Care for your woods

Spongy Moth Egg Mass Surveying Video Released

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Health team joined with the DNR Office of Communications to produce an instructional video aimed at helping large landowners and land managers in the fight against spongy moth.

The video, less than 2 minutes in length, shows how to conduct a survey of spongy moth egg masses in the fall. With that information, people can predict how much damage to expect from the caterpillars in the spring, giving them time to make advance plans for the most effective control options.

Continue reading “Spongy Moth Egg Mass Surveying Video Released” →

DNR Debuts Fact Sheet On Twolined Chestnut Borer

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

The Wisconsin Department of Resources (DNR) has debuted a new Forest Health fact sheet on twolined chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus), a native beetle that attacks already weakened oaks in Wisconsin.

Continue reading “DNR Debuts Fact Sheet On Twolined Chestnut Borer” →

2025 DNR Urban Forestry Grant Application Opening Soon

Posted on by janness

Urban Forestry grant applications are opening soon!

Beginning July 1, 2024, cities, villages, towns, counties, tribes and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in –or conducting their projects in – Wisconsin can apply for a regular or startup 2025 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban Forestry grant. The total 2025 available funding is $559,680, with a possible release of $139,920 of catastrophic storm reserve to fund a second round in March 2025. Continue reading “2025 DNR Urban Forestry Grant Application Opening Soon” →

WAA Summer Conference And Tree Climbing Competition July 26-28

Posted on by janness

Join the Wisconsin Arborist Association (WAA) for its summer conference. It will be held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls University Center in River Falls, Wisconsin, on Friday, July 26, 2024. The program will have a little something for everyone, Planting for the Future and feature two educational tracks, one indoors and one outdoors.

Topics include:

  • Storm damage to trees
  • Construction project management
  • Tree stress and management
  • Tree diversity options
  • Mentoring the new generation
  • Training new climbers
  • Company training
  • Aerial lift to climbing transitions
  • Drone applications

Continue reading “WAA Summer Conference And Tree Climbing Competition July 26-28” →

Weather Whiplash Affects Pine Stands

Posted on by akabelowsky
Swath of dead pine due to high water table mortality

A swath of pine dead due to high water table mortality in 2020 in northeast Wisconsin.

By Alex Hornung, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Plover;
Alexandra.Hornung@wisconsin.gov

Many pine stands across central and northeast Wisconsin are being impacted by the change from high levels of precipitation to extreme drought that has occurred over the last 5-7 years.

Drastic or sudden changes can be particularly stressful to trees of all species, but especially to pine stands that prefer well-drained soil types.

Continue reading “Weather Whiplash Affects Pine Stands” →

Watch For Spongy Moth Caterpillar Diseases

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh
Bill.McNee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

With this spring’s weather bringing above-average rainfall across most of Wisconsin, we will likely see moderate to heavy mortality of spongy moth caterpillars at many locations this summer.

Last year, the statewide May-June period was the third-driest since recordkeeping began in the late 1800s, according to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. As a result, the effectiveness of the caterpillar-killing fungus, Entomophaga maimaiga, was limited. Spring 2024 is noticeably wetter, and thus, increased effectiveness of E. maimaiga is likely.

Continue reading “Watch For Spongy Moth Caterpillar Diseases” →

Volunteer Billings Digs Deep In Battle Against Invasives

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Communications, Fitchburg;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Andrea Billings insists that she doesn’t do all that much volunteering.

But if most people in Wisconsin regularly put in the time Billings does, a considerable dent would be made in the state’s dealings with invasive plant species.

Continue reading “Volunteer Billings Digs Deep In Battle Against Invasives” →

Teasing Out Invasive Teasels

Posted on by akabelowsky
Common teasel in bloom. The flowerheads of teasel species are distinct, unusually large, stiff and sturdy.

Common teasel in bloom. The flowerheads of teasel species are distinct, unusually large, stiff and sturdy. / Photo Credit: Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org

By Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh Service Center
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

Two species of teasel are present in Wisconsin: common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) and cut-leaved teasel (Dipsacus lacinatus). Although they are known today as invasive plants, their Latin names speak to a useful history.

The species name of common teasel (fullonum) comes from “to full,” a step in woolen clothmaking that involves using water and agitation. Teasels, native to Europe, were introduced to North America in the 1700s to be used in this manner by textile processors. The stiff and sturdy flower heads of teasel were used to comb the surface of damp cloth to give it a fluffier finish. Continue reading “Teasing Out Invasive Teasels” →

Invasives And Imposters: Native Lookalikes To Know (Part 1)

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Erika Segerson-Mueller, DNR Invasive Plant Program Specialist, Oshkosh Service Center;
Erika.SegersonMueller@wisconsin.gov or 715-492-0391

With 145 invasive plants regulated under Wisconsin’s Invasive Species Rule NR40, it can be challenging to identify some of these plants while out in the woods.

The task can be further complicated by the presence of native lookalikes, plants that appear very similar to harmful invasive species but benefit wildlife, pollinators and ecosystems in Wisconsin.

Continue reading “Invasives And Imposters: Native Lookalikes To Know (Part 1)” →

Spring Invasive Plant Management Workshop

Posted on by janness

Many residents and land managers in southeastern Wisconsin search for effective and efficient practices to control exotic invasive plants in our natural areas. The Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium is teaming up again with Johnson’s Nursery to offer Invasive Plant Management Workshops in 2024.

Take this class to ensure that you are using the most appropriate, efficient, up-to-date and least environmentally damaging methods in those efforts. Continue reading “Spring Invasive Plant Management Workshop” →