You've probably noticed smoke in the air recently. The season for burning natural areas in McHenry County arrived early this year!

Typically the temperature is still too low and the ground is too wet for land managers to burn wetland and grassland areas in the first part of March.

The recent mild temperatures, moderate humidity (not too high or too low) and light winds make conditions ideal for an ecoloogical burn.

Fire is a low-cost way to take care of natural lands like prairies, oak woods and wetlands. The process of burning off prior years' dead vegetation helps open areas up so that new vegetation can grow.

The fire kills off small, woody vegetation like buckthorn sprouts, keeping them from taking hold in sensitive areas. Another benefit of a periodic fire in natural areas is that it releases nutrients from the burnt vegetation and exposes the area so that the seeds of native species receive light and start growing.

Remember that before European-American settlers moved into the area in the 1830s and started farming, the land burned regularly through wildfires and fires set deliberately by native peoples to facilitate hunting. Also keep in mind that the plants native to our area are adapted to periodic fires, while many of the introduced species that compete with the natives do not tolerate fire well.

When land managers burn natural areas, it helps give those native species an advantage and temporarily knocks back the invaders. This benefits us all as the native plants provide needed habitat for butterflies and birds that we value - as well as the insects that many of our favorite birds eat!

While fire may be an efficient and inexpensive way for a landowner to manage his or her property, it is also a potentially dangerous undertaking. Knowing the basics about equipment used, proper weather conditions and correct technique are all important skills to have when burning land.

If you are interested in learning how to burn natural areas safely, TLC is holding a "Learn to Burn" class on Saturday March 31st at the Dunham Township Building on Airport Road in Harvard.

The class runs from 9-3, and cost for TLC members is just $20. Non-members pay $35, which gives them a year or membership too. The fee includes lunch. To register for the class, please fill out and mail in a registration form that you can obtain by clicking here, or by calling 815-337-9502.

Since 2008, a small miracle has happened in Johnsburg. Through the efforts of one person, a landscape has been transformed. That person is Robert Roe.

He was featured in the recent "Everyday Heroes" section of the NW Herald - deservedly so. I know he doesn't do any of his volunteer work for attention, and I guess that's what makes him an everyday hero -- he does his thing whether anyone notices or not.

Robert's "thing" is restoring the land along Dutch Creek that runs through the Dutch Creek Estates Subdivision where he lives. And he has inspired a dedicated cadre of volunteers to work along-side him at the monthly restoration work days that he has organized for four years. He just put together a nice Progress Report through the end of 2011.

Nearly 3,000 volunteer hours have been donated to restoration of the site during that time! Conservatively speaking , the value of those donated hours is nearly $60,000. TLC could not afford to hire workers to do that amount of restoration at the site. We offer the use of some equipment and contribute herbicide to the project, but the heavy lifting (literally) is done by Roe & the other volunteers.

The natural area being restored is over 150 acres in size, and includes springs, seeps, oak savannas and one of the highest quality headwater creeks in the area. Roe points to three primary benefits of the project: aesthetic (restored natural areas do look better), ecological (the restoration is improving habitat for a wider diversity of species than would be found there otherwise) and economic.

When he talks of economic benefits, Roe refers primarily to the sense of community that projects like this provide. Over 200 individuals have contributed sweat equity to the project so far -- 98 individuals helped out in 2011 alone! Many of those people had never participated in an ecological restoration project before, and many of them had not previously worked together on a volunteer project.

This intangible but very real sense of camaraderie - of community pride & shared commitment to a place and a purpose - is an important part of what enriches our lives and our communities.

And that, as they say, is priceless.

I've been watching the little dark-eyed juncos at the bird feeder today. They keep hopping onto the tube feeder and then quickly off. I did some reading, and found that they are ground feeding birds, so would really rather peck some seed from the ground. I'll have to remember to spill some seed for them.

Some people call them snow birds since they seem to appear at the first snow. Their summer home is in Canada and far northern US, so when we see them in the winter, they are actually just visiting for the better weather!

February is National Bird-Feeding Month in the United States. Congressman John Porter from Illinois introduced a formal resolution to Congress on February 23, 1994 to help raise awareness of the fact that February is the toughest month of the year for birds in most parts of the country. Their natural food supplies - berries and seeds - are often running low and insects have not yet started to emerge.

The winter has been odd this year - feeling more like late spring than winter most days - but it has still been winter for the birds. Their natural food sources have dwindled, and, other than the occasional confused fly or beetle, there are not insects for them to eat.

Rep. Porter's resolution also suggested that bird-feeding was a worthwhile family activity that does not take a lot of time or expense yet provides many hours of pleasure and opportunities for young and old alike to learn about birds. So, if you already have a bird feeder, remember to keep it full. If you don't yet have one, this would be a great time to take up a new hobby!

So, Happy Anniversary to National Bird-Feeding month!

For more information, visit www.birdfeeding.org

When we say that we found an oak that is at least 400 years old, what do we base that conclusion on? Obviously, we would have to cut the tree down to count the rings, and unless it is already dead, we aren’t going to do that!

The short answer is that we look the size up on a table that Marlin Bowles at the Morton Arboretum created to help people estimate the age of various trees based on the tree’s diameter at breast height (dbh):

The table was created using actual data from a large number of trees that were “aged” either after death or by using a coring tool that allows one to take a small core from the tree so that the rings can be counted without cutting the tree down. The various ages for the various diameters of the various species of trees were analyzed and a table showing the approximate age for different diameters of different species was created.

One important thing to notice, however, is that the table stops at 39” dbh. So, for the really large trees – like the 54 ½” white oak at Gateway Park or the 48” bur oak at Hennen Conservation Area, one has to extrapolate.   

In the case of the 54½” white oak, we look at the table that tells us a 39” white oak is about 298 years old. Our specimen is 40% larger than that, which would mean 417 years old if it grew in diameter at the same rate when it was 300 as it did when it was much younger. To be a little conservative, we say the tree could be 400 years old.

In the case of the 48” bur oak, again, we know that a 39” specimen is about 254 years old. A 48” tree is about 23% larger than that, so we would calculate it to be 312 years old, and say the tree could be 300 years old!

We won’t be able to say for sure until the tree is dead. In the meantime, let’s not argue over a few years one way or the other!

When first married, my husband and I moved to Vermont from Chicago, motivated by our image of that state as a beautiful, rural paradise – the antithesis of gritty Chicago where our car got broken into every few weeks. We thought Vermont would be a great adventure.  Turns out “adventure” wasn’t quite the right word.

Our moving date was in early November, and after we arrived, it was at least 30 days until we saw the sun. Our trusty VW Rabbit had a stick-shift – which had not been a problem in Chicago where the landscape is fairly level. But, in Vermont, we couldn’t even get in or out of our neighborhood without going up and down a couple of hills. On streets covered in snow and ice.

We expected that having grown up with Chicago winters would prepare us for anything, but we were wrong.  The sheer volume of snow that fell in and around Burlington, and the absence of sunshine for weeks at a time, made that first winter pretty tough.

Add to the mix the fact that we were newlyweds in a new place without friends and without jobs (we each found something by January), and that meant we spent a lot of time in our apartment that winter – reading, playing cards, questioning the wisdom of our cross-country move…

That first winter was also when we heard about “Snowflake” Bentley – the man who first observed that no two snowflakes are alike. In 1885, Wilson A. “Snowflake” Bentley, a farmer and resident of Jericho, Vermont,

The end of the year is always a surprise of sorts at TLC. There are usually several land preservation projects brewing that may or may not come together... It can be hard to predict.

After 10 year-ends, it doesn't stress me out anymore. I've learned that everything happens in its own time, and if a project isn't meant to be this year, it may come back around in another three or seven years! Or never. It will happen if it is meant to be.

This year, 2011, we started off with what seemed like a rush of easements on Fleming Road. We finished 8 or 9 by the end of 2010, and are now up to 18 permanent easements along that road. We don't know for sure what the easements will mean for the roadway, but they have most certainly sent the message that not only do the residents want to see the road stay in its same footprint, but they are willing to give up certain rights to their own property to help make sure that happens.

I think of it as an "Occupy Fleming Road" thing...very grassroots in nature! (Or should I say "oak-roots" in nature?)

TLC actually "purchased" some land this year too. Two parcels that comprise an acre on Barnard Mill Road came up for tax delinquent sale in September. We placed a bid on both parcels ($1300 total), and won! After clearing up a lien, and buying title insurance, our total costs were still less than $5,000. And did I mention that the land is adjacent to 26 acres of conservation easement? And that the easements are adjacent to Glacial Park? How cool is that?!

2012 will be known as the year of two acre land donations. Two acres donated in Nunda Township, 2.5 acres donated in Hebron Township (adjacent to the Dick York Memorial Arboretum easement), and 2 acres donated in Dorr Township adjacent to our 7 acre easement in the Country Ridge subdivision.

I like to say that if we keep up this pace, TLC will have preserved all of the County through land donations in about 500 years!

Our "bread & butter" work - accepting donated permanent conservation easements on private land - is still going strong. We closed on a 38.5 acre easement last week that adjoins the Yonder Prairie/Westwod Park complex just west of Woodstock. And we are set to close on a 56 acre easement that preserves prairie, wetland and oak natural areas by the end of the year. The attorneys have agreed on the details, so now it is just a matter of making a few edits and getting some signatures so the document can be recorded!

Finally, I am pleased to report that we now have a signed agreement to purchase the Gateway property in Harvard! Nearly 18 acres that will become a City Park. We'll finish the acquisition sometime in 2012. No surprises, please.

Saturday December 10th was the inaugural Oak Rescue at the future Gateway Park on the south side of Harvard near the intersection of Routes 14 & 23.

Thirty volunteers from throughout McHenry County donated over 90 hours on a cold morning to release about a dozen ancient oaks from the grips of invasive brush that had grown up around them in the last 20-30 years.

The 18 acre property is home to dozens of oaks that were growing on the property before the area was settled. These trees would have welcomed early settlers to town 165 or more years ago, and now will continue to welcome residents and visitors to Harvard forever.

Through a partnership between the City of Harvard and The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, Gateway Park will be preserved as a public nature park for hiking, relaxation and education.

The property includes several oak groves, with dozens of trees that were already large when the City was founded in 1856. Additionally, one of the only portions of Rush Creek that was never ditched runs through the center of the property, providing important habitat for a diversity of fish, including three that are listed as "species in greatest need of conservation" by the State of Illinois.

Future Oak Rescues are being planned. Contact The Land Conservancy for more information: 815-337-9502.

TLC's 4th Annual Art of the Land Amateur Photography Contest is now taking applications!

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC) invites amateur photographers to participate in a unique photo contest meant to highlight the inspiring nature of TLC’s land preservation work. The contest goal is to showcase photographs that reveal the beautiful and immense natural and cultural diversity found throughout McHenry County.

The photo at left was the People's Choice winner in the 2011 contest. The picture was taken by Margie Bjorkman at TLC's Pensinger Conservation Easement on Fleming Road. The 3 acre oak woodland that can be seen behind the gate was preserved by Ray & Lynn Pensinger in 2009.

The photo below was the first place juried winner in 2011, and was taken by Kacie Butler at the Sobczak Conservation Easement in Greenwood. Lynne and Marty Sobczak also preserved three acres of their property in 2009. The property preserves a stretch of the Nippersink Creek as well as half of the only remaining lily pond along the creek.

TLC has preserved over 1900 acres of land in McHenry County by working with more than 70 landowners. The properties protected range in size from 250 acres to less than one acre. All lands are protected from development forever through permanent conservation restrictions.

The photo contest gives amateur photographers a chance to visit many of these privately-owned conservation properties, and through their photographs to share their experiences with the public when the photos are shown at TLC's Art of the Land Art Show & Benefit in September.

Amateur photographers can download an application here and send it back to Cheryl Perrone by email or snail mail to PO Box 352, Woodstock IL 60098.

A gallery of all 2011's photos can be seen here.