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Here we discuss specific habitat types and what you can do to attract wildlife to your property. Whether you are interested in waterfowl, songbirds, deer, gamebirds, or any other species, big or small.

When the pioneers began rolling into the land now called Illinois, they were met by a seemingly endless expanse of grass. Indeed, prairie covered about two-thirds of our state. How ironic that today prairie habitat occupies the smallest amount of the Prairie State's acreage. It survives only in abandoned cemeteries, railroad rights-of way, and a few scattered preserves.

The majority of Illinois prairie was eliminated in a short sixty years, after the invention of the steel plow in 1837. It was a swift, hard blow to some wildlife dependent on this habitat. Fortunately part of the prairie was converted to other types of grassy cover, such as pastures and hay fields. For many wildlife species, like the eastern meadowlark, dickcissel, thirteen-lined ground squirrel, and others, the exchange of one type of grassland for another was acceptable.

Table 3.2 "Native Prairie Grasslands"

Illinois wildlife that depend on grassland habitat face four problems today:

The overall amount of grasslands has declined.
The size of our existing grasslands and their interspersion on the landscape have changed.
Many existing grasslands are of poor quality in terms of plant species and vegetative cover.
Grasslands are often managed to the detriment of wildlife. For example, they are mowed or sprayed with pesticides during the critical reproductive period for wildlife during spring and summer.
Less Grassland

Wildlife species that made themselves at home in the "new" Illinois grasslands after destruction of the prairie have been dealt another blow in recent times. Since the 1960s, the acreage of pasture and haylands in Illinois has been steadily decreasing, declining an estimated 50%. Overall, the total acreage of grassland native and introduced, is only a small fraction of our original twenty-one million acres. There is simply less grassy cover for wildlife to inhabit. The populations of many Illinois grassland birds, such as grasshopper sparrows, eastern meadowlarks, and bobolinks, have declined 75% to 95% in the last half-century.

Different Size and Interspersion

The original Illinois prairie stretched for miles with hardly a tree in sight. Many species, including bam owls, prairie chickens, and upland sandpipers, used these vast stretches of grassland for breeding and foraging. Not surprisingly, these are birds that have nearly vanished from Illinois hunting land.

The remaining grasslands are greatly fragmented and isolated. Only a few-Goose Lake Prairie, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, and Nachusa Grasslands -are large enough to support species needing expansive areas. And not only are most grassland tracts much smaller, the parcels are widely scattered on the landscape.

Poor Quality

Many of today's Grasslands both cool-season and warm-season, are not in optimal condition for wildlife. The problem is twofold: the composition of plant species is undesirable, and what would otherwise be good-quality grassland is poorly managed.

The modern-day idea of what constitutes a grassland is quite different from the original grassland ecosystem. Grasslands historically were diverse vegetative communities, some with two to three hundred different plants in a given location. Today, one or two grasses, and maybe a couple of broad leaf plants-usually legumes make up the entire grassland community in many areas. These near monoculture grasslands typify our pastures and hay fields as well as our ball diamonds, yards, and parks. Some wildlife that evolved with and depend on diverse grassy and broadleaf vegetation struggle to meet their needs.

Some grasslands with only three or four plants can have value to wildlife, but it depends on the plant species. For example, a brome and alfalfa field has high value as nest cover to several species, such as dickcissels, ring-necked pheasants, and meadowlarks, but fescue is universally poor habitat for Illinois wildlife. Unfortunately, it is one of our most widely planted grasses. Illinois hunting land/property for sale.

Another factor affecting grassland quality is the invasion by aggressive exotic plants. Crown vetch, for example, a legume widely planted in the 1970s to control erosion along roadsides and pond banks, has spread to various grasslands. Its aggressive nature causes it to smother out other plants, essentially forming a mono culture with little value to wildlife.

Other non-native species-bluegrass, for one - may provide good habitat in some situations but may be detrimental to remnant and restored natural prairie communities if they get a foothold. Without proper management, bluegrass, a cool-season species that grows profusely in the spring, may invade and out compete summer thriving prairie grasses before they have a chance to grow.

Poor Management

Many grasslands that could provide quality habitat are being managed to the detriment of wildlife, with either too much disturbance or disturbance at the wrong time. A case in point is the mowing of roadsides during the peak nesting period of ground nesting birds and mammals. Hay fields are also usually cut in the same months, further reducing potential habitat.

Another illustration of poor management is the complete lack of disturbance in some grasslands. The original prairie flourished with periodic disturbance, such as fire and grazing. Today's landowners may misinterpret the concept of letting nature take care of itself and thus not do any mowing or burning. Grasslands depend on occasional disturbance to remain healthy. The areas left untouched may become too thick and matted, and of less value to wildlife.

Also, many grasslands will eventually succeed to woody cover if no disturbance is applied. This result can be seen on our state's remnant hill prairies. On sites where no prescribed burning has been conducted, eastern redcedar and other woody species have invaded, in some cases entirely replacing the prairie grass communities.

Illinois landowners can help grassland species in two significant ways:

Create new grassland habitat.
protect and properly manage existing and newly created grassland habitat.
If you have an opportunity to create new grassland habitat on your property, you should read "Creating New Grassy Cover" for specifics that will enhance your success, from choosing seed to knowing when to plant. Every reader, whether you are creating new grasslands or maintaining or enhancing existing ones, should review "Protecting and Managing Grasslands" and the upcoming section on management.

The factors that affect the suitability of grassy cover for wildlife need to be addressed when you undertake a project to provide grassland habitat. When biologists develop a management strategy or plan for a particular site, they think on two levels. First is the landscape perspective-the relationship of a particular habitat patch with the surrounding landscape. Second is management of the patch itself. Management on both levels is detailed here. Chapter 2 provides further insight into these concepts

Landscape-Level Management

Because wildlife don't recognize Illinois property boundaries like humans do, it is important to consider the bigger picture of how a particular field or tract of land works with the surrounding landscape to provide regional habitat. In other words, no field or piece of land exists in a void. The animals and plants in and around the site are affected by and interact with the surrounding landscape. In any grassland creation or management effort, be sure to evaluate the following landscape-level considerations.

Patch size and patch shape. Several wildlife species need large expanses of grasslands to feed, overwinter, and successfully reproduce. For these species, the larger you make your grassland, the better. Since smaller grassland patches (a few acres in size) are more abundant in Illinois than larger ones (100 acres or more), always strive for a larger grassland when possible.

Some species, such as Bobwhite quail and field sparrows, are attracted to strips of grass interwoven with other cover types. Grasshopper sparrows and bobolinks, on the other hand, need more continuous grassland and less interspersion. With smaller patches the shape is not too important. With larger patches, where the objective is a single expansive and unbroken habitat, a square or circle provides the least amount of edge per area.

Connectivity and adjacent habitats. Some species benefit from adjacent woody vegetation to provide nesting or song perches. Other patches in the local area can be useful to wildlife, particularly if they are connected by fencerows, waterways, and the like. Species that need large expanses of grassland, such as the upland sandpiper and vesper sparrow, are helped by having other grassy areas, open habitat, or even cropland nearby.

Patch-Level Management

Once you have evaluated landscape-level considerations, you need to determine the management of the site or field itself. To provide suitable habitat for wildlife, a minimum standard must be met for each of four criteria:

Appropriate application of disturbance
Plant-species diversity
Successional stage
Structural components
Wildlife that depend on grassland habitat face four problems today:

The overall amount of grasslands has declined.
The size of our existing grasslands and their interspersion on the landscape have changed.
Many existing grasslands are of poor quality in terms of plant species and vegetative cover.
Grasslands are often managed to the detriment of wildlife. For example, they are mowed or sprayed with pesticides during the critical reproductive period for wildlife during spring and summer.
Disturbance

Whether natural or created by humans, disturbance plays an essential role in any grassland system. Applied appropriately, it improves the quality of grassy cover for wildlife. But used incorrectly, it can undermine habitat value. The following paragraphs discuss disturbance associated with grasslands and when an application is harmful or should not occur. The appropriate use of disturbance to benefit wildlife is discussed in "Protecting and Managing Grasslands" .

Mowing and baying. Mowing at the wrong times can severely affect wildlife. Spring mowing destroys nests and nesting cover, and late-fall and winter mowing reduce valuable winter cover. Both should be avoided. Timing can also negatively affect plant composition, especially with native warm-season grasses. For example, if you mow prairie grasses in late summer, when they are flowering and setting seed, you can set back their growth severely and eventually eliminate them altogether. If your site is to provide adequate habitat, mow only as prescribed in "Grassland Protection with Delayed Mowing".

Grazing. Like mowing, grazing done at the wrong time can harm both wildlife and the grassland itself. Overgrazing can also virtually eliminate value for wildlife, except for the few generalist species that will use barren ground, such as killdeer and horned larks, which already have plenty of bare-ground habitat in Illinois. Heavy grazing can also increase soil erosion, leading to destruction of aquatic wildlife habitats from sedimentation. Grazing should be allowed only as prescribed in "Grassland Protection with Light Grazing".

Burning. Burning is an important management tool, but it should be done at the right time of the year to minimize the destruction of wildlife and their nests and young, and to maintain or increase plant diversity. Burning may destroy valuable winter cover, and if done in too large an area with no other standing vegetation nearby, it can reduce or destroy overwintering insects, decreasing an important part of the food chain. Burning should be conducted only as outlined in "Grassland Protection with Prescribed Burning".

Tillage. Light tillage in a grassland can provide results for specific management goals, but done indiscriminately, it destroys valuable wildlife food and cover. Till only as described in "Grassland Protection with Tillage"

Pesticide use. Herbicides have limited applications in establishing a grassland. Their use should be targeted to specific plants. Otherwise, herbicides can threaten the integrity of any grassland. Insecticides, too, can greatly disturb plant-animal relationships in a grassland. In general, most pesticide use should be avoided there.

Other human activity. Building homes, trails, and roads in grasslands disrupts the continuity of the plant community and creates edge habitat. These activities should usually be limited to the edges of any grassland being managed for wildlife. Trails and fire lanes are acceptable, provided they are less than twenty feet wide and make up no more than 5% of the grassland. Less is preferable when feasible.

Plant-Species Diversity

The more monotypic your grassland, the less wildlife it will support. An optimum grassland should include several grass species and numerous forbs, including some legumes. The array of plants will attract a wider variety of insects, which in turn will provide greater diversity and abundance of food for birds and animals. There will also be a greater variety of plant foods and seeds throughout the year and a diversity of materials for nest building and cover. No single species of grass or forb should make up more than 80% of the grassland. Better habitat can be created by including more forbs. Remember that the original Illinois prairie land had 100 to 300 species at any given location. Illinois farms and hunting ground for sale.

Successional Stage

Different species need grassy cover at differing successional stages. A few prefer bare ground with little or no vegetation. Some species, such as Bobwhite quail and cottontail rabbits, like fields composed of mostly annual broadleaf plants. But most wildlife thrive in more mature fields dominated by perennial vegetation. The amount of woody vegetation in the grassland also affects usage. Some birds, like the northern harrier, use mature stands of grassland with no woody component, while others, such as the field sparrow, prefer grassy habitat interspersed with scattered woody plants.

Depending on the wildlife management objective for a grassland, disturbance should be applied to provide for a specific successional stage. At a minimum, any grassland should have at least 70% perennial vegetation. If your goal is to manage for animal species that prefer larger grasslands with no trees or shrubs and you have at least thirty to eighty acres of grassland, you should use 100% perennial vegetation. If your goal is to manage for more diversity of wildlife, including species that like some woody cover in the grassland, or if you have smaller tracts of grassland, you can develop a mosaic of parcels that provide a mixture of at least 70% perennial vegetation, with any combination of 0% to 30% bare ground or annual vegetation, and scattered woody cover.

From viceroy butterflies to velvet ants, shooting stars to Silphiums, Don Gardner's prairie is a study in diversity. Don's seven-acre prairie restoration is located southeast of Kempton, in northern Ford County. When his great-grandfather settled nearby land in the 1870s, it was prairie. Dairy cattle were pastured on the land until 1965. While growing up, Don explored along the railroad just west of the property, where he encountered remnant prairie plants such as big bluestem and shooting star. Once he became an adult, his dental career left little time for prairies. Over the years, his unattended ground had become an "old field" -until 1974, when Don began a restoration project. Like his ancestors before him, Don was a pioneer. Prairie restoration was a new adventure, and little information or expertise was available.

Don began gradually, putting in a small plot each year. The plot size was determined by the amount of seed he had collected that year. Don was committed to using only central-Illinois seed, collected within a 125 mile radius of his site, to establish his prairie. For the first three years, weedy annuals were all he could see. It was almost enough to discourage him. But at a prairie conference Don met Dr. Robert Betz of Northeastern Illinois University, and he toured Betz's fledgling restoration, a project that mirrored his own. Returning home, Don inspected his plots more closely and could see little seedlings through the weedy annuals. But the hard work had just begun!

While collecting seeds required the most effort, deciding on a tillage system for his new plots provided a challenge of trial and error. First Don tried moldboard plowing and disking. This method provided a fine seedbed but too much soil disturbance-an explosion of weedy annuals resulted. Don then tried chisel plowing and disking. Finally, he sprayed the area to be planted with Roundup, then lightly harrowed, seeded, harrowed, and rolled. The positive results ended his tillage experimentation.

By 1990, the last of twenty plots of Illinois land had been put in, including two control plots that were never planted but received the same management as the others. The "self-restoration" of these plots was remarkable. Don's maintenance activities include late-winter burning, removal of certain exotic species such as sweet clover, and an early-fall combining to harvest seeds of prairie plants.

Don's prairie has 138 prairie plants native to central Illinois, almost double the 71 before the restoration. In September 1995, Don's prairie qualified for and became included in the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory as a Category V (natural community restoration site) prairie.

Since Don's undertaking, red-tailed hawks, kestrels, dickcissels, meadowlarks, pheasants, and rabbits have increased. To Don, the wildlife is just an added benefit. Would he do it again? "Yes" is the quick reply. "To satisfy my intent, I could have had a garden plot, but I had a curiosity. I wanted more than just a collection of plants-I wanted the whole prairie concept. The prairie is constantly changing. It is a study of succession. Yes, you can have prairie gentians, but not before blackeyed Susans. I have gained an appreciation for the prairie-its ruggedness and its ability to survive."

Structural Components

Structural components, or attributes, like foliage height and density, dictate a grassland's usage by wildlife species. Ring-necked pheasants, for example, prefer thicker grasses such as brome, whereas Bobwhite quail like to nest in old fields with numerous broadleaf plants. Some species, such as the sedge wren, prefer taller grasses, while others, like the vesper sparrow, need short vegetation. Another grassland structural component is litter (dead plant material) from the previous year's vegetation. Some species, like the Henslow's sparrow and many of our native voles, prefer litter for nest building; others, such as the upland sandpiper, need grassy cover without a build-up of thatch. At a minimum, any grassland of more than twenty acres should be divided into ten-acre units, with each unit receiving disturbance only every two or three years. This will provide ample litter on a portion of the grassland while providing a thinner cover on the disturbed portion.

For Illinois landowners who hope to see relatively quick results for their efforts, creating grasslands can be satisfying because the vegetation establishes in one to three years. But proper planning is essential to obtain the most diverse, mature grassland in the least amount of time.

What type of grassland should you develop? There are three types of grasslands you can create:

Cool-season grassy cover --- planting introduced cool-season grasses and legumes
Warm-season grassy cover --- planting native warm-season prairie grasses and forbs
Oldfield cover --- tilling a site or allowing a crop field to go fallow, thus letting colonizing broadleafs and grasses establish
Table 3.3 "Grassland Plant Combinations Primarily for Upland Wildlife Habitat"

Table 3.4 "Native and Non-native grasslands Species: Advantages and Disadvantages"

Table 3.5 "Grassland Seeding Dates for Illinois"

The following sections explain how to choose which grassland or combination is right for you and your site and how to establish them.

What to Plant

Whether you create cool-season or native warm-season grassy cover, there are numerous plant combinations you can use, depending on your objectives and your site conditions. Table 3.3 lists common combinations and planting rates for particular sites, along with wildlife species that prefer each combination. Because cool-season and warm-season plants have such different growing requirements, it is important not to mix plants from the two categories in a planting. Always plant cool-season and warm-season plants separately. Hunting land for sale in Illinois

The best combinations for providing optimum wildlife habitat in the native warm-season category are the forb-grass mixtures. Grass-only covers may be used as shown, but including forbs will elevate the value of a grassland to wildlife considerably. There are an infinite number of forbs that may be used; which ones you choose is determined by your site conditions and your budget. Consult publications listed in "Suggested Reading" at the end of the chapter for more information.

The pros and cons of establishing and maintaining native vs. non-native grasslands are summarized in Table 3.4. If you have several acres, one option might be to develop a combination of types, based on site conditions, budget, and management considerations. However, prairie can comprise 100% of your acreage if it contains a good mix of grasses and forbs. Determine your management objectives in considering the proportions of each type of grassy cover. Since cool-season cover is usually less diverse, consider including a small native prairie or an old field as a companion patch on a portion of your land. Since old fields don't provide nesting and winter cover as adequately as cool- and warm-season Grasslands consider complementing a large old field by planting one or the other.

Establishing native warm-season prairie warrants a special mention. While many of us have experienced planting bluegrass or brome and seeing an almost immediate profusion of seedlings, this is not what happens with native prairie grasses and forbs. Patience is paramount in establishing these native grasslands. One of the characteristics that allowed the prairie to thrive in Illinois' extreme climate is the deep roots of the individual plants. The roots of grasses such as big bluestem and Indian grass often penetrate twelve to fifteen feet into the soil. When a seedling of one of these species emerges, it may remain very small above the ground for the first two years while it does most of its growing below the ground, developing its network of roots. Or an individual plant may develop two or three tall grass blades and a single, stunted seed head the first year and not start to spread laterally until the second or third year. Prairie forbs, too, may not bloom for two to four years after germination.

This should not discourage any Illinois landowner from establishing prairie. If your goal is to establish wildlife habitat that contains native prairie grasses and forbs, do it! But it is important to be aware of prairie plants' growing habits. Don't judge your sparse planting after the first year as a failure. Be patient. Whitetail deer foodplots on Illinois hunting land

Where to Plant

Since more than 60% of the Illinois land now known as Illinois was once prairie, if you live in the northern two-thirds of the state there's a good chance your site was historically prairie or savanna. If your land is flat and contains the rich, black soil of northern, central, or south central Illinois, it was probably prairie. While grasslands were primarily an upland community, there was also prairie in many Illinois floodplain areas. For instance, cordgrass marsh as well as prairie composed of mesic species like big bluestem and switchgrass existed on the floodplains of most major Illinois rivers. Some of the sandy soil regions contained prairie. And many of the steep south- or west-facing bluffs along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers contained hill prairie.

Much of the southern fifth of Illinois, especially the Shawnee Hills, was originally forested, as were many bottomland areas and deep ravines throughout the state. So these types of sites wouldn't be particularly suited to grasslands. Some of the hills in western and northwestern Illinois were also largely forested. Refer to chapter 9 to learn about determining a site's historical plant community. Cool season grasses, warm-season prairie grasses, and old fields will all grow well on historic grassland sites.

Establishment Methods

To successfully establish cool- and warm-season Grasslands follow this sequence of steps: assure proper soil fertility and pH, prepare a good seedbed, seed at the proper dates, use the proper seeding method, and control aggressive weeds.

Soil tests and fertility. Consult your phone directory or local farm agency for details on soil testing. Here is a summary of suggestions for grassland establishment: Take one soil sample (about eight inches deep) for every three to five acres. Based on the test results, make these amendments if needed before or during seedbed preparation:

Add potash to bring the test level to at least 30.
Add potassium to bring the test level to at least 200.
Correct pH to at least 6.2.
Nitrogen is not needed for native grasses during the first two years of establishment, and it is actually detrimental because it spurs growth of weeds that compete with the small grass seedlings. If nitrogen is necessary, do not apply it until the third year after planting a native grassland.

Site preparation. On non-erodible sites with heavy sod, prepare a good seedbed by plowing or using other deep tillage, then destroy new weed seedlings as needed with tillage or contact herbicides until you are ready to plant. On erodible sites, perform all tillage on the contour and leave sufficient surface residue to protect soil. No-till seeding is also an option; it may be preferable on certain sites, such as those that are highly erodible or ones where no-till cropping was used previously and disturbing the soil through plowing would create an onslaught of annual weeds. Check with your local Soil and Water Conservation District office or Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologist if you need advice on site preparation.

Seeding dates. It is essential to follow these seeding guidelines; otherwise the seed won't sprout, or the seedlings that sprout won't survive. Table 3.5 shows the range of seeding dates by species and geographic location.

Seeding methods. Good seed-to-soil contact is essential. Place seed 1/16-inch to 1/4-inch deep with a grassland drill or grain drill with press wheels. A broadcast clover seeder may also be used. If you broadcast the seed, roll or culti-mulch (with the tines up) before and after seeding. It is extremely important not to plant seed too deep. Buy Illinois property

The fluffy seeds of Indian grass and bluestems usually cannot be planted with a conventional drill. A special prairie grass drill is required, and even then it is sometimes necessary to go over the field several times, with periodic stops to feed the seed through the planting tubes. These seeds can be efficiently broadcast by hand on small areas.

Seed may also be mixed and spread with a carrier such as wheat or oats or a dry fertilizer. When using a fertilizer spreader, set it at half rate and go over the field twice, the second time between the previous tire tracks. If mixed with oats or wheat, the grasses may be seeded through a standard grain drill. Use the minimum amount of "carrier" possible. Aggressively control wheat or oat competition by repeated mowing during the first weeks of the establishment period. Mow the wheat and oats before they form seed heads.

Weed control. Control of competing nondesirable grasses and broadleafs is very important to newly established grasslands. Clip weeds above grass seedlings before they grow one foot tall or threaten to shade the new stand. Use a rotary mower; sickle bar cuttings can smother new seedlings. Rake clippings, and remove them if possible to avoid smothering. For warm-season prairie plantings, mowing beyond June is recommended only when tall weeds such as giant ragweed or goldenrod threaten the planting.

Spot spraying of noxious weeds such as musk thistle and Johnson grass can be effective. Herbicides may be used for other problem plants, but you must be extremely careful not to spray adjacent plants or you may eliminate the very grasses or prairie flowers you are working to establish. Johnson grass, a non-native warm-season grass, is present on your site, plant only forbs or legumes until the Johnson grass is eradicated-and be aware that this might take two or three years. Burning does not eradicate Johnson grass-in fact, it responds well to fire.

With careful planning and conscientious establishment procedures, your grassland should provide excellent habitat within two to four years.

Three common methods-mowing, burning, and tilling-exist for maintaining and enhancing grasslands for wildlife. Sometimes grazing can also be used. Each method can be used independently, or they may be used in combination. In addition, your grassland needs to be protected from other disturbances, and the standards for plant-species diversity, successional stage, and structural components need to be met. All of these considerations together form a practice. By heeding the collective importance of all criteria in a practice when managing your grassland, you can be assured that you're providing suitable habitat for wildlife. Deer hunting land in Illinois for sale.

Remember, complete lack of disturbance is not a healthy alternative for our state's grasslands. At least one of these practices should be used for every existing grassland, depending on the type of grassland, the management objective, and the landowner's capabilities.

With all three practices, the most important factors affecting the disturbance's impact on wildlife are timing and amount. These are discussed in detail for each practice.

Grassland Protection with Delayed Mowing

Mowing at the appropriate times can control invasion of woody plants in Grasslands but mowing favors perennial grasses. Forbs, legumes, and annual broadleafs, which all produce abundant seeds for wildlife, will decrease. Grass litter also accumulates with mowing. Mowing can be useful, but if possible it is best done in combination with burning and light tillage.

Avoid mowing any stand of grass between April 1 and August 1, the prime nesting season for most grassland birds. With cool-season grasses, mowing should also not be done between September 15 and February 15 to assure that adequate winter cover remains. If mowing is used instead of burning for managing warm-season grasses, it should be done only in early spring, from February 15 to April.

The exception to these rules is when you are establishing grassy cover, when you may have to mow to control undesirable weeds. Then mow as needed with a rotary mower, although generally not after June in native warm-season grass plantings. Illinois land

Don't mow more than a third of an established stand in any one year. This will provide some undisturbed habitat for wildlife and create a mosaic of different plant heights and densities. Divide the grassland stand into units, and rotate your mowing accordingly. For example, if you have thirty acres, you could divide it into three ten acre management units, mowing each unit once every three years.

Grassland Protection with Prescribed Burning

Fire can be useful for managing cool-season grasslands and is the preferred tool for managing warm-season grasses. However, defining the specific objective for burning and planning before the burn season are both essential to a successful and safe burn. A primary benefit of burning is preventing litter build-up (thatch) in grassy cover. With warm-season cover this helps warm up and dry out the soil faster in the spring and allows the prairie species a longer growing season. These factors are important when you are trying to eliminate competing cool-season invaders that don't thrive in warm, dry conditions. In all types of grassy cover, reducing the thatch level also reduces matting and keeps growing plants more erect. Thinned-out vegetation makes it easier for smaller wildlife species to travel within the cover.

Frequent early-spring burning (March 15 to April 15) can help control woody plants. Burning at the end of this period can also help control and eliminate cool-season problem plants in warm-season grass plantings. But it will also favor the grasses and cause forbs, legumes, and annuals to decrease. Late-winter burning (January 15 to March 15) will benefit diversity in the plant stand, favoring forbs, legumes, cool-season grasses, and annuals, but it will not be as effective in controlling woody plants, except cedar and pine. Hand removal or herbicide treatment may be needed to control woody plants where spring burns are not desired.

Fall burns may be conducted in prairie stands and may be desired on sites that are usually too wet to burn in the spring. Burns done in October or early November can help control or reduce invasion of woody plants and favor forbs. However, fall burning eliminates valuable winter wildlife cover. It is also not recommended on newly established plantings located on steep slopes. Until the grassland has had time to develop its extensive root system, the site could be prone to erosion if a fall burn is conducted.

As with mowing, never burn more than a third of the established grassland acreage in anyone year. This rule is especially important with burning because of the insects that overwinter in grassland plants. Illinois deer hunting property

See the "Suggested Reading" resources at the end of this chapter for information on safely conducting prescribed burns.

Grassland Protection with Tillage

Tillage can be used to thin a grassland that has become too thick or to establish or promote broadleaf plant diversity in a grass stand. Light tillage (less than 25% of the tilled plot) prevents litter build-up and increases legumes and annual plants. Light tillage may not prevent woody plant invasion. Hand removal, herbicide treatment, delayed mowing, or prescribed burning may be used when woody plants need control. Heavy tillage (more than 90% of the tilled plot) controls woody plant invasion, creates bare soil areas, and will convert most cool- and warm-season grassy covers to old field cover. Any amount of tillage may open prairie stands to invasion by weeds and is not a preferred disturbance practice in prairies that already have a high plant diversity. For seedings that are only grass, however, tillage may improve plant diversity. As with mowing and burning, never till more than a third of the established grassland acreage in anyone year, and do not initiate tillage in new areas during the nesting season, between April 1 and August 1. Fall tillage is often recommended.

Grassland Protection with Light Grazing

Light grazing may be a compatible disturbance with wildlife cover, but the qualifier "light" cannot be overemphasized. Bison and elk historically grazed on Illinois' prairie land. Grasslands but the grazing patterns were very random and infrequent at most locations. If you plan to graze a grassland, it should preferably be done outside of the nesting season (April 1 to August 1). However, very light grazing during the nesting season may be done without serious consequences to nesting wildlife. Plant heights of at least twelve inches should be maintained at all times on grazed grasslands. Chapter 6 has recommendations for grassland used primarily for hay and pasture.

Dennis Frey

It's hard to drive by Dennis Frey's Hamilton County farm near Belle Prairie City without taking note. The ninety acres of tall grass-big bluestem and Indian grass-surrounding the family's homesite provide an oasis in the agricultural landscape. Though Dennis is a grain farmer, an early job with the soil conservation service piqued his interest in stewardship. When the district conservationist wanted to establish a prairie in the county, Dennis was on the committee. Their discussions came to mind when it was time to put acreage of his own into the Conservation Reserve Program.

While it appears the grassland was always here, it happened only with a lot of hard work. According to Dennis, the most rewarding part was his first good stand of prairie grass, which didn't appear until three years after he started planting. Dennis began small, putting in only five acres in the first year, and he had to master a different kind of farming. He learned that the prairie grasses needed a fine seed bed, and that after the seed is planted, it should be rolled. Picking the proper date to plant was also important-planting the first or second week in June led to 80% success rate. Illinois land

From that first five acres the grassland on the Frey farm has grown to over ninety acres. As Dennis continued to plant; he interspersed wildlife food plots into the area, and even integrated a wetland. The wet areas became a "field of dreams" for waterfowl, attracting geese, teal, and mallards.

Once established, the grasses have been fairly easy to maintain. Different parcels are burned every year, with the whole cycle completed every four years. "When it burns, what an awesome sight," says Dennis. "The flames are twenty to thirty feet high and it sounds like a train. I can't imagine a thousand acres burning with the wind blowing. What would you do?"

Asked if he would plant his grassland again, Dennis gives a resounding yes! " While I was always interested in wildlife as a kid," he says, "these plantings have given me a greater appreciation of nature. Six coveys of Bobwhite live on the Illinois property, and the grassland provides an escape for Illinois whitetail deer as they bound across the lane to disappear into the grass. Red fox can be seen on the hills, and I even have a beaver dam. Just seeing the wildlife and being able to watch the ducks and birds close-up gives me a great feeling. I also find myself spending more time providing for and watching wildlife than I do hunting."

If he could do it over again, Dennis would plant more prairie forbs and start earlier, but overall he is happy. This is the family property where his father was born and farmed. Now it is Dennis's turn to work their special ground. By his incorporation of a native landscape into a traditional grain farm, Dennis has created a treasured place.

In some cases, existing grasslands can benefit from the addition or introduction of desired plants. This can be achieved in two ways: through interplanting (planting the actual plants) and overseeding (planting seed of desired plants into grassland). A common method of interplanting is to place potted plants or root stock of forbs in sparse areas of an existing prairie. Scattering seed of a desired plant, often a legume or forb, over a newly burned or disked stand of grasses is an example of overseeding. Overseeding and interplanting are usually best done in conjunction with burning and tilling to help temporarily reduce competition for the newly added plants. For seeding legumes like alfalfa and red clover into cool-season stands, tillage is preferred. Till strips in the existing grassland as recommended previously, and broadcast seed into the tilled strips. You can also seed into cool-season stands after burning if the burn is timed to slightly set the grass stand back and provide a head start to the newly seeded legumes.

Seeding or introducing plants into warm-season stands is best done after burning. Remember that burning doesn't kill existing prairie plants, it merely eliminates the tops; so be sure to not interplant into areas saturated with existing plants. If you have an existing stand of thick native warm-season grasses with few forbs, light tillage will not harm the overall grass stand and will be necessary to successfully introduce prairie forbs.

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