Events
Spring 2010
Conservation days are on Saturdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. We will send any announcements of updates, cancellations or postponements to everyone on our e-mail list. If you are not already on our list and would like to receive updates, send your e-mail address to Larry at thors@cmecwildblue.com.
This spring we have set aside three Saturdays as possible dates for conducting prescribed burns, March 20, April 3 and April 10. Because burns are so weather-dependent, we will announce them a few days ahead by e-mail.
Click to download a PDF copy of the Spring 2010 Conservation Day Schedule
February 27 – Digging, cutting and spraying honeysuckle at Woodyard Conservation Area, 1.8 miles south of Route 16 on Route 130.
March 6 – Digging, cutting and spraying honeysuckle at Lafferty Nature Center on Reynolds Drive back of Carl Sandberg School in Charleston.
March 13 – Digging multiflora rose at Nance Woods. Take 6th Street west from Neoga, continue 2.2 miles to Shelby County Road 3425 E., turn right and go 0.9 mile past two “S” curves to the woods on the right.
March 20 – Possible burn date
March 27 – Digging honeysuckle at Lafferty Nature Center
April 3 – Possible burn date
April 10 – Possible burn date
April 17 – Our Earth Day event. Spring chores at Douglas-Hart Nature Center, corner of Dewitt Avenue and Lerna Road in Mattoon.
April 24 – Annual wildflower and warbler walk at Rocky Branch Nature Preserve. Meet at the café at the top of the hill in Clarksville for car pooling.
May 1 – A spring forest walk at Embarras Bluffs. Take the Ashmore-Oakland road to County Road 1470 N., turn west and continue across the Little Embarras River to Oak Grove Church at the corner of CR 2300 E. and CR 1600 N.
May 15 – Douglas-Hart Nature Center
May 22 – Cutting and spraying honeysuckle at Warbler Woods. Take Route 130 south from Charleston about 4 miles to Daileyville Road, go one-half mile and drive through the Warbler Woods gate.
June 5 – Sweet clover pull at Coneflower Hill Prairie. Take the Bruce-Findlay road west from Coles Station about 5 miles to the electric substation, turn right and go 2 miles to the “T,” then left one mile to the parking area on the right.
June 12 – Sweet clover pull at Neoga Railroad Prairie. Take Route 45 one mile south of the four-way stop in Neoga to the cemetery sign on the right.
June 19 – Cutting and spraying honeysuckle at Lakeview Park. Take McKinley Avenue in Charleston to the dead end, park by the gate and walk down the hill to the work site.
June 26 – Cutting and spraying honeysuckle and autumn olive at Lafferty Nature Center
July 10 – Cutting and spraying woodies at Coneflower Hill Prairie
How Might Global Warming Affect Illinois?
The near-term consequences of global warming for the regions of the world are described in a recent, on-line presentation by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Of particular interest to us are the possibilities for climate change in Illinois, whose climate could be similar to that of east Texas by 2050. We can expect hotter summers, heavier spring rains and more short-term droughts. The effects on agriculture will be especially serious. To read the results of the study, including possible combinations of solutions, go to www.ucsusa.org, click on “Global Warming,” then on successive screens “Midwestern States,” “Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest (2009),” and “Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest: Illinois.”
The Illinois Department Of Natural Resources Website:
Source For A Wealth Of Conservation Information
Check out the IDNR website at www.dnr.state.il.us for dozens of readable studies on trends in the status of natural areas in the state. Particularly informative are the many reports from the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP), such as the one on the Embarras River Basin. On the IDNR home page, scroll down to the Search box on the left and enter CATP.