Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Paddock Woods December 6, McClaughrey Springs December 7, 2025

12/11/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday, December 6
We had a good group of volunteers on a crisp yet tolerable morning, cutting more of the honeysuckle that has re-invaded that site. Three gas brushcutters expedited matters, as did two or three people brushing cut stumps. Our Forest Preserve Regional ecologist Kristin Pink joined us, as did one member of FPCC RM crew.

Herbiciding is a major challenge with substantial snow cover. Cut the stumps high and you create a tripping hazard for all your volunteers, cut them low they're tough to find and treat. A diligent, persistent herbicider is a treasure, and we have several.

McClaughrey Springs Woods, Sunday December 7
For the second weekend in a row we had snowfall Saturday going into Sunday, keeping things pretty as we approach the solstice. Diana had a smaller group out, as is usually the case on our Sunday workdays, and chose a spot close to the parking lot to save steps. Two members of the RM (Resource Management) crew joined them in cutting and burning honeysuckle (mostly), with a single fire not far from Kean Avenue.

I've seen the occasional cross-country skier out there, not as many as we had a couple decades ago, which might be due to the paucity of snow in recent years.

Spears Woods November 29, 2025

12/4/2025

Spears Woods Saturday November 29
Snow was falling in the early morning, which didn't deter a small, dedicated group of volunteers from showing up at Spears. (I wasn't one of them, doing wiper blade replacement at the time). Perhaps they would've thought twice if they know multiflora rose was on the morning's agenda :-) X

A tip of the cap to each of them - while I like ripping into mf rose, it's not because it's fun or easy. No, it's because the satisfaction at ridding an area of it is so great. My thanks to Sheri Moor who shared a couple pics and a narrative.

The following day we we scheduled at Black Partridge. Steward John Marlin canceled because the parking lot was snowed in, with light snow continuing into the morning. We've lost two days at Partridge to weather this fall and need a break from the deities.

The early-season snowfall was a delight, getting me out Saturday evening for a walk notable for the quiet and the lack of cars on the road. I stood at Route 83 near 76th Sve. and could not see an oncoming car either east or west, from Harlem to 80th Avenue. That's rare.

Paddock Woods November 22, Swallow Cliff November 23, 2025

11/27/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday November 22
Working north of the picnic grove, we cleared brush closer to 86th Avenue, opening a view into the woods for the residents to the east. I recall when we worked south of the grove about eight years ago, getting positive feedback from neighbors who now had good sightlines into the woods.

A pair of brushcutters and chainsaws made a lot of brush to burn and we had big fires going soon, with three volunteers eventually herbiciding stumps. This pretty area is totally worthy of the attention it gets.

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday November 23
Sunday's volunteer group wasn't as large as Saturday's (they rarely are), but was equally effective as we continued our push in the south woods at Swallow Cliff. The honeysuckle in this area are big ones and we made good use of Joe on chainsaw and Jim on brushcutter - we also left a few (or more) for our next round in December.

Volunteer Charlie Doerr did his second observation and is now an official Chicago Wilderness Burn Boss! Congrats and thank you, Charlie!

Cap Sauers November 15, Hidden Pond November 16, 2025

11/20/2025

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday November 15
Margaret and volunteers continue to work on the Green Trail, near one of the CCC bridges. Last weekend she had a school group from Solorio Academy knock brush back quite a ways and we continued in that area.

Congratulations to Joe Connolly who led this session in his new role as apprentice steward - he's going to be a good one. Thanks also to first-time Palos volunteer Dan for his contributions on this day.

Nature Walk - Willow Springs Woods Saturday November 15
We had a beautiful day, with a lot of color still on the trees, as we walked the narrow paths at Willow Springs Woods. These trails are bike-legal, so little Heather (four or five-years old) quickly took ownership, calling out "Bike!" to warn our walkers whenever one approached. She also got to see a garter snake which was a treat for all.

Hidden Pond Woods West Sunday November 16
We escaped the possibility of rain that had been forecast several days back and swung in the opposite direction; low humidity coupled with enough wind to raise the risk of fire escaping, so we weren't able to burn.

It wasn't a problem - we had two brushcutters and one chainsaw and cleared a big area of new growth/resprout buckthorn and honeysuckle, stacking it along the trail for next time in December. It's impressive just how much a small group (seven) can cut when you take fire out of the equation.

By December 14 all that fuel will have four weeks of drying-out time and we can burn it off expeditiously. We even have stacks of dead branches set aside as kindling. Lemonade!

McMahon Woods November 8, Black Partridge November 9, 2025

11/13/2025

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday November 8
After several sessions at Paddock, volunteers returned to McMahon Saturday, with brushcutters and chainsaws buzzing to continue the rescue of one patch of woodland there. This was the last day before the weather was to change and they did their best to take advantage. My thanks to Sheri Moor who sent a picture as well as herbiciding all the cut stumps - when brushcutters are running that's quite a task.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday November 9
Though snow fell well into the morning, it let up enough for volunteers to get some brush-cutting done, and Joy got a fire going (that was never in doubt). Jim and Neil cut brush and dragged it to the fire. I was absent, celebrating a very special person's birthday, and thank steward John Marlin for swapping weekends with me to facilitate that celebration.

Paddock Woods Saturdy November 1, McClaughrey Springs November 2, 2025

11/6/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday November 1
Joe hosted our regular Palos Saturday at Paddock, another brush-cutting endeavor along the Yellow Trail near the picnic grove. We've spent several days there this fall and have cleared a large area in one the the prettier places for spring wildflower viewing in our area. Well done, volunteers!

McClaughrey Springs Saturday November 1
Diana hosted Southwest Interfaith Team (SWIFT for short) Saturday at McClaughrey, one of three times she's had a group there in four days. They're a joy to work with and did their usual stellar job removing and burning honeysuckle.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday November 2
This was Diana's usual Sunday, which I missed due to another event. Volunteers continued to cut brush in the same general area as the Saturday group, and Charlie D. did an observation for brushpile burn boss certification. Congrats Charlie!

McClaughrey Springs Tuesday November 4
This was the last of Diana's three sessions for the week, with a busload of students from Curie High School. They divided into groups and cycled through multiple tasks, including invasive removal and water/invertebrate sampling. They also cleared another big chunk of terrain; check the before/after pictures below in the slideshow. Most impressive!

Paddock Woods October 25, Swallow Cliff South October 26, 2025

10/30/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday October 25
This was our third or fourth visit to Paddock, and bundles of previously cut brush made it easy to get the first brush pile going quickly. One chainsaw and two brush cutters guaranteed we wouldn't run out of fuel for the fires.

The area we're clearing is high quality and was previously cleared 8-10 years ago, with the resilience and persistence of honeysuckle bringing us back for another round. The work is going well, with a large section already opened up and another visit planned for this Saturday, November 1.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday October 26
Last time we cut brush here was April, on the other side of the trail. Now we're tackling what we believe is the last major brush clearing in this sector - stay tuned. We again had the 'J Team' out in force - thanks Joy, John, Jim and Joe!

We cut over a decent area with maybe a bit less honeysuckle density than some of the places we've worked recently, but still enough to have Joy and Jim repeating a common refrain; "More here than what I expected". By noon we'd made good progress - then Joe scouted just beyond our work area and came back reporting that we still have a large number of targets that will occupy several days more effort to eliminate. "Poof!" There goes the dream of starting brush removal near Horsetail Lake, at least for the immediate future.

Another common refrain comes to mind, that being 'job security for volunteers.'

Cap Sauers October 18, 2025

10/23/2025

Cap Sauers Saturday October 18
The weather deities favored us on Saturday by holding rain until much later in the day. Brush-cutting and burning was the order of the day, and I'm told our small volunteer group went at it with their usual zeal. Your correspondent was on assignment elsewhere and missed BOTH of our Saturday activities.

Sagawau Nature Walk, Saturday October 18
Naturalist Zach led our group from Palos Park Library and "was very knowledgeable about the history of the preserve, the geography, and identifying plants, animals, and bugs," said Library Director Jessica Rock after the walk. We've always enjoyed our treks to Sagawau and staff always comes through in a big way! Thank you!

Paddock Woods October 11, Cap Sauers October 11, Hidden Pond West October 12, 2025

10/16/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday October 11
Return visit to Paddock, this time with conditions allowing burning of brush. Last week volunteers built stacks of honeysuckle and this week some of it got burned, while Kevin and Doug cut more.

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday October 11
Margaret had a small NEWTS workday at Cap Sauers - that's a program Volunteer Resources created to bring new volunteers in and give them good exposure to our efforts. Saturday was a seed collecting day - big thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Joe, Elyse, Garrett, Kayla, Julia, and Taylor!

Hidden Pond West Sunday October 12
We had a small group (the J-Team!) at Hidden Pond for our first brush-cutting day since March, continuing to clear invasives along the multi-use trail that runs parallel to La Grange Road.
Jim brush-cut, John and I hauled, while Joy managed the fire with her usual attention to detail did a lot of hauling as well.

Paddock Woods October 4, McClaughrey Springs October 5, 2025

10/9/2025

Paddock Woods Saturday October 4
Several warm days with no rain led to a weekend suspension of brush pile burns - end of growing season can be quite volatile in those conditions. So both our weekend sessions were cut-and stack, guaranteeing plenty to burn next time around. I was out of town and didn't get a report or photos on this one.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday October 5
Same thing Sunday, Diana planned to burn brush and instead stacked it for nest month. Among those present were first- time (to my knowledge) Palos volunteers Karolina and Lina, and recent newbie Katie. We also had help from the FPCC Thorn Creek crew, always a welcome addition to our efforts.

Most of today's photos are from a recent hiking adventure to Wyoming and Colorado.