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
Well a lot is probably AI at this point. My partner is an NP and says that a lot of the rejections are just nonsensical.
November 14, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Well a lot is probably AI at this point. My partner is an NP and says that a lot of the rejections are just nonsensical.
Highly invasive Phragmites australis subsp. australis.
November 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Highly invasive Phragmites australis subsp. australis.
This almost certainly has relevance for invertebrates (research tends to lump all fire), plants, and soil biological crusts, and my guess is that they follow similar patterns and that this is some of why the most frequently dormant burned prairies are the most resistant to degradation.
November 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
This almost certainly has relevance for invertebrates (research tends to lump all fire), plants, and soil biological crusts, and my guess is that they follow similar patterns and that this is some of why the most frequently dormant burned prairies are the most resistant to degradation.
I'll concede Iowa wouldn't be the literal stinking, toxic sewer it's become since I played in its cricks as a boy if it were a pasture where livestock were fenced from waterways, but a handful of counties in diverse cereal, legume, fruit, and vegetable production would feed us more and better.
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I'll concede Iowa wouldn't be the literal stinking, toxic sewer it's become since I played in its cricks as a boy if it were a pasture where livestock were fenced from waterways, but a handful of counties in diverse cereal, legume, fruit, and vegetable production would feed us more and better.
Even our happiest beef is orders of magnitude worse than are unhappiest bean. Don't eat crickets. Give Rancho Gordo some business.
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Even our happiest beef is orders of magnitude worse than are unhappiest bean. Don't eat crickets. Give Rancho Gordo some business.
It's a classic win win where cows get grass and meadowlarks get something that's not corn or subdivisions, but biodiversity, land, climate (not just methane, but also nitrous oxide) still suffers.
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
It's a classic win win where cows get grass and meadowlarks get something that's not corn or subdivisions, but biodiversity, land, climate (not just methane, but also nitrous oxide) still suffers.
Most of our most ecologically significant "protected" grasslands are in the production game, and they are DYING, at least compared to the few that aren't. But yeah, conventional corn is worse.
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Most of our most ecologically significant "protected" grasslands are in the production game, and they are DYING, at least compared to the few that aren't. But yeah, conventional corn is worse.
It is 6033' feet above Colarado Springs, 14,155' above sea level. Still high!
November 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It is 6033' feet above Colarado Springs, 14,155' above sea level. Still high!
...but it will be enough to top-kill and reset the silky dogwoods.
October 29, 2025 at 8:16 PM
...but it will be enough to top-kill and reset the silky dogwoods.
You should see it now that some rain has busted up the ash. The hollow Joe-Pye stems are still standing intact, there are still intact stems on the ground. The growing points of the sedges are generally untouched. That's despite a pretty high fuel load, because this was the first burn in ~200 years.
October 29, 2025 at 8:16 PM
You should see it now that some rain has busted up the ash. The hollow Joe-Pye stems are still standing intact, there are still intact stems on the ground. The growing points of the sedges are generally untouched. That's despite a pretty high fuel load, because this was the first burn in ~200 years.
The other reasons are that working this way requires less follow-up, costs far less, and allows us to keep up with getting the right seeds to spread in areas following glossy and common buckthorn removal.
October 28, 2025 at 11:48 PM
The other reasons are that working this way requires less follow-up, costs far less, and allows us to keep up with getting the right seeds to spread in areas following glossy and common buckthorn removal.
If this had not come out, I probably would have sent this campaign a trivial donation. Democrats need to provide options that aren't octogenarians, but almost all men that present like this are frauds. Yet, I was starting to build some hope around this guy...but Nazi tattoo. JFC.
October 22, 2025 at 10:58 AM
If this had not come out, I probably would have sent this campaign a trivial donation. Democrats need to provide options that aren't octogenarians, but almost all men that present like this are frauds. Yet, I was starting to build some hope around this guy...but Nazi tattoo. JFC.