Join us at Garvin Heights, which overlooks Winona, MN, on August 7th for a morning of battling buckthorn and creating firebreaks.

Part of the site is owned by the City of Winona and another part by Winona State University. The Minnesota Driftless chapter is helping both the city and the university with continued management and restoration there after previous restoration efforts during the past two decades. In April, members of the Minnesota Driftless chapter helped the university conduct a prescribed burn on the university’s portion of the site. In June, members again showed up to help and started treating buckthorn.

On August 7th, we’ll use hand tools to cut buckthorn stems and apply herbicide to the cut stems. The buckthorn control will be done within the areas that have been previously restored to prairie and open woodland, but cutting/treating may also be done on any woody plants growing within some areas that have been identified as future firebreaks. If any oriental bittersweet is found, it will be treated as well.