Upcoming Fall MN Master Naturalist Class

I've blogged before about these great courses offered by the UM Extension. These 40 hour-coursework- and-field-trip classes equip you to be a more knowledgeable volunteer as well as to understand the natural world around you more deeply,

Graduates of the course can be found assisting at state and city parks, nature centers, doing citizen science and supporting federal refuges, fish hatcheries, forests and parks. In addition we work with kids and adults in nature education, guided hikes (and blogging!) and support of  naturalists and scientists at museums, schools and organizations.

It was a life-changing experience for me - and for many other Master Naturalists I have worked with over the years. 

The Big Woods Big River course that encompasses the Mississippi River and Driftless areas of southeastern MN is offered a couple of times each year. The next scheduled course is in October. Check your calendar, arrange your vacation, save your pennies and learn a ton!

Here's the scoop:

Pine Island Master Naturalist 

Course Registration

Pine Island Master Naturalist Course website

208 N Main St, Pine Island, MN 55963

The Pine Island Master Naturalist course is sponsored by Project Get Outdoors and will introduce participants to the natural history of the Driftless Area through hands-on activities and field trips. Topics include geology, wildlife, native plant communities, ecology, watersheds, human history and ways to share nature with children. Sessions begin at Miss Angie's Place and then move outdoors for immersive tours of local nature areas. All participants complete a small group capstone project to be assigned by the instructor.

The course cost is $295 and includes course manuals and supplies.

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration.

Course Dates:
Meeting from 10:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. on:

Monday, October 13, 2025

Friday, October 17, 2025
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Monday, October 20, 2025
Friday, October 24, 2025
Monday, October 27, 2025
Friday, October 31, 2025
Instructor Information

Sara Holger
Sara has worked as an environmental educator since 1994, leading programs and activities for a variety of natural resource agencies and organizations including the US Forest Service Resort Naturalist Program, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource - MinnAqua Program, the Bell Museum of Natural History, Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, and Olmsted County Parks. From 1999 - 2023, Sara worked as an Interpretive Naturalist for Minnesota State Parks at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park and Whitewater State Park. Sara is the Founder and Program Coordinator for Project Get Outdoors, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides training and resources to help communities implement after school programs that connect low-income youth and children of color to nature exploration.

Sponsor Information
Project Get Outdoors

I Spy on the Trails - June 1-15, 2025

Wild lupine after rain

The two most prominent notes to the past two weeks are diminished air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires and plenty of rain coming through.  I mask up on the trails when the air quality is poor. Predictions are that we will be facing these wildfire air quality alerts throughout the summer.

The rain has kept me in my waterproof hiking boots more often than not when I am on the prairies and grassy trails. It has also brought a Goldberry-washed freshness to many of the flowers and greenery along the trail.

Mosquitoes and a mayfly or two have also popped up. Dragonflies, damselflies and bees are becoming a prominent part of the hiking scene along with other flying pollinators. It's fun trying to catch a picture to identify those swiftly flying insects, but I'll admit to limited success.

As mentioned in a previous post, it was a big year for black locust blooms. Last year was a huge year for wild lupines. The year before, oak trees went…ahem…nuts in a mast year for acorns. It's interesting to track conditions and speculate which environmental factors favor super-bloom years for plant - and animal - life. 

Our temps stayed relatively cool through the first part of June - mostly in the 60s-70s with one or two 80-90s day before storms. Also some 50s…brrr! The tomato plants are longing for some warm days and nights.

In the woods, the rain has been especially kind to fungi growth - mushrooms and fungi are popping up everywhere along the trails. Ferns are also much in evidence in the wet understory. There are far fewer flowers along these forest trails. Nettles and poison ivy are also rambunctious on forest trail sides. So I continue spending the majority of my hiking time in the prairies that show off their rare and wonderful flowers.

June also has been a busy time with the return of many guided learning hikes for kids and adults. I’ll be writing about some of my favorites from this month in upcoming posts.

See you on the trails!

Plant Observations
Flowering/Mature plants:

• alyssum, hoary 

  

  Longleaf summer bluet

• anemone, Canadian
• anemone, candle
• beardtongue, foxglove
• beardtongue, large
• blacksnakeroot, clustered
• bluet, longleaf summer
• buttercup, littleleaf
• camus, mountain death
• carrionflower, smooth
• cinquefoil, tall
• cliffbrake
• columbine
• false indigo bush
• fern, brittle bladder
• fern, bracken
• fern, interrupted
• fern, lady
• fern, maidenhair
• fern, rockcap

  

  Canadian frostweed

• fern, sensitive
• fleabane, prairie
• fleabane, Philadelphia
• four o’clock
• frostweed, Canada 
• golden Alexander
• ground cherry, Virginia
• harebell
• hawkweed
• honewort, Canadian
• horsetail, field
• horsetail, smooth
• indigo, wild white
• Jack-in-the-pulpit
• figwort, lanceleaf
• goat’sbeard, yellow
• hemp, Indian
• indigo, wild white

False Solomon's seal

• lily of the valley, feathery
• lobelia, pale-spiked
• lupine, wild
• milkwort, racemed
• miterwort, figleaf
• nightshade, bitter
• plantain, woolly
• prairie smoke
• puccoon, fringed
• puccoon, hairy (Carolina)
• puccoon, hoary
• rockcress, lyreleaf
• rose, multiflora
• rose, prairie
• rose, smooth
• rose, wood
• salsify, yellow (goatsbeard)
• skullcap, Leonard
• smartweed, water
• starwort, longstalk
• Solomon's seal, false

  

  Ohio spiderwort

• spiderwort, Ohio
• spurge, flowering
• starwort, grass-like
• thimbleweed, tall
• Virginia waterleaf
• wild geranium
• wild strawberry
• yarrow
• yellowcress, creeping

Sprouts/unbloomed/past bloom:

• alumroot, Richard's
• bergamot, wild
• blazing star, rough
• black-eyed susan
• clover, purple prairie
• clover, round-headed bush
• coneflower, grey-headed

  

  Emerging purple coneflower
  Holland Sand Prairie

• coneflower, purple
• coreopsis, prairie
• cup plant
• dwarf-dandelion, two-flowered 
• fleabane, daisy
• garlic, wild
• goldenrod, Canada
• goldenrod, showy
• goldenrod, stiff
• greenbrier, bristly
• hemp, dogbane
• hyssop, anise

Wood betony's complex leaves
Eagles Bluff Park

• ironweed, prairie
• Joe-Pyeweed
• leadplant
• milkweed clasping
• milkweed, common
• milkweed, whorled
• motherwort
• ox-eye daisy
• sagebrush, white
• sagewort, field
• Solomon’s seal, smooth
• toadflax, bastard
• verbena, hoary
• wood betony

Grasses/Sedges:

• brome, downy

  

  Fewanther obscuregrass
  Holland Sand Prairie

• brome, smooth
• junegrass, prairie
• needlegrass, porcupine
• obscuregrass, fewanther
• panicgrass, Scribner’s
• sedge, eastern star
• sedge, eastern woodland
• sedge, troublesome
• wedgescale, prairie

Fungi/Moss/Lichen:

• fungi, crown-tipped coral

  

  Orange mycena fungi
  Hixon Forest

• fungi, orange mycena 
• mushroom, buttercup
• mushroom, golden oyster
• mushroom, hexagonal polypore
• mushroom, pheasantback (dryad's saddle)
• mushroom, pinwheel
• mushroom, scaly inkcap
• mushroom, scarlet elfen cup
• mushroom, stalked scarlet cup

Wildlife Observations (seen, heard, detected)

Birds:

• blackbird, red-winged
• blue jay
• bluebird, eastern
• cardinal, northern 
• catbird, gray
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped 
• cowbird, brown-headed
• eastern towhee
• finch, house
• finch house
• finch, purple
• flicker, northern
• flycatcher, alder
• flycatcher, Arcadian
• flycatcher, great crested
• flycatcher, willow
• gnatcatcher, blue-gray

  

  Indigo bunting - Hixon Forest

• goldfinch, American 
• grosbeak, rose-breasted 
• hawk, broad-winged
• indigo bunting
• junco, dark-eyed
• killdeer
• kingbird, eastern
• kinglet, ruby-crowned
• martin, purple
• meadowlark, eastern
• mockingbird, northern
• oriole, Baltimore 
• oriole, orchard
• osprey
• redstart, American
• robin, American
• sapsucker, yellow-bellied
• sparrow, chipping
• sparrow, clay-colored

  

  Prothonotary warbler
  Wagon Wheel Trail

• sparrow, field
• sparrow, Henslow’s
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, swamp
• swallow, tree
• thrasher, brown
• thrush, wood
• titmouse, tufted
• towhee, eastern
• vireo, Bell's
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, warbling
• vireo, yellow-throated
• warbler, black-and-white
• warbler, Nashville
• warbler, pine
• warbler, prothonotary 
• warbler, yellow
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• woodpecker, red-bellied
• wood-pewee, eastern
• wren, Carolina
• wren, house 
• yellowthroat, common

Waterfowl:

• egret, snowy
• heron, great blue
• swan, trumpeter
• tern, black

Mammals:

• coyote
• deer and her fawn
• squirrel, red

Reptiles/Amphibians:

• turtle, Blandings
• turtle, snapping 
• turtle painted

Insects:

• bee, sweat
• butterfly, little wood satyr

  

  Little wood satyr butterfly
  Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge

• butterfly, pearl crescent 
• butterfly, eastern swallowtail
• butterfly, swallowtail
• butterfly, monarch
• damselfly, bluet
• dragonfly, blue dasher
• dragonfly, twelve spotted skimmer
• mayfly
• mosquito
• moth, eight-spotted forester

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location  of the trails found online

Vetsch/Stoney Point Park, La Crescent, MN; Apple Blossom Overlook Park, Winona County MN; Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI (2);  Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge, Trempealeau WI; Hixon Forest, La Crosse, WI (2); Wagon Wheel Trail, La Crescent MN; Eagle's Bluff Park, La Crescent MN; Bluffside Park, Winona MN  

Narrowing trails after early June rains
Eagles Bluff Park

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

In my favorite monster fern forest
Bluffside Park, Winona MN

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Catching the Prairie Bug

While we are celebrating prairies during National Prairie Day (first Saturday in June), I thought it would be helpful to re-visit and update a past post (originally published in July 2024) about prairie ecosystems in the Driftless.

For people who know me, it's no surprise that I've "caught the prairie bug." Two years ago, as part of my MN Master Naturalist training hours, I went on a guided hike sponsored by The Prairie Enthusiasts and the Friends of the Blufflands. That hike - to see three prairie remnants in the "string of pearls" prairies in upper Hixon Forest in La Crosse  - absolutely ignited my passion for these amazing fire-dependent ecosystems. 

The Driftless area is home to many remnant prairies nestled at the tops of bluffs, steeply dropping along the southwest bluff slopes and on the dry sand prairies surrounding the Mississippi River.  During the summer, these lovely prairie remnants are alive with native flowers, grasses, pollinators and other insect and wildlife. Each visit throughout the summer months is a feast of beauty and discovery. 

Looking down at the steep restored Lookout Prairie,
 a goat prairie at Hixon Forest
Image - Larry Sleznikow

Sand prairie wild lupines 
Trempealeau (WI) Wildlife Refuge

There are two main types of prairies in the Driftless area. They are both fire dependent ecosystems. 

Goat prairies - also known as hill, dry or bluff prairies - are what you often see on blufftops or steep south, southwest-facing slopes.  The steepness leads to the name - so steep only the goats could use it. 

Sand prairies are found on sand deposits surrounding the Mississippi River, especially in the La Crosse and Prairie du Chien areas of WI, MN and IA.

Heading up Rush Creek (WI) goat prairie

Our Driftless prairie remnants are thousands of years old. How did they survive the influx of agriculture that swept through the places where Europeans colonized? 

Many of the goat prairie remnants made it because they were too steep to be farmed or grazed, had very few trees and were very dry. In fact, during a time of drought in the last twenty years, prairie seekers were able to identify additional remaining remnants by driving along looking for green areas in the drought-stricken Driftless. Those green places were often dry sand and goat prairies where the plants thrived in those conditions. 

Up until the last two hundred years or so, these fire-dependent ecosystems were the dominant feature of the Driftless area. 

Looking at historic drawings from the 1800's, one sees the tall grass prairies of the southwest-facing slopes of the bluffs with occasional scrub oaks rather than the heavily forested bluffs of today. The only forests tended to be on the north slopes. Frequent fires set by indigenous people or produced naturally kept the prairies open and free of woody plants. Once settlers came in and fires were suppressed, the forests took over these habitats.

Note the unforested  bluffs
Watercolor of ‘Wabasha’s Village on the Mississippi River
Painted ca.1845 by Seth Eastman. Photo: MN Historical Society
Source: The Driftless: the land and the humans. February 1, 2021

The loss of burning to control woody plants has resulted in ever-shrinking remnants. One of the most pernicious woody plants is red cedar (sometimes referred to as the "green glacier") which is tenacious and spreads broadly across the remnants that are left. In order to have a healthy prairie, removal of trees like red cedar and prescribed burning on a regular basis is necessary. 

The burning also allows new growth of healthy flowering plants with the newly open soil. Grasses and thatch build up before a burn. After burns, flowering forbs can emerge with new vigor, continuing to strengthen the diversity of the remnant.

Today, less than .01% of these original prairies are left. They store carbon and the deep-rooted plants hold the soil. These remnants are a wild mix of rare native grasses, flowers and abundant prairie-dependent insect and wildlife. It's estimated that there are over 100 plants that are unique to these prairie ecosystems and over 1000 insects that are dependent on prairie plants. So each saved prairie remnant is a biodiversity celebration.

Here on the right are just a few of the lovely prairie forbs that show this rarity and diversity. 

Clockwise from left: Lead plant is an indicator of a healthy prairie. They can live to be up to 100 years old, with deep roots.

The narrowleaf milkweed and whorled milkweed are two of many milkweed species that can be appreciated.

Mountain death camus is named for it's toxicity to humans and livestock.

The small Leonard skullcap is a delicate, incredibly intricate 1cm flower found on short stalks - they are  easy to miss and a delight to find.

The original prairies had topsoil that was on average 15" deep - or more. They were literally "old-growth sod," as Jon Rigden has referred to them. The deep-rooted native forbs and grasses anchored the soil and their breakdown built it as well. When converted to agricultural uses, the many farmed areas eventually eroded to a mere 2-3" of topsoil. 

My very first "aha" learning moment on this came during my MN Master Naturalist volunteer training. We were learning the history of the Whitewater MN area bluffs area. The destruction of the steep bluff slopes occurred when prairies were replaced with farm fields. Neither wheat nor corn roots could hold the slopes. The erosion was massive and the run-off choked the river.  Occasional floods became so frequent that the community of Beaver MN was basically flooded out and lost its population and economic base. No one would buy existing properties. The state of MN came in and bought the land and it eventually became part of Whitewater State Park and Wildlife Management Area. 

Above is a graphic on the floor of the Visitor Center at Whitewater (MN) State Park. It compares the root length of native prairie forbs and grasses with agricultural plants (the two on the left). The long native plant roots hold the soil on steep slopes far better than crops.

We are fortunate to have so many people concerned with prairie restoration. Thanks to groups like The Prairie Enthusiasts (TPE), Friends of the Blufflands, Mississippi Valley Conservancy and other conservation- and restoration-minded groups, individuals and agencies, these amazing remnants are being restored and maintained in many places in the Driftless. Prescribed fires, invasives control and removal (buckthorn, red cedar, honeysuckle, black locust, roundleaf bittersweet are among the invasives), seed saving and broadcasting and carefully planned forest management in surrounding forests done by these groups have created a strong archipelago of prairies throughout the blufflands regions. 

They are always looking for volunteers to help, so please contact them or consider joining their organizations.

A lush prairie full of grasses, forbs, pollinators - and people!
Hixon Forest's Zoerb Prairie

For additional information, stop by for a listen to WDRT, Viroqua's community radio station Conversations show with TPE's Jim Rogala and TPE/Friend of the Blufflands Jon Rigden from June 5, 2025. They explore the concept of prairies and the work of the Prairie Enthusiasts and Friends of the Blufflands. This conversation finds its way into this post as well. Thank you Jim and Jon!

For a list of suggested summer prairie hikes to help you catch the prairie bug, please stop here.

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

 Brownsville Bluff (MN) in May
Image - Kris Lawson

It’s Prairie Hiking Season!!

Zoerb Prairie, Upper Hixon Forest

Now that we've officially entered the summer season, I start to say goodbye to the riot of spring ephemerals in the woods. They are beginning to fade and die back and their variety and blooms will lessen as temperatures rise. They have been replaced by the vibrant greens of the summer forest floor.

Luckily, we are fortunate to live in a region with many prairies of various kinds - from fairly flat, dry sand prairies that are easily accessed to hike, to blufftop prairies remnants you earn with a significant gain in elevation to goat or hill side prairies that are extremely steep and challenging.

Here are a few of my favorite prairie hikes to check out as we get ready to celebrate National Prairies Day on Saturday June 7. You can click on the title for hike descriptions/locations.

Goat/Hill Prairies

Hixon Forest Prairies, La Crosse WI - moderate to difficult

A literal  prairie "string of pearls," on this hike take you to numerous goat prairies (and spectacular views) in various stages of restoration thanks to TPE, Friends of the Blufflands and the city. You can reach the closest three prairies by doing a 2.3 mile loop or extend the hike to reach Vista and Stry prairies to the east. The hiking to the first three prairies have ups and downs but is relatively moderate.

"String of Pearls"prairies in yellow
City of La Crosse Park and Recreation map

Great River Bluff State Park, Nodine MN - moderately easy

The King's Bluff trail is notable for its fine hill prairies along its route. From pasque flowers in the early spring all the way through the asters of fall, the prairies here never disappoint. Restoration work is ongoing at this state park and SNA. And of course, the views of the Mississippi River and Queen's bluff at the end of the out-and-back trail is worth the price of your MN annual park sticker. This has some hilly sections but is considered moderately easy.

Norwegian Ridge Nature Trail, Spring Grove MN - moderate

A great spot for birding and and woods walk, there is also a large prairie that you can walk through with abundant flowers and grasses. There are a few climbs along the trails but they are broken up by gorgeous scenery and many birdsongs. 

Appleblossom Overlook Park, Winona MN - moderately easy

This county park just 2 miles north of La Crescent is a former apple orchard. While it has forested areas and views, it also features a large swath of restored prairie pollinator plantings on the southwestern half of the trails. Butterflies and dragonflies abound on this slightly hilly trail along with prairie forbs and grasses. 

Perrot State Park - Trempealeau WI - difficult

Brady's bluff trail takes you through a large steep goat prairie south of the shelter at the top. Flowering spurge is quite prominent but sharp-eyed hikers will spot other prairie stalwarts on the steep slope. 

Dry Sand Prairies

Holland Sand Prairie

Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI  - easy

This Mississippi Valley Conservancy property near the edge of a subdivision is a riot of prairie plants. Regular prescribed burns makes this tract one of the best destinations for frequent return trips to see the constant carpets of ever-changing , blooming prairie plants. Easy.

Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge, Trempealeau WI - easy

While best known for it's migratory birds and wetlands, the refuge has a spectacular trail that hugs a series of old sand dunes and is a riot of dry sand prairie forbs and grasses. The hills in late May to early June are carpeted in blue wild lupines but any time in the summer you can find colorful prairie plants on this flat trail suitable for any ability. 

Upper Mississippi River National Fish & Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Onalaska WI - easy

Located at N5727 County Rd Z, Onalaska, WI on Brice Prairie, the "trails begin at the visitor center and wind through a restored sand prairie. Paved pathways lead from the visitor center to the Lake Onalaska Overlook, connecting to longer packed gravel loops along the way. Plenty of native prairie plants provide year round color and are a-buzz with wildlife from late spring through fall. Outdoor restrooms are available year round." This is always a beautiful and well-maintained prairie. 

Borah Creek Prairie SNA, Fennimore WI - moderate to challenging.

This sand prairie in southwest WI stretches over acres. There are few trails but walking right into the prairie itself reveals an ever-changing variety of forbs, grasses, birds and insects.  

Bluff-top Mini-Remnant Prairies

These lovely little jewels are a reward at or near the top of bluff hikes. While small, they are stunning in their variety, full of rare and familiar native plants. They are seldom burned or maintained so can be overgrown but are rewarding for the welcome pops of color when coming out from forest trails. These hikes are usually difficult due to steep elevation changes

South Park's goat prairie, Houston

• Vetsch Park's Stoney Point, La Crescent MN - moderately difficult

• South Park, Houston MN - difficult

• Maglessen Bluff - Rushford MN - easy from park top

• Beaver Creek Valley State Park , Hole-in-the-Rock Trail- Caledonia MN - moderately difficult

• Yellow River State Forest, Luster Heights Unit - Harper's Ferry, IA - easy

• Yellow River  State Forest, Paint Rock Unit - Harper's Ferry, IA - difficult

• Greens Coulee/Savannah Oaks, Onalaska WI - difficult

• Wildwood Trail, Holzinger Trails - Winona MN - easy

• Reno Quarry Trail - Reno, MN - moderate

• Whitewater State Park (especially Dakota Trail and Eagle Point trails), Altura MN - difficult

Bluff-top Flat Prairies

These prairies are fairly large and found at the top of bluffs.

• Easter Road Hass Conservancy, La Crosse WI - moderate to difficult
• Upper Hixon Forest Thompson Prairie Loop - County FA, La Crosse WI - easy

Pollinator Gardens

I am including some planted "pollinator gardens" because they boast a stunning variety of prairie forbs, grasses and pollinating insects - and a few provide more accessible hikes for all abilities.

Eastern tiger swallowtail

Vetsch Park, La Crescent MN - easy

A huge swath of pollinator plants (and insects) greet you at the parking lot of this park. You can follow the easy, sunny, mowed trails suitable for anyone of any ability. If you want to see a small remnant hill prairie, head up the spiderweb of trails to the top at Stoney Point for delicate wildflowers and prairie plants clinging to the hillside.

Mathy Quarry, La Crosse WI -easy

This Mississippi Valley Conservancy and City of La Crosse property has some great restored pollinator prairies full of insect and bird life. Trails can be hilly but one or two are flatter and bring you up to great views on your way to and from the pollinator prairies.

Shelby Butterfly Gardens, Shelby WI - moderate to difficult

These scout-project gardens sit atop a bluff. While not continuously maintained and so are a bit rough with some invasives, there are still abundant flowers and insect life that await you at the end of your bluff climb.

Lake Park pollinator gardens

Lake Park Walk Pollinator Gardens, Winona MN - easy

Along the north shore of East Lake, there are a number of shoreline pollinator gardens with a variety of native prairie flower blooms from spring to fall. The paved asphalt makes this path accessible for any ability.

Whitewater State Park, Altura MN - easy

The Meadow Trail (first parking lot on your left if coming in from the south) has a robust sand prairie combined with stream views and rock wall views as you cross footbridges and wander this area. Very easy and flat.

Identifying prairie flowers- Hass Conservancy
Image - Kris Lawson

I hope you can head out and enjoy some prairie beauty this summer and fall. Be sure to let me know in comments what other prairies you know about. I'd love to hike them and tell everyone. To read more about remnant prairies, please stop here.

See you on the trails!

All images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Naturalist’s Corner - A Black Locust Super Bloom?

Have you noticed the sudden appearance of clusters of white trees in the usual greens of the Driftless bluffs? What’s up? That’s what I said too. I can't recall seeing this phenom in black locust trees other years. Why the sudden proliferation of blossoms? Derrick Mayoleth to the rescue! He wrote an informative post on his Skillet Creek Media Facebook page about what’s up with this very subject. Derrick writes (and photographs and films) extensively on the Dells and Baraboo Hills area of WI where the Driftless area ends and both moraines and unglaciated geological formations tower.  He explores and celebrates the incredible landscapes, trails, parks and opportunities and loves connecting people with nature via education, respectful discussion and inspiring visuals of Wisconsin's beauty. You can also find him at Skillet Creek Photography.  This column is reprinted with permission from his June 2, 2025 Skillet Creek Media Facebook post.

Image - Skillet Creek Media

A Forest Super Bloom?

I’ve heard a lot of comments recently about the white trees everywhere. We’ve all seen plenty of white-flowering trees around Wisconsin, but this year feels different. Some folks are concerned when they see clumps of white trees in the distance. Others are just curious.

You may have seen my story post yesterday, where I said these little islands of white on the hills look just like Minecraft’s Creaking Forest. And honestly, they do. 😉

What we’re seeing could almost be called a “superbloom” of black locust trees. And if you were concerned, you’re not wrong to be. But maybe the reason isn’t what you thought.

Black locust trees are invasive here in Wisconsin. Once established, they can invade forests, upland prairies, old pastures, and roadsides. They spread aggressively by cloning themselves in tight clusters, suckering out from underground roots. In fact, if their roots are damaged, they often spread even faster.

The Wisconsin DNR tells us that neither cutting nor girdling is effective on its own. Burning and mowing can temporarily slow the spread, but long-term, those methods can actually make things worse. I’ll drop a couple of links in the comments if you want to learn more about control efforts.

So why are they standing out so much this year?

Black locust blossoms
Image -Marge Loch-Wouters

Well, the spring weather has been perfect for them. When black locusts get just the right mix of sun and rain, and dodge any late-season frost, they can go a little wild. This seems to be one of those years.

On the upside, their pea-like flowers are beautiful. Black locust blossoms have a sweet, floral scent, often compared to a mix of orange blossom, honey, grape candy, and freshly cut hay. The fragrance really kicks in on warm, humid days.

So no, our forests aren’t dying. But they are being quietly invaded by a showy, fragrant outsider. How’s that for mixed messaging?

Additional Resources:

About Invasive Black Locust - https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/BlackLocust

More from the US Forest Service - https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/Robinia-pseudoacacia.shtml

It’s a white-out!
Image - Marge Loch-Wouters

I Spy on the Trails - May 16-31

Yellow lady-slipper
Bass Hollow (WI) SNA

Not that I get stuck on the weather...

...but I get stuck on the weather! In these unusual climate-change-fueled times, it's hard not to be aware of how far off the norm we get each month. 

After a warm start to May, our second half swung cooler - and downright cold some days. We had an average of 50-60s for daytime temps most days, all redeemed by gorgeous weather in the 70s Memorial Day weekend (now THAT's unusual!). 

We also had four days of good rain. How do I know? Those are my days to catch up on volunteer work, blogging, reading, cooking, cleaning and other home-ly inside tasks and fun. I welcome them because, if it's nice, I'm on the trails, pursuing fleeting ephemerals, migrating birds and anything else nature has to offer. 

The two weeks ended with an air quality alert because of smoke from Canadian wildfires affecting southeast MN along with other northern tier states. If you see haze from fire far off, that same air surrounds you as well. If you do go outdoors on the trails, wear a mask to protect your lungs. You can read about hiking and wildfires here.

Now, what have I been spying as I hike….

Nothing but green!
South Park, Houston MN

The woods and prairies are bursting with wildflowers. Trails are once again shaded. The forest floors are lush with the expansive greens of ferns, mosses and multiple leafy forbs like snakeroot, sweet cecily  - and poison ivy and nettles (so the cooler temps keeping me in long sleeves and pants are welcome).

The prairies are beginning to put on a real show. I'll be sharing some of my favorite prairie hikes next week.

I've especially appreciated spending time the last two weeks on two spring-burned prairies to revel in the vigorous growth popping up so quickly after the burns. Holland Sand Prairie has wild lupine, hoary puccoons, prairie smoke and groundsel galore in the newly burned areas. 

Leonard's skullcap
Brownsville Bluff (MN)

Brownsville Bluff (hiked with permission and accompanied by co-owner Laurie Arzaga) has scads of Leonard's Skullcap flowers populating the newly burned area along with many violet wood-sorrels. On the way to the newly growing burned area, we were surrounded by hoary puccoons and delicate prairie blue-eyed grass and yellow star grass. 

Finally, I spent a fair amount of time during these two weeks doing our own tame-gardening work around the house - putting in herb and veggie gardens, cleaning up weeds, trimming overambitious  native plants in the gardens and laying down 8 yards of mulch. I always consider these tasks my Ent-wife work and, though it needs doing, it's hard to give up my Entish trail days in the wild.

I hope you can head out before the real heat hits and fades the last of woody ephemerals. See you on the trails!

Plant Observations
Flowering/Mature plants:

• alyssum, hoary
• anemone, Canadian
• anemone, candle (tall) 
• anemone, rue
• anemone, wood

  

  Bear corn fungi

• bear corn
• bittercress, Pennsylvania
• bladderfern, bulblet
• bladderfern, lowland
• bluebells, Virginia
• buttercup, bristly
• buttercup, hooked
• buttercup, little leaf
• cecily, sweet
• cinquefoil common
• cheatgrass
• cliffbrake
• cohosh, blue
• columbine
• cutleaf sawtooth
• dewberry, northern
• fern, bracken

  

  Silvery glade fern
  Parfrey’s Glen SNA

• fern, goldie's wood
• fern, intermediate wood
• fern, interrupted
• fern, lady
• fern, maidenhair
• fern, marginal wood
• fern, marsh
• fern ostrich
• fern, rattlesnake
• fern, rockcap
• fern, sensitive
• fern, silvery glade
• fern, Spinulose wood
• fleabane Philadelphia 
• fleabane, prairie
• geranium, wild
• golden Alexander
• grass, prairie blue-eyed

  

  Yellow star-grass
  Brownsville Bluff
  
  

• grass, yellow star 
• ground cherry
• groundsel, prairie
• harebell
• horsetail
• Jack-in-the-pulpit
• indigo, wild cream
• lady-slipper, yellow
• lupine, wild
• mayapple
• mayflower, Canada
• miterwort, two-leaf (bishop's cap)
• orchid, rattlesnake plaintain

  

  Showy orchis
  Frontenac State Park

• orchid, showy
• panicgrass, Scribner's
• phlox
• plantain, Robin's
• prairie smoke
• puccoon, fringed
• puccoon, hoary
• pussytoes, field
• pussytoes, Parlin's
• ramps
• raspberrry, dwarf
• rockcress, lyreleaf
• rockcress, smooth
• rose, multiflora
• rue, early meadow
• rue, woodland
• saxifrage, swamp

  

  Lyreleaf rockcress and harebells
  Image - Kris Lawson

• sedge, eastern rough
• sedge, eastern star
• sedge, Pennsylvania
• sedge, seersucker
• skullcap, Leonard's
• skunk cabbage
• rattlesnake root, clustered black
• Solomen's seal
• Solomen's seal, false
• sorrel, sheep
• sorrel, violet, wood
• spurge, flowering
• spurge, leafy
• spiderwort
• spring beauty
• squirrel corn
• starflower
• sweet cecily
• thimbleweed, tall
• toadflax, bastard
• toothwort, cutleaf
• trillium, nodding (wake-robin)

  

  Bloody butcher trillium
  Eagles Bluff Park

• trillium, prairie (bloody butcher)
• trillium, white
• trout lily, white 
• violet, American dog
• violet, birdfoot
• violet, wood
• violet, yellow forest
• waterleaf, Virginia
• wild geranium
• wild ginger
• wild sasparilla 
• strawberry, wild
• wintercress, common
• wood betony

Sprouts/unbloomed/past bloom:

• alumroot, American
• aster, large-leaf
• aster, silky
• beardtongue (penstmon)
• bloodroot
• carrionflower, greenbrier
• camus, death
• cinquefoil, sulphuric
• cinquefoil, tall
• coneflower, purple
• coreopsis, prairie (stiff tickseeed)
• Dutchman's breeches
• four o’clock, wild
  

  

  Frog orchid
  Brownsville Bluff

• goldenrod, Canada
• goldenrod, showy
• goldenrod, stiff
• goldenrod, zigzag
• hepatica, sharp-lobed
• jewelweed
• leadplant
• lily, wood,
• milkweed, common
• milkweek, green
• milkweed, whorled
• monkshood, northern blue
• orchid, frog
• rattlesnakeroot, white
• sagebrush, white
• sunflower, few-leaf
• verbena, hoary
• wormwood, field
• yarrow

Fungi/Moss/Lichen:

• fungi, bear's corn
• fungi, witch’s butter
• liverwort, great scented
  

  

  Witch's butter fungi
  Bass Hollow SNA

• moss, delicate fern
• moss, hair
• moss, haircap
• moss, juniper haircap
• spleenwort, ebony
• thyme-moss, woodsy
• mushroom, hexagonal polypore
• mushroom, oyster
• mushroom, pheasantback  (dryad's saddle)
• mushroom, scarlet elfin cap 
• mushroom, spring polypore
• mushroom, violet-toothed polypore

Wildlife Observations (seen, heard, detected)

Birds:

• bluejay
• cardinal, northern
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped
• cowbird, brown-headed
• cuckoo, yellow-billed
• flycatcher, Arcadian
• flycatcher, blue-gray
• flycatcher, great crested
• flycatcher, least
• goldfinch, American
• grosbeak, rose-breasted
• Indigo bunting
• mockingbird, northern 
• nuthatch, white-breasted
• oriole, Baltimore
• oriole, orchard
• ovenbird
• pewee, eastern wood
• redstart, American
• robin, American 
• sparrow, chipping
• sparrow, clay-colored

  

  Baltimore oriole
  Frontenac State Park

• sparrow, field
• sparrow, song
• swallow, barn
• tanager, scarlet
• thrasher, brown
• thrush, wood
• titmouse, tufted
• towhee, eastern
• vireo, Bell’s
• vireo, blue-headed
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, warbling
• vireo, yellow-throated
• warbler, black-and-white
• warbler, blackpoll
• warbler, blue-winged
• warbler, Tennessee
• warbler, yellow
• wild turkey
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• woodpecker, red-bellied
• wren, Carolina
• wren, house
• yellow-bellied sapsucker
• yellow- billed cuckoo
• Vireo, Bell’s
• vireo, blue-headed
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, yellow-throated
• yellowthroat, common

Waterfowl:

• Canada goose
• egret, snowy
• heron, great blue
• mallard
• pelican
• swan, trumpeter on her nest

Amphibians/Reptiles:

Wood frog
Image- Kevin Gilmartin

• timber rattlesnake
• wood frog

Insects:

Honeybees

• bee, honey
• butterfly, blue azure
• butterfly, eastern swallowtail
• butterfly, monarch
• butterfly, mourning cloak
• grasshopper, green-legged spur-throated

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

 

Bass Hollow SNA

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location  of the trails found online

Bass Hollow State Natural Area, Mauston WI; Frontenac State Park, Frontenac MN; Eagle's Bluff Park, La Crescent MN; Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI (2); Duck Egg County Forest, Vernon Co (WI), Brownsville Bluff, Brownsville MN; South Park, Houston, MN, Devil's Lake Park, Baraboo WI; Parfrey's Glen SNA, Baraboo WI; Abelman's Gorge, Rock Spring, WI

Parfrey’s Glen
Image - a sister hiker

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Ancient sand ripples in quartzite
Abelman’s Gorge SNA

Images, unless noted -Marge Loch-Wouters