacturer (Corteva) recommends Milestone over Transline & the latter’s label doesn’t include CV as a controlled species. Multiple sources, including Corteva, report reduced herbicide effectiveness at bloom stage. It’s important to coat as much of the stem & leaves as possible. GPS is essential for not missing patches. Tom Wise (Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in southern Wisconsin) reports that the number of years to control a patch is highly variable & can take 5 years or more. He sprays known patches before blooming & for ones found at bloom stage, he rotary mows them into tiny pieces to prevent re-rooting & seed set, then sprays after it resprouts. That method may facilitate better herbicide coverage of all stems/leaves & may also reset the plant into active growth stage, when herbicides are more effective. Then again, it’s conceivable that mowing could create stem fragments that can re-root. Losure<sup>2</sup> found no viable seed in mature CV patches & cited other sources that support mostly vegetative reproduction. They also found that stems without nodes won’t root themselves but stems with nodes will. So it’s unclear whether CV persistence after spraying is due to poor translocation to the entire root system, persistent seedbank, leaf/stem defenses that prevent herbicide entry or unsprayed nodes rooting themselves. More long term experiments are needed.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Garlic Mustard: See the 5/10/23 post on this blog for my method in mostly degraded woodland without the resources to perform consistent mechanical control on a large site. In summary, after many years of experimenting, I settled on spraying small patches of 2nd year plants at full bloom & fall spraying moderate patches of 1st year rosettes, combined with cutting or pulling scattered or unsprayed plants. Large patches are left alone to see if a biocontrol develops. In higher quality areas, I only sprayed rosettes when natives were dormant. Many broadleaf herbicides & glyphosate are effective.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spotted knapweed: I believe herbiciding followed by wacking/cutting of missed plants is better than wacking/cutting alone for large populations in average quality or degraded areas. This is because seeds can remain viable for 7+ years & the plant can live up to 10 years. That means many years of wacking/cutting without missing a year, while also dealing with other weeds like sweet clover, something many sites will find hard to pull off consistently. Also, stems tend to lie down in the vegetation, making them easy to miss while wacking. Digging the root is an alternative to herbicides, but its labor intensive & often a large clump of soil comes out with the lateral roots, creating disturbance that leads to more weeds. It’s best to spray after a burn for better visibility of rosettes since they are hard to find in vegetation or thatch. Herbicides used most often are Transline & Milestone but be aware that both are persistent in the soil. The Milestone label has a good list of the plant families affected by it. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Wild Parnsip. Combine spring (early to mid May) & fall (late Sept-Oct) herbiciding of rosettes with summer digging of the root. Spraying too early can result in missing late emerging plants. Soil temperatures will influence emergence dates in the spring. Spraying after a burn will ensure finding more rosettes. Mature invasions in areas with weak native competition or poor soil microbial diversity can take >4 years of effort. Flowering usually occurs in the 2nd to 4th year of life, so herbiciding rosettes is effective in targeting multiple generations. Delayed emergence creates a long blooming season requiring 2 passes of digging separated in time, which is another reason herbicides are helpful. Many herbicides will work. After 2 years of use, I’m happy with 0.5% Garlon 4 in water with 0.5% methylated seed oil. 0.5% Garlon 4 worked as well as 1% in an experiment I conducted.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Woody plants<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">See other discussions on this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Commonly used herbicides are 20% active ingredient glyphosate in water or 20% Garlon 4 in bark oil, applied in winter or when native herbaceous plants are dormant. </span><span>The following are the pros & cons of each herbicide.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>“Triclopyr” refers to triclopyr ester in bark oil & “glyphosate” refers to glyphosate + surfactant in water (cut stump only).</span></span><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Applying at below freezing temperatures: Favor triclopyr.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>But I had good results in the upper 20’s F & a local contractor uses it down to 10F.</span></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Applying among native bunchgrasses that are still green: If you have experimented & determined your methods don’t cause off-target kill, favor triclopyr.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Basal bark: Triclopyr only<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If concerned about off-target kill (especially in remnants): Experiment before committing to triclopyr, including an untreated control plot. For cut stump, favor treating the cut surface only (instead of cut surface + stump sides) if your experiment shows it works. See “cut stump & basal bark off-target kill” below.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If the smell of bark oil bothers you while transporting sprayers in a car or if you store them in the garage, favor glyphosate.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have hard water & cannot find a source for spray grade ammonium sulfate, favor triclopyr.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you can’t treat the stump soon after cutting: Favor triclopyr.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also consider the differences in cost of each herbicide & the availability of bark oil.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Clonal plants: These include dogwood & sumac. Treat a given clone all at once rather than piecemeal. A few years of treatment will often be necessary to kill the root system, especially on older clones.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Methods include<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Cut stump or cut surface. The stem is cut as close to the ground & as horizontally as possible, then the stump is herbicided as soon as possible. If performed in that way, it is the most reliable method for controlling woodies, but is also the most labor intensive. <span>Cutting low ensures best translocation of herbicide to the root, minimizes trip hazards, facilitates subsequent weed control & is better aesthetically. </span>There are reports of cut stump herbicide failures with certain plant species, but there are also plenty of reports that glyphosate & Garlon 4/bark oil work just fine for all woodies (which is also my experience).<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It avoids having standing dead brush, which can be an impediment to controlling weeds after removal of dense brush clones, a deterrent to grassland bird nesting or an eyesore in some situations. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Stems cut at a strong angle will have too much herbicide runoff.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If snow forces you to cut higher than normal, be prepared for poor control. Don’t let snow deposit on the cut stump or herbicide will get diluted or run off.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>If you can’t spray soon after cutting (for example, waiting for volunteers to leave the area), favor Garlon 4 over glyphosate. Glyphosate based labels say to spray immediately after cutting, but I found Roundup effective in shady habitats on good sized buckthorn even with a 2 hour delay between cutting & herbiciding<sup>3</sup>. </span><span>One theory is that the stump dries out over time, reducing it’s ability to absorb water based herbicides.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>So delays may be more of a problem in sunny areas or if humidity is low. </span><span>In an experiment, I found a small percentage of buckthorns resprouted after Garlon 4/basal oil herbicide treatment in a shady habitat (even when applied immediately after cutting), but after 2 years the resprouts died.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>So a long followup period is needed before declaring success or failure. </span><span>The Garlon 4 label recommends spraying the sides of the stump as well as the cut surface to control resprouts.</span><span> </span><span> </span><span>That may increase off-target kill if enough herbicide falls on the soil nearby.</span><span> </span><span> I have good results treating only the cut surface, but it’s likely there are situations when treating the stump sides are necessary.</span></span><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul></ul></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Note that painting the stump with a roller, brush or sponge may not apply enough herbicide to be effective, so experiment before settling on that method. It’s interesting to note the Garlon 4 label mentions spraying for cut stump or basal bark but not rolling or painting, perhaps an indicator that those methods are not consistently effective.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Basal bark. The stem of the uncut plant is coated in herbicide (typically 20% Garlon 4 in bark oil) from the ground to a particular height based on stem diameter & plant species. The oil helps the herbicide penetrate through the bark.<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If significant rain falls within a few days after application, runoff can cause off-target kill.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">You may have a dead zone around the treated plant if the herbicide is applied in spray form.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As with cut stump, painting or rolling onto the bark may not transfer enough herbicide compared to spraying.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It’s best to conduct an experiment to verify that your choices for the application dates, amount of bark treated, application method & herbicide type/concentration is effective on all species of interest before you treat large areas.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Cut stump & basal bark off-target kill. There are reports of this (see 8/28/20 entry on this blog) but many others report no such problems. Potential causes include root exudation of herbicide into soil<sup>4</sup>, movement of herbicide by mycorrhizal fungi, rain runoff, overspray error or exceeding the labeled maximum use rates.</span><span> Woody plant herbicide mixtures are much more concentrated than herbaceous mixtures so it doesn’t take much in the soil to cause problems. That is why I use a solid stream nozzle instead of a cone or flat fan for cut stump, so I can flow herbicide onto the stump.</span><span face="-webkit-standard"></span></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Foliar spray. The leaves are sprayed on shrubs, small seedlings or resprouting mowed/cut brush in degraded areas or if the woody plant is leafed out while the native ground layer is dormant. This can be a very risky method. Usually large areas need to be sprayed with the nozzle far above the ground, which increases the possibility of wind drift onto the applicator & the ground layer nearby. There are plenty of reported failures with foliar that may be related to herbicide concentration/type, species of woody plant or season of application, so conduct a 1 year experiment before treating large areas.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Frill. Cuts are made in the bark & cambium around the stem using a hatchet or similar tool, then sprayed with herbicide. See other posts on this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Spray equipment<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Handheld sprayers<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CM0PuHGlb4lWKpsB9z3Hko9nPFfukrrSMk-R9Ab0-prGCg3AMGD2d_AkXd92aiuN2tZIbcARop1-OKYZCSNI6w1z2YZPimhddFp7zSG_a4-LtAVzwXwGcpC-bjYSI7IjKRqMR-QQxKdnPbEhqjT5wm_qkaTjSF1tCHVg0xCFagQpFv8Bu_mF-cz3r5Lr/s818/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="818" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CM0PuHGlb4lWKpsB9z3Hko9nPFfukrrSMk-R9Ab0-prGCg3AMGD2d_AkXd92aiuN2tZIbcARop1-OKYZCSNI6w1z2YZPimhddFp7zSG_a4-LtAVzwXwGcpC-bjYSI7IjKRqMR-QQxKdnPbEhqjT5wm_qkaTjSF1tCHVg0xCFagQpFv8Bu_mF-cz3r5Lr/w640-h452/2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Handheld sprayers L-R: lower quality Hudson 62227, high quality Tolco 942</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="circle"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Drawbacks are the need to stoop very close to ground level & the weight combined with pulling the trigger all day is hard on your hand & wrist. Stooping risks eye or nose injury in dense brush clones.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Avoid the cheap ones at brick & mortar stores. If they don’t leak from the get go (often from the pump shaft if you tilt the bottle too far off vertical), they will leak or fail sooner rather than later.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">See grasslandrestorationnetwork.org/2020/11/05/hand-held-herbicide-sprayer-comparison/<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">2 quart capacity is necessary for a full day of cut stump without refilling.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">To keep the bottle outside surface free of poison ivy & herbicide when working alone, place it in a 5 gallon bucket when not spraying. Use spacers of some kind to place the sprayer in the bucket such that the nozzle sits over a drip catching tray.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Standalone sprayer<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Advantages are no stooping required, the trigger is easy on your hands/wrist & a wide selection of nozzles are available.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I put the sprayer in a bucket as shown below. Without the bucket, the sprayer will tip over on uneven ground & can become contaminated with poison ivy & herbicide. It also makes working alone much easier. I can spray some stumps soon after cutting so all can be found, hang the sprayer wand on the coat hook, cut some more stumps with loppers, then spray again. The nozzle I use is a single stream type, which is just a cylindrical tube. With low pressure, a light hand & a hose clamp trigger stop, I can place the nozzle against the stump & flow just enough herbicide to prevent drippage onto the soil. <o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ul></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjBW95i2Cw9lJh_niwaX7PJZfPNZqgGGxNBfC24ySut9_hum11wTvfG76pazJxHAoHHj8Jx3Q3RN-LjGIVtlqZEsweilNAuJW6qKgfygTvR-wH1ILKfsxGx3ngDPjvxoY1J-nRuyxPqGT2tiNEfQ2klFDuRfdLRyAlXacDos7FdFAELnoB_k0UxjpPicK/s575/3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="432" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjBW95i2Cw9lJh_niwaX7PJZfPNZqgGGxNBfC24ySut9_hum11wTvfG76pazJxHAoHHj8Jx3Q3RN-LjGIVtlqZEsweilNAuJW6qKgfygTvR-wH1ILKfsxGx3ngDPjvxoY1J-nRuyxPqGT2tiNEfQ2klFDuRfdLRyAlXacDos7FdFAELnoB_k0UxjpPicK/w480-h640/3.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Woody plant spray fixture for working alone. Sprayer is Smith 190504.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">References<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">1) Schwope, A. D., etal, 1992, Permeation Resistance of Glove Materials to Agricultural Pesticides. AIHA Journal 53(6):352<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">2) Losure, D.A., K.A. Moloney and B.J. Wilsey. 2009. Modes of crown vetch invasion and persistence. American Midland Naturalist 161:232–242.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">3) Osmund, D., 1997, Cut-stump treatment of buckthorn effective despite two-hour delay between cutting & spraying (Illinois). Restoration & Management Notes, 15(2): 197.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">4) Graziano, G, etal, 2022, Herbicides in unexpected places: non-target impacts from tree root exudation of aminopyralid and triclopyr following basal bark treatments of invasive chokecherry (Prunus padus) in Alaska. Weed Science, 70(6): 701-714.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-34515667491117391962023-08-21T07:17:00.015-07:002023-09-04T06:28:39.890-07:00Celebrate With A Purpose!<p>This post is now history. It advertised the weekend that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the influential Illinois Nature Preserves System. Dozens of events, August 26th through 28th, 2023. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFUADK4e5KeGFmj_-44b9Nx-T0PqoREN3XlfECEb0OrbaYrrfkmrxf81a1tCyyVgfPFG8HThYM3IrZBQB9Xh7Ql8i2D3a_JLzQO72SSnP5HHuj6sZTANJ7U8jfzWspciUu0KughOA9LbVHJJgMzvSWK3iGNeBvKGrky0XtEzmR0BKXoqQN2MPCASOyLDC/s3840/Fringed%20gentian%20at%20Ill.%20Beach%20NP.tiff" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2560" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFUADK4e5KeGFmj_-44b9Nx-T0PqoREN3XlfECEb0OrbaYrrfkmrxf81a1tCyyVgfPFG8HThYM3IrZBQB9Xh7Ql8i2D3a_JLzQO72SSnP5HHuj6sZTANJ7U8jfzWspciUu0KughOA9LbVHJJgMzvSWK3iGNeBvKGrky0XtEzmR0BKXoqQN2MPCASOyLDC/w428-h640/Fringed%20gentian%20at%20Ill.%20Beach%20NP.tiff" width="428" /></a></div><p>Come and be counted. The 60th Anniversary of the Illinois Nature Preserves is important to their future. Remember how ecosystems cried out for help ... and how that help increasingly arrived, thanks in part to volunteer energy and Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves. Vacant staff positions are being filled. Volunteer stewards perform wonders. Funding may not be increasing enough. But it is increasing. Why? Because people care, and we demonstrate it. This weekend is your opportunity to be seen on the side of the good guy<span style="font-family: inherit;">s and nature.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps this weekend is your opportunity to invite a friend who knows you speak passionately about your favorite ecosystem but can't figure out why. Let's take this opportunity to grow the community of people like us who know and love and care.<br /></span></p><p><b>Saturday, August 26, 2023</b>: You can choose among 30+ Nature Preserve tours in every corner of the state. Find one close to you on the Friends' map of events <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_BIGXPrKBU_BUd0MkAML-zHrLMCaA84&ll=39.78277625358166%2C-89.48896314999999&z=7">here</a>, and help us plan with an RSVP. </p><p><b>Sunday, August 27 </b>(Free - but limited space - <b><i><a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/inps-weekend/">RSVP required</a></i></b>):</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b>2 PM </b>Gallery opens.<b> 3 PM</b>: Respected as both artist and naturalist, Philip Juras leads a gallery talk "The Long View", based on 23 Illinois Nature Preserve paintings on display at the Illinois State Museum in Lockport followed by: </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>4:15 PM</b>: Reception and celebration at the historic Gaylord Building, just up the street. </p></blockquote><p><b>Monday, August 28</b>: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>2 PM</b>: A celebratory Illinois Nature Preserves Commission meeting at Illinois Beach State Park lodge with speeches by Arthur Melville Pearson, author of <i>Force of Nature</i>, Brian Anderson, former Nature Preserves director and Amy Doll, director of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves. </p><p>followed by:</p><p><b>3:30 - 6:00</b> Celebration, reception, refreshments, and more (Free - but limited space - <b><i><a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/inps-weekend/">RSVP required</a></i></b>)</p><p><b>4:00, 5:00, and 6:00</b>: One hour hikes and tours led by Stephen Packard and Eriko Kojima</p></blockquote><p>And, whether you can come of not, you might want to <a href="https://www.iatspayments.com/saaura/PA828861497DE27198">donate to the Friends</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtie5CDgUFOXFp9-u9OKqiatkd0_Eg6_4wf6yIfDxUpAWrOEVe0kGDIww2aHFVPDWPcFmKD8MERknVTmY_8R4JRuuh6UwFO9WoRTYdsI347raZrfVdKau84TJ355m2gjrAi-mKukLJ7lE1_et7vC849nagGe4NI24GHRTivQc7TMp6IM7VLUVTjFvn3B6/s1602/Red-headed%20Woodpecker.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1602" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtie5CDgUFOXFp9-u9OKqiatkd0_Eg6_4wf6yIfDxUpAWrOEVe0kGDIww2aHFVPDWPcFmKD8MERknVTmY_8R4JRuuh6UwFO9WoRTYdsI347raZrfVdKau84TJ355m2gjrAi-mKukLJ7lE1_et7vC849nagGe4NI24GHRTivQc7TMp6IM7VLUVTjFvn3B6/w640-h426/Red-headed%20Woodpecker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The Illinois Nature Preserves System has been and should forever be a global model. As a state where only<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span face="-webkit-standard, serif">7/100<sup>ths</sup></span> </span>of 1% of true nature survives, we are stopping the losses and restoring health, quality, and extent at an inspiring scale. We celebrate and spread the word for good reason: When people know, they care, and many act. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxt0EuegUAioVOkcz83QqgKulu9LYNt0ZLN23A6ZQ5q96ErdoUQ8Gjg4zkq6VpdpqoTYwLaD30F3WBuV1x_ES0ALGSjbRxQf05QTkTw5OeL7tdf7WUr8G11we-gU_IuNfUNcxF8QRW66eCcf2blMJJCIgrRTJVodI8ED8jkX-SYIqsi9Kf8agkfFT9VNH/s640/ILBeachSP-0340-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="472" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxt0EuegUAioVOkcz83QqgKulu9LYNt0ZLN23A6ZQ5q96ErdoUQ8Gjg4zkq6VpdpqoTYwLaD30F3WBuV1x_ES0ALGSjbRxQf05QTkTw5OeL7tdf7WUr8G11we-gU_IuNfUNcxF8QRW66eCcf2blMJJCIgrRTJVodI8ED8jkX-SYIqsi9Kf8agkfFT9VNH/w472-h640/ILBeachSP-0340-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="472" /></a></p>This photo of the very first Nature Preserve, Illinois Beach, is a valuable reminder. We don't want to lose it. We do want to treasure, heal, and expand the nature that survives. For the planet and ourselves. <br /><p><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p>This post illustrated by photos generously donated by:</p><p>Michael Jeffords and Sue Post: fringed gentian (it needs wet prairie associates).</p><p>Lisa Culp Musgrave: Red-headed woodpecker (it needs savannas and open woodlands).</p><p>Mike MacDonald: Illinois Beach Savanna (saved again and again by public-spirited citizens and the Illinois Nature Preserve System). </p><p>Thanks for proofing and edits to Eriko Kojima, Amy Doll, and Robb Telfer. </p><p><br /></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-47099455267692370582023-08-14T12:42:00.007-07:002023-08-15T04:54:12.490-07:00Skinner's False Foxglove - rare and Threatened species discovered by the Mighty Sweet Clover Team<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> It's the gorgeous <i>Agalinis skinneriana</i>. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="872" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxI_aSojNkBMaxvYLJKmFzyNyOPi28CSGGHnm38RuowKrlpzFtzGIPQHL7XSQXZzklHdM7zVGzIN_JwIGdg-l0mKhvqUn4wQDei7phQbl1ypUUnWaLb5YPRs66L7kknSDMbpjPRM0KkOOkKWd2fA6nFaZlBm8KE4j7AETQHkzVTZClMsjJ5yCfwr09ac-f/w436-h640/Aga%20ski%20and%20calamint_2396.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="436" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skinner's false foxglove with low calamint <br />(which bloomed earlier, but two pale blue flowers are still hanging on in this photo).<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the past it's been seen elsewhere at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=illinois%20beach">Illinois Beach</a>, but this shy annual doesn't emerge every year. It's said to depend on fire, and the prairie swale where we found it was burned last year (for the first time in a long time, it's said). </span><div><br /></div><div>A <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">conservative</a> plant, it also doesn't grow in degraded areas. Some of its high-quality associates listed in <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/04/flora-of-chicago-region.html">Wilhelm and Rericha</a> include such rare treasures as grass pink orchid, low calamint, Kalm's lobelia, Tennessee panic grass, fringed gentian, Ohio goldenrod, arrow-grass, and snake-mouth orchid. <br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Saturday, August 12th, fifteen people from the Illinois Beach Sweet Clover Demons (well, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/who-are-peregrines.html">the Peregrines</a> actually) worked south of Dead River. But we divided our forces, and another group worked somewhere further north. (We don't reveal the exact locations of rare species for fear that some psychopath might trample them to death trying to get the perfect photo ... or exercise other poor and destructive judgement.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to the <a href="https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160503/Agalinis_skinneriana">NatureServ</a> database, <i>Agalinis skinneriana</i> is <b>imperiled</b> in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, <b>critically imperiled</b> in Michigan and Iowa, and <b>extirpated</b> (gone) from Arkansas and Kentucky. The best it’s doing anywhere in the world is reflected by its merely <b>vulnerable</b> status in one state - Missouri. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were so happy to pull out the invasive sweet clover and loosestrife infestations that threatened it here at Illinois Beach. (These invasives degrade ecosystems and kill many rare plants.) It's fun and feels like an honor to do this good work. <o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2286" data-original-width="2059" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMyz-CNI7rZEfp74jKJxmo3hu6kCBEZWmeyVw_PXNwRh5LJAZB0MycUu7kzQrOMmJNQ1nN2uX9LwR80eTo3zEZJsEGxVG9FVgNzHkqc8zLK9N0bETQEwcols4vuEB9C0nyeHf_XiTC8THnhnu_x5LPyn7AxAOXlieFMwttkoXIelZXY0XHUQGKdVHVKed/w576-h640/Aga%20ski_2394.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="576" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skinner's false foxglove with Tennessee panic grass</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMyz-CNI7rZEfp74jKJxmo3hu6kCBEZWmeyVw_PXNwRh5LJAZB0MycUu7kzQrOMmJNQ1nN2uX9LwR80eTo3zEZJsEGxVG9FVgNzHkqc8zLK9N0bETQEwcols4vuEB9C0nyeHf_XiTC8THnhnu_x5LPyn7AxAOXlieFMwttkoXIelZXY0XHUQGKdVHVKed/s2286/Aga%20ski_2394.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a rare shock for some of us. We thought we knew the flora here. But this was clearly a species we'd never seen before. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We "keyed it down" to learn what it was. Yes, the leaves were super-thin, just over 1 mm wide. Yes, the stems were angled and very rough. Yes, these little beauties were growing with the rare associates mentioned in the text. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This plant deserves a better name. Skinner doesn't own it. Many plants have many common names. This obscure species so far seems to have only two. The other - "Pale False Foxglove" - also does not do it justice. It is the richest, purest pink. not some pale watered-down color. Any ideas for better names that might catch on? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Friends of Illinois Beach Nature Preserves restoration team meet at 9:00 am on Thursdays (for people who have that kind of schedule) and Saturdays (for most of us). We do </span>great<span style="font-family: inherit;"> work together and discover more gems of happiness every time we work. See you there? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Directions to Illinois Beach: From Sheridan Road (Rt. 137) and Wadsworth Road, take the park entrance drive east and watch for the Nature Center sign on the right. We meet at the Center's parking lot and head into these 4,000 acres of rare high-quality wilderness from there. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p></div></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-68734836013725522862023-08-04T15:47:00.015-07:002023-08-09T08:35:11.302-07:00Summer Burn. Illinois Beach. August 3, 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's what it looked like the day after the burn:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DefD928Esb_o20Nbfuxd7qJEVTlJqigkMZyrDyugtbdOwRrBiQODfdffEb4gLQYKD1v1FpfJjtwh0X-BaOgkd1gsczOqt6yIaiPmjyRBl6KwVt-q1g2ChF0QDHa1cchEM1jwdbkhIqXi3-pPJdFdjIpMMmFIMukMogdFXBqhaTrnuO0mktaRTHFXW0ng/s4032/IMG_2185.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DefD928Esb_o20Nbfuxd7qJEVTlJqigkMZyrDyugtbdOwRrBiQODfdffEb4gLQYKD1v1FpfJjtwh0X-BaOgkd1gsczOqt6yIaiPmjyRBl6KwVt-q1g2ChF0QDHa1cchEM1jwdbkhIqXi3-pPJdFdjIpMMmFIMukMogdFXBqhaTrnuO0mktaRTHFXW0ng/w640-h480/IMG_2185.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Here's what an unburned part looked like:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXk61QWgSRQOMI02XxDIWmtwpavWU_BTSWwYB_8THmmOaSGNlXdMSN7fptX2IpYjJEsYJeei98Zljid4g0ZDh9-pgdLt4I7QTk1kG8aHI1-5M6A2zHk-FimH40mrNR_eE8AwDNLzZ-acyQ1dZw_8SXAHF6QedAq72S1T1hx4bSXyu_nWKVpGwkGkksFsu/s4032/IMG_2252.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXk61QWgSRQOMI02XxDIWmtwpavWU_BTSWwYB_8THmmOaSGNlXdMSN7fptX2IpYjJEsYJeei98Zljid4g0ZDh9-pgdLt4I7QTk1kG8aHI1-5M6A2zHk-FimH40mrNR_eE8AwDNLzZ-acyQ1dZw_8SXAHF6QedAq72S1T1hx4bSXyu_nWKVpGwkGkksFsu/w640-h480/IMG_2252.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Really?<div>They burned up stuff like this?</div><div>And it was a good thing?</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, it was. </div><div><br /></div><div>Parts of Illinois Beach Nature Preserve have been getting too brushy?</div><div>Is there an objective standard for what "too brushy" means?</div><div>Once again, yes there is. For more detail, see Endnote 1.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyNMW6aRvFPdHUxFASaJKHl1h--TFmVt0FNN84alkkUrB-IeE03JAtfps6NWlaG8H-okqt1xx6L6LbxPxenkgnmOznsHVc2ZGchs2Kfe96WH7KBH3DjdFoK_AmUvBbdpxOBfRiRoZYEgvm2Xu1i-b6U_1TksqVAe5pY4VcdU0Ka58U0KSEv6BO98ErNpD/s4032/too%20brushy_2091.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyNMW6aRvFPdHUxFASaJKHl1h--TFmVt0FNN84alkkUrB-IeE03JAtfps6NWlaG8H-okqt1xx6L6LbxPxenkgnmOznsHVc2ZGchs2Kfe96WH7KBH3DjdFoK_AmUvBbdpxOBfRiRoZYEgvm2Xu1i-b6U_1TksqVAe5pY4VcdU0Ka58U0KSEv6BO98ErNpD/w640-h480/too%20brushy_2091.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>This photo shows death by shade. Here excessive numbers of young oaks and sprawling grape vines have largely killed off the turf of (rare) grasses and wildflowers on which the biodiversity of the Illinois Beach savanna depends. <br /><div><br /></div><div>Oaks and grapes are good. But in the absence of adequate fire, they can become pathological to the ecosystem. </div><div><br /></div><div>Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologist Melissa Grycan led the six-acre burn in this 1,080-acre Nature Preserve. See map below: </div><div><br /></div><div>The burn started at the Dead River (south of the Dead River Trail) and burned to the Dune Trail and the east edge of the savanna. The photo below shows the south firebreak by the Dead River.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7BUtlhx-WlqhgA4Yad9M7nEmsM1it1QPFmDS0lj_eev_pZq02Mpx6A_gnWV967DZRobgXP31vgax_V942ZDd0QD6or4mIRy8NfikLn715Zx2O8ShMl_iOxJeB3dBjrVjey786Ym-M68-M9qHHH659YBgYlnoTpB6E1V4DpYj0NGXP7T_vIPYlB01_01K/s4032/south%20firebreak_2204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7BUtlhx-WlqhgA4Yad9M7nEmsM1it1QPFmDS0lj_eev_pZq02Mpx6A_gnWV967DZRobgXP31vgax_V942ZDd0QD6or4mIRy8NfikLn715Zx2O8ShMl_iOxJeB3dBjrVjey786Ym-M68-M9qHHH659YBgYlnoTpB6E1V4DpYj0NGXP7T_vIPYlB01_01K/w640-h480/south%20firebreak_2204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3ODiOdSCqT-isH2c0EO0vSk5uJrNIXxFjMZYFAgJ-7MHqAOoRTKRWNg23VkBc7498BV-aHqTw8zhktlKZ2JweZPyXNmc9hghbWIOoDo2KpEo4zKJ0OYMc3Kyg9iR96LpA1nx0V2fl6bFjEARrMfNZg2cfpWMu-0lmgheAK7bUI6PVDVXSINm9-rbO2w8/s4032/ppc%20and%20oak_2194.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3ODiOdSCqT-isH2c0EO0vSk5uJrNIXxFjMZYFAgJ-7MHqAOoRTKRWNg23VkBc7498BV-aHqTw8zhktlKZ2JweZPyXNmc9hghbWIOoDo2KpEo4zKJ0OYMc3Kyg9iR96LpA1nx0V2fl6bFjEARrMfNZg2cfpWMu-0lmgheAK7bUI6PVDVXSINm9-rbO2w8/w640-h480/ppc%20and%20oak_2194.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The savanna at Illinois Beach is mostly on old beach ridges and dunes. The sandy soil makes it likely that many patches will be so thinly vegetated that the fire will skip them. Here two plants of purple prairie clover, in bloom, were missed by the fire while a nearby young black oak was top-killed, as were other nearby plants. <div><br /></div><div>Summer fires are unusual on conservation land these days, but they shouldn't be. Explaining them to a skeptical public can be a challenge, but they can be very good for the ecosystem. For millions of years when all burns were started by lightning strikes, they could occur whenever dry lightning was possible and the vegetation was dry enough to burn. For example, on a day like August 3rd. </div><div><br /></div><div>Summer fires can be especially valuable for areas where too much brush has accumulated. Most controlled burns these days occur in late fall, winter, or early spring. Such dormant season burns set back brush, but much less than summer burns. When leaves have fallen, most of the chemical and energy resources of the shrubs and trees are stored in the roots. During the growing season, much of the plants accumulated resources are in the bark and leaves. The summer burn cuts off those resources, and the roots (which are all that survive) need to start over with much diminished resources. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRLq8eNHXHfC24yWHxLxua_gSAUnUUxScYGKskN51En8_hOWy-dQTFd3MjBhjVhH4JMMlhCEVXLjIbRgaIKyxjqcy1b5rRHQuoBctuyzZoSsWK7jKMHb0LzEcMvOFm9mDKZCgFUjOI1XuDYleYH8ROqS71PlwQqU4mrXkaWOeq9qA6TLHnmzZCrGlkUHY/s4032/burned%20and%20unbured_2192.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRLq8eNHXHfC24yWHxLxua_gSAUnUUxScYGKskN51En8_hOWy-dQTFd3MjBhjVhH4JMMlhCEVXLjIbRgaIKyxjqcy1b5rRHQuoBctuyzZoSsWK7jKMHb0LzEcMvOFm9mDKZCgFUjOI1XuDYleYH8ROqS71PlwQqU4mrXkaWOeq9qA6TLHnmzZCrGlkUHY/w640-h480/burned%20and%20unbured_2192.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The photo above shows another spot along the firebreak. The flowers in bloom to the left are purple prairie clover and flowering spurge. The same were probably blooming to the right. They'll come back just fine after a rainstorm or two. Most herbaceous plant species of prairie and savanna are well adapted to surviving summer fires. <div><br /></div><div>How about animals? Most run away, or fly away, or go underground. A great many non-flying insects are killed, but they'll reproduce bountifully in the reinvigorated (and less brush-suppressed) ecosystem. </div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-r9KzWzVpVhKJSY0N-yjAfJSIetspLkL4XcNF679edayyD0HcDuTyLT7wWgWFdEuiACplJYhDsX9rBYu5royJZOsXHl9qaSddk7kh8JRsAWp64peaDsuLjV8prNSeki8vPjHHc1Hrx075lojkUkwPHjiVeJQnWasgr0HQSjE3D0kLhXhLkQnZW_D13o-/s4032/prickly%20pear_2191.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-r9KzWzVpVhKJSY0N-yjAfJSIetspLkL4XcNF679edayyD0HcDuTyLT7wWgWFdEuiACplJYhDsX9rBYu5royJZOsXHl9qaSddk7kh8JRsAWp64peaDsuLjV8prNSeki8vPjHHc1Hrx075lojkUkwPHjiVeJQnWasgr0HQSjE3D0kLhXhLkQnZW_D13o-/w640-h480/prickly%20pear_2191.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Part of this prickly pear cactus looks burned and part looks fine, including about fourteen "pears" that will be popular with some animals later on. (We humans are not allowed to taste this fruit in this legally protected Nature Preserve.)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QUGD0EpnD1P9kFVAAaMczBeRrDMY8bqpl1MEJ5VA_QmGhBTVvCUC5vACoww4pC4qyvKhX45_1h2chwbOPJ3b5fZNIE4gGFUMle2y2TfzvKrKnWCHXGV6z7nmxUstwPYK_Hp-aGGYl7vDHrO1MTwq49IuG212MboHCdfiEQZHTSHEe4N9YuyquNzSKJmz/s4032/to%20space%20out_2187.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QUGD0EpnD1P9kFVAAaMczBeRrDMY8bqpl1MEJ5VA_QmGhBTVvCUC5vACoww4pC4qyvKhX45_1h2chwbOPJ3b5fZNIE4gGFUMle2y2TfzvKrKnWCHXGV6z7nmxUstwPYK_Hp-aGGYl7vDHrO1MTwq49IuG212MboHCdfiEQZHTSHEe4N9YuyquNzSKJmz/w640-h480/to%20space%20out_2187.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>In many savannas, trees are well separated from each other. Here, arguably, too many trees were vying with each other. The big tree here should be fine. Many of the little trees will be top-killed or may die outright. That would be a good result in some areas here. <br /><div><br /></div><div>Two final photos:</div><div><br /></div><div>Here, with eastern towhees and bluebirds singing in the background, a part of the savanna appears to thrive following previous burns:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosSkAUqjLNaIpMIIHnRiAnw8uHBWVhwnNH4pQUvRVuYt4PFd5g8dZUZfn2RH-G2QjJaxXQ8lClcZiTK_PSxrazkiX0xNRvKHaiYOQVIcoMJy7neR6Qn7odBKLafp5ir0ADMEtcobwAIIbatMR63_mzNNEXSCgywq1HLDs9F9g8bykQL_b3ROq0KM_Nh5Y/s4032/well%20burned%20savanna_2248.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosSkAUqjLNaIpMIIHnRiAnw8uHBWVhwnNH4pQUvRVuYt4PFd5g8dZUZfn2RH-G2QjJaxXQ8lClcZiTK_PSxrazkiX0xNRvKHaiYOQVIcoMJy7neR6Qn7odBKLafp5ir0ADMEtcobwAIIbatMR63_mzNNEXSCgywq1HLDs9F9g8bykQL_b3ROq0KM_Nh5Y/w640-h480/well%20burned%20savanna_2248.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And out in the prairie ...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo46Iv4FOUeWFVLc4TTy-i2KrkZUEv0b4OBLkkX9sZ7aUDDXkE7tZSIhPGbVbksnSTwvPcYLxYKZllgtDYkFJm3k_-g_itpn4aYZJJklXe-mSVrdJhF4_-jhCvrHkZn9DX8SwAZXJv7l6sNHH1GCO-CH84gAhD6ceDBelSMAPyRB8sNhFDoxXArnyx2pZ/s4032/Kalm's%20StJonswort%20and%20prairie_2246.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo46Iv4FOUeWFVLc4TTy-i2KrkZUEv0b4OBLkkX9sZ7aUDDXkE7tZSIhPGbVbksnSTwvPcYLxYKZllgtDYkFJm3k_-g_itpn4aYZJJklXe-mSVrdJhF4_-jhCvrHkZn9DX8SwAZXJv7l6sNHH1GCO-CH84gAhD6ceDBelSMAPyRB8sNhFDoxXArnyx2pZ/w480-h640/Kalm's%20StJonswort%20and%20prairie_2246.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>... we're reminded of what an extraordinary place this is. Savanna in the background. Prairie in the foreground. And a meadowlark singing to us as the cell phone camera snapped. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you're in the mood, please join us for stewardship and inspiration any <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/this-saturday-illinois-beach-news-and.html">Saturday at 9 AM at the Nature Center parking lot</a>. We'll venture into the ecosystem from there. <br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Endnotes</b><br /><div><br /></div><div>Endnote 1. <b>What does "too brushy" mean? And why did parts of Illinois Beach get that way? </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is one of the highest quality and most important biodiversity reserves in the midwest. That's because of its very high-quality natural communities, which are known as such because of the great diversity of mostly-rare plants and the animals that depend on those plants. In the savanna and prairie ecosystems here, the biodiversity is dependent on the diverse turf of grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. When burns are insufficient, alien and native woody plants grow so dense that the ancient diverse turf is killed by shade. Where there had been twenty rare plant species per square yard, that number gradually gets reduced to ten, then perhaps one or two common species of plants. The animals that lived off those plants are then gone too. "Too brushy" is not philosophy or aesthetics. It is measurable and "life or death" for the health of the ecosystem. </div><div><br /></div><div>When the principal grassy fuel for the fires is gone, recovery is difficult. The savanna will not "succeed" into a natural forest, because the species that make one up are not here. So a depauperate and degraded savanna is all that survives unless resources are available for a lot of restoration.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Fire-deprived" patches develop at Illinois Beach in part because of the care that has to be taken by burn managers to protect human health and air quality and certain endangered species (which have ways to deal with fire when they're in adequate numbers, but not in their reduced numbers today). </div><div><br /></div><div>We look forward to studying the results and expect to watch the healing recovery of colorful beauty and natural diversity in this summer-burned patch. <br /><p><b>Acknowledgements </b></p><p>Thanks to Rebeccah Hartz for good edits, suggestions, and questions.</p></div></div></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-7904903384293537702023-07-28T06:01:00.005-07:002023-12-07T07:31:32.449-08:00A Peek into a Rich Conservation Community<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Meaningful work with fine colleagues is one of life’s greatest pleasures.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Below Dan Delaney in a personal essay (with quotes from many stewards) compellingly describes the kind of Community of Stewards that protects and restored the biodiversity of prairies, woodlands, and wetlands. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We, the Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, believe that such initiatives have implications for the fate of rare biodiversity and for the planet generally. Dan describes a community under the headings “cool culture”, “mission”, “rugged”, “easy”, and “successful.” Many of us want more of that in our future.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Wild is Calling, and I Must Go.</h3><p style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Dan Delaney </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">“The mountains are calling, and I must go” is an oft-quoted statement by the naturalist and mountaineer John Muir. It’s a motto of those who want to get out there, to be immersed in nature, and often they head West.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></span></p></blockquote><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was born in Chicago and love it but lived for four years in the Rockies during graduate school. The wildness of that place never left me. I was surrounded by people who were passionate about the mountains. Every Monday morning at school or work began with each of us recounting what we had done and where they had gone that weekend. For all of us, “the mountains” were shorthand for this total immersion in nature.</span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I’ve been back in Chicago I’ve hiked and camped the Midwest, canoed, become a windsurfer, become a birder. All of which has been great, but I had not in 40 years found the same immersion in the wild with others of a similar passion. That was until a good friend told me, “Dan, volunteer at this place called Somme. You’ll love it; it’s full of people like you – birders, backpackers, canoeists. Hurry up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eighteen months ago, I followed him to Somme Woods, met that day’s team, and within minutes I was marching deep into the woods carrying a bow saw and a lopper. I spent three hours cutting down invasive buckthorn, sectioning dead ash trees and building up bonfires under the guidance of smart, friendly people. I was hooked. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; font-family: Times; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbSz6xL6z8TJJlalIA62YzOf647UaPv-VOt0a7uMchaF-aS3l24amdDPPwqwRZ88-zZhHiHphYiTpdEZ3Pe_WZfnEgopYQwSYNaLI25ohiYBrUe7HV62Hs7dyr5-wevBoqiZmSXdIvrk2pPGroD9OLMB682o__JuEDx4duXN-SUQQHT2Zg9eU/s4032/feeding%20fire_8739.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbSz6xL6z8TJJlalIA62YzOf647UaPv-VOt0a7uMchaF-aS3l24amdDPPwqwRZ88-zZhHiHphYiTpdEZ3Pe_WZfnEgopYQwSYNaLI25ohiYBrUe7HV62Hs7dyr5-wevBoqiZmSXdIvrk2pPGroD9OLMB682o__JuEDx4duXN-SUQQHT2Zg9eU/w640-h480/feeding%20fire_8739.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Surprisingly to me, one of the main ecological priorities at Somme is to remove invasive trees and burn them in bonfires. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;">Now, each week my mind puts a different spin on Muir’s words. For me, it’s: The Wild is calling, and I must go.</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, what is Somme and what’s so special about it? </span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Somme is nature, big enough to function for most species – and for me to get lost in.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a combination of woodland, savanna, and prairie that totals 410 acres. And it’s in Northbrook! I had driven past it on Dundee Road many times and assumed it was a clutch of trees that would give way to houses in 30 yards or so. Far from it. It’s deep nature with rare ecosystems, endangered species, and mystery. East of Waukegan Road, it’s an open woodland, where we cut invasive brush to restore enough light for reproduction of the oaks, some of which are 200-300 years old. West of Waukegan is Somme Prairie Grove, where scattered oaks mingle with grasses that by August every year are taller than we are. Increasing numbers of rare animals and plants there show what 40 years of care by this team can do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Somme is a cool culture<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We come from all walks of life and all ages, from 16 to 80ish. It’s a warm and welcoming culture, and a learning culture, too. Your colleagues know a lot and can do a lot, but no one knows everything. We all encourage and need each other, so there are no dumb questions. You’re surprised at how much and how quickly you learn. Every workday has a ‘break time’ – an opportunity to sit on a stump or log and get to know each other. A core group comes regularly; others come when they can. When is the last time you made a new friend? I’ve made <span lang="NL">a dozen</span> (and counting) at Somme.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Somme is a mission<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;">We work together to restore ecosystems and biodiversity. Climate change and environmental degradation are massive global and national issues. Somme gives us a chance to take care of our part of the planet. We are restoring a prairie/savanna/woodland system so we’re keen to identify rare and native tree, shrub, wildflower, and grass species and help them thrive. Because we need to, we study. Muir’s full quote is, “The mountains are calling and I must go and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly.” At Somme we learn incessantly and put what we learn to work. We’re in touch with people at other sites doing similar work and discovering new ways to restore habitats and ecosystems.<br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; font-family: Times; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cJBEKm_ZEIMOVKBRGi6MMNisnxUD6OyKwrNQAUzPEEq4V981zn17XY-DA2yckbGQYT2mwT_PcK-rKmfmCXWVWvfABgKs7ZVnSg9BYz2zfFnzzCnvQwBCi_v0PekGQoV2F5_BsH5SzShCKL11oeI0Yk2hvyBsNlvI92Zma1_kKpbzrcne5PK4/s3264/gather%20seeds.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cJBEKm_ZEIMOVKBRGi6MMNisnxUD6OyKwrNQAUzPEEq4V981zn17XY-DA2yckbGQYT2mwT_PcK-rKmfmCXWVWvfABgKs7ZVnSg9BYz2zfFnzzCnvQwBCi_v0PekGQoV2F5_BsH5SzShCKL11oeI0Yk2hvyBsNlvI92Zma1_kKpbzrcne5PK4/w480-h640/gather%20seeds.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This photo shows the crew gathering seeds.<br />It also shows the majesty of a thriving oak woodland.<br />Nice trees. Nice biodiversity. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;"><span lang="NL">Somme is rugged</span></span><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Somme gives you a chance to find your “inner Jack London.” Unlike London, writer of <i>The Call of the Wild</i>, you might at first see wilderness work in winter as challenging. But dress warm and you’ll find the experience initially thrilling, and then soon comfortable, to march into snowy woods from the trailhead with a bowsaw slung over your shoulder. We burn brush in bonfires and some of us actually cook food on them. Summer is for harvesting seeds and also the time for scything tall goldenrod, which can take over an area and blot out most other species. I was inspired to sketch the scene below to show how we work on such an area, bordered by railroad tracks frequented by freight trains. Falcons raising their young scream over our heads while we work. Laboring with an old scythe as a freight train passes does make you feel like you’re in a Jack London story. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="912" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaBgyC1FzyA9-qRqiiDF7be1U4vzePjV3I2CUU2zIzrZDfDwtRD3A33Q_i8BIrOUXzcws6926AfXYWbROp8loksq17k3IkoOfB0Eo7gMmo7R8lrvwE_typsK0NfVP0qYtYCaUsU17dNAymz1zUgbABcyqS6n-NNAu5WLb8oGShUzqrBmdztig/w640-h360/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-13%20at%2011.50.26%20AM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Dan Delaney's drawing, a steward scythes and piles aggressive tall goldenrod while a freight train rolls by. A study in contrasts.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaBgyC1FzyA9-qRqiiDF7be1U4vzePjV3I2CUU2zIzrZDfDwtRD3A33Q_i8BIrOUXzcws6926AfXYWbROp8loksq17k3IkoOfB0Eo7gMmo7R8lrvwE_typsK0NfVP0qYtYCaUsU17dNAymz1zUgbABcyqS6n-NNAu5WLb8oGShUzqrBmdztig/s912/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-13%20at%2011.50.26%20AM.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><p style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Somme feels easy<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Volunteer work in Somme is well organized, by us volunteers. Each week there are three or four two- or three-hour “workdays”, and we’re notified by email about what’s planned for the coming week, together with compelling photos of the previous week’s sessions. Signing up for workdays via a simple reply couldn’t be easier. Some folks come every time. others come every couple months. Either way, your colleagues are always glad to see you.</span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">Somme feels successful<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="DE">Somme</span>’s leaders have a plan, and it’s inspiring to feel a sense of progress week after week. Sometimes that feeling comes after a session when we’ve cleared the brush from a surprisingly large area. Other times, it comes when you return to an area where we spent months working and you’re almost shocked at the change: this former buckthorn thicket is now a riot of wildflowers and butterflies. Either way, Somme feels like a team sport, and we never lose. At the end of each session, we declare victory as a team.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; font-family: Times; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6hVO31u2pk9eodTJjIIWW4XB5Z6IQgjM8cnXAvt0PAojElZwzPbbxCU44nbQdnV3up9Jxf1Cu4130KWOdNzUeyspFl57Hik9DXR3x5PvqLOsxzylFDG7AmTkRnPjqnr8Op4AUBM91FmtQjdZPM5f5lJlMyrRYrqq2NJN_4tqcDi0bGDGq8as/s640/donna%20estelle%20loosestrife.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="640" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6hVO31u2pk9eodTJjIIWW4XB5Z6IQgjM8cnXAvt0PAojElZwzPbbxCU44nbQdnV3up9Jxf1Cu4130KWOdNzUeyspFl57Hik9DXR3x5PvqLOsxzylFDG7AmTkRnPjqnr8Op4AUBM91FmtQjdZPM5f5lJlMyrRYrqq2NJN_4tqcDi0bGDGq8as/w640-h564/donna%20estelle%20loosestrife.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donna and Estelle hauling off a bag of invasive and malignant purple loosestrife.<br />It's a nasty invader, and they feel triumphant about conquering it.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">Why Somme? </span><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;"><span lang="FR">Observations </span></span><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">from the Crew : <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">The </span><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;"><span lang="IT">Mission</span></span><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ve been hanging out in the woods ever since I was a kid. I used to ride my bike to the bike trails from Skokie to the North Branch trails. I ran away from home once, to the woods. I always enjoyed going to them. Now it’s a good way to contribute to making it nicer.”<span lang="NL"> Russ</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“More than anything. When I am outdoors, or camping and you know that feeling of awe, wonder or appreciation of beauty that you feel, when you are looking at a beautiful natural space. And I feel that that sensation sort of demands a response. And so, Somme is my way to do something about that feeling. Where I can help, I can act on it, I can get to know it better. It feels good to have a small tangible way that I can help serve the ecosystem of the whole world, but in my one tiny little way.” Steph<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ve been interested and concerned about climate change and I had always had a more global and super large scale view about fossil fuels and emissions. It just seemed so big, like I can vote about it but I can’t do much else except put my faith in the institutions to fix it. The knowledge that my presence there, my labor is going to restore an ecosystem; that’s something that I care about deeply. The knowledge that that’s what my three hours is going towards is great.” Josh<span lang="ES-TRAD">, Jones Prep</span> High School<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It was very hard to get my head around that there was no finishing point. And now I’m so accepting that this is just going to go on forever. We are never going to finish this job. We’re going to hand this off to Josh’s children. That took me a while to get that into my head, that this is so big.”<span lang="IT"> Estelle</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“When I go to college this fall, I’ll be studying Environmental Science. <span lang="DE">Somme</span> changed me. It helped me find a field I could be really interested in and take a chance on in college. It did that because it combined learning about the ecosystem and hands-on work.” Andrew, Jones Prep High School<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“When we are in an areas like Somme Prairie Grove and I hear, ‘This all used to be buckthorn’ it’s amazing to see beautiful areas of wild prairie plants growing. It awes me that it used to be so degraded and now is hugely beautiful. It sends shivers down my spine, the feeling that we’ve really made an improvement.” <span lang="PT">Steve</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">The Experience</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I really like working with people. At Somme we talk a lot about what we’ve accomplished. I like collaborating a lot, especially to problem solve. It’s just so super exciting. When I come to Somme, I’m working with all these people who are super passionate, nice, and are thinking really hard about what we’re doing. I never doubt whether or not I am spending my time well. It feels like I’m doing the most important thing in the world.” <span lang="IT"> Rebeccah</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I had no idea what this entailed at first, but it was outside and sounded appealing. And I showed up and we picked stone seed in the Eagle Pond area. The seed made this delicious plinking sound when you put it in your bag. It was summer and I couldn’t hear or see any traffic. I was out in the middle of this big, beautiful place that I couldn’t believe was close to Chicago. I was pretty hooked.” Steph<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s cool that it reveals a whole other world that I never knew even existed before I started coming. It’s like you are united with all these people and everyone feels the same way about it that I do. Which is so cool, and you meet all these incredible people who bring their own expertise to it. It’s something special.” Josh, Jones Prep High School<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“When grade schools and high schools bring students out to Somme, there is a lot of opportunity for us to share our knowledge with the younger generation – to show them, teach them, work with them. I find that interesting, too.” Steve<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">The Community</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You work with people from all different walks of life, from everywhere. People you wouldn’t normally run into. Different age groups, different <span lang="FR">religions,</span> and races. I like the broad range of people. You can sit and talk to a high school kid like normal. When can you ever do that?” Russ<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Oh my gosh, we have real friends that we’ve made out there. These are people I trust, enjoy being with, and if something came up and they needed something, I think that we’d all jump in and do whatever. It’s so cool.”<span lang="IT"> Estelle</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I think that people today are missing that sense of community, that something feels lacking. Somme fills that gap.” Steph<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Without a doubt the community draws me to Somme. When you go there it’s a great mix of regulars and new volunteers. And you can clearly see them having a ball. They are working hard, but also catching up on the week. It’s like they are just hanging out with their friends. And that is really my favorite part, that you can do this cool work and also find a new community.”<span lang="DE"> Andrew</span>, Jones Prep High School<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="EmphasisA" style="font-style: italic;">Nature is calling</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You don’t have to travel far to experience a total immersion in nature and heal a bit of Mother Earth with a group of fun and exceptional people. When I tell people what I’m doing, they often assume I’m volunteering in some other state. They can’t believe this is all so close to home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you interested?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just go down the road a little bit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You'll find many opportunities among <a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/events/">Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves</a> events.</span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s a bow saw and a seed bag waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; font-family: Times; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpn2uHo3tY_qPpR93cG-LA4D40ueczShbguBfCnTzEF3zCn3SWIbWL68SUcGsHYKIGeNltq-0gOLSv3Cwe-AqN9S8POqpx4XGdrJFe_q4wFF2bpcDGljz84EbCZErixtSDYXhqR9OEd77Kcg7EXOyDsxcyxuOZFpyDQr3qOoxCeaG-044xWhNq/s4032/carrot%20cake_1157.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpn2uHo3tY_qPpR93cG-LA4D40ueczShbguBfCnTzEF3zCn3SWIbWL68SUcGsHYKIGeNltq-0gOLSv3Cwe-AqN9S8POqpx4XGdrJFe_q4wFF2bpcDGljz84EbCZErixtSDYXhqR9OEd77Kcg7EXOyDsxcyxuOZFpyDQr3qOoxCeaG-044xWhNq/w640-h480/carrot%20cake_1157.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One last photo<br />celebrating our break time treats<br />and a few of this post's characters.<br />The fellow who invited me to Somme, Fred Ciba, is serving the carrot cake.<br />I'm just above him and to the left.<br />To my left in the red coat is the quotable Steph Place.<br />Also quoted above, to her left, wearing the Indiana Jones hat, is Russ Sala.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><br /></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="Body" style="border: none; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-56527785468830208862023-07-20T14:34:00.008-07:002023-08-02T15:10:16.259-07:00Illinois Beach. News and Reports. July 2023. <p><b>Reports:</b></p><p>We battled the twin <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html">evils</a>: sweet clover and crown vetch. For our first miracle, on July 22, nine people pulled the invasive clover for three hours; seven trained and-increasingly-expert volunteers sprayed the nasty crown vetch. </p><p><b>Upcoming events:</b></p><p>We're now meeting at Illinois Beach Nature Center at 9 AM every Saturday to work together until noon (or as long as you can stay) to do the important work of the day. Those whose schedules allow are also meeting on Thursday from 9 AM to noon. </p><p><b>News:</b></p><p>In addition to the <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/illinois-beach-strike-force-governor.html">upcoming festivities</a> ...</p><p>... we can report that endangered piping plovers have been restored to Illinois Beach - though exactly where is a secret. Don't try to find them. They're just chicks. Very vulnerable until they're older. (See Tribune article, below.)</p><p><b>First, we faced the horror of malignant invasives, in all their ugliness:</b></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmEFqOEj6rzmcvyRBwilHuGaqaaNqgY6C0isKEXCVzix0ncltrkQo6Y2ywTc34XCXPlP022vBzM5qnC3MaRpllK9tKwGyu4WSARGAIqbhsDNu8E7kyHoAqofz9leEtFP3JglmUTOTkrA-nNwW4Qp7nFm3Ia9Tjc_AUJAwS3JsRVTeQitAJWF5QKohP5wI/s4032/crown%20vetch%20mass_1998.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmEFqOEj6rzmcvyRBwilHuGaqaaNqgY6C0isKEXCVzix0ncltrkQo6Y2ywTc34XCXPlP022vBzM5qnC3MaRpllK9tKwGyu4WSARGAIqbhsDNu8E7kyHoAqofz9leEtFP3JglmUTOTkrA-nNwW4Qp7nFm3Ia9Tjc_AUJAwS3JsRVTeQitAJWF5QKohP5wI/w640-h480/crown%20vetch%20mass_1998.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what malignant crown vetch looks like ...<br />when it has wiped out most other vegetation ...<br />here at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve ...<br />replacing rare, very high quality, world-important biodiversity.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWWRkJlnPHrpmzL4903syoYUaJA_p4Fz1AOfuxoXBhsHmlVLvPo1DyQORa2vrZ4XyO5r5KngVGVXXQITRKuqjn8DcZFpJ9k3fZ1dziANOPRyiPIygUEDdW97NXfyOXrL0HooM0HfZHaKXeyRw0XDKjrwpeGOrrocHefij36Vy5kJ6lQhEqXn81-u41vO6/s4032/vetch%20and%20Baptesia_1999.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWWRkJlnPHrpmzL4903syoYUaJA_p4Fz1AOfuxoXBhsHmlVLvPo1DyQORa2vrZ4XyO5r5KngVGVXXQITRKuqjn8DcZFpJ9k3fZ1dziANOPRyiPIygUEDdW97NXfyOXrL0HooM0HfZHaKXeyRw0XDKjrwpeGOrrocHefij36Vy5kJ6lQhEqXn81-u41vO6/w640-h480/vetch%20and%20Baptesia_1999.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's what crown vetch looks like when it's just starting its nasty rampage.<br />The big plant at top left is white false indigo.<br />Many shorter species are already gone.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwmIc8ly1wX_EtCw5nH_tQV1aArabVNDMsWv7ZoNtW27GjyShxe4nsTiuda2eekVsIaLvUtXIb5g9ZOwv46UryhfMUtCD-fI5StjZES2orFyndaoes9r3knGaVJVsDCJwb_piUg1_-sIlSQntoUmITAMcIUQNORRLcIcqR9yR2YCXZDKyKC1Rdp8LhW74/s4032/marking%20vetch%20patches_1986.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwmIc8ly1wX_EtCw5nH_tQV1aArabVNDMsWv7ZoNtW27GjyShxe4nsTiuda2eekVsIaLvUtXIb5g9ZOwv46UryhfMUtCD-fI5StjZES2orFyndaoes9r3knGaVJVsDCJwb_piUg1_-sIlSQntoUmITAMcIUQNORRLcIcqR9yR2YCXZDKyKC1Rdp8LhW74/w640-h480/marking%20vetch%20patches_1986.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here, two of Saturday's volunteer leaders, Ashley Wold and Eriko Kojima, are placing white flags to mark <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/crown-vetch-how-to-combat-evil.html">crown vetch</a> patches. The flags will help us to recognize the evil vetch at first. Soon we'll all be good at finding even the sneaky-est little infestations. <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoRraYfJ5_9K7UCk67cJeuMduwBTCuXtS13fViscZ9L7qPQudbG-vNLvLjIKYtncMrwudSzfvOwAbID51ic9IrN_XaD28-hjXx2_5SxAt_wnDnIk4ZuLLyp8ZdCDY2aSl29WH-jJI2EAFmb8O6ooHxGk4bl904JJQIXELoQHexTCgOJsKYUKWVrjqTeMs/s4032/wsc_1994.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoRraYfJ5_9K7UCk67cJeuMduwBTCuXtS13fViscZ9L7qPQudbG-vNLvLjIKYtncMrwudSzfvOwAbID51ic9IrN_XaD28-hjXx2_5SxAt_wnDnIk4ZuLLyp8ZdCDY2aSl29WH-jJI2EAFmb8O6ooHxGk4bl904JJQIXELoQHexTCgOJsKYUKWVrjqTeMs/w640-h480/wsc_1994.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the other killer invasive ...<br />white sweet clover.<br />Its roots pull out of the sandy soil easily on these Illinois Beach savanna dunes ...<br />but many hands are needed to get it all.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4In-hjCaUi2IhmSNCIvKWhwYCp_xENxiYfEvM6bziPTt37hO3eEoYkU9AbSqS6GBD1osONbIMV1JTGWpsuOG0Z4svzku3mpFRwTBpNNl5iQfJY5k2LWr_6yFBRmFqh58RwMtzZSfiqCUUQn5J6aLz6Nht0Rim61zTJPg9GjUunkHN94k5hMLmIBRhNkE/s4032/marking%20wsc_1992.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4In-hjCaUi2IhmSNCIvKWhwYCp_xENxiYfEvM6bziPTt37hO3eEoYkU9AbSqS6GBD1osONbIMV1JTGWpsuOG0Z4svzku3mpFRwTBpNNl5iQfJY5k2LWr_6yFBRmFqh58RwMtzZSfiqCUUQn5J6aLz6Nht0Rim61zTJPg9GjUunkHN94k5hMLmIBRhNkE/w640-h480/marking%20wsc_1992.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here Ashley is tying red flagging to mark a patch of sweet clover ...<br />... while Eriko looks for more vetch to flag. </td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another message is carried by all those brown leaves in the photo above. They are evidence of a successful recent burn. The dead oak leaves are on trees that were too dense for a thriving savanna, because of too little fire. The leaves died because the damaged bark couldn't maintain them. With repeated burns, some of the over-dense areas will recover natural structure and diversity. We volunteers have offered to help to Melissa Grycan with future burns, and she said she'd be super happy to have the help. </p><p>Melissa is the dedicated Illinois DNR biologist with ecological management responsibility for this preserve (along with many other Nature Preserves owned by the <a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov">Illinois Department of Natural Resources</a>). There are vastly more needs in all these preserves than she can handle alone. We the <a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/">Friends</a> - just-now-on-Saturday-having-our-first-public-work-event-here - are honored to work with her on <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/illinois-beach-strike-force-governor.html">this highly important challenge</a>. </p><p>For more info about future plans of this new group, contact the <a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/">Friends</a>. Or for that matter, if you're good at it, help us establish more and better outreach, and make more and better plans. This important mission deserves the skills and smarts of a lot of good folks. </p><p><b>Plover News</b></p><p>Another dedicated biologist has been hard at work too. Brad Semel is busy restoring and protecting the restoration of some amazing birds to Illinois Beach. See the Chicago Tribune article, below: </p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHB72MMcQniDGuvUS8PMeLDW-V1y9majA4KSV7FNaoydikumcxzbndAzPwbWMe7QHPjOGD5taxwqdlzUn4BP_1lqF7syDeSSYjKr_qsak1yz8cJsUdByLyAqJYOc58LalfiHVuXj-2phQWhI1_qy2oGTem1ahaxU6NVeCwRgSCLmcTevx9rYddpjWkDOc/s1958/Plover%20article%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1958" data-original-width="683" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHB72MMcQniDGuvUS8PMeLDW-V1y9majA4KSV7FNaoydikumcxzbndAzPwbWMe7QHPjOGD5taxwqdlzUn4BP_1lqF7syDeSSYjKr_qsak1yz8cJsUdByLyAqJYOc58LalfiHVuXj-2phQWhI1_qy2oGTem1ahaxU6NVeCwRgSCLmcTevx9rYddpjWkDOc/s16000/Plover%20article%20pieces.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzVNDysOMTf3CLsmBhG-sTdSmqzxhGOVO51wS8nkLzkJu9PeC6tTokzX_K6z2cl0mmL5VnX8c6bviC9Y0aqDqVq1Ytp4Tk08BIS-veKis1hu5Hk2on0pOTQN1iR5Gbwv5JLFGSBhNvtkvuawO_iHom7IK0f5dyqW2e92UXlJjcbu4PBq-FhHkh9fk6ZO9/s1881/Plover%20article%20pieces%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1881" data-original-width="1354" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzVNDysOMTf3CLsmBhG-sTdSmqzxhGOVO51wS8nkLzkJu9PeC6tTokzX_K6z2cl0mmL5VnX8c6bviC9Y0aqDqVq1Ytp4Tk08BIS-veKis1hu5Hk2on0pOTQN1iR5Gbwv5JLFGSBhNvtkvuawO_iHom7IK0f5dyqW2e92UXlJjcbu4PBq-FhHkh9fk6ZO9/w460-h640/Plover%20article%20pieces%201.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Acknowledgment </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks to Eriko Kojima for edits and improvements to this post.</div>Thanks to Ashley Wold, Eriko Kojima, and Jonathan Sabath for initial leadership contributions to this important new community of stewards and our initial work. <br /><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-65763951381534162172023-07-07T08:29:00.002-07:002023-07-07T08:45:49.867-07:00Protection From Chiggers, Ticks, and Lyme Disease<p>I know a lot of people who spend a lot of time in nature, who have not gotten lyme disease. But I know some who have, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3375794/#:~:text=burgdorferi–infected%20I.,(population%20≈7%20million).">lyme disease in the Chicago region is said to be increasing</a>. </p><p>For many years I sprayed my ankles and legs with bug repellent. It has always worked to ward off the bugs I fear most, ticks and chiggers.</p><p>But more recently I've relied on pants treated by the commercial company <a href="https://www.insectshield.com">Insect Shield</a>. That works too, and I don't have to think about it. </p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-6615155035338963162023-07-05T11:35:00.002-07:002023-07-06T15:30:15.256-07:00Crown Vetch - How to Combat an Evil<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a threat to biodiversity. This menace can roll over a fine, ancient prairie or savanna, killing all - rare plants and animals alike. It's a bad plant! Really? Can a plant be "bad"? See Endnote 1. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">With its colorful but deeply ugly face, it glares at us, below:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLBzgZJYaJPl2C9CpeWdFOPP3IGbGZONVhQMPjg0aZMnChev3oKahDA79blYYpfRizApci9VJPxYitNu0fJu0lfe9X5i1YsP-wR01Ykb3X86LnPftBC3NXB-MImwCL2dziYYNylHxzQwhMI_FONDDwsK4L-BH2o0TbD7tkEJ3eSWiqN2d4dnB2REVdCPu/s550/crown%20vetch%20from%20inaturalist.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="550" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLBzgZJYaJPl2C9CpeWdFOPP3IGbGZONVhQMPjg0aZMnChev3oKahDA79blYYpfRizApci9VJPxYitNu0fJu0lfe9X5i1YsP-wR01Ykb3X86LnPftBC3NXB-MImwCL2dziYYNylHxzQwhMI_FONDDwsK4L-BH2o0TbD7tkEJ3eSWiqN2d4dnB2REVdCPu/w640-h432/crown%20vetch%20from%20inaturalist.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />A nightmare? But this is a story with a happy ending. We found the feared and hated <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html">killer invasive</a> in a high quality area - near endangered species. We'll show what we did to wipe it out. But first we'll say why.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wbIHIH78NF2OeHzayvMp8XjsmSBKa7XgHYnzFePdDZeIGSdlhqJP5C6NP6VJnHO0hQ2-XJ0iBIRtpI-5jTu_Q-X5sua-maNqV6wkBYHPR-L8SNsgMj-b35bqimpbN8Xi-TbYyfLKft0V/s1600/cv+and+toadflax.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wbIHIH78NF2OeHzayvMp8XjsmSBKa7XgHYnzFePdDZeIGSdlhqJP5C6NP6VJnHO0hQ2-XJ0iBIRtpI-5jTu_Q-X5sua-maNqV6wkBYHPR-L8SNsgMj-b35bqimpbN8Xi-TbYyfLKft0V/s640/cv+and+toadflax.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>The photo above is a detail from <a href="http://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2015/08/dystopian-prairie.html">Palatine Prairie</a> where it was left to expand for many years. In large parts of this original prairie, as shown above, crown vetch had wiped out nearly every other plant and animal. Aside from couple of sprigs of toadflax (white flowers) and a few blades of sedge, nothing else survives.</span><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZiycVL5IiTOi_N4zGZ507iFF5jpJSjITZOI6g9EkQHue5QBcSRItBhMQfw14Gigd3dluaQLTNezF9bfcD7mNPTQgnQ9mX4kGvH0_MWT9yPD9ezGg_RtQXx8xNVBs13jcq-OV5rue5tHU/s1600/cv+and+dock.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZiycVL5IiTOi_N4zGZ507iFF5jpJSjITZOI6g9EkQHue5QBcSRItBhMQfw14Gigd3dluaQLTNezF9bfcD7mNPTQgnQ9mX4kGvH0_MWT9yPD9ezGg_RtQXx8xNVBs13jcq-OV5rue5tHU/s640/cv+and+dock.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In another photo from nearby, a few more plants survive. In the upper left corner are some blazing star and prairie dock leaves, but the trauma is shocking. Perhaps twenty plant species that would have been in this photo a few years ago are already gone, and vastly more species of invertebrates.<br /><br />So what did we do (as photographed below) at Somme? After much experimentation, we've adopted a radical approach. In high quality areas, we cut most other vegetation, to save it - and get it out of the way temporarily. Think of a prairie fire in summer. Everything above ground is removed, and the prairie sprouts right back.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZ_K_NZd1vXP9O5v8ueGtrKHV9tcIg1MH2YPHV9mWsnIVV_5ByzQB4KlSIprTXjGmXS1LAM2Vu8HTJEYMmfj242KckEdmnyih-tAPaw1jBbXBQZA6U5j_qTm5gxYegGxJqBTEPzCG5-4K/s1600/finished+cutting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZ_K_NZd1vXP9O5v8ueGtrKHV9tcIg1MH2YPHV9mWsnIVV_5ByzQB4KlSIprTXjGmXS1LAM2Vu8HTJEYMmfj242KckEdmnyih-tAPaw1jBbXBQZA6U5j_qTm5gxYegGxJqBTEPzCG5-4K/s640/finished+cutting.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's what the patch looked like when we finished cutting away the rare beauty. Next step: we spray with Transline, a herbicide that kills mostly legumes (like crown vetch and prairie clover) and composites (like blazing stars and asters). So we especially carefully cut all the natural legumes and composites, and we also cut any other vegetation likely to get in the way of the spray. We want to coat every crown vetch leaf with that medicinal chemical. <br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG4Rc1ofWoDHeMurj0tCj-dkPEmgTc1cPwLUSgi7ED5I3X6PEW3aZHc25k0efMYjjnf74bVwgUz1ie9pXog6PB-uhGDOtFeKpVTJ0uDOozyOwy7IYNWRYiMIUZFpXWc0v6v4nb29t0t3_/s1600/setting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG4Rc1ofWoDHeMurj0tCj-dkPEmgTc1cPwLUSgi7ED5I3X6PEW3aZHc25k0efMYjjnf74bVwgUz1ie9pXog6PB-uhGDOtFeKpVTJ0uDOozyOwy7IYNWRYiMIUZFpXWc0v6v4nb29t0t3_/s640/setting.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, step back for a minute to think about the context. The cut patch is in the middle with mostly prairie vegetation in the foreground and savanna vegetation near those trees. Literally hundreds of plant species here are threatened.<br /><br />The open savanna or "prairie" vegetation here includes prairie lily, both white and purple prairie clovers, prairie violet, and scores more conservative plants.<br /><br />The next act was to spray:<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkS22U6v8pCjgzCHFDNZ5pJmq6vtCdpMZeHwIYffiKUNfcBmdWlY-CogdvqFxlhbxwUqlgCAES_ocLtykI1242BGDv6-MrHoRLAy7lyrOAbfl_TkL09FQuC9V09bdKtL-qS0nQ0-cbyqM/s1600/sprayed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkS22U6v8pCjgzCHFDNZ5pJmq6vtCdpMZeHwIYffiKUNfcBmdWlY-CogdvqFxlhbxwUqlgCAES_ocLtykI1242BGDv6-MrHoRLAy7lyrOAbfl_TkL09FQuC9V09bdKtL-qS0nQ0-cbyqM/s640/sprayed.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The blue is a dye in the Transline herbicide. We can see it coating every leaf. We did not successfully cut out every other plant, but we cut most of them. The bergamot and violets we see here will probably survive fine. If not they'll spread back in from around the edges. We cut them, to some degree, to save them. But we cut mostly to make sure we killed all the crown vetch.<br /><br />Too many times, we had returned to a sprayed patch, years later, to find that we'd missed a bit, and the infestation was again virulent. (This approach is too demanding for larger populations, but even there, it may be helpful to use this sort of approach to save some patches of highest quality vegetation so that it and its soil biota can recolonize.)<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQ_xOj_w9tReW8CnW_QIMms3oxJ8-49rPkIM-FkSNUfkMbNyJdb6cZr1ttrIqsFkYaJeV4WpzmGCcV6JpGs7RRUamBzh7JUJUS-vdxit7KkyWZ8CVAMmibEplBBLNI8zeFfEIBwRewEQ/s1600/e+spraying.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQ_xOj_w9tReW8CnW_QIMms3oxJ8-49rPkIM-FkSNUfkMbNyJdb6cZr1ttrIqsFkYaJeV4WpzmGCcV6JpGs7RRUamBzh7JUJUS-vdxit7KkyWZ8CVAMmibEplBBLNI8zeFfEIBwRewEQ/s640/e+spraying.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here, steward Eriko Kojima uses a backpack sprayer. For small patches, she often uses a little hand sprayer. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">She has done this work in very high-quality prairie ("Grade A") with complete, permanent control of the vetch, and no loss of high-quality prairie plants. For years, we repeatedly checked that spot. The crown vetch was completely gone. There was no noticeable difference between the sprayed patch of high quality prairie and the unsprayed high quality prairie all around it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, we also know from experience that older patches of the vetch have years' worth of seed lying in the ground, waiting. They sprout. We watch for them and kill these smaller, isolated plants before they have time to booby trap the ground with more seed. After a few years, all but the worst populations are gone. The lesson: find it and zap it early.<br /><br />This post is and update and expansion of a section of a <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/06/finding-and-doing.html">previous post</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would be good to hear from others about successful and unsuccessful approaches. </span><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><h3><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Endnote 1</span></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Biodiversity loss is a major threat to the planet. There are other evils: climate change, war, oppression of some people by others. Not all of us need to take time out of our happy lives to work hard to end all evils. But it's a badge of honor to humanity that many of us do pitch in where we can. Biodiversity is an incomparably important heritage that has evolved over hundreds of millions of years. Our species is unintentionally wiping out major parts of it. Numerically, most species and ecosystem types are threatened with oblivion or radical depauperization. 50% of the rainforest is gone. 99.99% of the original tallgrass prairie is gone. Less than that survives of high-quality oak ecosystems. Invasive species are today one of the two or three major threats to most surviving remnants. Many of us have been inspired by the words and actions of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15332.Rachel_Carson">Rachel Carson</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/43828.Aldo_Leopold">Aldo Leopold</a>, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-kind-of-person-does-it-take.html">Robert Betz</a>, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/08/tom-vanderpoel-make-something-better.html">Tom Vanderpoel</a> and many. Also, of course, there's this quote: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. </span></div></div></div></div></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-61860754486849639782023-06-28T13:53:00.009-07:002023-08-15T05:09:21.643-07:00Illinois Beach: new volunteer Strike Force, Dignitaries, and big Anniversary<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRkR8Xs3rrYYqajdvKAwr1nAcaoC6uxEEnm0zLj4pWVchnPx30GTCyWPC_gNJ-f26c5ryYI_XqXSZW_4IIpLCJc5mWW6YPKv1Ub7dbxCZz2ZL8hxP4VbGHbWswOyi3rd1ciRZZXhzZx14666DQwHE26tAYrLJgkYMzPVBsNXFYjXJTcvBpRE7CKTguA7N/s640/ILBeachSP-LustrousLight-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="640" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRkR8Xs3rrYYqajdvKAwr1nAcaoC6uxEEnm0zLj4pWVchnPx30GTCyWPC_gNJ-f26c5ryYI_XqXSZW_4IIpLCJc5mWW6YPKv1Ub7dbxCZz2ZL8hxP4VbGHbWswOyi3rd1ciRZZXhzZx14666DQwHE26tAYrLJgkYMzPVBsNXFYjXJTcvBpRE7CKTguA7N/w640-h472/ILBeachSP-LustrousLight-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It one of the most diverse and important Nature Preserve in Illinois. It's also grievously afflicted by malignant invaders. It needs more Friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On August 28<sup>th</sup>, many conservation notables will be featured at a celebration of the 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the founding of the <a href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/inpc.html">Illinois Nature Preserve System</a> in 1963. We'll also celebrate the first Nature Preserve – Illinois Beach. And the Nature Preserves Commission is expected to vote to add another 186.42 acres to this 1080-acre Nature Preserve. When signed by Commission Chair George Covington and </span>Governor Pritzker, this protection will be permanent. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does green politics not impress you? It should, because biodiversity – and the planet generally – desperately need friends, in other words, politics of a sort. The Earth is lost if we can’t assemble a working consensus on how to live here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, starting in July, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/this-saturday-illinois-beach-news-and.html">a new group has been doing what we can</a> to help out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, this post joins the sublime with the ghastly. Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves believe good-hearted people will rise to rescue Illinois' most sublime and needy landscape – the prairies, savannas, and marshes with millions of rare animals and plants that grace Illinois Beach Nature Preserve. There’s nothing like it. Grade A prairie that stretches away from you to the horizon. Uncountable rare orchids, gentians, birds, pollinators, and other marvelous obscurities. Beset with malignant invasives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this historic moment, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves are helping launch something long-needed but not possible. The new initiative doesn’t even have a name yet, because those who form it should be part of the naming. Suggested so far: “Green First Responders.” “Eco Strike Force.” “Triage Group.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Much of the above is over-brief. More details below. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LP4sXcFFQOx3kzn4RAxQ1BgMVOX9UnP4_eCOLBjmzVB8vxjHKFedkd7lK2_V2zcj-oe83zo82bno94vVd-CJcl_qyaZkWYulo2tYt2KsnXfGxNcsKVPQ-Xg48KHgoms9EJYtqUhV_7HQwfV7Dxo6V-rVttEuTfK-eMUnkCceNvDvj08QJGR5ex5iFOIj/s640/ILBeachSP-0380-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="640" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LP4sXcFFQOx3kzn4RAxQ1BgMVOX9UnP4_eCOLBjmzVB8vxjHKFedkd7lK2_V2zcj-oe83zo82bno94vVd-CJcl_qyaZkWYulo2tYt2KsnXfGxNcsKVPQ-Xg48KHgoms9EJYtqUhV_7HQwfV7Dxo6V-rVttEuTfK-eMUnkCceNvDvj08QJGR5ex5iFOIj/w640-h448/ILBeachSP-0380-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dead River divides the preserve in two. The expanse north of the river is so vast that you can see only a small part of it in a day’s hiking on 17.3 miles of trails. South of Dead River, the biggest part, is almost always empty of people. No trails. It’s off limits to all except those with special approval for science or stewardship. Do you want to see it? Stick with us; we’ll go there. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBbkrnUItOFGHQtSiLqb-j8akVztWjkQ0ia6r2Gmu-lw6i7xZgapYjWUv-orjYpL67h0o6Q7nuIyJ4ciK_MC8D6Y--VO-weecNaBVYjV8N2-o_gxTQztNLylOGWR_MFwTmb2WWh5GIrdb1Fzviw7jQRDzKjESEmhPovx86_x_kkHdcUTbXoHnF3XPYnAq/s640/ILBeachSP-0340-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="472" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBbkrnUItOFGHQtSiLqb-j8akVztWjkQ0ia6r2Gmu-lw6i7xZgapYjWUv-orjYpL67h0o6Q7nuIyJ4ciK_MC8D6Y--VO-weecNaBVYjV8N2-o_gxTQztNLylOGWR_MFwTmb2WWh5GIrdb1Fzviw7jQRDzKjESEmhPovx86_x_kkHdcUTbXoHnF3XPYnAq/w472-h640/ILBeachSP-0340-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="472" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's Grade A (very high quality) black oak sand savanna. Wild lupine in bloom – spiced up with touches of orange puccoon and pink phlox. Not visible are the rare Karner blue butterflies that depend utterly on the lupine as food for their caterpillars. There is less of this high quality ecosystem every year. It needs us to help. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">High quality natural ecosystems are rare in Illinois (and the midwest generally)</span> – compromising 7/100ths of 1% of the original. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The largest very high-quality ecosystem in Illinois, 1,079 acres (including both sides of Dead River) are permanently protected as a Nature Preserve. But lot’s more is prime and worthy. The savanna shown above is outside the Nature Preserve. That will change on August 28</span><sup style="font-family: inherit;">th</sup><span style="font-family: inherit;"> when the Commissioners, Governor, and all will add more acres to the permanently-legally-protected preserve. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you look close, most of the preserve is gemlike:</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rKmLl-oPY7dgAj2zsmnc3ZTvsLFRgfgpJ55BDDcqif35opWzhdzIuAb1wJO5nQvN6VGbnkiX1qzL6DUjYiOTCRsBm7jRp2y1yA8EnxMFi0s-mUeDBC8YWOWLCR0l1yPkMS_MZjgqH7C2wEZzGeJqGlFC78MbFOyNImtYvY5AiNp4oc37kWrI2nldvdCL/s640/Flowers-PastureRose-0010-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="465" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rKmLl-oPY7dgAj2zsmnc3ZTvsLFRgfgpJ55BDDcqif35opWzhdzIuAb1wJO5nQvN6VGbnkiX1qzL6DUjYiOTCRsBm7jRp2y1yA8EnxMFi0s-mUeDBC8YWOWLCR0l1yPkMS_MZjgqH7C2wEZzGeJqGlFC78MbFOyNImtYvY5AiNp4oc37kWrI2nldvdCL/w466-h640/Flowers-PastureRose-0010-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="466" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But horrifyingly many patches look like this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQEdimQvDNRR1jC0k5zHKFAs5UBwbBG54_8pvR4ZJM2lfJoh0gaGdNJYqbK1fH-_64t56To4nTUAWViSVKfsotwm1V1-MBXN4jeWeoyOfudwBSyabT_oiQP-KliQuRSdgPBYKpA6I8rc295x7ZzIh1OHcDgkNLb5P4xZV04M8dtIruBL4DmdxUSHOrlxs/s3264/crown%20vetch_3600.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQEdimQvDNRR1jC0k5zHKFAs5UBwbBG54_8pvR4ZJM2lfJoh0gaGdNJYqbK1fH-_64t56To4nTUAWViSVKfsotwm1V1-MBXN4jeWeoyOfudwBSyabT_oiQP-KliQuRSdgPBYKpA6I8rc295x7ZzIh1OHcDgkNLb5P4xZV04M8dtIruBL4DmdxUSHOrlxs/w640-h480/crown%20vetch_3600.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A killer plant wipes out all. Legal protection is not enough. Invasives are rampant in many areas. The malignant above is <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/crown-vetch-how-to-combat-evil.html">crown vetch</a>. It destroys everything. The prairie survivors among it here are prairie dock (top left), two leaves of some rose, and toadflax (white flowers, top right). All else has vanished under the assault of the killer vetch.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Expanding patches of crown vetch and other invasives blight many areas. The solution is doable. A team of dedicated and resolute people could wipe it out. We've succeeded at worse-infected sites. (You or someone you know could be a part of it.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvUeGx6I0V77E959PjFm9dy5AEFeL7EeYwb0ZwGJjgPyk96RVTcquD22x11zL84dgqZm4KhFqMOfRP6ZnKnbp4c_e58VQgrBLnkWAuQE4aYspO4uzOpTp3EhVNHfQ7euEcY6NChejdxfpnR-0j8REbp-vjqJffl4AcwdD5lD6xAwdWqlLCih3FWHstnNf/s640/ILBeachSP-0220-MASTER-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="487" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvUeGx6I0V77E959PjFm9dy5AEFeL7EeYwb0ZwGJjgPyk96RVTcquD22x11zL84dgqZm4KhFqMOfRP6ZnKnbp4c_e58VQgrBLnkWAuQE4aYspO4uzOpTp3EhVNHfQ7euEcY6NChejdxfpnR-0j8REbp-vjqJffl4AcwdD5lD6xAwdWqlLCih3FWHstnNf/w488-h640/ILBeachSP-0220-MASTER-640px-copyright-MikeMacDonald-sRGB.jpg" width="488" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you leave the savanna and walk across the prairie, the magic changes form but remains as intense. Lead characters above are sand coreopsis, blazing star, and Indian grass. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Examples of super-rare plants you may see here and there are downy yellow painted-cup and clustered orobanche. But crown vetch, buckthorn, and reed canary grass, “the three horsemen of the invasives apocalypse,” could slaughter all. We will stop them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6P8jUbogEY9IagfAD0t9QcI-j3f2Q0Cb8fJ5DgJx1_ZrZyGUuTQ-xPl9ucw4QKLZeoyMKjj1V4_94GIHKcE50IA20-Z9u9z-7idZlcdy8Xol9L9MT-WdmtiWdFfsjA65cf7V-_CcPIZlaIR__CulIiUodpjrE1LCFrG4Jrv1_TPVWabfBxEXhiwT7OFc/s861/aerial%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="861" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6P8jUbogEY9IagfAD0t9QcI-j3f2Q0Cb8fJ5DgJx1_ZrZyGUuTQ-xPl9ucw4QKLZeoyMKjj1V4_94GIHKcE50IA20-Z9u9z-7idZlcdy8Xol9L9MT-WdmtiWdFfsjA65cf7V-_CcPIZlaIR__CulIiUodpjrE1LCFrG4Jrv1_TPVWabfBxEXhiwT7OFc/w640-h570/aerial%202.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">North of Dead River (top of photo) is the part of the preserve with trails. To the south is uninterrupted wilderness, savanna (left) and prairie (right). The stripes are beach ridges deposited by wave action on the shore of the retreating Glacial Lake Chicago over thousands of years. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the moment this aerial photo was taken, the River is “Dead,” in the sense that it does not flow. The outlet to Lake Michigan is blocked with sand, deposited by lake currents. With any heavy rainfall, the river water rises, overtops the sand bar, rapidly erodes it away, and the river comes to flowing life, emptying into the lake, and then the wave-driven sand, sooner or later, blocks the river mouth again. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We stewards of nature deserve our own powerful and sustained forces. Thanks to Friends director Amy Doll, i</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">t has gotten dramatically easier to help - fewer hoops to jump through. Key parts of stewardship require a cumbersome-to-get herbicide license. Now we can offer people a one-hour training. If you complete the training successfully, which any competent person can do, you get certified and field-trained for this needed, easy, safe stewardship. Melissa Grycan, a Natural Heritage Biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, teaches. She’s assisted by Friends field rep Jonathan Sabath (who has already taught this new, one-hour course and certified new stewards at Kishwaukee Fen). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In our experience, </span>when Friends facilitates, people rise to the occasion. Some great “new people” may become long-term stewards at Illinois Beach. Others may decide to build this new iniative as a “hot shot team” that aids various preserves, wherever most needed to make a key difference.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No long-term commitment. Just see if it works for you. Perhaps you'll help design and build part of “a next generation” of nature-saving stewards. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To find out more - contact <a href="mailto:jonathan@friendsilnature.org">Jonathan Sabath</a>, <a href="mailto:ashleynwold@yahoo.com">Ashley Wold</a> (one of the <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/who-are-peregrines.html">Peregrines</a>), or <a href="mailto:info@sommepreserve.org">Stephen Packard</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or fill out <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oVwQa2pPpgzNY4AphMGB_a1PcvrCKmL_niCCzaqMaug/viewform?edit_requested=true">this form</a>?</span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And finally, </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">if blessings are ecologically appropriate, </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">bless all who help our rare, irreplaceable Nature Preserves! </span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Acknowledgements, Apologies, and Secrets<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to Mike MacDonald for all the gorgeous photos. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A meaningful present to yourself and others is Mike’s thrillingly beautiful book - which can be reviewed and purchased through <a href="https://www.chicagonature.com/chicago-book/">this link</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also check out Mike's compelling "<a href="https://naturemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/">immersive exhibit</a>" at the Peggy Notebaert Museum.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there's a 48 second video of the exhibit and its people <a href="https://vimeo.com/825917965?share=copy">here</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Credit</b> for caring for Illinois Beach goes to early advocate H.S.Pepoon (1920s), George Fell (1960s), generations of Illinois conservation staffers, Illinois Dunesland Preservation Association, and special homage to volunteers including Illinois Beach steward Don Wilson and Hosah Prairie steward Kathy Garness. Also, we hope, one way or another, to you. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <b>crown vetch</b> photo above is the only one in this post not from Illinois Beach. It's from a different invasives victim site, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2015/08/dystopian-prairie.html">Palatine Prairie</a>. It's a photo that tells the story well. (For the start of our Illinois Beach campaign against crown vetch, see our <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/07/this-saturday-illinois-beach-news-and.html">July 22 results</a>.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Secret:</b> A man-made erosion atrocity has been washing acres of rare, very-high-quality ecosystem into Lake Michigan. Advocates, organizers, lawyers, and others are needed to support efforts to reverse that. This issue would take m<span style="font-family: inherit;">ore than a short post to explain. More on current efforts in future posts here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b>Chemical control of invasives: </b></span>The chemicals used in stewardship are safe for humans. They're designed to kill plants. Unlike in agriculture, we use them in small quantities and target them carefully. In this form there's minimal risk to people. But, for the biodiversity of Illinois Beach, they're a matter of life or death.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Thanks</b> to </span><a href="https://friendsofillinoisnaturepreserves.org/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friends of Illinoi</span>s Nature Preserves</a> for their leadership on so many new initiatives, including the <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/06/who-are-peregrines.html">Peregrines</a> and the new Illinois Beach celebration and task force. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Thanks</b> for<b> proofing </b>and<b> edits </b>to this post by Jonathan Sabath, Ashley Wold, Amy Doll, Christos Economou, and Kathleen Garness. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-3007264792490061562023-06-22T09:35:00.006-07:002023-06-28T07:13:33.302-07:00 Who are the Peregrines?<span style="font-family: inherit;">They do good as they wander the wilderness - winter, summer, and in between. As they describe themselves: <br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Depends who you ask: we're musicians, lawyers, parents, birders, students, nurses, tech workers, and a great deal more. But we're all brought together by a passion for caring for biodiversity and the healthy natural ecosystems that nurture it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Illinois' newest eco-restoration volunteer community: the Peregrines. We're a group of 20 and 30 somethings that work to save the planet through conserving biodiversity in nature preserves across NE Illinois.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Do you know anyone who might like to be a part of this? Please spread the word. <br /><br />All the photos and most of the language of this post came from the Peregrines’ website and Facebook page.<br /> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gi24f3CocmRLIsQESBYbJVjJ-DQ5aR4sjtLWqyrM19WGcSSn9eAGZC4aejCzpVhZY_l0rv7RCK6RDI6gDEhSWc7Ie9dhQ02ogkBNp6Xo1okd8r6IWDsEmeSfAwlXw4ItITZT-LxMqGuq9Ud-betNHQDAl1ctGh9WiGSTLb4oADK3WLTMq5QId5nshdz_/s747/Cooking.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="747" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gi24f3CocmRLIsQESBYbJVjJ-DQ5aR4sjtLWqyrM19WGcSSn9eAGZC4aejCzpVhZY_l0rv7RCK6RDI6gDEhSWc7Ie9dhQ02ogkBNp6Xo1okd8r6IWDsEmeSfAwlXw4ItITZT-LxMqGuq9Ud-betNHQDAl1ctGh9WiGSTLb4oADK3WLTMq5QId5nshdz_/w640-h640/Cooking.png" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever the season, we have great snacks.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkZ56nrwpqPgaWKeIIG4fJrLKnutmOYyrwYDxxbxrkWCSa5FvvB-F4wPbCD99yf_pbZqA07Cwa8KI5B8I5J8DgeWTg8OKzI6bc90rb2hs_Xkp_zoRE6VYLWtZ3W4Kkn_yQ95ZNONfUMG7_RZc5RNqZhrl3SRC0iZ7-HXTPxVdsdwS-mREcJQaQSd0NK3W/s870/Winter%20Work.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="870" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkZ56nrwpqPgaWKeIIG4fJrLKnutmOYyrwYDxxbxrkWCSa5FvvB-F4wPbCD99yf_pbZqA07Cwa8KI5B8I5J8DgeWTg8OKzI6bc90rb2hs_Xkp_zoRE6VYLWtZ3W4Kkn_yQ95ZNONfUMG7_RZc5RNqZhrl3SRC0iZ7-HXTPxVdsdwS-mREcJQaQSd0NK3W/w640-h480/Winter%20Work.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In winter, we go to especially worthy preserves and cut - and burn. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs_-obj9CYMVKgPviqZD_oWnPsaWfZ5mzFHB-kmuqDAMl-TnAuRvEFiL0Kw8-jja10CK7_G9Shz-STZXfS_Xz2WdbGCmE4TP2jZZJuvLqvQL3ChyKOD6WhSZViRn6BjYu52-zfLCskFXYt8h8qgFTKgwoT1SS3_YOhqVcI0ebRpvxm2WRzf4kWIboimw4/s865/Messing%20with%20Plugs.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="865" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs_-obj9CYMVKgPviqZD_oWnPsaWfZ5mzFHB-kmuqDAMl-TnAuRvEFiL0Kw8-jja10CK7_G9Shz-STZXfS_Xz2WdbGCmE4TP2jZZJuvLqvQL3ChyKOD6WhSZViRn6BjYu52-zfLCskFXYt8h8qgFTKgwoT1SS3_YOhqVcI0ebRpvxm2WRzf4kWIboimw4/w640-h428/Messing%20with%20Plugs.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spring we sometimes plant rare plants from local seed in spaces the brush cutting has opened up. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In summer, we erase weeds, large and small, including this nasty, invasive silver poplar.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFBloMuEPiTmbZ4YE4GRl1iFm4qjI01PzVED9Nb529REgyeDMU3X8cGAJp0q0My9tL8hbLvqmqX7fZ0FtZdJOp_b0ayVZzxMlqFwPadXonlptZTTWSoRM7x11SO_-2Jb1lr0_cyawzUSE9V0hCtc3Nat0sp9j9mtojzCMJGN1Sm0aypwYQts0NzJqpmbM/s4032/girdle%20big%20aspen_1741.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFBloMuEPiTmbZ4YE4GRl1iFm4qjI01PzVED9Nb529REgyeDMU3X8cGAJp0q0My9tL8hbLvqmqX7fZ0FtZdJOp_b0ayVZzxMlqFwPadXonlptZTTWSoRM7x11SO_-2Jb1lr0_cyawzUSE9V0hCtc3Nat0sp9j9mtojzCMJGN1Sm0aypwYQts0NzJqpmbM/w640-h480/girdle%20big%20aspen_1741.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>Does this make sense? Yes, it does. See video, below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='602' height='501' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzOgUr0q1xkgUjegcyZ-BVlGn5hIAmJqM-XC0TcRFqLQ8Ghtlf0DywG7ZBRWmlocQEqT_C3WpeosnnaKY_Lqg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Even when we don't have the best tools for the challenges we find, we make it work. </div><div style="text-align: center;">For more on this somewhat bizarre video, see Endnote 1. <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wCGhNgriHytqSZ4uJbD4uFx7ypIF5kdJHy_s74S0AHAA_m08Y45QteeJpullSHZbI_kI4ARNyjjL7fI6OFe0I8Llps28SSWB3jMtatYS1jAVnL_8rFeT_44AluVpJCq4D2veygMZr8STeIWigtapI2ljAcH05wIV1QPqp3TC9vviM1RBJ54-oAbZZiz/s835/The%20Joy%20of%20Seeds.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="835" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wCGhNgriHytqSZ4uJbD4uFx7ypIF5kdJHy_s74S0AHAA_m08Y45QteeJpullSHZbI_kI4ARNyjjL7fI6OFe0I8Llps28SSWB3jMtatYS1jAVnL_8rFeT_44AluVpJCq4D2veygMZr8STeIWigtapI2ljAcH05wIV1QPqp3TC9vviM1RBJ54-oAbZZiz/w640-h480/The%20Joy%20of%20Seeds.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Joy of Seeds<br />We gather in summer and fall. We broadcast into needy ecosystems before the snows. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WN0vEuGxKq4PTt-asa5davb6HsgxMaCMh8AuhrzvXk_z_hMq4FvwYtHLUPmLXfVYd-PHP07QzqdrASCg2yL04sqWuUK0NXaiGmWYSFpsAV9BvCe7t4X0tFOZEWALq6apS9Nfhky_bi36yw4oE3Zs0eEI4WWVaeaDmKjUhtAWZTjBEEypblbv0LThEmMp/s870/Break%20Time.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="870" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WN0vEuGxKq4PTt-asa5davb6HsgxMaCMh8AuhrzvXk_z_hMq4FvwYtHLUPmLXfVYd-PHP07QzqdrASCg2yL04sqWuUK0NXaiGmWYSFpsAV9BvCe7t4X0tFOZEWALq6apS9Nfhky_bi36yw4oE3Zs0eEI4WWVaeaDmKjUhtAWZTjBEEypblbv0LThEmMp/w640-h480/Break%20Time.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did we mention snacks?<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Good treats, good work, and good socializing nourish our spirits. </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Saving the planet needs multitudes. As the Peregrines, we learn as much as is needed for the work that day, mentored by the stewards of the Nature Preserves where we help out. Some of us are learning all we can, so that we too can lead where most needed. One pleasure we most appreciate is meeting each other; people who care about the planet turn out to be great to know. We invite</span> questions or suggestions at <a href="mailto:peregrines@friendsilnature.org" style="color: blue;">peregrines@friendsilnature.org</a>.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our schedule is <a href="https://peregrines.vercel.app/?">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our website is <a href=" https://peregrines.vercel.app/?fbclid=IwAR0I3FpvSuT8jkTWk4vwppxfQ0h1gnswYwglDZubnAB56a161ef04GF3JAM">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our Facebook page is <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090017187607">here</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Endnote 1</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">To girdle a tree is a way to kill it without the need for herbicide, which we want to minimize. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">But why kill a tree in the first place? As people increasingly understand, invasive weeds, including invasive trees, are a major threat to biodiversity. In this case, a large Eurasian white poplar has killed off hundreds of species of rare prairie plants and animals. To allow them to re-colonize from the tiny remnant (which trees like this had been eating away at) we girdle the tree. In this case, the tree has fallen over and sprouted a number of new trunks, all of which will be controlled by this awkward-to-make but very effective girdle. To do it, you cut off the phloem and leave the xylem. Really? Do you need a Phd for this? No. You just have to know that the part of the trunk that feeds the roots (the phloem) will break off at the cambium, if you cut it right, and give it a good whack. That's normally done with an axe or hammer. But in this case, a cut European buckthorn log will do. Does this make only vague sense? Come and help, and we'll teach you more!<br /></span><div><br /></div></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-72798382089124820492023-06-07T06:25:00.001-07:002024-02-01T06:41:14.237-08:00Irruptions of Aggressive Species <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KMjNurzjcLUpzAnG22WOMOOG0LBoBocYOCIWGWsu1pCXYD5_HM9iSOOVbBpZeLFQdOnAEvHD5hKE-WM-xu1m8BErfBjsAn8I-0uFsSzcYUsz65rThiSAfDKWRTjr4NK5asc1zjQ01M0xiitglBro8mg_NjkvbuSLm0UmRxMSpk4EcBDib4OkUUBZQQ/s1880/Point%20D13_4865%20cu.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1313" data-original-width="1880" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KMjNurzjcLUpzAnG22WOMOOG0LBoBocYOCIWGWsu1pCXYD5_HM9iSOOVbBpZeLFQdOnAEvHD5hKE-WM-xu1m8BErfBjsAn8I-0uFsSzcYUsz65rThiSAfDKWRTjr4NK5asc1zjQ01M0xiitglBro8mg_NjkvbuSLm0UmRxMSpk4EcBDib4OkUUBZQQ/w640-h448/Point%20D13_4865%20cu.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aggressive tall goldenrod - is it an ecosystem killer?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They wipe out all else. In both prairie and woodland restoration, irruptions of aggressive (<a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2014/10/weed-alien-invasive-malignant.html">malignant</a>) species can kill off most of the conservative or "<a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/floristic-quality-assessment-and-plant.html">high-quality</a>" species. <p></p><p>In the early days of prairie restoration, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-kind-of-person-does-it-take.html">Dr. Betz</a>'s hypothesis was that aggressive prairie species could outcompete aggressive "weeds." Indeed, if you plant plenty of big bluestem and burn regularly, it will drive out farm weeds, tall goldenrod, and most other species in a few years. Unfortunately, the resulting few-species stand of big bluestem and a few others can make it more challenging to restore most other prairie biodiversity (from conservative plants to birds to butterflies). </p><p>Ecosystem responses are complex - and different from spot to spot. Thus, diverse quality can replace both tall goldenrod and big bluestem, but it may take decades of burning and seeding. And in other spots, instead of diversity, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-mighty-middle.html">woodland sunflower took over</a> and killed even the tall goldenrod.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJusNui-czHf2YpmDk8GcT1MDnHQMfEW8oKhvbp2dhb2BhvJZpyjeG56KArYtI436TXBYF0cDOzj7fIAf3Khi5n7CSQkKELAjpT70JvGEZJHJ51ufXbfqi7QAmQhssk9yw6dyaddzf3dfLcAvBkoY2ocRTwk9OmAosjA24K-H3U46uoZfVUVtswj8wTg/s4032/where%20sunlower%20burned_7550.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJusNui-czHf2YpmDk8GcT1MDnHQMfEW8oKhvbp2dhb2BhvJZpyjeG56KArYtI436TXBYF0cDOzj7fIAf3Khi5n7CSQkKELAjpT70JvGEZJHJ51ufXbfqi7QAmQhssk9yw6dyaddzf3dfLcAvBkoY2ocRTwk9OmAosjA24K-H3U46uoZfVUVtswj8wTg/w640-h480/where%20sunlower%20burned_7550.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here woodland sunflower - after three decades of "restoration" - replaced tall goldenrod and all else. The previous summer, we had scythed the sunflower one time, and it grew back this strong the next year. We had raked the mowed sunflower into piles and burned it (the area now bare). Underneath the sunflower, little grew. <br />See <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-battle-of-aggressive-sunflower.html">The Battle of the Aggressive Sunflowers.</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Many other species are aggressive only in the short run. They will be out-competed by diverse quality species (if present or seeded) over the years. In my experience, these include tall boneset, hog peanut, white snakeroot, Japanese hedge parsley, garlic mustard (in prairies though not in woods), oxeye daisy, and wild carrot. They just "go away by themselves." </p><p>In both long and short term, controlled burns can actually encourage many aggressive species. If there's been a long period with no fire, a burn will kill many invaders, which then leaves empty space for trouble. Quality species, if seeded or present, may slowly establish in the gaps. But invasives can explode. In many situations, diversity will outcompete the invaders in time with regular burns. Mowing the fast-increasing species a couple of times a year for a couple of years seems often to tip the balance in favor of the good guys. </p><p>On the other hand, uncontrolled tall goldenrod often promotes the return of brush. In many situations, tall goldenrod patches won't burn. In those cases buckthorn often slowly replaces the goldenrod. </p><p>Many aggressive species are most troublesome in rich soils, rather than a very dry or sandy sites. It's different from place to place. But an observant steward can figure out successful strategies. </p><p><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p>This post was inspired by a good question on the relationship between fire and aggressive species from Kirk Garanflo on the post <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/05/restoring-oak-woodlands-what-it-takes_16.html">restoring-oak-woodlands</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-63676459211291485812023-05-16T08:15:00.013-07:002023-12-28T10:05:15.694-08:00Blunt Answers to Nine Questions about Saving Oak Woodlands<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Christos Economou, Matt Evans, Eriko Kojima, and Stephen Packard</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have been too cautions. The increasingly-rare plants and animals of a hallowed community have suffered from misplaced reverence and timid indecision. </span><div><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">A healthy woodland is now rarer than a healthy prairie or savanna. But we've been blind. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The previous conservation strategy – to leave the woods alone – is a bad failure. Now this region's only Globally Threatened (G1) community is oak woodland on rich soil, formerly our major forest type.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most surviving remnants are losing species fast. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't be fooled by a "rich looking" spring ephemeral flora. In the photo below, the ground will soon be bare. The summer and fall flora did not survive here, nor did the pollinators nor other animals that depend on the hundreds of summer and fall plant species.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxyZ-j_XKttoYSfZiWutjgbQWTqRuW3GW3ra9BmCtiY-3LohPPRg6DQl5X_5Gxk-7VaERXx32rthRWJ1yRnO1XpRMxb798myx77KlYOdyDAcb2mA0hmS3FO_OtHS9Q81d2kElmdmTtxXi4vj3MoS_eLSkP9A81RfvI2GyJOiiNTQ1CHE17cuSlmdJCg/s628/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-18%20at%207.40.37%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="628" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxyZ-j_XKttoYSfZiWutjgbQWTqRuW3GW3ra9BmCtiY-3LohPPRg6DQl5X_5Gxk-7VaERXx32rthRWJ1yRnO1XpRMxb798myx77KlYOdyDAcb2mA0hmS3FO_OtHS9Q81d2kElmdmTtxXi4vj3MoS_eLSkP9A81RfvI2GyJOiiNTQ1CHE17cuSlmdJCg/w400-h265/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-18%20at%207.40.37%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or, below, with most species now gone, what's left? Bur oaks, not reproducing, nearly all plant and animal diversity under their canopies smothered by buckthorn:</span></div><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCC62sFQ0i7M1fyyZcgx6cL1UszeoNHZPXGOrPIFgA7ItKqykEbaLJtD9ruYj4pfYZMT7DAoM1QJcQ7iFfPpN1GxjWPSkHE2I_Qik_6wmljHDfmc0z7EQrJ1-NHu434MTw8UYXwwhpmF3r-aVuW-Hbn5ltYUpga3QU_lP63AmXi89GD9pUGEr0Zg__Q/s3264/buckthorn%20oaks.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCC62sFQ0i7M1fyyZcgx6cL1UszeoNHZPXGOrPIFgA7ItKqykEbaLJtD9ruYj4pfYZMT7DAoM1QJcQ7iFfPpN1GxjWPSkHE2I_Qik_6wmljHDfmc0z7EQrJ1-NHu434MTw8UYXwwhpmF3r-aVuW-Hbn5ltYUpga3QU_lP63AmXi89GD9pUGEr0Zg__Q/w640-h480/buckthorn%20oaks.jpg" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A long-degraded woodland - before restoration</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvkwcR6X52Uil5zXD3a6SJFsolFHRTejTiHOOWeQxi07v9j8Ei1ibWQi_13CHP_OKtqJ6OB-8Klq4roHincWFtSsGAZn99afcYq-oc9qpwKHvjSDfDc7itx3fX2Qgv85HKM7o52NEmzqH4aFPcyYO8r6IR66MK1mAPCMyCByQZe0txd25goOg6wQVow/w480-h640/big%20oaks%20spring%20flora.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same woodland - with restoration under way. Spring flora mixed with summer and fall flora. Many animals returning. See detailed spring and summer photos below.</td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BI9DAP4kjmmZtzz6DrSslSPI1KlowJeKO-HJIY6RwOHpo4-4U4hSxtm6BYJzuTdNDOQsY5uDd5cvQsly33_duwK8UxJ4VNFVL6ZI-KiamrPwoVIKPfIcxpqashA48kiWJ77H9MADCq-pBtnwysD4033wl4eicWtIMf9YvUjvSPkLs6f8J0ocMfAAbA/s4032/rue%20betony%20turf_1385.jpeg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BI9DAP4kjmmZtzz6DrSslSPI1KlowJeKO-HJIY6RwOHpo4-4U4hSxtm6BYJzuTdNDOQsY5uDd5cvQsly33_duwK8UxJ4VNFVL6ZI-KiamrPwoVIKPfIcxpqashA48kiWJ77H9MADCq-pBtnwysD4033wl4eicWtIMf9YvUjvSPkLs6f8J0ocMfAAbA/w640-h480/rue%20betony%20turf_1385.jpeg" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spring - after thirty years of restoration - turf under bur and Hill's oaks.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">May 6</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Species in the photo above include rue anemone, wood betony, golden Alexanders, toothwort, thicket parsley, Pennsylvania sedge, beardtongue, starry campion, awned wood grass, large-flowered trillium, trout lily, cow parsnip, meadow rue, and wild geranium. Only two of these species are spring ephemerals. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOkzT0Db6gYpj4KUPAQ8f_cBkv91Wl5WpV51iaHO0JiU4HnKzFyR_1oN6WDUtf97QS9sh4eB_c0bIuK706xb_cUQOwaBPBkVBZAg3Zhf4y8e-3QBZaXJvHqFu_xnd7J4ooCRS2hdj8oGuod-VaeY1bhvc1oF-nFxqFbWFrkFo687-GRtdvM00mvyWaQ/s4013/Aug13%202022_0405.jpeg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOkzT0Db6gYpj4KUPAQ8f_cBkv91Wl5WpV51iaHO0JiU4HnKzFyR_1oN6WDUtf97QS9sh4eB_c0bIuK706xb_cUQOwaBPBkVBZAg3Zhf4y8e-3QBZaXJvHqFu_xnd7J4ooCRS2hdj8oGuod-VaeY1bhvc1oF-nFxqFbWFrkFo687-GRtdvM00mvyWaQ/w640-h408/Aug13%202022_0405.jpeg" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Summer detail in same area.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">August 11</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Healthy woodlands have diverse flora blooming all growing-season long.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Species in the photo above include big-leaf aster, awned woodgrass, cow parsnip, silky rye, woodland sunflower, carrion flower, and purple Joe-Pye-weed. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For photos of and discussion about the fall flora, </span><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2023/10/fall-flora-of-oak-woodlands.html" style="font-family: inherit;">click here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><br />Healthy, sustainable, reproducing, natural woodlands have barely been studied because they barely exist. Invisibly, woodlands are probably losing important and irreplaceable genetic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-gene-and-an-allele">alleles</a> even faster than they're losing species. Most studies tell us little about long-term best management. Fragments of ancient oak woodlands on rich soil survive in the Midwest and perhaps in few other places. We look for life on the Moon and Mars, but we let biodiversity fade out on Earth. <br /><br />If we want to be good stewards of woodland biodiversity … should we thin trees? … burn every <span style="font-family: inherit;">year? … burn every five years? … plant no seed? … plant local seed only? … plant seed from further south? For answers, we’d prefer not to rely on just theories. We need data that we don’t have. For most questions the best we can do is to rely on the informed judgment of people who do their best to be objective and who’ve compared various initial approaches. Getting statistically significant and actually useful data takes more years than most scientists have time for. At this time, controlled experiments are not answering most practical questions. </span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />This post is written for three (or possibly four) audiences: 1) conservation staff who want to conserve oak ecosystems, 2) volunteer stewards, 3) private owners of woods, and 4) if we might be so lucky, researchers who’d like to design experiments to answer basic woodland biodiversity conservation questions. <br /><br /><b>Nine Questions for Those Who Care for Oak Woodlands</b><br /></span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Is it good enough to just burn? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Is it good enough to just burn and control invasives? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Under what conditions should we broadcast seed? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Should we cut native trees? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. What is the role of shrubs in woodlands?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Should we use herbicide?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Should we control deer?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. What does it mean to employ holistic approaches? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Do sites need both volunteers and staff?</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Do the answers given here reflect sound science or expert judgment? See Endnote 1. The discussions below certainly reflect our own experience and observations. Many people have used different approaches, and their experiences too should be considered. <br /><br /><b>1. Is it good enough to just burn?</b><br /><br />In most cases, the answer is no. Here’s a scary case study: <br /><br />When we discovered the site in the 1980s, about ten acres of it came to be considered the finest "open oak woodland" of "closed savanna" we knew. People came from distant states to study and admire. Here (in a site being unnamed in this account) light-loving species like purple milkweed and white false indigo were common. Yellow ladyslipper, cream vetchling, and scarlet painted cup added to the sense of quality. Commissioners and staff of a local conservation agency, to their great credit, acquired it and have burned it on average every second year ever since. We took start-up data in 1986 (as part of the process that resulted in the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission first approving woodland burns). That monitoring was followed up three times at roughly ten year intervals since then.<br /><br />The density of tree trunks has doubled. Most of the additional trees are young hickories. Although the site still appears wonderfully rich, many of the conservative open-woodland species that require the most light (for example purple milkweed, false indigo, and painted cup) are gone or much reduced. <br /><br />Shade from buckthorn had decreased, thanks to control of that species. The shade increase came from species native to the site. Some argued that, given regular burns, what we were observing was not a problem – but simply nature – and we should not “play God” with native species. Others argued that the burns must have been conducted on days that were not hot, dry, or windy enough to maintain the ecosystem and its biodiversity. If necessarily-restrained burning didn’t maintain enough sunlight to conserve the biota, then perhaps the thinning of trees was needed. Indeed, the latter argument won out in 2020, and trees are now starting to be thinned there, a bit. <br /><br /><a href="https://wwv.inhs.illinois.edu/files/1913/4021/3314/Timberhill_Final.pdf">A study</a> from Iowa by Wilhelm and Rericha makes a strong case for the success of both annual burning and thinning over-dense trees. <br /><br />Today most oak woodlands under "conservation management" are too dark. (For more perspective on this, see <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html">Discovering Oak Woodland: history and theory</a>.) We know they are too dark because the canopy bur or white oaks are not reproducing, because many animal and plant species are dropping out, and because the populations of those declining species rebound when light is increased by fire and tree removal. A lot of the insights into oak woodland conservation are new and urgent, and many conservation organizations are wisely revising their standards. <br /><br />What sorts of burns are most therapeutic, under today’s conditions?<br /><br />It’s not sufficient for fire today to be natural – meaning “whatever happens is good enough.” The “prescription’ needs to be sufficient to “cure” or “repair” a long-term malady. We cannot match the often-extreme conditions of the past, but we do have to be effective. As a thought experiment, consider what natural lightning-ignited burns would have been like for millions of years. Fire for the average piece of ground would tend toward the extreme because, if lightning starts a fire on a cold wet day, that fire won’t burn a very large area. On a hot, dry, windy day a single fire might burn hundreds of square miles. <br /><br />It’s not uncommon to hear advocates recommending pyrodiversity. That is, burn at varied intervals, at varied times of year, with varied wind directions, and varied intensities. Some also recommend including burns during the growing season. We are sympathetic to these recommendations, but we don’t find them to be based on convincing science. Good science is needed. And if the prescriptions “don’t work” – that is, if the conservative diversity is being lost, then the prescription is failing.<br /><br />But if the patient dies while the research proceeds, we’ve failed. We worry that managers of important sites may consider research goals to be a reason to withhold badly needed burns. The first priority is to save the patient. If an important site for woodland biodiversity exhibits shrinking populations of <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2015/01/re-discovering-composition-of-oak.html">characteristic, conservative, rare woodland species</a> with those being replaced by forest species (or bare ground), it’s not unreasonable to make the judgment that more fire is needed. Perhaps other, less critical sites can continue to study the long-term less-burned approach. See Endnote 2 on needed fire research.<br /><br />In the case of sites that are not part of research, that is, if the site goal is just good conservation, it’s our impression that burning these days is too infrequent and too mild to do the work that’s most needed. Burns need to be safe, but that’s not the only criterion. Burns also need to be as effective as is practical. Burn crews often make the mistake of standing down on days that are too hot, dry, or windy to burn a prairie. That kind of day is very much the kind of day that produces best results in the oak woods. On such days, burns can be fully safe in the oak woods. Winds, fuels, and drying times in the woods are quite different from those in the prairie, and standards for safety and effectiveness for woods burning need to be distinct from prairie standards. <br /><br /><b>2. Is it good enough to just burn and control alien invasives?</b><br /><br />No, it’s not remotely good enough. In many better-quality woodlands, the most damaging “out-of-balance” species are not aliens. They’re native species growing out of control, like cancer cells. <br /><br />Extensive bur oak savannas and woodlands were a major part of our natural landscape. White oaks were a minor component of these ecosystems. But when the fires stopped, white oaks reproduced more readily in the increasing shade. Soon it became too dark for any bur oak seedlings to survive. At the same time this ecosystem was losing other components that depended on its bright-dappled-light: shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, butterflies, fungi, now-rare bacteria – it’s a very long list. In the early stages, most likely, vigorous burns could have restored natural diversity and function. But when species are gone, or when many occasionally needed alleles of some species are gone, they may need help to recolonize. Bottom line: White oaks are generally good, but if they make a bur oak woods too dark for its full biodiversity to survive, they are a problem. <br /><br />Or consider white oak woodlands – the other major component of our forested heritage. Yes, there was a bur oak here and there, some shagbark hickories, some red oaks, and an occasional ash or cherry, or maple tree. They were native – not invaders. But they were held to secondary status by regular fire. After protection from burns, the hickories, maples, and all grew dense and dark. White oak reproduction and associated animals, plants, and other biota then faded out. <br /><br />Certainly, if a bur or a white oak ecosystem is to recover natural biodiversity and sustainability, it needs conditions – including the amount of sunlight required for reproducing bur or white oaks and associated animal and plant species. <br /><br /><b>3. Should we broadcast seed? </b><br /><br />In most cases, yes. <br /><br />There is a common belief that the “soil seed bank” is sufficient. That “bank” is largely a myth. Research by Arnold van der Valk in Iowa found meaningful seedbanks persisted in wetlands but not in prairies or woodlands. Nathan Lamb and colleagues at the Chicago Botanic Garden studied <a href="https://www.ecolandscaping.org/07/developing-healthy-landscapes/restoration/can-the-soil-seed-bank-save-us/">oak woodland seed banks</a> and found little beside common weeds. <br /><br />More importantly, we’ve tested the seedbank theory in restoration, over and over. Some species increase vigor and bloom once again following brush control and a burn, but they seem mostly to be ones that were surviving as suppressed plants, rather than seeds. We have compared seeded with non-seeded areas. Indeed, we first tried the “no seeding” experiment in many forms. It did not produce much. Most plant diversity at most sites does not return without doing the work of finding remnants where missing plants survive, gathering their seed, and broadcasting it into the burned remnant ecosystem. Many <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/09/plant-refugees.html">plant refugee</a> species, absent for decades, begin to thrive again as part of a rich community when their seed is restored.<br /><br />Aside from the belief in the seed bank, there is a common attitude that opposes “meddling” with nature by moving seeds between natural areas. Given people’s history of detrimental meddling, this concern is understandable. For some sites to continue the experiment of discovering what comes back without assistance seems fine. But what we have seen suggests that those sites will not be the most significant biodiversity conservation sites. <br /><br />It seems especially important to have in each region at least a few “full ecosystem re-assembly” sites. In these, the goal would be to restore all species that might likely have been there (including, potentially, insects, fungi, and more) and to promote the most sustainable, genetically diverse populations possible. The intent would not be to re-create the original. Instead it would be to give the ecosystem the opportunity to reassemble its diversity in whatever way comes “naturally” now, under conditions today. Our experience has been that relatively rare conservative plants often become increasingly central to such “re-assembly” communities, as they are in the better-quality remnant natural woodlands. Without such reassembly sites, much biodiversity may be lost permanently. Though little studied, it seems reasonable to hypothesize and hope that what’s true of plants would also be true of other conservative biota. <br /><br />Perhaps the best sorts of site to choose for ecosystem assembly are large sites with diverse habitat of as much remnant quality as possible. They are the ones most likely to have a starting diversity of plants, pollinators and other animals, fungi, bacteria, and other ecosystem components. <br /><br />From how close should seeds come? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. If we had the capacity to study it, there are certainly arguments in favor of genetic testing to determine whether there are highly-local alleles that can be preserved best by excluding plants from farther away. For comparison, we would also want to study whether adding alleles from other populations would provide species with sufficient genetic diversity that they could then adapt themselves to ongoing changes like global warming. Thus it makes sense to seek seeds from further south for some sites, exclude them from others, and compare. There is common belief that these concerns are less apt for seed of wind-pollinated plants, as pollen has long blown in from substantial distances. <br /><br />Whatever the sourcing strategy, planting into an ecosystem requires different thinking and approaches than planting into bare soil. Some principles and tips can be found <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/11/broadcast-seeds-into-what.html">here</a> and <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/10/giving-rare-seeds-good-start.html">here</a>. <br /><br /><b>4. Under what circumstances and how much should we thin native trees? </b><br /><br />The basic answer is: “Thin all species of trees sufficiently that the full biota of the ecosystem has enough light for recovery.” Many people were initially troubled by cutting any native trees at all, especially in a place reserved for nature. But research demonstrated clearly that maples and associated species were destroying the biodiversity of the oak woods, so control is now widely accepted among conservationists. But questions persist about some species, four of which are discussed below. <br /><br />Red oak, like sugar maple, is a fine tree. But not every last one contributes to conservation everywhere. Many savannas and woodlands that originally consisted of bur and/or white oaks (as indicated by the older trees and the Public Land Survey of the 1830s) today have increasing numbers of younger red oak “pole trees.” Bur or white oaks grow more slowly than red oaks in shade. As red oaks overtop them, the young bur or white oaks die. Their skeletons are sad reminders. We wouldn’t recommend eliminating every red oak from a woodland, but we should thin them sufficiently for reproduction of the old canopy trees. <br /><br />Shagbark hickory is a natural component of oak woodlands. But it’s another species that proliferates excessively in the absence of fire. It should be thinned as needed, with a clear conscience. Bitternut hickory seems to be a weedier species, less adapted to most oak woods but also sometimes proliferating explosively in the absence of burns. We retain many fewer of them compared to the shagbarks. <br /><br />Hop hornbeam is a lovely, slow-growing understory tree that many people are especially reluctant to cut. But it too is a major shade producer and in many situations it seems best to reduce their numbers substantially. In more open savannas and woodlands, the hop hornbeams seem to burn out once the fires have resumed; it may seem fine to just wait for that. But at many sites it seems best to cull many of them, to save what’s surviving underneath while we can, to expand the size of functional habitat for the species that need brighter light, as those are the species being lost at so many sites. <br /><br />Bur oak. Do we thin even them? Yes we do – especially where they have formed stands of pole trees (see next item). Many studies have demonstrated that most trees in oak ecosystems were historically much farther apart under their natural fire regime. These widely spaced trees may have supported understory herb communities uniquely adapted to their thin, patchy canopies. Today, where dense bur oaks grow together, the ones that likely lose out are the ones most in need of conservation, those better adapted to fire. We have the impression that some young bur oaks put their energies into building thicker bark and spreading branches. Side by side with them grow others that put their energies into growing taller. In the absence of hot burns, the apparently more fire-adapted oaks die out in the shade of the taller ones. If we want all the alleles, we may have to manage so as to retain some of the trees that may be the more fire-adapted ones. <br /><br /><b>Pole trees. </b><br /><br />They may be maples, oaks, or most any kind of tree: all saplings grow into skinny poles when they have to compete in a dense pack of saplings. Perhaps in a natural maple forest, the end result is that “the best tree wins” and makes it into the canopy. But oak ecosystems don’t work that way. The majority of their biodiversity thrives in a dense, sunny herb layer under well separated trees. Dense pole trees don’t grow into oak biodiversity habitats in the short run, and perhaps never. It seems best to us to cut most of them. In some cases, we have left a few, which then tended to blow down sooner or later without the windbreak of the dense pack surrounding them. They’re malformed. It may be best to cut all of them and let mostly the principal canopy species resprout. Then we (or, preferably, fire) keep them thinned enough that a few better-adapted individuals win out. <br /><br /><b>Girdling. </b><br /><br />An especially good way to open the canopy in many situations is to forget herbicide and girdle. By cutting off the phloem and leaving the xylem (see diagram) we allow the roots to keep feeding the leaves and branches but prevent the miracle of photosynthesis from sending needed products down to the roots. Then the roots die, as does the rest of the tree, after a year or three, depending on the size of the tree and roots’ energy storage. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYW4jjbmwD_40q43OOGMbZJhImfAYMFlPxNMvumCjre5Gg5WnaxEiHKpOcB1Krg_QgqgCmEN2XhGhmX6KZU9Iqy4tflOvqS1YfTO7W0q1oLThnAGhdW4CNZtQtVmHuhwQqq6c7KjyvtJOInH0aTIjbt7d09c2yaqSwkAf0uC7ZviQ6EsfmTtcgD_pHSw/s719/girdle%20diagram.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYW4jjbmwD_40q43OOGMbZJhImfAYMFlPxNMvumCjre5Gg5WnaxEiHKpOcB1Krg_QgqgCmEN2XhGhmX6KZU9Iqy4tflOvqS1YfTO7W0q1oLThnAGhdW4CNZtQtVmHuhwQqq6c7KjyvtJOInH0aTIjbt7d09c2yaqSwkAf0uC7ZviQ6EsfmTtcgD_pHSw/w640-h504/girdle%20diagram.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Girdling does not work for some species (notably black locust and tree-of-heaven). If we try the trick of girdling, those species don’t fall for it. They put up new shoots from their widespread roots, massively. For these we use a technique called “frilling” or “chemical girdling.” In this case we saw or chop a circle around the trunk and put herbicide into it. If the bark is thin enough, we can just “basal bark” it; that is, rubbing herbicide on thin bark at the base of the tree can kill it. But no-herbicide girdling lessens the chances of negative side-impacts of the herbicide. <br /><br />The basic issue in this question #4 is: How open a canopy is open enough? Our answer is that we need every part of the continuum. So far as we know, every part of the shade continuum from prairie to forest was part of biodiversity. So we want all degrees of openness. But in most cases of oak savannas and woodlands, we now mostly lack the more open components, so we work hardest to restore those. <br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUzhicdHgTUgWuKku6k64cHmpSr07l9devUTMKrti5Bj_HVu1V5VbbgR3w4YqlmP1v6dgJcyEgy0Kisa_9iJK4TcXqiSKrk4SI1UeWAO7899ReG3o1e854efwOVNroATK8qG3hrrfs7RrslqWgMgaHe62TSnGHxMzTX_KSxqKvWjWTJYxfGYD05afMA/s1092/savanna-woodland-forest%20continuum.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUzhicdHgTUgWuKku6k64cHmpSr07l9devUTMKrti5Bj_HVu1V5VbbgR3w4YqlmP1v6dgJcyEgy0Kisa_9iJK4TcXqiSKrk4SI1UeWAO7899ReG3o1e854efwOVNroATK8qG3hrrfs7RrslqWgMgaHe62TSnGHxMzTX_KSxqKvWjWTJYxfGYD05afMA/w520-h640/savanna-woodland-forest%20continuum.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Savanna (top), Woodland (middle), and Forest (bottom, oak forest to the left).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For biodiversity conservation, we want to maintain substantial areas representing every point along the oak savanna-woodland-forest continuum shown above. </span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />With remnant areas, one good approach is to decide openness targets on the basis of old trees. Many sites still include trees that are three hundred years old. The structures of these trees represent ecosystem conditions as they were before Europeans turned off the fire regime. If such trees show the remnants of large, spreading limbs, that tells us that those trees were spaced well apart. If they are bur or white oaks, and we want them to reproduce naturally, they need much more light than they are getting on most conservation land today. <br /><br /><b>5. Should we plant shrubs as part of restoration? </b><br /><br />In most cases, probably not. <br /><br />Shrub thickets were part of the natural landscape. We know that because of some written records (although these are rather few). Many animals and plants are adapted to shrub communities. <br /><br />We also know from written records that large areas of prairie and woodland had few or no shrubs. Prairie birds won’t nest in shrubby prairies. Many accounts of 1800s woodlands emphasize the ability to see deer far away and the fact that it was often possible to gallop a horse or drive a team and wagon through the woods. <br /><br />In our experience, efforts to plant shrubs have mostly not worked. Shrubs burned off with every fire, grew slowly, and failed to thrive. <br /><br />One exception, a trivial one in this context, is the experience with leadplant, prairie willow, and New Jersey tea in prairies. These are natural prairie species and do just fine even if burned off every year. <br /><br />A more meaningful exception is the experience with shrub thickets in wetlands or other areas that tend not to burn. Here, substantial populations of shrubby willows, wild plum, nannyberry, elderberry, prickly ash, dogwoods, and other species may do fairly well. A challenge for them is infestation by common or glossy buckthorn. These invasives may become dense enough to out-compete the native shrubs unless regularly cut back by stewards. <br /><br />Thus, for conservation, we may want to conserve shrubs in some places but not most. <br /><br />See also <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/01/shrub-thickets-of-future-nature-or.html">"Shrub Thickets of the Future: nature or gardening?"</a> <br /><br /><b>6. Should we use herbicide? </b><br /><br />Simple answer, yes, definitely. But be sure to read at least the last paragraph of this answer. Herbicide for an ailing ecosystem is comparable to medicine for a sick patient. No one defends misuse. Wise use can make a life-or-death difference. <br /><br />In the early days of restoration, many new stewards objected to herbicide on principle. The Nature Preserves badly needed stewards, so we advised people to the effect that “We recommend using herbicide on cut stumps. But if you want to experiment with working without it, give it a try. But do test your results and be in touch with others as we work through this.” In the end, every steward that tried the “no herbicide” approach either quit being a steward … or began to use herbicide. <br /><br />In very small areas, it could be possible to refrain from herbicide and just re-cut the brush re-sprouts over and over again. But the area restored would remain too small for most animal populations and probably most of the rest of the biota. If our goal is to save biodiversity, more time-efficient methods are needed. <br /><br />Reed canary grass has become an expanding bad pest in woodlands. No one has made progress against it by trying to pull it. There’s no practical alternative. The same is true for other species including crown vetch, purple loosestrife, and teasel. Herbicides are getting more sophisticated. A grass-specific herbicide can kill reed canary grass while maintaining the health of intermixed sedges, rushes, wildflowers, and the rest of the ecosystem. <br /><br />We’ve come to think of herbicide as an ecosystem medicine. Our ecosystems are degrading in ways that have parallels with human illnesses. Medicines used wrongly can harm and even kill the patient. That’s true of herbicides as well. They are helpful or even unequivocally needed in many cases, but they should be used with knowledge and care. <br /><br /><b>7. Should we control deer? </b><br /><br />On most sites, yes. Over-populated white-tailed deer have badly degraded the ecosystem and even eliminated many species, of both plants and the animals that depend on those plants. Control is utterly crucial. <br /><br />Predation is an essential part of nature. For as long as these ecosystems have been here, deer numbers have been kept in balance mostly by mountain lions, wolves, and human hunters. If we have eliminated the first two of those, we must rely on the third. <br /><br />Deer control needs community support and therefore thoughtful outreach and education. <br /><br /><b>8. What does it mean to employ holistic approaches? </b><br /><br />Respect the complexity and resilience of the ecosystem. <br /><br />We necessarily make ecosystem health decisions on the basis of very limited knowledge. Our therapies need to be good for the whole “patient” – meaning the overall biodiversity of animals, fungi, plants, soil biota, and all. (See also Endnote 3.) Of these, we need to be sure what we’re doing works for the rarest and most conservative components of the ecosystem. <br /><br />But shouldn’t we just work on the basis of the best science? More easily said than done. <br /><br />Barbara McClintock, not a bad scientist, won the Nobel Prize for her work on maize genetics. She describes plants as extraordinary “beyond our wildest expectations.” Not because they have found ways to do what humans can do but because a life lived rooted to one spot has coaxed then to evolve countless “ingenious mechanisms” to deal with challenges that animals might avoid by simply running away.” <br /><br />In achieving the revolutionary insights she came to, McClintock emphasized how important it was to acquire “a feeling for the organism,” to develop the patience to “hear what the material has to say to you.” In honoring her work, Merlin Sheldrake wrote: “When it comes to fungi, do we really have a chance? Mycelial lives are so other, their possibilities so strange. But perhaps they aren’t quite so remote as they seem at first glance. Many traditional cultures understand life to be an entangled whole. Today, the idea that all things are interconnected has been so well used that it has collapsed into a cliche.”<br /><br />But it’s a cliché honored mostly in words. We have these suggestions for people trying to figure out woodland conservation: <br /><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">At one level plant diversity is the most practical indicator of site quality, but there are six to ten times as many fungi as plants. There are incomprehensibly many animals, bacteria, algae, and other micro-organisms, most poorly understood. Some seem to survive only in remnants. Entomologist Ron Panzer found that monitoring plants as indicators was insufficient to assess the health of most invertebrate populations. No one has researched these questions for most parts of biodiversity. Start with the best quality and biggest site you can, and trust it. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monitor as much as you can. Make decisions based on what’s best for biodiversity priorities overall, considering what data you can assemble. Realize that every action will benefit some species and impair others. The species groups most likely to benefit from the restoration of woodlands (of a few to a few hundred acres) are plants, invertebrates, and soil biota.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is there any way to help soil biota? We hope that transplants from quality areas that are being destroyed may help. Rich woodlands are often destroyed for housing. When that happens, when we can, we transplant some of the more conservative plants to an “ecosystem re-assembly area” with hopes that bacteria, fungi, nematodes and other unknowns may respond well to the new, fire-maintained community. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">One person can’t manage, monitor, and make the decisions alone. Collaboration is needed. </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;">See also Endnote 4. <br /><br /><b>9. What’s most important to success: Volunteer stewards or staff? </b><br /><br />Both, in collaboration, are essential for first class results. No site would have the resources it takes otherwise. <br /><br />We have watched and admired many agencies and individuals do good restoration without the kinds of collaboration we’ve enjoyed. Admired, yes; but our perception has been that results were not as rich and full as they could be with the benefit of a larger team. Staff do many things best: some kinds of planning, funding for “heavy lifting” work, land preservation in metro areas with good numbers of potential volunteers, empowerment of expert volunteers, and more. Citizen volunteers, on the other hand, frequently can accomplish more detailed work, of great complexity and delicacy, and often attain Phd-levels of expertise from the Eco-university of Hard Knocks, by spending years and decades focused on details a paid person would not possibly have time for among other responsibilities. <br /><br />Most of the work at Somme has been planned and done by volunteers. The hours that some people devote to sports, or the Internet, or the long list of other pursuits people spend “spare time” on – we can’t wait to spend with the ecosystem … being stewards. <br /><br />There are advantages in many differing approaches. But our experience is that an intensive professional-volunteer collaboration is an especially valuable one. <br /><br />For sample details about we authors as individuals, see Endnote 5. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wrap-up </span></b></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />In the 1980s, there were good scientists who argued that open oak ecosystems were “Gone! Gone! Gone!” – and we should forget about them – because they can’t be restored. We now know that healing is possible. One key is to recognize that we cannot put anything back the way it was – or keep it that way – because nature evolves. That’s especially true as the world’s rainfall patterns, rain acidity, hydrology, climate, invasive species, fragmentation, and more are all changing mercilessly – and, to survive, ecosystems need to evolve. We seek to restore as much as possible self-regulating, changing natural communities with full animal, plant, and other diversity. <br /><br />Thriving communities can help mitigate climate change and provide ongoing resources for medicine, agriculture, industry, and research – to say nothing of the inspiration and beauty that almost everyone can appreciate. <br /><br />In our oak savannas and woodlands, our hard work allows us to experience something new on the planet – the recovery of badly wounded, incomprehensibly rich nature. We have the opportunity: to see real oak woodlands on fertile soil for the first time in a long time. Native Americans lived amongst and promoted such riches; Euro-American pioneers saw them and recognized them as prime farmland. But no ecologist ever – and no person of any kind for a couple of centuries – has had the experience. It’s like discovering a new continent. We can be part of an ecosystem previously unseen by ecologists and the modern world. It’s like archeology – if we could discover and restore an ancient civilization to life. But even that would be dull in comparison. Restore living remnants of great importance, beauty, and biodiversity? Yes, we can. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Endnotes </span></b></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Endnote 1.</b><br /><br />Who are the experts on the conservation and restoration of woodlands? <br /><br />Volunteer and staff practitioners are making some of the fundamental discoveries. Are we the eco-counterpart of the Wright Brothers? That analogy was made compellingly by Bill Jordan (William R. Jordan III), founding editor of Ecological Restoration. Unlike the well-funded experts that Orville and Wilbur were competing with, the Brothers invented and discovered how to fly because they were immersed in the physical details of it. They made the parts, applied the grease, flew the prototypes, hammered, twisted, and shifted their body weight during flight until, bit by bit, it they figured it out. That analogy falls apart at the end. Their contraption could obviously fly, and the others could not. To demonstrate whether biodiversity conservation is working, we have a harder challenge. We have understand ecosystem function better than we currently do. And we have to know the alleles. <br /><br /></span></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Alleles are the basic building blocks of conservation. Most alleles can be lost long before a species goes extinct. In their millions of years of evolution, the animals and plants associated with oaks have developed the genetic riches that allow them to cope with competition, predation, fire, disease, climate, weather, and soils of various types. A rich woodland with full biodiversity has countless genes and alleles that could, in the future, be of huge benefit to people and the planet. </span></div></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">We can imagine a distant time in which one form of agriculture would be little woodland gardens of Eden growing holistic polycultures of edible acorns, walnuts, hickory nuts, plums, apples, hazelnuts, blueberries, grapes, legumes, mushrooms, grains, spices, and medicines. But only if we conserve the alleles that could make it work. </span></div></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our biodiversity heritage may include alleles that would help solve climate change, give rise to new medicines or better foods, and be the raw materials for scientific discoveries and economic benefits. To say nothing of beauty, art, ethics, and inspiration. </span></div></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">But this Endnote was to be about the question: who are the experts reflected in these posts? The principal author and editor is Stephen Packard, for many years the Director of Science and Stewardship with the Illinois Nature Conservancy. Many on-the-ground stewards (volunteer and professional) contribute as do such experts as Dan Carter of <a href="https://theprairieenthusiasts.org/mission/">The Prairie Enthusiasts</a>, retired U. of I. professor Dennis Nyberg, and others. Thus, these posts are not formal papers but are discussion documents that many of us try to make as useful as possible to this developing discipline. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">To improve our answers to the questions discussed in this post, are there discoveries that unfunded volunteers and private landowners can make? Oh, yes there are. We without grant money may be in the best position to answer certain questions, as they require longer time periods than academics can typically invest … and because we can be more flexible in many ways, which may benefit this new field. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Endnote 2. Fire research </b><br /><br />It’s essential. Short-term research won’t tell us what we need to know. Some parts of some sites might best have one consistent fire regime for at least five or ten years. Then that approach can be compared to others. Possible approaches for a site might include consistent a) early fall burns, b) late fall burns, c) spring burns, d) less intense burns, e) more intense burns, and f) various combinations of varied burns. For good science the key is to be consistent, keep good records, study the biota over substantial time periods, and publish results. Short of good research, the best approaches depend on observation, judgement, and a variety of approaches from site to site. <br /><br /><b>Endnote 3. Recognizing the importance of Fungi to conservation </b><br /><br />Fungi are fundamentally important to plant communities, and little monitored on conservation lands. <br /><br />In the 1980s and 90s, we conservationists were initiating focused monitoring programs for rare plants, breeding birds, calling frogs, butterflies, dragonflies, and others. The Field Museum wisely proposed or agreed to sponsor a monitoring program for mushrooms. We learned to dry them for proper study and sent hundreds of specimens to the specialist who identified them. He reported that every site that submitted mushrooms included rare species – and that the rare ones were pretty much different from site to site. This should not surprise us. There are vastly more species of fungi than there are plants. <br /><br />There are no species of fungi recognized as endangered in Illinois. The federal endangered list includes fungi only in the form of two species of lichens. Globally, the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/64081145/205629065">IUCN lists </a>just one fungus as endangered. The reason is lack of knowledge. We conservationists need to do better. <br /><br />Fungi, like animals and bacteria, are both crucially important to ecosystems and much more difficult than plants to monitor. Many mushrooms show their heads above ground to reproduce only briefly and only every few years. In between times, it’s hard to know what’s happening. Yet, they’re crucial to conserving whole, functioning ecosystems. <br /><br />Sadly, the Field Museum’s volunteer fungus monitoring lasted only until the staff responsible for the program left the museum, as professionals do. The monitoring then withered. It was too bad. <br />In 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, 34 years old, published a world-significant book in a world-changing field: Entangled Life: how fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures. Perhaps someone who reads it would take on the challenge of leading some conservation efforts on fungi in woodlands we work to restore? It’s needed, and it’s not happening. <br /><br />Ongoing research about the relationships among animal, plants, and fungi raise unsettling questions. Much that’s basic is not known. Life is more than we thought. As Sheldrake put it: <br /><br />“Fungi … make the world look different. … I have tried to find ways to enjoy the ambiguities that fungi present, but it’s not always easy to be comfortable in the space created by open questions. Agoraphobia can set in. It’s tempting to hide in small rooms built from quick answers.” <br /><br />We agree. We struggle to “leave questions open” while rescuing ecosystem patients from passing away. We believe in and try to have a “reverence for life” toward the diversity of nature. We have faith that future generations will better understand life on Earth, live within it richly and wisely.<br /><br />Here's an example from <a href="https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life">Sheldrake</a>, citing poorly-funded, bootstrappingly-carried-out research by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zeONtgSXU">Suzanne Simard</a> and other pioneers in this new field. It compelling suggests how human culture and economy could better work with biodiversity: <br /><br />As part of the self-regulating complexity of a healthy system: a) fungus networks actively farm bacteria of general use to the ecosystem while, b) they pass chemical messages among trees, grasses, and wildflowers, c) alerting plants to an aphid attack on one plant so that, d) many connected plants release pheromones that attract the parasitic wasps that, e) reduce the populations of those aphids, benefiting all. <br /><br />It took millions of years to evolve such interconnections – which include alleles possibly of great value to the Earth’s future – supposing optimistically that our species someday develops a non-pathological relationship with the rest of life on this planet – even a symbiotic one? But for now, biodiversity survives tenuously. Do we really want to let it just slip away? To save ecosystem tottering on the brink, we can’t wait for all the research that would be helpful. We conservationists need to use judgment, make decisions, and do the best we can. <br /><br />The challenge and the adventure are hard to match. We find we make our best discoveries and do our best work when we recognize how much we don’t know, and strive for new understandings, while we make best use of what we do know. <br /><br /><b>Endnote 4. Restraint vs. Initiative </b><br /><br />Some people believe that the best management is the least. Such beliefs are hypotheses that can be tested. Various management regimes should be monitored and compared. In some cases, for comparison, high-quality sites should be managed by fire and invasives control only. Biodiversity recovery and sustainability at such sites should be compared with more ambitiously managed sites. Current assertions about minimal care are more like religious doctrine than like science. <br /><br />There should not be a “one size fits all” approach to management for biodiversity conservation. We don’t know enough. And more importantly 1) sites are varied and 2) we can’t evaluate alternate methods unless we add up years of faithfully using one approach per site, measuring results, and comparing them with sites differently managed. <br /><br /><b>Endnote 5: Who are the people writing this? </b><br /><br /><b>Christos Economou</b>, professionally, is a PhD research chemist looking for novel medicines to treat human diseases. After years of anguished reading about the global decline of biodiversity, a few years ago he was lucky enough to fall in with the North Branch Restoration Project’s Somme Woods team – and felt empowered that he might be able to do something about it. Now working on his “second PhD,” he spends a lot of his free time studying tallgrass nature, seeking out treatments for ecosystem diseases as a Somme Woods zone steward, and supporting newer stewards with Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves.<br /><br /><b>Matt Evans</b> as a grad student studied historic oak distribution for Chicago Wilderness. Professionally, he is manager of McDonald Woods, a rich remnant at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He credits his collaborative work as a Somme zone steward with "at least as much" significant conservation and restoration learning as he benefitted from in academics. <br /><br /><b>Eriko Kojima</b> loved plants from her childhood in Yokohama and San Diego. After receiving a degree at the University of California and working as a landscape architect in Chicago, she was disappointed in what she could contribute and switched careers. Later, as a veteran Japanese-English conference interpreter, she discovered the ecosystem restoration mission and community at Somme. Since 2015, with the encouragement of husband and daughter, she has gradually cut back on her conference jobs to contribute as a volunteer steward and teacher at "more than full time" by professional standards.<br /><br /><b>Stephen Packard</b> was Director of Science and Stewardship for the Illinois Nature Conservancy for 15 years and then did similar work directing Audubon Chicago Wilderness for 15 years. He considers it to have been a great privilege to work with and learn from many of the global experts on this stuff during that time, including expert volunteers. A great part of what he learned that informs this post was as a volunteer doing restoration in most of his “spare” time between 1977 and 2023. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXQwSpxKIP9ZqqLtjp21imoRdYifQnnoOz7XbrqnCR1k0aViA26uhq44mJRa_O6RtTOhBdkyd_A5q_WCBv7haQ97DF1sjen47C0OubOxrL8vvAtf8idG6OKPMHGtpEvBfv56fpPRrfJBhmkNsooZji1qMiHpWwqBRxn0CJ6T-QBxcZNmmilP65U347A/s4032/field%20seminar_0703.jpeg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXQwSpxKIP9ZqqLtjp21imoRdYifQnnoOz7XbrqnCR1k0aViA26uhq44mJRa_O6RtTOhBdkyd_A5q_WCBv7haQ97DF1sjen47C0OubOxrL8vvAtf8idG6OKPMHGtpEvBfv56fpPRrfJBhmkNsooZji1qMiHpWwqBRxn0CJ6T-QBxcZNmmilP65U347A/w640-h480/field%20seminar_0703.jpeg" /></a><br />The writers of this post acknowledge the importance of discussions with and experiments by the zone stewards of the Somme preserves as explored in "field seminars" like the one shown above. <br /><br /><b>References </b><br /><br />The pathetic photo of spring flora that begins this post came from Horticulture Magazine. Does anyone want to contribute a better one? Woods with only spring ephemerals left are common - and superficially beautiful. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">A companion post in this blog that discusses <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html">the history and theory of oak ecosytems conservation</a>.<br /><br />Panzer, Ron et al. Prevalence of Remnant Dependence Among the Prairie- and Savanna-inhabiting Insects of the Chicago Region. <i>Natural Areas Journal</i>. 15(2),1995. <br /><br />Sheldrake, Merlin. <i>Entangled Life: how fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures.</i> 2020 <br /><br />Wilhelm, Gerould and Laura Rericha, <a href="https://wwv.inhs.illinois.edu/files/1913/4021/3314/Timberhill_Final.pdf">Timberhill Savanna - Assessment of Landscape Management</a>. April, 2007 <br /><br />Attempted "Myth-Busting" - <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/07/hypotheses-or-myths.html">https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2021/07/hypotheses-or-myths.html</a> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">From Bill Kleiman and colleagues: </span><a href="https://grasslandrestorationnetwork.org/2023/02/16/oak-woods-management-a-short-list-of-descriptions-of-how-and-why-we-manage-oak-woods-with-fire-and-thinning/">https://grasslandrestorationnetwork.org/2023/02/16/oak-woods-management-a-short-list-of-descriptions-of-how-and-why-we-manage-oak-woods-with-fire-and-thinning/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/06/wisconsin-discovery-may-raise-standards.html">https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/06/wisconsin-discovery-may-raise-standards.html</a><br /><br /><b>Acknowledgements</b><br /><br />The drawings in this post are by Paul Nelson from Packard and Mutel's Tallgrass Restoration Handbook.</span></div></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-36489970682776133852023-05-10T06:04:00.000-07:002023-05-10T06:04:14.141-07:00A Steward Reviews What He’s Learned<p>by Don Osmond </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don Osmund has worked at and enjoyed natural areas stewardship for 27 years (at MacArthur Woods in Lake County, IL and Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area near Madison, WI). He wrote to ask a question about a post here. We responded in part with a question. Here is Don’s insightful response.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your question made me realize that I never sat down to formally review what I learned, so I took some time to do that. My stewardship focused on invasive control rather than overall site restoration.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Prioritization</b><br /><br />Considering the lack of resources & the magnitude of the task, I learned that prioritization is everything. Now I divide sites into parcels that are prioritized by potential for successful restoration. Within those parcels I prioritize the invasive species by the magnitude of its effect on native diversity as well as projecting how successful my efforts are likely to be for the number of years I intend to work there. If contractors are available, I avoid tasks that are more suitable for crews. This method ensures I’m focused on the overall goal of diversity enhancement, allows me to handle multiple species at any point in the growing season & avoids burnout by keeping goals realistic.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFB7WoyLV34m533LCBgNS39WQU9aYlvqMMzRyIJ3hOJKxNm4GxvuXJQttimdBmXGG7pkh3zB06AD1e4IQEW7QGrxIdLlxcHk2O7tbeIdMAMo1LuwJGBe1_Mz2J4dFchJLzBvhEw2hm86F3rvvrAYLXwEYTKTi2JnFRV_n6A7Z8UXFg3P_iPkxdDko6A/s3648/macarthur%20location%20where%20gm%20persists%209-22-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFB7WoyLV34m533LCBgNS39WQU9aYlvqMMzRyIJ3hOJKxNm4GxvuXJQttimdBmXGG7pkh3zB06AD1e4IQEW7QGrxIdLlxcHk2O7tbeIdMAMo1LuwJGBe1_Mz2J4dFchJLzBvhEw2hm86F3rvvrAYLXwEYTKTi2JnFRV_n6A7Z8UXFg3P_iPkxdDko6A/w640-h480/macarthur%20location%20where%20gm%20persists%209-22-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MacArthur Woods - Lake County Forest Preserves</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><b>Attachment</b><br /><br />I no longer get too personally attached to a site, task or the state of the natural world. Attachment created blinders that sometimes interfered with proper priorities. For example, I spent too much time on rare species until the ecologist gently & correctly encouraged me to focus on the entire habitat. It’s easy to get into a mindset that anything less than a pristine ecosystem is a failure. Initially I felt an urgency to fix the entire nature preserve before it’s too late, which led to viewing restoration as a war instead of a relationship. Which led to burnout. It may be more realistic to accept disturbance & change as natural, which implies we don’t need to burn ourselves out reshaping the world within a lifetime. We only need to shift the trajectory on a given piece of land towards more resilience against whatever the future brings. <br /><br /><b>Persistence</b></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I went to a lecture by Jack White & when asked how he was able to pull off the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, he replied that persistence is the key. I applied that to invasives, telling myself if I’m more persistent than the weeds are, good things will happen.<br /><br /><b>The human aspect of restoration</b><br /><br />Hiking in beautiful places is enjoyable, but since it’s mostly a sensory experience, it doesn’t provide the deeper satisfaction of restoration, which is primarily about relationship. Restoration shows us that nature isn’t always wonderfully harmonious & it isn’t always about survival of the fittest. There are times when self-centeredness is best for the individual & ecosystem, times when selflessness & cooperation are best & times for somewhere in between. Applying this to our lives, since we have the potential for self-awareness, it might be possible to know moment to moment where we are & where we should be on that selfish/selfless spectrum, so that we benefit ourselves & our community simultaneously.<br /><br /><b>Gear & techniques</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I wasted a lot of time & abused my body using ineffective gear, so it would be great to have a moderated living document on the web for restoration gear, tools & clothing, with input from volunteers, contractors & managing agencies.<br /><br /><b>Physical training</b><br /><br />To feel good at the end of a 7 hour day of brush cutting or weed pulling, perform daily abdominal exercises like sit-ups, boat poses & leg raises. It may take 6 months to feel the difference.<br /><br /><b>Invasive species time commitment</b><br /><br />Reasonable suppression of most invasives takes at least 3 years of commitment (usually more) without missing a year. Some weeds will take >7 years.<br /><br /><b>Invasives like to socialize</b><br /><br />One invasive often harbors or masks another so after controlling one weed, be prepared to control other weeds in the same location next season. For example, clearing a brush clone in a prairie can result in a Solidago or clover explosion the next year.<br /><br /><b>Creeping charley</b><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At MacArthur, it displaces natives in northern flatwoods & is very hard to control.<br /><br /><b>Tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b>I watched this invade from an old field into an 80-90% canopy woodland that had a weak forb/sedge layer and estimated 20-40% bare ground in the form of vegetation gaps. Solidago developed & expanded in this environment & after a few years of monitoring, it appeared to be permanent. It didn’t invade micro-habitats with decent sedge coverage. Since it was invading large areas & Lake County Forest Preserve District was planning canopy thinning, I used Transline & it worked very well as long as every stem was sprayed. Control was maintained 4 years after application. Transline is persistent & controls most composites so careful site evaluation is needed before use.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVB6qzWINSYugD1t_utlbu_Ro3M4n7npTO-1usTEFAWN8JrepcLMPLGVqoscSFj7_v95PANUTC1M8sDaplWcfk5klTQzCkaYWhiVrertox-voRMgHnwfWEq9tChLgFxuOL4WHfJt0Tfv-s28qpODjhrLum-H0r-8kRYKcDs6csepwMnPrymzHLkSF1w/s3648/macarthur-solidago-left%20sprayed%202011-right%20recently%20sprayed%209-22-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1871" data-original-width="3648" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVB6qzWINSYugD1t_utlbu_Ro3M4n7npTO-1usTEFAWN8JrepcLMPLGVqoscSFj7_v95PANUTC1M8sDaplWcfk5klTQzCkaYWhiVrertox-voRMgHnwfWEq9tChLgFxuOL4WHfJt0Tfv-s28qpODjhrLum-H0r-8kRYKcDs6csepwMnPrymzHLkSF1w/w640-h330/macarthur-solidago-left%20sprayed%202011-right%20recently%20sprayed%209-22-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tall goldenrod after spraying<br />Left half - sprayed previous year<br />Right half - just after spraying in September</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><div><b>Garlic Mustard - initial approach</b></div><div>This was a real journey because in the 1990’s, MacArthur Woods was degraded enough to allow GM to spread throughout the preserve. My goal to control it in most of the 500 acres meant supplementing hand pulling with fall herbiciding of monocultures & spring herbiciding of small patches. The latter creates dead zones but they revegetated quickly so my thinking was as long as I could hit it every year, exhausting the seedbank was more important than temporary dead spots. By 2012 I was controlling 804 GPS waypoints every year but by that time, most had only a handful of plants & monocultures were eliminated.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Qp4TXDpr35UjM646bfBnvxldA72GjstuPq_Q_hT-m7D9nC0wYHpv4J33jtQ-0QV4Ku1Hs-vZYcGf_x2IhNaS_cGjs3lzKvIKkIoOQSMILZ4veUh7p42CszunJOQmPZfScmardt3tky8fVXp_8weL4N-Z6dHSPULNvQk6k829RigAvQ7Qlx8ZFKPFrA/s2000/macarthur%20garlic%20mustard%20waypoints%202013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Qp4TXDpr35UjM646bfBnvxldA72GjstuPq_Q_hT-m7D9nC0wYHpv4J33jtQ-0QV4Ku1Hs-vZYcGf_x2IhNaS_cGjs3lzKvIKkIoOQSMILZ4veUh7p42CszunJOQmPZfScmardt3tky8fVXp_8weL4N-Z6dHSPULNvQk6k829RigAvQ7Qlx8ZFKPFrA/w576-h640/macarthur%20garlic%20mustard%20waypoints%202013.jpg" width="576" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />After 7 consecutive years of mechanical & chemical control plus occasional burns, many of the 78 patches I monitored still had small numbers of 2nd year plants. This doesn’t necessarily mean >7 year seed viability since missed plants or pulling too early are alternative explanations, but studies show >10 year viability is likely.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1BBBPYR4hKxBFjw6yDzn0GDBGoMrTI11qKM9AyUpANK5_1IhGNygTOc49xuLFmcC0xjVDnOlZKKMmhuiNbYM59w0rvib7I55VbntTyk7dIVCwDIdP2ytNZ7pXrSAfgTchhnaN86q4JIr43wVx95If5SbbDJUVF01n4GbuUsRfZibkVRK3Ol8B4cKg/s3648/macarthur%20ground%20layer%20condition%20where%20gm%20persists%209-22-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx1BBBPYR4hKxBFjw6yDzn0GDBGoMrTI11qKM9AyUpANK5_1IhGNygTOc49xuLFmcC0xjVDnOlZKKMmhuiNbYM59w0rvib7I55VbntTyk7dIVCwDIdP2ytNZ7pXrSAfgTchhnaN86q4JIr43wVx95If5SbbDJUVF01n4GbuUsRfZibkVRK3Ol8B4cKg/w640-h480/macarthur%20ground%20layer%20condition%20where%20gm%20persists%209-22-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground layer condition where garlic mustard persists</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Garlic Mustard - spring timing</b><br /><br />For 3 years I monitored 60 locations during herbicide application in the 1st 10 days of May, then revisited a few weeks later to see what was missed. I omitted locations where missed plants due to human error were likely, such as in heavy vegetation or plants near a tree. Results: Locations with search areas >30’ diameter had more missed plants than smaller areas, confirming human error as a contributor. The most missed plants occurred in the year when I herbicided before they were in full bloom & the least missed plants was in the year when I sprayed a bit after full bloom. That observation included small patches where missed plants were unlikely, so I suspect not all plants had emerged when I sprayed before full bloom. I also noted at 10 revisited locations, there were 2nd year GM plants on the edge of the previously sprayed patch, raising the possibility that release from self-allelopathy caused rapid growth.<br /><br /><b>Garlic Mustard - new approach #1</b><br /><br />Start scouting sunny areas on 4/20 (in northeastern Illinois) with the goal to start chemical control when most plants are in full bloom, but before siliques are present. Switch to shady areas when plants in those areas reach the same bloom stage. Control can begin earlier if there is enough time before seed drop to revisit those early patches. Scattered patches are prioritized over monocultures & waypoints with larger search areas are prioritized because blooming plants are easier to find. My data suggests this single visit method should result in 60-70% of small patches having 0 or 1 missed plants, assuming an experienced, focused worker.<br /><br /><b>Garlic Mustard - new research leads to new approach #2</b><br /><br />Ecology Letters 24:327 (Residence Time Determines Invasiveness and Performance of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in North America by Blossey etal) has caused me to change strategy. It may be better to leave established monocultures alone, where the development of a natural biocontrol is more likely, and instead go after scattered smaller populations & ones that threaten high quality remnants. For moderate size patches, cutting at ground level or very targeted herbiciding is favored over hand pulling, because pulling disturbs potential soil biocontrols & creates optimum conditions for further invasion. For sites with good competition, it may be better to not control GM at all. For sites where it’s unlikely that decent competition will occur, perhaps reassess the desire for GM control by considering ecosystem quality & if resources are better used for other tasks or on another site. I view GM control as a temporary measure to buy time until robust native competition (or potentially a natural biocontrol) is established.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /></span><br /> </div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-90857721247324876422023-04-25T08:44:00.006-07:002023-05-05T06:49:18.538-07:00 Good Questions about How to Burn<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">from Drew Harry of Madison Audubon's Faville Grove Sanctuary in Wisconsin<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caveat<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This caveat may be boring. But it’s important. No one knows the “right” answers to ecosystem “prescription” questions. That’s partly because this “science” or “medicine” or “physical therapy for the ecosystem” is relatively new. It’s partly because every site and natural community is different. It’s partly because the way we learn is for many of us to try differing approaches, keep records, and compare. And yet – we have responsibility for “life and death decisions” about irreplaceable remnant ecosystems. We have to decide and act.</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q and A </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">Q: I'm wondering how you all handle raking around trees before woodland or savanna burns.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: The answers differ from area to area and from tree to tree. But a central principle is that we hope the fire will kill many trees. Too much tree shade is the greatest threat to oak woodland biodiversity. Bur oak and white oak woodlands are two of the mid-continent’s most endangered or threatened ecosystems. The threat to them is not too much fire … but the lack of it. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8RP4_4_1MNVpWYQZgnNlhMf-EM1g6azruoBGRVzbOzdatKFRp_MOpj6gRYqaqfR6jYhIxSi5c5oVW4bDgYZQQi0kwgt7oVsDj1Jm8v5BpBolMXhWqiTZ4RG5TbbI6XIVJ7wEZoYXc60/s1600/circle+fire.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8RP4_4_1MNVpWYQZgnNlhMf-EM1g6azruoBGRVzbOzdatKFRp_MOpj6gRYqaqfR6jYhIxSi5c5oVW4bDgYZQQi0kwgt7oVsDj1Jm8v5BpBolMXhWqiTZ4RG5TbbI6XIVJ7wEZoYXc60/s1600/circle+fire.jpg" width="640" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Most woodland burns, while "top-killing" buckthorns and some other small trees, do not reach temperatures hot enough to damage most trees, including the ones that merit control. </div><div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a bur oak woodland, excess shade from invading tree species of many kinds kills off the lower oak limbs (leading to rot) and prevents reproduction (as oaks need more light than the invaders). Many bur oak woodlands have had no bur oak reproduction for over one hundred years. Although it doesn't often happen, we'd hope our burns would be hot enough to kill most other trees. In the past a natural bur oak woodland was often mostly bur oak - with a few other tree species here and there. But in the decades without fire, those other species have grown so numerous and dense as to become a kind of ecosystem pathology. We invest a lot of stewardship energy in sawing them down and burning them in bonfires to let in enough light for bur oak reproduction and for the welfare of all the other plants and <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2017/02/campaigns-to-save-oak-animals.html">animals</a> of the now-rare bur oak woodland ecosystem. To the extent that fire will do some of this work, so much the better. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGpmd0fZbouCjEXUIqfEJGO195zWgbVsEDkwIMxill4sLW1M2gztYWzPlycjaZjIK76ghUVxX75uxumyujJd8aODFjaCKsuI4mCBZ4SmUWZTc4BF7tYzlh4XluZyM1G1cQirgXQf05yQL5VXyE02RSwsm4z6bU8a5yudk--3NSM3Jk4hW7FJEG7Hc0w/s3264/pole%20maples%20stone%20oak1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGpmd0fZbouCjEXUIqfEJGO195zWgbVsEDkwIMxill4sLW1M2gztYWzPlycjaZjIK76ghUVxX75uxumyujJd8aODFjaCKsuI4mCBZ4SmUWZTc4BF7tYzlh4XluZyM1G1cQirgXQf05yQL5VXyE02RSwsm4z6bU8a5yudk--3NSM3Jk4hW7FJEG7Hc0w/w640-h480/pole%20maples%20stone%20oak1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this degraded oak woodland, the biggest, oldest trees are bur and white oaks. Neither have reproduced in recent decades. Aside from a few red oaks, the principal new trees are invading maples. For biodiversity conservation, we would hope for fire intense enough to kill most of those maples and restore enough light for reproduction of the bur and white oaks. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only a bit less threatened, white oak woodlands in our experience have much less fuel and much tamer fires. But the principle is similar. Especially in areas of good soil, invasive maples, basswoods, cherries, elms, red oaks, and other trees have already become too dense to allow white oak reproduction. As we cull many of them by saw, <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/06/natural-ways-to-kill-tree.html">girdling</a>, and fire, literally hundreds of species of rare plants and animals are able to return as light levels increase. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvPF9TuL8sAA3t7-GiDC5mXTZh4I8gueWBoFDe5Z6nkaDgootB8_ato0S_6orYlUWrwxxql7AyyexCsjN_LxfhZt2opaIL05Tm5vMgzgraqHw2OllhdFhMPu8PCD8OABHeLk_Vb0L2rMtK-g5Ms_up69CPnJrLV_YnH_xmScDoniT-gaT3O1KpVUOzQ/s2522/IMG_1054.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2182" data-original-width="2522" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvPF9TuL8sAA3t7-GiDC5mXTZh4I8gueWBoFDe5Z6nkaDgootB8_ato0S_6orYlUWrwxxql7AyyexCsjN_LxfhZt2opaIL05Tm5vMgzgraqHw2OllhdFhMPu8PCD8OABHeLk_Vb0L2rMtK-g5Ms_up69CPnJrLV_YnH_xmScDoniT-gaT3O1KpVUOzQ/w640-h556/IMG_1054.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This hickory has been scarred by fire four times. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the second such occasion, the heat almost girdled the entire circumference, which would have killed the tree (about 30 years old, at that time). But after each fire, enough phloem and cambium remained that the tree recovered. This year, following 50+ years of survival, it succumbed to our saw and that purple herbicide. Hickories are good. But this woods had far too many of them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leaf litter fires and the resulting scarring of trees are parts of nature, and the process favors bur and white oak trees which are keystone species to two of our most endangered ecosystems.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We also protect many young bur and white oaks and some shrub thickets by raking and backfiring. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We only slowly became conscious of the fact that we needed to protect bur oaks at Somme Prairie Grove if we were to see reproduction of actual trees. All the young oaks in open areas, because of burning since 1980, were re-sprout bushes. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">Do you let headfires run through the leaf litter, or patiently wait for the backburn?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We burn with headfires as much as we can. They’re hotter and do more of the work that we want fires to do. Other people give good reasons for preferring backfires. It would be great to have long term studies comparing the two approaches. But as a default position, if we’re emulating nature, most land burned by headfires, as they moved the fastest and covered most ground. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">How do you handle the prairie/savanna margin? Do you let a hot fire run into the savanna?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes. In such situations we follow the principal “Let the fire decide.” In our experiences, we haven’t found “too hot” fires to be a problem. On one site where I work, we had an artificial situation where dense prairie grass grew right up to the edge of planted white oaks, then perhaps 20” DBH. The fires over the years killed most of those mature oaks. And yet, the site was former bur oak savanna. We were happy to see the planted white oaks retreat and the burs advance. Possibly, it once was the natural order of things for bur oaks to abut the prairies. White oaks seem to have grown in somewhat more protected areas, indeed protected in part by the reduced fire under the bur oaks between them and the prairie. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17dij0p_yQUFhXPAp6Bzv7gaWlpzoUzYIp2Fcu7HKBxqTblXNxFGeTCkL3PGNIqsJ4ja_5RpFDvc1LlDAxaOnsHtyYJHB7_qkJ9rXevlVeRqAtrCrq5Oatq8MTcNP787dA5XdD1Z13cpL0reJbMYezlHDP908g7eU4Fbog_aqpDy8sPO6cphhyBCh4g/s1600/fire%20high%20res1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17dij0p_yQUFhXPAp6Bzv7gaWlpzoUzYIp2Fcu7HKBxqTblXNxFGeTCkL3PGNIqsJ4ja_5RpFDvc1LlDAxaOnsHtyYJHB7_qkJ9rXevlVeRqAtrCrq5Oatq8MTcNP787dA5XdD1Z13cpL0reJbMYezlHDP908g7eU4Fbog_aqpDy8sPO6cphhyBCh4g/w640-h480/fire%20high%20res1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fire in the open grassland typically has flames many times longer than fire in the woods. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxpGOtJ7DCfcDMAmOXfdBcK4NboJteVWN_RfAjRtBPfaU4TRenOfBDLFJ95MTrajvASLUmkw4lKtEQ6jKMIo-ywNu1v9KBg6-VaX_HEQsbdReLQH1Yaba-TJ87N5If6YyCwGo7XmjVGeehxaygwdCB04CbH_CIVKeCve_g3QmI9_0N6Klt7qX9tuqAQ/s1600/bur%20may%20win0297.JPG.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxpGOtJ7DCfcDMAmOXfdBcK4NboJteVWN_RfAjRtBPfaU4TRenOfBDLFJ95MTrajvASLUmkw4lKtEQ6jKMIo-ywNu1v9KBg6-VaX_HEQsbdReLQH1Yaba-TJ87N5If6YyCwGo7XmjVGeehxaygwdCB04CbH_CIVKeCve_g3QmI9_0N6Klt7qX9tuqAQ/w640-h480/bur%20may%20win0297.JPG.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The tree on the left is a Hill's oak (in the area shown above). Given its thin bark, much of the lower part of this tree has been killed by the previous fire. On the right is a young bur, with much thicker bark, little impacted by the burn. Over years of burning, this bur oak may outcompete the Hill's on this open grassland edge. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">And do you change your actions based on humidity, temperature, wind etc.?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A good answer here might take a whole book. So perhaps, for now: Yes, certainly, in so many ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"><br />Do you still burn when spring ephemerals and other spring flowers are blooming? The leaves never seem to dry out by the time hepaticas and bloodroot start blooming, but they never seem to fall and dry out before snow in late fall/early winter either. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes. We sometimes burn plants that are evergreen - or stay green late in fall - or green up early in spring. Last year's evergreen leaves are not the ones that will do the main photosynthesis in the new year. Those species that are part of the oak woodland ecosystem, which are all or most species that we find there, come right back. The spring flora is precious … thought-provoking … refreshing … especially coming, as it does, after the barrenness of winter. It’s emotionally hard to hurt that spring flora. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As you point out, </span>Drew, <span style="font-family: inherit;">it’s similar in the fall. Many species are now so rare and precious that it’s emotionally difficult to burn gentians and asters while they're in flower. But fire-adapted plants roll with the punches. </span>It’s good for the oak woods ecosystem to get a good burn and ultimately good for spring and fall species too. <span style="font-family: inherit;">If they must skip a year of seed production, that’s a small price to pay for overall health of the ecosystem they depend on. </span></p><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">That being said, it's possible repeated late spring burns when wildflowers are up may lead to declines in some of those species – though I’m not aware if anyone has truly studied that. Increased </span>competition from recovering summer and fall species may also conceivably decrease some spring species that have profited from lack of such competition.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> There’s much to learn. </span><br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">How do you handle downed wood?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With such an excess of dying trees (from ash and elm disease as well as from fire), there can be unnatural amounts of fallen trunks and large branches. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We mostly hope it catches fire and burns up. Some managers carefully rake around dead wood … and then extinguish the logs that catch fire anyway. But that means they must take the time to do that same work year after year – meaning less time for work that’s much more important to both safety and the ecosystem. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In some areas we see </span>thick<span style="font-family: inherit;"> accumulations of un</span>burned<span style="font-family: inherit;"> decaying smaller sticks, bark, twigs, nut shells, and other litter. Ray Schulenberg from the Morton Arboretum observed that such rotting woody material acidified the soil or otherwise negatively impacted soil chemistry. We continue to hope that fires will be hot enough to burn that up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">We pull logs and dense branches away from oak trunks (both old trees and reproduction, if any) to the extent that we find time for it. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDw4iT8pP7d_VgiADcBqmtDvEGDja6FLT2C7CdOmNAtHBJddiE-MmxKl_KKKioPMn55fswuz5krbB2tmVTzkIHXzM4pm8Q12pOgWrIn8SLBuq_JcBSmEn1D_Wd0KT5tspWXCW3l1rz3Gv0lfI8yit_EvxnsR7k36D7ius9oitgXrwb4lAAnF4gOtuJ7Q/s4032/log%20burns%20trunk_0859.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDw4iT8pP7d_VgiADcBqmtDvEGDja6FLT2C7CdOmNAtHBJddiE-MmxKl_KKKioPMn55fswuz5krbB2tmVTzkIHXzM4pm8Q12pOgWrIn8SLBuq_JcBSmEn1D_Wd0KT5tspWXCW3l1rz3Gv0lfI8yit_EvxnsR7k36D7ius9oitgXrwb4lAAnF4gOtuJ7Q/w480-h640/log%20burns%20trunk_0859.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A low-intensity leaf fire can kindle a much hotter wood fire where a downed log lies close to a tree trunk. This dead log against a red oak trunk led to a fire that damaged the red oak (and continues to consume the downed log days later). Protecting the young white oaks (pale barked trees in the middle distance) was a priority here. It we'd had time, we would have moved a section of such a trunk that was up against a white oak. It did not concern us that this red oak trunk was damaged. Indeed, for biodiversity conservation purposes, we are <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html">culling red oaks</a> in this area.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33zOzSMxhFqgJE-Bpu6x_G2jDTaixKm0STiR38Ef88GI_yHmvzMCovHnwTOCMmfgSuBcXygWOuortQNagCCdcx36pieNX1obbLUV_4nF7340q-mSskle2m7fwiY3Tm7SdJrI4Jx9WRigRMbu0rQJR5s6t7SnH7OijqrjOYEKGN_eaE_FyoCMSJVOawg/s4032/log%20burns%20trunk_1078.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33zOzSMxhFqgJE-Bpu6x_G2jDTaixKm0STiR38Ef88GI_yHmvzMCovHnwTOCMmfgSuBcXygWOuortQNagCCdcx36pieNX1obbLUV_4nF7340q-mSskle2m7fwiY3Tm7SdJrI4Jx9WRigRMbu0rQJR5s6t7SnH7OijqrjOYEKGN_eaE_FyoCMSJVOawg/w480-h640/log%20burns%20trunk_1078.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><p></p><p></p><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fire between this trunk and log badly burned this bur oak trunk years ago and re-burned a part of it recently. In a woods or savanna with little bur oak reproduction, if we saw it ahead of time, we would have cut and moved the part of the log away from the tree. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: inherit;">How does the size of a unit affect the care you're giving to individual trees?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here I can’t resist invoking one of my favorite burns. At Nachusa Grassland we burned a circle around about 400 acres of prairie, savanna, and woodland on a spring day. We had no prepared firebreaks, as we knew where natural firebreaks occurred and where elsewhere we needed to go slow with special care. During the burn, Wilson’s snipe winnowed over the wetland and wild turkeys gobbled in the woods, while surrounded by flames. Ducks landed in the ponds during the burn, perhaps expecting the fires to drive tasty insects to them. In the evening, now with 360 degrees of burned firebreaks, woodcock performed their mating rituals as the fire burned up all it wanted within that circle, wandering idly in some places, then flaming dramatically in others, until well after dark. That was decades ago, before any of us had heard of Nomex flame-retardant clothing. We used no vehicles – just legs, arms, flappers, backpack sprayers, and rakes instead of drip-torches. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, large burns are different. We </span>typically<span style="font-family: inherit;"> don’t have time to worry about details within the burn. The fire decides. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because they nest on the ground in early in spring, we often burn up woodhen’s nests. We are sorry. If we run across a nest by chance, we rake around it and spray water over the area, and we have seen such nests survive. But some are burned. The woodcocks will nest again. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is this bad for woodcocks? Our fires restore such good woodcock habitat that our bird reports regularly get skeptical questioning from <a href="https://ebird.org/home">Ebird</a>. Woodcocks have in recent years spread out of the savanna and into the now-more-open and thriving oak woodlands. Belatedly we now understand why they’re called “woodcocks.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taking the long view, oak woodland restoration has been <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/04/breeding-bird-revival-after-habitat.html">very good to birds</a>. But you have to break some eggs to restore good habitat for all. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drew's questions and this post refer back to <a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/04/how-to-burn-details-from-april-8.html">this burn report</a>.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">Additional References:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html" style="color: #954f72;">https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2023/03/discovering-oak-ecosystems-history-and.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/03/why-fire-is-needed.html" style="color: #954f72; font-family: inherit;">https://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2022/03/why-fire-is-needed.html</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2014/11/unexpected-big-ass-forest-fire.html">https://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2014/11/unexpected-big-ass-forest-fire.html</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="http://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/04/dont-hurt-woodcocks.html">http://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2018/04/dont-hurt-woodcocks.html</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="https://ruffedgrousesociety.org/woodcock-facts/">https://ruffedgrousesociety.org/woodcock-facts/</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">Thanks to <a href="https://madisonaudubon.org/who-we-are">Drew Harry of Madison Audubon Society</a> for good questions and discussion.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">Thanks for proofing and edits to Christos Economou and Eriko Kojima. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div>Stephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.com4