Management Methods

Pearl Forge Fen by Dan Carter

Controlling clonal tree species by double-cutting

Controlling clonal tree species by double-cutting

Controlling Clonal Tree Species By Double-Cutting By Jim Rogala Continuing on the theme of herbicide-free control methods, I’ll talk about my experience with double-cutting. Again we look to the anatomy and physiology of the species to be controlled to understand how...

Spring is the time for girdling

Spring is the time for girdling

Jim Rogala The intense transfer of materials within a tree at this time of the year makes for efficient girdling. Girdling is simply the removal of the “bark” to kill a tree. I use girdling as my go-to method for killing aspens clones. The method works best on clones...

The Potential of Pastures and Oak Woods

The Potential of Pastures and Oak Woods

If you have an old field that you would like to plant to prairie or a stand of oak you would like to restore, don’t rush into it. Understand the history of the land and take time to observe and learn whether anything important remains. Very often degraded lands still harbor irreplaceable elements of biodiversity, and these have their own stories to tell about what a place was and could be. The tools we use in restoration can encourage these elements or extinguish them. By recognizing and preserving remnant populations of native species and their genes, we can counteract biotic…

The Parsnip Predator: Handy and Homegrown

The Parsnip Predator: Handy and Homegrown

If you're not familiar with the Parsnip Predator, you're missing out!Invented and produced by members of TPE's Prairie Bluff Chapter, the Parsnip Predator is a tool designed for prairie invaders like wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and burdock (Arctium minus). It has...

Safe Burning, Safe Learning

Safe Burning, Safe Learning

This article was a collaboration with Jeb Barzen.  Interested in pitching in to save our fire-dependent ecosystems? TPE’s next prescribed burn crew training will be an online-only class on February 23, 2021 (the day before our TPE Online Conference). Instructors Rob...