What connects you to the wild? That was the question keynote speaker Dave Conrads posed to the audience at Bur Oak Land Trust’s 36th annual Prairie Preview. 

Our weather lately has been the talk of the town. Following up on a recent Prairie Preview conversation, I will sketch out some basic aspects of our climate (I), plus a bit about climate change (II). 

One of the biggest, but rarely talked about threats to prairie conservation comes during transitions of land ownership. I’m frequently approached by people who have poured their heart and soul into restoring and/or managing a nice parcel of land and are wrestling with how to make sure their investment isn’t squandered after they’re gone. 

Most of the tree species in our native sylva either have a reciprocity agreement with animals, in which the tree provides food and shelter and the animal distributes some of its seeds, or the seed is small and lightweight, often with wings, and distributed by wind.