Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Willow Springs Woods December 7, Hidden Pond December 8, 2019

12/12/2019

Willow Springs Woods Saturday December 7
Back at the Katydid side of Willow Springs Woods, cutting more honeysuckle, barberry, multi-flora, and bittersweet. A week ago we were half a dozen or so in the rain. This time, on a dry, sometimes sunny day, we were many more, over 20 volunteers total.

We worked a wide area, with power tools in one sector and those with loppers and bowsaws spread out a bit more. After break everyone pitched in to help haul the remaining brush to the fire. It was most productive, with thanks to everyone present and special thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Amy, Madison, Paul, Corey, Arianna, Sean, and Zaid - think I'm missing one mom and one dad name here :-(

Hidden Pond Sunday December 8
We returned to the Kean Avenue side of Hidden Pond, to a brushy area near Woodland Drive. We broke down and burned two large piles of brush already present and began cutting into a stand of honeysuckle just north of the fires. Dennis brought his chainsaw and knocked down several box elders that were invading the prairie about a hundred yards from our main work site.

It was another good day and another terrific team! Zaid, Corey, Kathy and Damario joined us both Saturday and Sunday, and Corey's dad Jim was a first-time Palos volunteer on Sunday.

Willow Springs Woods November 30, 2019

12/5/2019

Willow Springs Woods/Katydid Saturday November 30
Breezy mornings with rain aren't the most inviting. Magically, the rain halted just as our sole chain sawyer arrived - how DOES this happen?

So we traipsed out to a brushy area near the big ravine and commenced cutting - more accurately, Kevin commenced cutting. He was a beast with his saw, hacking honeysuckles big and small and leaving plenty for the remaining half-dozen volunteers to haul and burn.
The fire had a smoky start, then it was fine. Work gloves got soaked but we otherwise remained dry throughout the morning. And when we walked away we left a big, open area previously covered with honeysuckle, little red berries still dangling from many a branch.

A tip of the hat to the other Kevin who joined us, from Oak Lawn H.S. He finished his requisite service hours for the term, and we appreciate all the help he's given us in recent weeks!

Cap Sauers Holding on Sunday, December 1 was canceled due to rain and wet terrain- we'll return on the first Sunday in January to tackle the frog pond project noted in last week's email.

Paddock Woods November 23, Swallow Cliff Woods South November 24, 2019

11/27/2019

Paddock Woods Saturday November 23
We had an active group at Paddock to cut brush near the site of our last couple sessions there. A true treat to have our long-time friend Doug and daughter Kanohi again!

With a pair of brushcutters and a pair of chainsaws we got a lot of cutting and burning done. At some point Margaret stumbled across an old deer antler that I suspect was one we found, and left, a short distance away more than two years ago. Much nibbling and weathering was evident, see pictures below. Great job by all present!

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday November 24
We had another great group Sunday, with 16 volunteers and three chainsaws, as well as first-time Palos volunteers Cai, Iman, Nouha and Jajuan.

In the middle of our work site sat a terrible tangle of honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, buckthorn, and others. Numerous fallen trees added to the difficulty in navigating this area. Our volunteer team ably cleared a big chunk of ground through the center of this mess. Sunlight will now reach the ground in places where it's been more a rumor than a reality.

Cap Sauers November 16, Black Partridge November 17, 2019

11/20/2019

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday November 16
This weekend we worked in two of the four Illinois Nature Preserves in our region (the others are Cranberry Slough and Paw Paw Woods).These are sites that have been classified as "high quality natural areas and habitats of endangered and threatened species" in need of protection. The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission then promotes the preservation of these significant lands and provides leadership in their stewardship, management and protection.

Cap Sauers is the largest of the preserves we manage in the Palos region, large enough to have two stewards. The site we worked Saturday is part of the area managed by Margaret Tobin - Bob Arentz is our other steward at Cap Sauers and works a bit to the east and north. Our main target was honeysuckle, and we found and cut an abundance of it, burning two brush piles as we worked. A terrific effort and a good time! We were joined by first-time Palos volunteers Laura and Madison (and Laura was back the next day at Black Partridge).

Black Partridge Woods Sunday November 17
In contrast to Cap Sauers, Black Partridge and Paw Paw Woods are two of our smallest sites. John Marlin, one of the original members of Palos Restoration Project, has been our steward at Black Partridge for 27 years.

During that time he's overseen the removal of all significant patches of invasive brush on the north side of Bluff Road, in the nature preserve sector. So Sunday we crossed to the south side and cut honeysuckle, including some sizable ones. Countless targets here so there's no concern about running out of work in the foreseeable future.

Nature Walk With a Librarian, Swallow Cliff Thursday November 21
Last night's forecast made today look like a washout but the worst of the rain tracked south and east so we were greeted with little more than a mist by 10:00 a.m. We walked from the Swallow Cliff stairs to the south woods, then around the loop trail and back.

The colors of autumn, the earthy reds and browns, were stunning. With most of the leaves having dropped you see the contours of the land much better than during the growing season. The squirrels, busy foraging for food, were readily apparent. This was our last walk of 2019 with Palos Park Public Library; we'll start up again next April.

Pioneer Woods November 9, Hidden Pond November 10, 2019

11/14/2019

Pioneer Woods Saturday November 9
Back to Tuma Lake with a huge group, actually multiple groups with multiple foci. Boy Scouts from Troop 216 of LaGrange Highlands did an Eagle project with steward Joe Neumann, installing erosion control barriers in a ravine that runs down to Tuma Lake. Congrats to Scout Brandon for his work on this important project which involved upwards of 50 Scouts and family members. Troop 216 is a large, very active, capably led group.

In addition to this activity we hosted a group of 18 from Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's TEENS program, who cut and burned honeysuckle nearby. Many thanks to our FPCC stewardship aide, Cyndi Duda, for her leadership of this endeavor. Our usual corps of regular volunteers provided an able assist in both efforts.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday November 10
Save a frog, hack a bucky: while the prairie is the focal point of much of our work at Hidden Pond, this time we were at the pond that gives the preserve its name. Cyndi Duda, scouting the site, found a number of buckthorns growing around the edge of the pond. Since buckthorn secretes a chemical that impairs amphibian development, she wanted to get rid of the invaders.

As we did! To avoid having multiple fires in a very public area, we dragged cut brush all the way around the pond, quite a long haul. Thanks to Dennis Kankowske for bringing his chainsaw south of I-55, to three of our Palos stewards (Bob, Diana, and Margaret), first-time Palos volunteer Kevin, second-timers Walter and Logan, to Jei, Ahmad, Mira, Gary, Kathy and the tireless Laura.

With any luck our efforts will result in more chirps, ribets, and trills come spring.

Pioneer November 2, McClaughrey Springs & Cap Sauers November 3, 2019

11/4/2019

Pioneer Woods Saturday November 2
Tuma Lake, re-opened recently, glistened below as we cleared brush along a ravine up above. Dragging brush up the ravine slope keeps us strong; watching the slope open up and the honeysuckle go to smoke makes us happy. We had a good group and cleared one side of the ravine almost end-to-end. This Saturday Joe plans to return and cut some more.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday November 3
Sunday morning started out chilly, warming considerably as we hacked away at the honeysuckle just a stone's throw from Mill Creek. Some pretty substantial honeysuckle in there too; thanks to Dennis Kankowske for venturing south of I-55 with his chainsaw, a huge help in dealing with the larger miscreants.

We had a great mix of students and regular volunteers. We also had 50% humidity which meant fires that lit up readily, a far cry from one week earlier when wet fuel and high humidity made burning a true challenge.

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday November 3
We kept our momentum going into Sunday afternoon; maybe that's because we had several volunteers who did both sessions, thank you Ahmad, Mira, Kathy and Cyndi. We finished burning some brush left over from previous dates, cut some more, then walked down the trail to a buckthorn-y (is that even a word?) frog pond where Bob plans to cut and burn in December. Save a frog, kill a buckthorn?

Willow Springs October 26, Swallow Cliff October 27, 2019

10/30/2019

Willow Springs Woods Saturday October 26
This was a peak fall colors day and we had a terrific group at Willow, including seven volunteers who were either students at Whitney Young HS or family members, and first-time Palos volunteer Rene from Willow Springs.

With two brush-cutters running and an energetic, hard-working group, we cleared a nice piece of ground adjacent to one area that's already been brushmowed by contractors and another that is scheduled for the same. Great day!

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday October 27
Rain from noon Saturday until late evening cast doubt on our ability to cut and burn brush Sunday, so we were fortunate to finally do both. Yes, we had to choose the right spot to work, and yes, the fire took forever to really get cooking, but it got done.

Thanks to several first-time (Walt, Logan, Gary & Damario) and second-time (Ahmad, Mirijana, Ben & Kelly) Palos volunteers as well as a sprinkling of the reliables who come through for us time after time. By mid-morning the sun was shining as we opened up a big swath right in the middle of our work area, ensuring the light reaches the ground on future sunny days.

Many thanks to Ginger for agreeing to lead this one, and to Kathy for staying late and handling all the herbiciding.

Spears Woods Tuesday October 29
Collecting seed on a damp morning at Spears with Joe Neumann, new volunteer Gary, and the Friends of the Forest Preserves Palos crew, we managed to bag some seed despite far-from-optimal conditions.

Cap Sauers October 19, Black Partridge October 20, 2019

10/23/2019

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday October 19
We had a good group cutting honeysuckle, bittersweet, and multi-flora, including first-time Palos volunteers Andri and Olivia and almost-first-timer Kelley. "twas also good to have Jam and Jan from Palos Park out again.

Fall colors have arrived, with the maples making their usual emphatic statement. Those recent cool nights must be working their magic, bringing us the last hurrah of this year's growing season.

Walk With a Librarian at Little Red Schoolhouse, Saturday October 19
We had a great turnout at Little Red Schoolhouse for our walk and a perfect afternoon to do it! Thanks to naturalist George Klut for taking us around the Black Oak trail, and to Cyndi Duda for her assistance. Thanks also to Jessica Rock and Palos Park Public Library for partnering with us on these walks - yet another way to share our enthusiasm for natural places in Palos!

Black Partridge Woods Sunday October 20
We collected a variety of seeds on another stunning fall afternoon, moving through prairie segments on the south side of Bluff Road, joined by new volunteers Ahmad, Mirjana, and two young gentlemen from Downers Grove South.

Willow Springs Woods October 12, Hidden Pond October 13, 2019

10/13/2019

This week's post is going out a couple days late - I and my far better half spent several days in Nashville celebrating an anniversary.

Autumn at Willow Springs Woods, Saturday October 12
We had 18 walkers on our tour of the preserve, this despite the windy, rather cool morning we were handed. Thanks to all who came, including our volunteers who worked cutting brush and switched roles when the walk began. That includes first-time Palos volunteers Julia and Su, as well as Ben - someone we met just a week ago at Little Red Schoolhouse, who brought his wife, daughter, and chainsaw. Super!

Some good work got done and we got to show the beauty of the site to a group of new people, we always enjoy sharing in this way.

Scouts at Busse Woods Saturday October 12
Rich Welge invited us to Busse Woods for a huge scouting event, with many hundreds of scouts camping overnight and a total of ~ 4,500 people registered. We went to spread the word about restoration in our area; Rich was instrumental in helping connect us with scout leaders from the southern part of the county.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday October 13
We had a bit of a slow start (and an interesting hike in), but once we got rolling our small group cleared a substantial amount of honeysuckle from a spot near the northwest edge of the prairie. We had no trouble getting and keeping the fire going, with a brisk breeze and decent humidity to help it along. Thanks to Jesse, Joe, Jei, Cyndi and Kathy for their stellar efforts!

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday October 13
Jei, Kathy and Cyndi made their second appearance of the day at Cap Sauers, helping Bob drag and burn a host of cut honeysuckle from a couple months back. The dried fuel burned even quicker than the green stuff we handled in the morning, and another small crew did another outstanding job.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Erin and her son for their help today!

Spears Woods October 5, McClaughrey Springs October 6, 2019

10/9/2019

Spears Woods Saturday October 5
We cut brush along the back side of Boomerang Slough Saturday - when we started the water was not discernible from our vantage point.Honeysuckle, bittersweet, viburnum, multi-flora rose, we had plenty to choose from. Even a balky chainsaw didn't prevent our clearing a decent stretch along the shoreline.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Kenneth, from Whitney Young HS, and dad Scott. Is this the start of another round of Whitney Young bio students? Sure hope so...

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday October 6
Our numbers were increased by a couple of scouts with parents as Diana and company cut and burned honeysuckle. While I missed this one - off at Little Red Schoolhouse (see below), this was an absolute perfect day to spend outdoors.

Little Red Schoolhouse Arts & Crafts Fair Sunday October 6
This was the 54th edition of this event We encountered some old friends and supporters and hope we made some new ones. Such a beautiful day!

Big thanks to Dave Branigan, Maureen Neidle, and Kathy Bruch for helping, and to Margaret Tobin for driving over to do the same.