Category Archives: biodiversity

What Counts as Restoration? This Does.

Posted on October 31, 2020 by prairiebotanist

A few months ago I wrote a post critical of the types of hasty, ill-concieved, and poorly executed efforts that are sold to the public as ecological restoration. The work done at Vestal Grove in Cook County, Illinois has been … Continue reading →

Posted in biodiversity, Conservation, native plants, Oak opening, oaks, restoration, Savanna, Stewardship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Counts as Ecological Restoration?

Posted on July 7, 2020 by prairiebotanist

Shortly before I left my previous employer, the Milwaukee County Parks Natural Areas Coordinator proposed to my supervisor that a narrow tract of woods known as Cambridge Avenue Woods be designated natural area. Cambridge Avenue Woods is a well-documented, degraded … Continue reading →

Posted in biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation own-goals, Forests, invasive species, native plants, restoration, Stewardship | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Franklin Savanna, Another Case Study in Ecosystem Collapse

Posted on March 21, 2020 by prairiebotanist

It was an old oak pasture that taught me about the great abundance of nature. We climbed those trees, or rather, when we crawled under the fence into Mr. Erickson’s pasture, walked right up onto their great, open-grown limbs. My … Continue reading →

Posted in biodiversity, Conservation, Forests, invasive species, native plants, Oak opening, oaks, Prairie, restoration, Savanna, Stewardship | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments