Color on wing(s)

A wide variety of brightly colored birds are visiting Hennen Conservation Area these days, and it appears that at least some of them have decided to call the park home for the time being!

On a daily basis at the birdfeeder, we are seeing at least three pairs of goldfinches, an indigo bunting (pictured at left), at least one pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks, a pair of cardinals, many house finches and three varieties of woodpecker: hairy, downy and red-bellied.

And, one cannot walk back by the pond without hearing the Belted Kingfisher that has been resident for about two months now. It's very sharp "squawk" seems to be a warning, but perhaps is just a greeting. As far as we can tell, it is a single bird, not a pair, so he (or she) might be lonely.

The Kingfisher is a large, blue bird with very striking markings (pictured at right), so is hard to mistake for anything else. The fact that he or she is staying by the pond leads me to believe that the pond must have fish in it.

So, if you stop by Hennen, be sure to look & listen for the Kingfisher as you walk by the pond. And keep an eye open for the other colorful birds that call this place home.

Celebrate with TLC on January 31st!

Ninety one years ago this month, January 6, 1919, Teddy Roosevelt died in his simple house on the outskirts of Oyster Bay New York. His passing affected many, for he was recognized by Americans in his day as a friend of the people and a man of courage.

TLC is pleased that the former President will come to life on January 31st at our Annual Meeting, giving those present a chance to meet the man responsible for preserving millions of acres of land through the creation of National Parks, the designation of National Monuments, and the establishment of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

We are still taking reservations, but with nearly 150 people signed up for the event, we will run out of room soon! Please visit our website to make your reservation today. Member tickets are just $35, and non-member tickets $45 (which includes a year membership - what a deal!!)

Among the items that will be included in the "Local, Green, Natural & Handmade" Silent Auction is a salesman's copy of the 1919 book 'The Life of Theodore Roosevelt" written by S. Draper Lewis. The book is in fair condition, but the many photos included in the book are all in good shape.

The brunch starts at 11am, TLC's awards program will begin at 12:30, and the President will speak starting at 1pm!

Bully!

Life without the Internet

It was a long three weeks in some ways.

TLC moved our office about 500 feet on July 25th from a pole building at the back of a plant nursery to a 100 year old farmhouse at the new Hennen Conservation Area to serve as care-takers of this City of Woodstock park. We'll open and close the gate every day, monitor the trails, pick up trash, and provide a presence to help ensure vandalism does not become a problem.

And the 500 foot move meant we were about 300 feet out of the DSL service area for our former Internet provider. Thus began our three week journey to find an alternative to DSL...

In the meantime, being disconnected from the world of Internet and e-mail meant that we had plenty of time to organize all of the records that were moved from the old office, and ample time to work on organizing the Hennen Conservation Area for a public opening later this month. (August 30th from 2-3:30pm!!)

Thank you to the crew of summer interns who worked through heat and rain to put in a trail system (over 2 miles) and to begin removing invasive species that were crowding the handful of giant oaks they discovered while exploring the property (like the 52 inch diameter one pictured above).

Our new location at Hennen will give TLC lots of opportunities to actually run programs to help connect people with the great outdoors and with the work that TLC does to preserve and care for the land. For example, we'll work with City staff to plan "back to nature" programs to help connect Woodstock residents with the great outdoors -- a special opportunity presented by this site.

Hennen Conservation Area is a 25 acre parcel that was donated to the City by Phyllis & Tony Hennen - long time residents who retired to Minnesota three years ago. The Hennen's were known to many in the community through their daughters Tonya and Tara, and through their involvement in the "Stop the Stacks" battle against a proposed peaker plant in their back yard.

So, I guess the bottom line for me is that three weeks without the Internet was a very small price to pay for the priviledge of getting to work here every day -- actually the three weeks was a gift. Just like the Hennen Conservation Area will be a precious gift for area residents forever!

Memorial Tree Planting Approaches

On May 23rd, TLC will have its second annual Memorial Oak Planting! This is a program we started in 2008 to provide local residents with a unique way to create a living memorial.

There are two options available:

- for $50 per tree, TLC will plant a tree for you to commemorate a special occasion (like a birthday or anniversary) or remember a loved one. TLC will send a certificate to the person of your choice to memorialize the planting.

- for $35 a tree, individuals can come and plant an oak themselves. (Each additional tree planted is just $20, so two trees would be $55 if you plant them yourself.) Planting times are at 9:30am and 11am for those who wish to plant their own tree. Call the TLC office 815-337-9502 to reserve your time.

As I am writing this, I think we have 40 trees ordered! That is going to be a nice oak grove one day! We will erect a sign to commemorate the planting.

We are very excited about the location of the planting: it will be at one of our newest easements, the 25 acre Hennen Conservation Area on Dean Street in Woodstock. The site where the trees will be planted is currently lawn, but will be restored to savanna over time as a demonstration of how people with oaks can convert their lawns to savanna if they have oaks.

The Hennen property is in the process of becoming a public park, so the grove of 2009 Memorial oaks is ensured of a good home for the next 100+ years!

Visit http://www.conservemc.org/ to place your order.

Update from Yonder Prairie

Thanks to site steward Scott Kuykendall for sending along a couple of photos from Sunday's Work Party at Yonder Prairie.

To the left is a Sandhill crane that he noticed at the site while he was taking photos as a baseline to help document the changes that we are going to see over the coming years. He noticed something move, looked up from the camera, and there he was - a male sandhill, probably looking for a mate!

Scott also saw a lot of marsh marigold blooming. These plants are such a happy member of our local wet natural areas. They come and go before most other wetland plants reveal their identities. They are a sure sign that there are more intersting species to be found at the site!

In addition to the singing of chorus frogs, Scott also heard the "descending whinny" of the Sora - a bird also known as the Sora Crake or the Sora Rail. This is a hard bird to spot, but I found a picture on the Net to give folks an idea of what they look like. These birds are found in wet areas, and research indicates that they prefer natural wetlands to restored (recreated) habitat. We'll be sure to keep an eye (and ear) out for them at Yonder to see if they are breeding there!

Lots of good news for local oaks

Project Quercus is all about preserving and regenerating the oak woods of the county. And, as we have been saying for a couple of years, the only way we are going to have oaks as a significant part of the local landscape 100 years from now is if individuals, local governments and local businesses all step up to do what they can.

Just this week, we had two perfect examples of how the community can step up -- and, frankly, how some in the community want to step up and help.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, Infinity Day Spa in Crystal Lake, and Ohana Farms near Marengo teamed up with TLC to plant 20 white oak saplings at Ryders Woods Conservation Area in Woodstock. That's Robin Tessmann from Infinity - the awesome spa owner who closed her business for a few hours so her staff could come out to plant the trees. They did it as a promotion for their customers, so each tree was dedicated to someone. Ohana donated the 2-year old, bare-root trees, TLC brought the shovels, buckets and flags, and the City of Woodstock supplied the mulch. There are a lot of big, old white oaks in the park, but no young trees, so it will be nice to see some young 'uns growing there too! The NW Herald did an article about it but forgot to mention TLC...

The second example also happened on Earth Day, when OWC (Other World Computing) made a donation to TLC to support the planting of 20 oaks at Westwood Conservation Area on Saturday May 16th! Thanks to OWC employee Kayleen Ivers for asking TLC about this, and for working with us to make it happen.

There is a nice story about it on OWC's blog which is read by their customers across the country: http://blog.macsales.com/. OWC built a new office and warehouse last year, meeting all of the environmental and energy efficiency standards necessary to achieve LEED Platinum certification through the US Green Building Council. That's a really big deal in the construction world.

Their heating and cooling is geothermal, they are planning to install a wind turbine system to generate electricity, the building is super insulated, the grounds include native plantings, AND they are making investments in the community where they are located to support sustainability here too.

TLC is happy to be a part of these local businesses' efforts to "green" the community!!

Burn Baby, Burn!

Ecological Fire Management of natural areas is so cool.

Take a natural area - prairie, wetland or woodland - and every year or two light it on fire. The fire knocks back invasive plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard, giving the deep rooted natives a fighting chance!

The picture makes fire look a little scary, with flames roaring higher than a person, but the truth is that when doing this, TLC is very careful. It is said that a really good ecological burn is slow and boring, and we strive to make sure our burns are the slowest and most boring!

First we make sure there are fire breaks surrounding the area we want to burn - this can be done by raking or mowing vegetation to get rid of stuff that will burn easily. The fire breaks provide a safe place for the crew to move in, and help ensure that the fire will stop at the edges of the site.

Then, starting at the portion of the fire break that is located such that the wind is blowing into our faces, we light a backfire -- this means lighting a fire a foot or so away from the fire break, and letting the wind push the fire to the fire break, resulting in a burned line that effectively expands the fire break. Because we are working against the wind at this point, we don't have to worry about the fire taking off across the site.

Once a really good blackline is burned in, we light the head fire. This is where the wind is at our backs, and the fire roars quickly across the site, dying out when it runs out of fuel at the blackline! Here is a picture of a head fire - you can see the flames leaving a charred landscape in their wake!

All through the burn, we make sure that crew members are positioned at strategic locations to catch any fire that starts up where it isn't supposed to be! Crew members are armed with flappers to smother the fire, rakes to get rid of fuel (grass and leaves), and waterpacks to extinguish the fire if needed.

Historically, fire roared across the landscape regularly, either started by lightning or lit by native people who used it to drive game. The plants that thrived in this landscape are therefore well adapted to fire -- the bur oaks have a thick, corky bark that withstands fire, and the native grasses and flowers have exceptionally deep roots that mean the plants will grow back!

The 2009 Spring burn season is drawing to a close now -- birds are starting to build nests, and grasses are starting to green up. We'd rather not burn down someone's house, not even a sparrow's!

Inaugural Work Party!

Who's up for a winter work party?!

The Presidential Inauguration is going to be Tuesday January 20th, and the theme is "Restoring America's Promise," so what better way to celebrate than by attending the Inaugural Workday at our newest preserve: West Woodstock Prairie?!

The President-elect's Inaugural Committee is having a Day of Service on Monday, January 19th, the MLK Jr. Day Holiday, and encouraging people to volunteer in their communities to kick-off this new era of restoration!

It's practically a Presidential Decree! And you can be a part of this historic event by participating in TLC's Inaugural Work Party at West Woodstock Prairie!! You don't want to miss out on the fun!

Meet at 9am on Rose Farm Road, south of Kishwaukee Valley Road on the west side of Woodstock! You can park at the side of the road. Thanks to Seneca Township for clearing the shoulder for us to park on! Dress for the weather, and in work clothes. We plan to get a bonfire going to burn the brush we cut - and help us stay warm. We'll have something warm to drink and sweet things to eat!

Baseball for Gravel Pit proposal

I just have to get something out there:

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County is not for or against the proposal to build a baseball stadium in Woodstock in exhange for allowing the surrounding area to be mined for gravel. There have been implications in public meetings that TLC has some interest in the project - that is not accurate.

TLC's interest is in ensuring that the environmental resources on and around the property are safeguarded should the development project go forward.

There is a large, high quality wetland area in the center of the parcel. While the proponents say that they will take necessary steps to preserve the wetland, the history of gravel mining adjacent to wetlands is that the wetlands lose because of the changed hydrology (water flow) over and through the site.

The wetland is dependent upon groundwater flow through the surrounding porous soils. Building a baseball stadium will decrease the ability of water to infiltrate at this site, and has a good chance of reducing the flow of water through the ground into the wetland. It also has a good chance of increasing the surface water flow into the wetland, thus changing cool clean groundwater for warm, dirty surface water. The change is likely to mean that the wetland will be more susceptible to invasion by non-native, invasive plants like Phragmites australis, an invader that thrives in urban wetland because of its tolerance of poor water quality and salt.

Now, don't get me wrong, gravel pits can be reclaimed to become lovely conservation areas such as MCCD's The Hollows and Lake County Forest Preserve District's Independence Grove.

In this case, the proposed end use for the gravel pit area is a new County Fair Ground should the Fair Association have the funds needed to purchase the site from the gravel company after the mining is complete.

A question I have in that regard is this: if the gravel company digs down to within a foot of the seasonal high water table, will that leave enough of a separation between the water table and the ground surface for development of a fair ground facility? Or, will soil have to be brought in to increase the separation? And, if the mining will go within a foot of the seasonal high water table level, where will it be in relation to the record high water level? And, how will the water level change with the addition of a baseball stadium and large parking area?

These are not trivial concerns. As the answers emerge, I'll be sure to report back!!