Oak Savanna Restoration Step by Step

Hike and learn at an oak savanna restoration in progress at Wild Oaks Preserve in Dane County, a collaborative project of Driftless Area Land Conservancy and BadgerLand Foundation.

Oak savannas were once prevalent across the Midwest but are now one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet. At Wild Oaks Preserve, changes in land use and the removal of historic disturbance regimes, such as grazing and fire, led to the savanna becoming overgrown with undesirable trees and non-native species. Dedicated volunteers have spent several years removing much of this brush. Now, the next step is managing weeds that have sprung up in these newly cleared areas.

Join us on-site to see how sunlight, soil disturbance, and lack of competition leads to flushing of weeds, with all kinds of different examples! We will identify and discuss the life cycle of common weeds (herbaceous, grassy, and woody) that we have and…