The Land Conservancy
of McHenry County
"Preserving Land Forever"

 
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Oak Keepers: Uncovering the Secrets of our Oak Woodlands


The vast majority (83%) of the county's remaining oaks are on private land. If these trees are going to continue to be a significant part of the landscape, maintaining them on private land will be essential. To learn more about the privately owned oaks, 25 residents were trained as Oak Keepers in 2008.

After learning some of the basics about tree identification, working with landowners, and data collection, the Oak Keepers set out to gather some information about our local oaks. The results were nothing less than jaw-dropping...
the first pre-settlement swamp white oak documented in the county, a grove of 300+ year old red oaks, and so much more!

Project Quercus 2009
2008
2007
Oaks Planted
197
200
105
Acorns Collected
1000's
1000's
100's
Oak Keepers Trained
11
25
0
Oak Properties Monitored
27
33
0

 

We'd like to extend a special thanks to all the experts who donated their time to develop and teach the Oak Keepers training program: Ed Collins and Ben Haberthur from MCCD, John Nelson from the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission,
Mary McClelland from Glacier Oaks Nursery, Dave Brandt from the Natural Resource Conservation Service,
Grant Jones and Andy Lutz froom Davey Tree Expert Co. and Adam Klein from The Care of Trees.