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Through July of this year I have worked with 35 landowners, wrote 281 acres of forest management plans, marked 138 acres of timber and 56 acres of timber stand improvement work.  I continue to pick the cooler days of summer to get out and inventory Hixon Forest in La Crosse, and a number of kid's education days are planned for next month. 

Cooperative Weed Management Area

A new project just started by Southwest Badger was to form and coordinate a Cooperative Weed Management Area in southwest Wisconsin.  A cooperative weed management area is a coalition of landowners and professionals who collaborate on effective invasive plant management on a regional scale.  Exotic invasive plants can cause significant problems to the ecology and economy of an area.  As their name indicates, they are not from the local area and they considerably displace native vegetation.  Many exotic invasive species were brought here intentionally for aesthetic or agricultural reasons and then escaped cultivation into natural areas and are now serious problems.  Species such as garlic mustard, buckthorn, honeysuckle (non-native varieties), Japanese barberry, multiflora rose, autumn olive, and other invasive plants have become common invaders of our local landscapes.  Along with these, new invasive species are regularly threatening to establish themselves in our area. 

This project will concentrate on outreach, inventory, management plans, and control of plants on private lands.  Wisconsin DNR (funders), Vernon County, the Kickapoo Woods Cooperative, and individual landowners have already decided to be partners on the project.  More partnerships will be pursued, especially with our local county Land Conservation Departments to make this project as robust as possible. 

Well it's that time of the year again. As we transition from summer to fall, I wanted to take some time to look at all we accomplished in the

Tanner and a field of Purple Loosestrife in La Crosse County

Driftless Area during the summer season.  It was a busy year for me and our summer intern, Tanner Ruechel. Tanner is a senior at UW Platteville, pursuing a degree in Biology with an emphasis in Genetics.

As I look back it is hard to believe we accomplished all the goals we set out to do. Of course, having great staff such as Tanner for our intern was paramount in that accomplishment. 

During the summer, Tanner and I completed our sampling requirements for our DNR Aquatic Invasive Species grants.  We have successfully completed the sampling of nine counties and over 120 rivers, streams and lakes throughout the Driftless Area. Tanner attended the Trout Festival at Coon Valley where he displayed pictures of aquatic invasive species and discussed aquatic invasives prevention methods with shoreline anglers. 

In the early part of the spring, I attended the Earth Day and the Lakes Fair in Sauk County.  The primary purpose was to continue our outreach efforts at various local events.  

Clean Boats Clean Waters at Yellowstone Lake State Park by Don and Tanner

Tanner and I participated in many Clean Boats Clean Waters activities at area lakes such as

We did not end where the water ended but also took our message to the streets. In 2013 we attended the Lafayette, Crawford and Sauk County fairs. We will also attend the Richland and Vernon County fairs later this year all in an effort to reach the public about our fight against invasive species.  You can see pictures of Tanner and me in action on the Southwest Badger Facebook page.

We recently completed the draft of a Southwest Wisconsin Aquatic Invasive Species Strategic Plan. The plan is currently under review by our partners and will soon be available as a guide in the fight against invasives in the region.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one of our proudest moments and give a thank you to Richland County Conservationist Cathy Cooper for making our job easier as we fight established and newly

Spraying Japanese Knotweed in Richland County

introduced invasives in Richland County.  Cathy Cooper and her staff received a Rapid Response grant to control Japanese Knotweed on Willow Creek.  All of our hard work (planning, meetings, cutting, and surveying) came to fruition when Applied Ecological Services begin herbicide application on many infested areas in August.  We expect the herbicide application will allow us to begin to see a reduction in population size and growth of the Japanese Knotweed currently residing on Willow Creek.  We all expect to continue this process for many years and look forward to more results in reducing aquatic invasive species on Willow Creek and other sites throughout the Driftless Area.

I hope you enjoyed the review and the pictures of our 2013 summer aquatic invasive species efforts.  I will continue to share updates through Facebook, local media outlets or via email. Have a great Labor Day Weekend and thank you for your continued support. 

I attended a Pasture Walk at Tom Coleman's in Vernon County August 1st, sponsored by Vernon County Land & Water Conservation and co-sponsored by the Kickapoo Grazing Initiative. One of the topics discussed was Managed Grazing of grass-fed beef.

Grass-fed beef:

• Helps build soil organic matter and fertility and protects it from erosion.
• Uses far less pesticides and reduces fertilizer cost.
• Shows increased returns to the producer.
• Produces healthier meat - lower in total fat, calories and cholesterol.
• Results in increased carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gases.
• Mimics nature.
• Increases and protects habitat for wildlife, including critically declining grassland birds and sensitive species like trout.

The grass-fed beef market is growing at 20 percent per year.  The average price for grass-fed beef is $20 to $25 per hundred pounds more than that for conventional grain fed beef. With proper forage management, it is possible to realize strong daily gains at less feed cost than corn-based finishing.