Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Spears Woods March 8, Hidden Pond March 9, 2025

3/10/2025

Spears Woods Saturday March 8
Missed this one and cobbled some information from Jim D. and Doug's FB post. It was a small group, working a little bit south of the parking lot along the Yellow Trail. Brush cutting until the brush cutter crashed (Sorry, Doug!) and some chainsaw tree thinning throughout the morning.

Wherever you went this weekend, sandhill cranes could be heard overhead. I saw a picture this morning of an estimated 50,000 along the Platte River in Nebraska and saw some Tuesday flying low enough to get a couple pictures where their shapes are at least discernible when expanded..

Hidden Pond West Sunday March 9
We'll call this one Masters of the Bowsaw and lopper, as we went without any power tools, somewhat unusual these days in Palos though not too many years ago ALL the invasive removal was done with hands tools. We did really well, too, a credit to the energy of our volunteer team. This included first-time Palos volunteers Mike and Arthur, Sarah who made her Palos debut just two weeks ago, and parent-student couples Rebecca/Charlie and Melanie/Kelsey.

Spears Woods March 1, McClaughrey Springs March 2, 2025

3/5/2025

Spears Woods Saturday March 1
Many volunteers attended the Wild Things nature conference in Rosemont Saturday - more on that below - but we still had a good group out at Spears to continue the assault on honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, and other delights. Carolyn led this one in Joe's absence, and this account and a couple pictures below came from Doug Bosco's FB post.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday March 2
Sunday was a clean-up day from last month's tree-thinning, with several piles of cut timber awaiting us. We also had four members of the Thorn Creek Resource Management crew helpinng, running brushcutters to eliminate the plethora of small walnut saplings that shade and stymie all the native grasses and forbs in this meadow.

With falling humidity levels projected for the afternoon we stopped loading early to give the fires a chance to burn down. This was a wise call on the part of the RM crew - maybe some readers heard about the 10 acre wildfire in McHenry County, caused by a brushpile stirred by strong winds.

Spears Woods February 22, Swallow Cliff February 23, 2025

2/27/2025

Spears Woods Saturday February 22
We had a large group of volunteers at Spears Saturday. joined by Maddie Peacher, new FPCC Stewardship Program Coordinator, working at the north end near 87th Street. Got off to a slow start, but once a fire was started we got going and cleared a big swath of brush, with far too much multi-flora rose, near the trail loop.

Meanwhile, chainsawyers from Atrium Landscape worked on the other side of the trail in their last tree-thinning day of the season. After they departed some volunteers moved to that side and began lighting more brush piles, and a couple late arrivals stayed with them throughout the afternoon.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday February 23
The trails and landscape held a thin snow cover Sunday morning as we cleared honeysuckle and buckthorn west of the trail loop. Our small group, which included first-time Palos volunteer Sarah (thank you!), was augmented by four members of FPCC's Palos Resource Management crew and Regional Ecologist Kristin Pink, who graciously marked numerous native shrubs scattered around the area to protect them from errant loppers and bowsaws.

We had a single, at times unruly brush pile which kept a handful of us on site until almost 2:00 pm. An added treat was hearing a brush mower, run by a contract crew from Stantec, obliterating a large stretch of brush little more than a quarter-mile away. Another great example of teamwork in action, with contractors, Forest Preserves staff, and volunteers all working toward a common goal.

Pioneer Woods February 15, Black Partridge February 16, 2025

2/20/2025

Pioneer Woods Saturday February 15
Missed this one due to an Adler Planetarium visit offered to volunteer dark sky monitors and had a great time. We got to see the Far Horizons lab, where researchers conduct high altitude balloon missions, currently monitoring light pollution in the Chicago area. Fascinating program, all the more so because they involve large numbers of students, likely creating the next generation of researchers.

Meanwhile, our stalwart volunteers were back at Pioneer, burning logs that often are not that eager to burn. We've spent several days there this winter and removed enough brush and scrub trees to bring a lot of light to the forest floor.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday February 16
Speaking of logs that don't want to burn: We were dealing with stacks made the previous day by sawyers from Atrium Landscape, working in two spots perhaps a football field apart. They had a different mix of trees and fires in the first area started readily, offering hope we'd finish all the work in one day, despite a small group of six or seven volunteers.

Brush piles at our second location, down the slope nearer the creek, didn't go so well. The smaller branches burned readily but didn't generate enough heat to get the bigger pieces going, needing constant tending and re-kindling. Wind shifts made it worse which will force a return visit in march to finish the cleanup.

Pioneer Woods February 8, Hidden Pond February 9, 2025

2/13/2025

Pioneer Woods Saturday February 8,
Missed this one due to another commitment, told it was another big log burning party, par for the course in February. We had work left over from our Atrium Day as well as any new brush in the area and several good-sized fires that burned late into the afternoon. Always somewhere to get warm on a winter restoration day! We also were graced with the presence of the RM Palos crew.

Hidden Pond Sunday February 9, 2025
This was another smallish group of volunteers, yet we accomplished quite a bit. We targeted a spot along the multi-use trail that looked like it would be finished pretty quickly - by mid-morning we weren't sure we'd be able to burn everything we cut. I believe at least three of us said "I didn't think there was so much there" or something to that effect.

By noon we had it all on the fire, credit to the terrific team we had. That included first-time Palos volunteer Sarah and Eric, Danny, and Graciela from Palos Resource Management.

Paddock Woods February 1, McClaughrey Springs February 2, 2025

2/6/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday February 1
We met at the Palos Park South lot and continued to burn brush piles along the Yellow Trail. Some of it was brush we cut during the morning, but more was downed trees and brush from our last weekend at the site.

We had a very good turnout which again included members of the RM Palos crew. It also was good to see Rebecca and Charlie, past volunteers at Swallow Cliff during garlic mustard season. Much of the wood we burred was wet species like maple or basswood, making the fires slow to start. Eventually, though, you get enough of a hot core to sustain and burn whatever you add to the pile. Patience...

McClaughrey Springs Sunday February 2
We had a smaller group Sunday, which again included two member of the Palos crew (Amanda and Brian). That meant more piles to burn than volunteers, so everybody got their own fire, along with the chance to float to others when their first was going well.

Again, we were dealing with a lot of moist green wood which is slow to ignite. It makes you grateful for the days when your focus is buckthorn and honeysuckle, two woody shrubs that burn with little trouble. Can't say we appreciate those woodies, just their burning properties.

Spears Woods January 25, Swallow Cliff January 26, 2025

1/30/2025

Spears Woods Saturday January 25
Saturday was a volunteer day as well as an Atrium Landscape tree-thinning day, also augmented by the presence of the FPCC Palos crew, so we had three distinct worksites going and a flurry of activity. Volunteers were positioned in the middle, along the Yellow Trail near Hogwash Slough. Atrium to our south (after they finished some of our volunteers began lighting the log piles, which went up readily - it's all about the fuel). The Forest Preserves crew was to our north.

We cut and burned, primarily honeysuckle and multi-flora rose with some larger logs mixed in with three volunteers chainsawyers on site. A sparkling blue sky and moderating temps made it a delightful day to play in the woods, and play we did.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday January 26
Sunday we had another great volunteer group, and were graced once again by the FPCC Palos crew. First-time Palos volunteer came at the invitation of her uncle Dan, another sparkling example of the "family plan"! Volunteers took one thicket of honeysuckle, the crew took a second, and by noon we had a lovely stretch of open woodland along the trail where we've been the last two workdays.

The small amount of snow we've had in January isn't enough for cross-country skiing, though it was adequate to ease pulling a sled load of tools in to the site. Thanks, Tom for doing that!

Paddock Woods January 18 & 19, 2025

1/23/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday & Sunday, January 18 & 19
We doubled at Paddock last weekend. Saturday volunteers cut and burned brush, along with a couple brush piles left from earlier work, while a commercial crew from Atrium Landscape thinned trees at a nearby location. We had a large group helping and accomplished quite a bit.

Sunday a handful of us returned to burn the remaining piles from Atrium's Saturday work. The first day of our recent cold spell and decidedly sub-zero wind chill (something best avoided) was a test. We did quite well again, especially given the fuel we were burning. Simple fact: some green woods, like buckthorn and honeysuckle, burn remarkably well. Others, like maple, basswood, and elm, are moist and difficult to ignite quickly. We had much more of the latter than the former.

Nonetheless, by 1pm all the piles were burning - your roving reporter had to bail before noon due to another commitment. Fine job by all involved over the two-day weekend! Note: nothing motivates fire-starters more than cold fingers and toes.

McMahon January 11, Hidden Pond January 12, 2025

1/16/2025

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday January 11
Missed this one due to another commitment, heard from several who were present that it was another bare-knuckle brawl with the Asian bittersweet vine besmirching this otherwise lovely site.

Large expanse of prairie in the center of the site? Got that.
Wonderful diversity of native prairie plants? Got that.
Rare fen habitat a little farther west? Ditto.
Innumerable vines ranging from small and thin, best suited to tripping passersby, to mature ones thicker than your forearm that grow up trees and shrubs and tie everything together? Yeah, we got that too.

It's tough eliminating the bittersweet yet volunteers come back time after time, making a big dent in it. Tip of the cap to all of them! On a cold morning they had no trouble keeping warm, feeding copious amounts of bittersweet, honeysuckle, and others onto multiple fires. They were joined by members of the FPCC Resource Management Palos crew whose efforts were also a great help!

Hidden Pond Woods West Sunday January 12
Arrived during a light snowfall to find three members of the Palos RM crew opening the gate. They graciously offered to start a fire while I awaited for our volunteers, and had a good hot blaze going in short order. Thanks, Graciela, Brian, and Dana. While they dealt with hazard trees - leaners, potentially 'widowmakers', volunteers went after brush.

We had a most productive day. For months we'd been nibbling around the edges of a nasty thicket of brush growing alongside the multi-use trail. Sunday we jumped right in, Jim brushcutting, Joe chainsawing, while the rest of us - Meredith, Joy, and Frank hauling and burning while Kathy herbicided - hustled to keep up. We refueled on cookies and oranges at break time, and by noon had 'most everything cut and burned giving a terrific sense of accomplishment.

Cap Sauers Holding, January 4 & 5, 2025

1/9/2025

Cap Sauers Holding, Saturday January 4, Sunday January 5
We went back to back at Cap Sauers, with the first day devoted to brush and small tree removal while the crew from Atrium Landscape worked a good distance away thinning larger trees. We had a large group on Day One which included a couple members of the FPCC Palos crew, and a smaller volunteer group on Day Two. We again had help from the Palos crew on the second day, which was terrific. Commercial fellers can take down larger trees than volunteers are certified for and some of the targets that need to come down are of that size.

These were among the coldest mornings of the season, the wrong time to discover some of your footwarmers are well past their use-by date (my bad!), but the fires and the physicality of the task were plenty adequate to keep me warm. It was a very pretty day to be outdoors, with a sky that grew more clear as the day went on.