Dan Carter
@prairiebotanist.com
Ecologist of Midwestern fire-dependent ecosystems & volunteer land steward @ Mukwonago River Oak Barrens. Opinions mine. Among them is the need to stop viewing grasslands, savannas, & woodlands through a productivist lens. Ban AI. He/Him
There is a lot of pearl-clutching over polling on #ICE and what to do. Do what is right. How do weakness, fecklessness, or lack of a coherent position poll? If the Administration can commit new egregious moral outrages each day and damn the polls, surely #Democrats can stand up for what's right.
January 21, 2026 at 1:43 PM
There is a lot of pearl-clutching over polling on #ICE and what to do. Do what is right. How do weakness, fecklessness, or lack of a coherent position poll? If the Administration can commit new egregious moral outrages each day and damn the polls, surely #Democrats can stand up for what's right.
May not happen. It's predicated on snowpack, but most eastern hardwoods--even those restricted to the South--can withstand brief bouts extreme cold, because it does happen. They just can't take deep ground freezes or weeks of temperatues like this.
January 20, 2026 at 1:49 PM
May not happen. It's predicated on snowpack, but most eastern hardwoods--even those restricted to the South--can withstand brief bouts extreme cold, because it does happen. They just can't take deep ground freezes or weeks of temperatues like this.
My front right wheel came off going 75mph on I-70 just outside of Manhattan, Kansas. I managed to get over to the shoulder. A guy that saw it happen pulls up behind me and stuck around chatting, traffic speeding by, until my tow into town arrived.
TIMELINE CLEANSE
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?
When's a time that a stranger helped you in an unexpected, maybe even small way?
January 20, 2026 at 1:23 AM
My front right wheel came off going 75mph on I-70 just outside of Manhattan, Kansas. I managed to get over to the shoulder. A guy that saw it happen pulls up behind me and stuck around chatting, traffic speeding by, until my tow into town arrived.
Reposted by Dan Carter
Livestock grazing is allowed across 240 million acres of federal land.
Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the system.
Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the system.
The Biggest Takeaways From Our Investigation Into Grazing on Public Lands
Livestock grazing is allowed across 240 million acres of federal land. Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the sy...
www.propublica.org
January 18, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Livestock grazing is allowed across 240 million acres of federal land.
Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the system.
Our investigation revealed the subsidies propping up ranching, its impact on the environment and the politics underpinning the system.
They seam really upset by this. It is upsetting. They seam upset. Perplexed. 🤷
Lmao someone threw an open bottle of piss into an ICE vehicle that was driving by
January 15, 2026 at 2:59 AM
They seam really upset by this. It is upsetting. They seam upset. Perplexed. 🤷
Reposted by Dan Carter
Amanda Gorman wrote this poem for Renee Good and that’s it for me tonight.
January 9, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Amanda Gorman wrote this poem for Renee Good and that’s it for me tonight.
Chuck Schumer would never do this, which is how I know this is the right reaction.
ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis.
January 8, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Chuck Schumer would never do this, which is how I know this is the right reaction.
I live in a maybe, but if I think of this as though I were looking for a fresh start.
December 31, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I live in a maybe, but if I think of this as though I were looking for a fresh start.
The brewery that finally offers a barleywine for the first time but it’s aged in bourbon barrels.
Let’s air those grievances. I want to hear your pettiest gripes on this the holiest of days.
December 24, 2025 at 7:29 PM
The brewery that finally offers a barleywine for the first time but it’s aged in bourbon barrels.
Tough year, but a great weekend for fascists getting punched in the face. Happy Holidays!
After MAGA Jake Paul’s KO, misogynist nazi rapist Andrew Tate got destroyed by Chase DeMoor.
December 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Tough year, but a great weekend for fascists getting punched in the face. Happy Holidays!
Upper 40s dewpoints and some rain can erode the snow cover rather quickly. The NWS Milwaukee-Sullivan office tower cam: www.weather.gov/mkx/mkx-towe...
WSR-88D Radar Tower Camera
www.weather.gov
December 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Upper 40s dewpoints and some rain can erode the snow cover rather quickly. The NWS Milwaukee-Sullivan office tower cam: www.weather.gov/mkx/mkx-towe...
There is a re-awakening occurring in at least some corners of the conservation community with respect to Midwestern oak woodlands. This is a post I had missed and find fascinating: woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2015/01/re-d...
Re-discovering the Composition of Oak Woodlands
Scientists don’t know the natural state of our woodlands. A lot of great research has been done on the original character of prairies a...
woodsandprairie.blogspot.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
There is a re-awakening occurring in at least some corners of the conservation community with respect to Midwestern oak woodlands. This is a post I had missed and find fascinating: woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/2015/01/re-d...
@biologicaldiversity.org is doing important work. Speaking up. Not backing down. They'll have a monthly transfer from my checking account. I should have done it long ago, but late is better than never.
Far-right Republicans just launched yet another congressional assault on the Center for Biological Diversity.
This new U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources "investigation" — like the first — is a fraudulent abuse of power.
Please stand with us ➡️ bit.ly/49WdGXu
This new U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources "investigation" — like the first — is a fraudulent abuse of power.
Please stand with us ➡️ bit.ly/49WdGXu
December 7, 2025 at 3:54 AM
@biologicaldiversity.org is doing important work. Speaking up. Not backing down. They'll have a monthly transfer from my checking account. I should have done it long ago, but late is better than never.
Apparently parents in my school district are offended that red oaks are monecious--they have both male and female reproductive organs. Wishtree was assigned to all students and their families to read together. #Wishtree #bookbans #oak #Kettlemoraine #Wisconsin #Waukesha
November 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Apparently parents in my school district are offended that red oaks are monecious--they have both male and female reproductive organs. Wishtree was assigned to all students and their families to read together. #Wishtree #bookbans #oak #Kettlemoraine #Wisconsin #Waukesha
It is the ecological and ritual season of burning. The most salubrious time to burn. Coarse stems--even seeds--stand. Terricolous lichens and bryophytes survive. Larvae rest cosy in their galls. The stage is set for next season's abundance. #Prairie #Savanna #RxFire #MukwonagoRiverOakBarrens
November 17, 2025 at 9:42 PM
It is the ecological and ritual season of burning. The most salubrious time to burn. Coarse stems--even seeds--stand. Terricolous lichens and bryophytes survive. Larvae rest cosy in their galls. The stage is set for next season's abundance. #Prairie #Savanna #RxFire #MukwonagoRiverOakBarrens
You mean to tell me that bird friendly certified consumer products aren't cutting it?
If it seems like there are fewer #birds around, it's not your imagination.
In Episode 7 of Sounds Wild, Jeff Walters from the American Ornithological Society talks about the 2025 State of the Birds report and what can be done about our declining bird population ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Kz9rGA
In Episode 7 of Sounds Wild, Jeff Walters from the American Ornithological Society talks about the 2025 State of the Birds report and what can be done about our declining bird population ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Kz9rGA
November 14, 2025 at 3:02 AM
You mean to tell me that bird friendly certified consumer products aren't cutting it?
So they are getting nothing of substance. The vote on ACA subsidies is theater. We all know it won't pass, and that people will suffer. The calculus is that GOP members will be forced to vote no, but that's not going make any difference in peoples' lives, let alone elections. Weak. Lame. Shameful.
November 10, 2025 at 12:33 AM
So they are getting nothing of substance. The vote on ACA subsidies is theater. We all know it won't pass, and that people will suffer. The calculus is that GOP members will be forced to vote no, but that's not going make any difference in peoples' lives, let alone elections. Weak. Lame. Shameful.
And this is the best prairie research I've seen in a few years. This is exactly how to investigate fire effects, because not all fires are equal. Annual fires are more variable in their effects and generally less intense than less frequent fires. #prairie onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Fire Frequency Driven Increases in Burn Heterogeneity Promote Microbial Beta Diversity: A Test of the Pyrodiversity‐Biodiversity Hypothesis
Fire is a common ecological disturbance that structures terrestrial ecosystems and biological communities. The ability of fires to contribute to ecosystem heterogeneity has been termed pyrodiversity ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
And this is the best prairie research I've seen in a few years. This is exactly how to investigate fire effects, because not all fires are equal. Annual fires are more variable in their effects and generally less intense than less frequent fires. #prairie onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
More evidence dispelling the seed bank myth that falsely leads practioners to believe that it's an insurance policy against distruptive disturbances to old-growth communities--disturbances that often deliberately prescribed. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Seed rain and seed banks cannot supply missing diversity to the aboveground flora in reconstructed prairies
Seed-based restoration is a viable method for alleviating the loss of tallgrass prairies by creating new assemblages of prairie flora. Despite using diverse inputs of native seeds, restoration effort...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:03 PM
More evidence dispelling the seed bank myth that falsely leads practioners to believe that it's an insurance policy against distruptive disturbances to old-growth communities--disturbances that often deliberately prescribed. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
From where I stand, beef and dairy production (all or mostly on grass) has basically become the big swinging 🍆 of grassland conservation. There's *almost* no space left that matters for those of us that question it.
@theswinerepublic.bsky.social, "there is abundant evidence that livestock raised in pastoral systems can be done in an environmentally benign way, at least compared to corn and soy production"
open.substack.com/pub/riverrac...
One point not made in this piece is the billionaires ruin everything
Eating a hamburger used to be a pleasure enjoyed by working people everywhere
Now even that has been fucked up by rich assholes
One point not made in this piece is the billionaires ruin everything
Eating a hamburger used to be a pleasure enjoyed by working people everywhere
Now even that has been fucked up by rich assholes
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
From where I stand, beef and dairy production (all or mostly on grass) has basically become the big swinging 🍆 of grassland conservation. There's *almost* no space left that matters for those of us that question it.
Reposted by Dan Carter
I don’t know if people realize that farmers are still receiving crop insurance subsidies, commodity payments, some conservation money, and access to loans & disaster payments, but everyone should know this and act accordingly.
Agricultural exceptionalism is alive and well in Amurika still.
Agricultural exceptionalism is alive and well in Amurika still.
Q: A federal judge ruled that the administration has to fully fund SNAP. DOJ said they're gonna appeal. What's your message to folks as we're headed to Thanksgiving?
TRUMP: *looks at JD Vance* you wanna gowithater
TRUMP: *looks at JD Vance* you wanna gowithater
November 7, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I don’t know if people realize that farmers are still receiving crop insurance subsidies, commodity payments, some conservation money, and access to loans & disaster payments, but everyone should know this and act accordingly.
Agricultural exceptionalism is alive and well in Amurika still.
Agricultural exceptionalism is alive and well in Amurika still.
Herbicide that breaks down to PFAS may be coming to millions of acres surrounding your water supply.
The EPA has proposed approving the dangerously persistent pesticide epyrifenacil on canola, corn, soybean and wheat.
Epyrifenacil is yet another forever chemical, and this marks the fifth proposed approval of a PFAS pesticide since Trump took office.
Read on ➡️ bit.ly/49z9TyX
Epyrifenacil is yet another forever chemical, and this marks the fifth proposed approval of a PFAS pesticide since Trump took office.
Read on ➡️ bit.ly/49z9TyX
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Herbicide that breaks down to PFAS may be coming to millions of acres surrounding your water supply.
Very small burns, but if we remove buckthorn (glossy and common here) and there is enough fuel to burn in fall, we do, and then we augmentively seed in late fall with species that were likely once present but extirpated by fire exclusion / shade / litter / past grazing / etc.
November 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Very small burns, but if we remove buckthorn (glossy and common here) and there is enough fuel to burn in fall, we do, and then we augmentively seed in late fall with species that were likely once present but extirpated by fire exclusion / shade / litter / past grazing / etc.
My happy place these days. Fall colors and textures. Home to many beings. #MukwonagoRiverOakBarenns #ThePrairieEnthusiasts #Savanna #Prairie
October 31, 2025 at 12:30 AM
My happy place these days. Fall colors and textures. Home to many beings. #MukwonagoRiverOakBarenns #ThePrairieEnthusiasts #Savanna #Prairie