Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Cap Sauers September 16, 2023

9/21/2023

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday September 16
This turned out to be our only session of the weekend, cutting brush, mostly honeysuckle, along the multi-use trail at Cap. We worked both sides of a little creek that drains the higher ground, with fires on both sides.

One side for chainsaws, one for hand tools plus Doug's brushcutter. We were joined by first-time Palos volunteer Elijah (thank you!), Emily Russell from FPCC, and about ten others. Many of the honeysuckle were fairly robust, making it a good intro to fall bow-sawing and waking a few dormant muscles.

Rain got the best of us on Sunday, when we planned to cut brush at Black Partridge. It lasted much of the day, though by evening the sky cleared nicely. We know we're always susceptible to the caprices of weather, and still pout whenever this happens.

Palos Night Sky Picnic Friday September 15
This was co-hosted by Forest Preserves of Cook County (and Mary Busch!) and the excellent people at Sag Moraine Native Plant Society, and took place at Pioneer Woods. Attendance was amazing; with a long stretch of the parking lot filled with cars.

Aside from several speakers, the event offered live music until after sunset. Astronomers from Chicago Astronomical Society and Naperville Astronomical Association set up telescopes, allowing visitors to view objects of interest in the night sky while sharing their expertise.

This was great fun, leaving me hoping for an encore presentation.

McMahon Woods & Fen September 2, 2023

9/7/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday September 2
We returned to a scrubby area that was brush-mowed last year, hand-cutting resprouts and larger, well-established invasives, primarily honeysuckle and Asian bittersweet. We did not burn on this day due to heat, low humidity and high fire risk.

It was quite messy in there, with countless small bittersweet vines that seemed to vanish the instant you clipped them. They probably will be best dealt with, later, with herbicide, after the herbaceous plants growing around them die back for winter.

Meanwhile, the procession of late-summer plants rolls on in the higher-quality areas, with asters now joining the goldenrods in bloom and other treats, like bottle gentian, popping up. See the pictures below for more.

Willow Springs August 26, Swallow Cliff August 27, 2023

8/31/2023

Willow Springs Woods Saturday August 26
By Saturday the heat wave had moved on, making both our weekend outings much more enjoyable. This was another weed day, with some volunteers carrying backpack sprayers and others hand-pulling sweet clover or clipping flowers from invasives like thistle and teasel.

Shout-out to new volunteer Thomas, who first joined us a week ago at Cap Sauers and came back last week at Willow Springs. Much appreciated.

Swallow Cliff Woods South, Sunday August 27
Our first seed collecting day of the season, Sunday was delightfully cool. We were mostly confined to woodland grasses, bottlebrush, brome, and a bit of rye being the prime species that were ready. Numerous others, not ripe yet, will be targeted on another day.

We were joined by first time Palos volunteer Holli, as well as FPCC's Kris DaPra, who graciously consented to add her expertise (and knowledge of Swallow Cliff) to our endeavor. One piece of good news: Kris, who worked on a Forest Preserves restoration crew at Swallow Cliff some 25 years ago, views the current diversity of plants in the managed area as outstanding.

Another piece of good news: in our recent brush-clearing area, started last September, we found an abundance of native plants moving in where honeysuckle once dominated. This included some interesting wetland plants as well as more common succession plants, which should limit invasive growth before yielding to other native species.

Cap Sauers August 19, Black Partridge August 20, 2023

8/24/2023

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday August 19
Saturday was a weed day, with white sweet clover and thistles the primary targets. We're getting near the end of weed season, perhaps one or two more weekends before we switch to brush-cutting. We'll also have seed collecting days coming up, including this Sunday August 27 at Swallow Cliff and Sunday September 9 at Hidden Pond.

The account and photo below came from Doug Bosco's FB post; your correspondent was sweltering in the Arkansas heat last weekend, and made it back home in time for more sweltering, Illinois style.
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Black Partridge Woods Sunday August 20
John Marlin hosted a weed assault on Sunday, clipping two bags of teasel heads from the south (dairy farm) side of Bluff Road at Black Partridge Woods. It was a hot day, by his account, and John seemed pleased with the work that was accomplished.

McMahon August 12, McClaughrey Springs August 13, 2023

8/17/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday August 12
Missed both these dates and will rely on others accounts, including Doug Bosco's FB post, for this report. Some volunteers carried herbicide sprayers, while others pulled white sweet clover (is there still some left out there?) on the prairie at McMahon. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and may mark our last foray to the prairie for sweet clover removal.

My personal McMahon visit came one day earlier, about 10:00 pm, with two other volunteers from the Dark Sky Monitor project. After we took readings with our sky quality meters, we laid on our backs on the concrete runway and spent a short while admiring the stars overhead and clouds swirling beneath them. Quite a satisfying way to wrap up an evening.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday August 13
Our small group of volunteers was disrupted by a yellow jacket assault on Doug Bosco - hope you're over the swelling by now, Doug. It is their time and they are exceedingly aggressive if you get near the nest. After the incident, which was planned for cutting and stacking woody invasives for burning in autumn, Diana called the day short.

Ashburn Prairie August 5, 2023

8/10/2023

Ashburn Prairie Saturday August 5
Ashburn Prairie is a small restored remnant prairie in Marquette Park, part of Chicago Park District. From nearby Ashburn, it was threatened with destruction, and rescued through the efforts of Joe Neumann working with Chicago Park District. In winter 1993 large chunks of earth were dug up and relocated here at Marquette Park, between the lagoon and Kedzie Avenue.

This was my first visit to Ashburn Prairie, and it's a lovely place. The Park District installed a rope walkway which leads to the prairie, which presumably discourages cyclists and trampling of the native plants within.

Joe typically holds a workday here once a year, and Saturday's work included removing random buckthorn as well as willows growing along the bank of the lagoon. Though the prairie has a golf course close to it, and soccer fields as well, it feels more like its own, secluded place. Very nice!

McMahon Woods July 29, Sagawau July 30, 2023

8/3/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 29
We returned once again to McMahon prairie and its infestation of white sweet clover. Rain the previous day was our good friend, softening the ground enough that we could uproot many of the plants. Clippers were only occasionally necessary for the bigger stems. We were joined by first-time Palos volunteer Billy and appreciate his help.

The prairie was a delight, teeming with monarda, purple and gray-headed coneflowers, and an assortment of other native blooms. We even spotted an occasional Ohio spiderwort, still popping flowers two months after their first appearance.

Pollinators were feasting throughout the morning. At times one could see multiple species of bees alighting on a single cluster of monarda, with butterflies not far behind. Truly inspiring, all the reason we need to come out and remove invasive plants!

Chainsaw Bob from Salt Creek/Sundown cut a few trees near the parking lot, and at day's end one got hung up, leading to the creation of his new alter-ego, Polesaw Bob. See picture below.

Sagawau Environmental Learning Center Sunday July 30
With nothing scheduled at any of our PRP sites I made my way to Sagawau, where I was able to - guess what - pull more white sweet clover. It was not as thick here as at McMahon, testament to repeated efforts by volunteers and staff in recent weeks. The Sagawau prairie has its own mix of natives flowering, including some decent-looking, though stunted, prairie blazing star. At least these had relatively full spikes of flowers. See them below.

In my weekly email I included this link to a story about early prairie restoration in the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

McMahon Woods July 22, 2023

7/27/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 22
Had to pass on this one due to minor hand injury that wouldn't have meshed well with the day's task, pulling invasive white sweet clover. I instead went to Beaubien Woods to collect seed (below), so this account comes from Doug Bosco's FB post and photos.

As is the case in summer, two or three volunteers with herbicide licenses did backpack spraying while the others focused on weed pulling. The Sweet clover continues to be a major nemesis at McMahon, having established itself years ago and supported by a seed bank that keeps on giving. As long as this is the case, volunteers will return here to pull, drag, and compost as much as is possible.

Beaubien Woods Road Trip
That's an exaggeration, Beaubien is maybe 12-13 miles from Palos Heights. Catherine Hu, the steward there, works for Field Museum which has managed restoration at Beaubien for many years. I was only good for light duty, like stripping ripe seeds from native plants. Some volunteers collected brome and crested sedge seed while others clipped the tops from invasive reed canary. After an hour we moved to the prairie in search of black-eyed Susan.

The prairie lies in sight of the Bishop Ford expressway and just a few stone throws from the Calumet River, on old Doty Ave. which now is a frontage road. Friends of mine would drag race along those frontage roads a long time ago, while I stayed home and knitted because what they did wasn't legal. The prairie is quite nice.

Cap Sauers July 15, Black Partridge July 16, 2023

7/20/2023

Cap Sauers Satruday July 15
Margaret canceled due to rain that ended shortly before the scheduled starting time, and wet ground conditions that persisted. She went to the meeting place, per usual practice, in case anyone who didn't see the email or FB post showed up.

Two volunteers came, one so eager to work Margaret eventually succumbed and located some weeds they could remove in a spot that wasn't waterlogged. Two regulars showed up to scout the area, and they wound up with a small, impromptu workday.

Black Partridge Sunday July 16
When I arrived steward John Marlin informed me we we canceling, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) was above the 150 threshold. Unlike the preceding day, nobody tried to talk us out of it, as the volunteers who signed up online did not show.

John wanted to check on some plants so we took a short walk through the upland, which might have gone longer if not for the insanely hungry mosquitoes we encountered along the way. No bites (I was doused with repellent) but they hovered so close it was a relief we weren't staying the full three hours.

Black Partridge looked great and we saw some nice native plants along the way. Walking with John is always informative due to his voluminous knowledge of his site and the plants inhabiting it.

Michigan Lily
I thought I'd missed out on Michigan lily this season, as I'd checked a couple spots I sometimes see it with no success. Last week I stumbled across some, quite by accident, as I was walking along the prairie and saw some invasive white sweet clover near its edge. After pulling that, and another small patch or two, I saw a few Culver's root and went to take a picture. Near them sat one small Michigan lily, which I would have missed had I not been in close proximity. It's a pretty flower, glad I was there to see it.

McMahon Woods July 8, 2023

7/13/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 8
Your correspondent missed this one and will rely on Doug Bosco's FB post, and pictures, as well as memories of past July Saturdays on the McMahon prairie.

The main target was white sweet clover (Melilotus alba) a tenacious foe that can usually be uprooted (thank jah for some rain recently) but sometimes has to be clipped, usually the bigger stems. Doug reported the sweetclover population was down this year (perhaps drought-related?), but, since it's a biennial, the presence of first-year plants guarantees we'll be back next year.

I've pulled a few of these from Cherry Hill prairie this year, and another volunteer found and removed some at Sundown prairie, this being quite the ubiquitous plant.