by The Prairie Enthusiasts | Jun 1, 2026
Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area Workday
Saturday, June 27 – 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area in Red Wing, MN
Your help is needed to continue the progress being made towards prairie and savanna restoration on the Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area in Red Wing. The Minnesota Driftless Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts received a Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant in 2025, and significant restoration work was accomplished with those funds.
Recently, another CPL grant was awarded, and phase 2 of the project will start in June. Phase 2 will consist of expanding on the work begun in 2025 and beginning new work on the restoration of several previously untouched areas of the property.
Several dates are now on the calendar for volunteers to participate and assist in the restoration of this unique property in Red Wing, expanding on the successful volunteer work completed during 2025. Work will consist of cutting and stump treating invasive woody plants such as buckthorn, oriental bittersweet, red cedar, black locust and sumac.
There are two scheduled workdays in each of the months of June, July and August, with each workday beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m. The full list of workdays is as follows:
- June 20
- June 27
- July 18
- July 25
- August 15
- August 22
WHAT TO BRING:
A limited amount of hand tools like loppers will be available but if volunteers have some they can bring that would be helpful. Herbicide and herbicide application equipment will also be provided. Volunteers can bring their own brush cutters and chainsaws, along with gas and bar oil, if they are proficient in their safe use and bring appropriate PPE such as eye protection and chaps. As usual, all volunteers should bring enough hydrating liquids and snacks to keep them happy and healthy, as well as sunscreen and insect repellent.
CONTACT:
If you’d like to help during any of these workdays, send your RSVP to the project manager, Jeff Lightfoot, by email or phone: lightfoot.jeff56@gmail.com or (218) 290-7518. Be sure to send Jeff your RSVP so he can schedule each workday accordingly and notify folks if any plans need to be changed. Those who RSVP will also receive updates and specifics in advance of the workdays. You can also email or call Jeff if you have questions or are interested in knowing more.
by The Prairie Enthusiasts | Jun 1, 2026
Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area Workday
Saturday, June 20 – 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area in Red Wing, MN
Your help is needed to continue the progress being made towards prairie and savanna restoration on the Billings-Tomfohr Conservation Area in Red Wing. The Minnesota Driftless Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts received a Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant in 2025, and significant restoration work was accomplished with those funds.
Recently, another CPL grant was awarded, and phase 2 of the project will start in June. Phase 2 will consist of expanding on the work begun in 2025 and beginning new work on the restoration of several previously untouched areas of the property.
Several dates are now on the calendar for volunteers to participate and assist in the restoration of this unique property in Red Wing, expanding on the successful volunteer work completed during 2025. Work will consist of cutting and stump treating invasive woody plants such as buckthorn, oriental bittersweet, red cedar, black locust and sumac.
There are two scheduled workdays in each of the months of June, July and August, with each workday beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m. The full list of workdays is as follows:
-June 20
-June 27
-July 18
-July 25
-August 15
-August 22
WHAT TO BRING:
A limited amount of hand tools like loppers will be available but if volunteers have some they can bring that would be helpful. Herbicide and herbicide application equipment will also be provided. Volunteers can bring their own brush cutters and chainsaws, along with gas and bar oil, if they are proficient in their safe use and bring appropriate PPE such as eye protection and chaps. As usual, all volunteers should bring enough hydrating liquids and snacks to keep them happy and healthy, as well as sunscreen and insect repellent.
CONTACT:
If you’d like to help during any of these workdays, send your RSVP to the project manager, Jeff Lightfoot, by email or phone: lightfoot.jeff56@gmail.com or (218) 290-7518. Be sure to send Jeff your RSVP so he can schedule each workday accordingly and notify folks if any plans need to be changed. Those who RSVP will also receive updates and specifics in advance of the workdays. You can also email or call Jeff if you have questions or are interested in knowing more.
by The Prairie Enthusiasts | Jun 1, 2026
Moely Prairie Tree Cutting and Brush Piling Workday
Saturday, June 20 – 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Location: Moely Prairie in Prairie du Sac, WI
Join us this month as we continue to clean up existing invasive trees and shrubs in various units of the prairie. For those of you who can bring a chainsaw, there is plenty of larger regrowth to cut on the west side of the prairie. If using loppers is more your speed, there’s plenty of smaller invasives to cut as well.
For the past eight years, dedicated volunteers have been hard at work on this 23.5-acre remnant prairie, steadily clearing invasive trees and brush. Nestled right in the heart of Prairie du Sac, Moely Prairie is both unique and accessible, offering a quiet spot to hike, cross-country ski, or snowshoe. It also serves as a living classroom, providing hands-on educational and citizen science opportunities for students and community members alike. Thanks to these efforts, we’ve watched the prairie’s native plant inventory grow from just 70 species to more than 200 through ongoing restoration and prescribed burns—a testament to what community care can achieve.
Thanks to these efforts, we’ve watched the prairie’s native plant inventory grow from just 70 species to more than 200 through ongoing restoration and prescribed burns—a testament to what community care can achieve.
WHAT TO BRING:
Please wear long sleeves, long pants and sturdy, closed-toed shoes. Bring your own work gloves and your favorite equipment if you wish (loppers, chainsaws, etc.). Extra loppers and herbicide will be available for use. Water bottles are highly recommended.
WORK PARTY LEADER:
For questions and to RSVP, contact Paul Anderson at 608-712-9552.
DIRECTIONS:
From Hwy 12, turn east onto Hwy PF. After passing the prairie on your right, take a right onto 21st St., a right onto Fullerton Dr., a left on Billings Ave., and then a right onto Alban La. Park at the dead end and enter the prairie from there. 2200 Fullerton Dr, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
by Evanne Hunt | May 26, 2026
Girdle Trees
Join us as we girdle a clone of Aspen trees at the Dieperink Woods (formerly called Brokken Woods) and possibly some red pines and basswood.
Some tools will be provided, but if you have your own tools, please bring them. Small pry bars work well, along with a hatchet to start the cut. Pines are girdled with a chain saw. We will also be walking around, looking for undiscovered flora.
Date: June 13 (Saturday)
Time: 10am to 2pm
Location: Dieperink Woods (previously Brokken Woods)
Afton, MN
We will meet at the gate on the cul-de-sac at the south end of the property: at the far eastern end of 42nd St. S in Afton, MN. There is plenty of room to park.
Map to location
Bring:
♦ Dress appropriately for weather
♦ Drinking water
♦ Gloves (girdled trees release a lot of moisture. Your hands and gloves will get “wet.”)
♦ Bring your lunch
Aspens are Native
Aspen are native trees but remain undesirable inhabitants of prairies and oak savannas. Aspen are capable of spreading rapidly and crowding out other vegetation. Aspen are pioneer trees on open, burned, or cut-over land. Although important economically in the paper industry, they are a menace in prairies and oak savannas, and eradicating them became an early goal of our restoration.
Although aspens grow from seeds, the primary spread is asexual by underground runners. The typical aspen “grove” is a multi-stemmed clone in which all the roots are interconnected. If an injury to a root occurs, there will be a rapid response by the clone, and new shoots (“suckers”) will be sent up all over the area. New shoots have been known to arise as far as 50 feet from the nearest aspen tree! The clone may expand simultaneously in several directions, as influenced by environmental conditions. In the western United States, huge aspen clones have been found, the largest occupying over 100 acres. In our part of the country, aspen clones are smaller but are often more than an acre in extent.
Girdling
When looking at a large aspen clone, it may be tempting to go in with a chainsaw and cut it down. Wrong! The roots remain alive and immediately send up a huge number of new shoots. An area that had perhaps 5 or 10 large aspen trees will soon have hundreds of aspen stems.
There is only one certain way of killing aspen and this is by girdling.
Girdling means stripping a layer of bark and the underlying cambium and phloem in a band around the trunk. The phloem vessels translocate sugars and other nutrients to the roots, so if the phloem tubes are broken, the roots become starved of food. The xylem vessels, which translocate water to the leaves, are not affected by girdling. With girdling, the upper part of the tree still remains alive, since photosynthesis can continue. Eventually, however, the roots die, and the whole tree dies. The first year after girdling, the clone may appear almost normal, but by the second year, the clone usually dies. The dead trunks can then be cut without stimulating resprouting.
For girdling to be effective the whole clone must be treated. It is also important to make the girdle in such a way that the underlying xylem is not damaged. Damage to the xylem sends signals to the tree that something bad has happened, and the tree then sends up shoots.
Girdling is done in May or early June when the sap is running fast and the tree is growing. At that time, the bark can be easily cut and the girdled bark stripped off. Later in the summer, it is virtually impossible to do a girdle properly.
by The Prairie Enthusiasts | May 25, 2026
Garvin Heights Work Day
Friday, May 29 – 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Location: Garvin Heights Overlook Park in Winona, MN
Join us at the Garvin Heights Overlook Park in Winona, MN, for a spring work day where we’ll be doing things like controlling invasive plants such as buckthorn and oriental bittersweet, and spreading the seed of Canada and Virginia wild rye.
WHAT TO BRING:
Participants should wear or bring the following:
- Hydrating liquids and snacks to keep them healthy and happy
- Insect repellent and sunscreen
- Work gloves, and preferably boots, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts.
We’ll have some some hand tools like loppers and pruners, but if participants can bring some as well, that would be helpful.
We’ll also have herbicide, applicator equipment like spray bottles and hand daubers, and some chemical-resistant gloves. Participants can bring their own chemical-resistant gloves to be sure they have a size that fits them, and applicator equipment if they have any. Note that participants won’t be required to use herbicides, there are plenty of other tasks to do if that’s what they’d prefer.
If participants have chainsaws or brush cutters, PPE like chaps and safety glasses, and are capable of using this type of equipment safely, they can bring that as well.
WORK PARTY LEADER:
If you’re interested in helping, please send Peter Hartman an email (hartmanpm@charter.net). Peter will stay in touch with the people who send him an RSVP and let them know if there are any changes in the plan such as a delay or cancellation due to bad weather. You can also send Peter any questions you might have about the work day.
LOCATION:
We will be meeting at the Garvin heights Overlook Parking Lot. MAP HERE
