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Natural Resource Management, Inc.

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Beecher, IL
Natural Resource Management, Inc.

An ecological restoration firm in NE Illinois specializing in habitat restoration and shoreline stabilization.

04/01/2026

What prevents trees from burning down during a burn?

All native tree species in illinois have some way to handle fire due to how prevalent it was on our landscape. The most common defense trees have against fire is thick bark that prevents the fire from burning it. In addition to this most trees will do something called self pruning where they purposefully drop their lower dead branches so the fire cannot creep vertically up the tree. In this video this oak had fallen exposing its inner wood to our burn. You can even notice how it is burning from the inside out where the inner wood is far more flammable than the bark.

Video: stump burning down

07/25/2025

Flower Friday!

White false indigo (Baptisia Alba) is a native upland flower to Illinois prairies. False indigo has a deep root system with some more than 3 feet deep. This allows False indigo to survive prairie burns as the root system survives and regrows after a burn. In addition this deep root system allows it to reach water far below the surface making it resistant against drought. False indigo is in the bean family and have beans as seeds. False indigo is vital to a wide variety of insects like pollinators and also the wild indigo weevil. The wild indigo weevil is a beetle that often uses the seeds of wild indigo to reproduce. What these beetles do is lay their eggs within the seed pods of false indigo and when they hatch the larvae eat the beans and seeds of the indigo to grow up.

Image 1: The flower of false indigo
Image 2: A false indigo plant
Image 3: Seed pods

04/11/2025

Tools of the trade!
A flapper is a tool used to control small fires when on a burn. A flapper is a thick rubber mat attached to a long handle that allows its user to smother flames from a distance. This is used on burns to put out small fires that could potentially creep out of our burn area. Most importantly a flapper doesn’t require any water. On a burn water is the most important resource we have as it is the best way to put out a fire. Using a flapper allows us to conserve water saving it in case larger fires need to be dealt with. In most cases very little water is used on a burn and it is kept just in case it is needed.

Video : using a flapper to put out small flames

03/19/2025

Burn highlights!

NRM conducted over 100 acres of burns this spring. These burns are vital to allow nutrients recycling into the soil. Additionally these burns kill off trees preventing them from overtaking our prairies. Many of the burned areas have already begun to leaf out encouraged by the surplus of nutrients and extra sunlight reaching the ground.

03/05/2025

Tools of the trade!
In order to safely control burns it is important to have the proper tools to start and manage fires. One such tool is the drip torch. A drip torch is a tool used in order to start our prairie burns. The torch has fuel inside but is specially designed so that the fire cannot get into the fuel tank which would cause it to explode. The drip torch has a wick on the end that soaks in fuel and burns when lit on fire. As the drip torch is turned upside down fuel drips from the tank past the wick catching fire as it travels towards the ground. This allows us to drop a line of fire exactly where we want it when starting a prairie burn.

Photo: a drip torch
Video: drip torch being used to light grass

08/31/2024

It’s flower Friday!

What is a flower? Flowers are actually the ways that flowering plants reproduce. Flowers are generally divided into two sections the stamen and the carpel. The stamen is responsible for producing the male gamete which is known as pollen. The carpel is the female part of the flower that houses the ovaries. Flowers need something to bring the pollen to their ovaries in order to reproduce but, plants can’t move. Instead a lot of flower rely upon pollinators. Many flowers will produce sweet nectar to attract pollinators. As the pollinators go from flower to flower eating nectar they unknowingly gather pollen and spread it to other flowers. Pollen can also be spread by wind when pollinators aren’t used. Flowers are required for flowering plants to reproduce so most plants have them. Even our native tall grasses in Illinois have flowers. They just don’t look like what you would commonly associate with the bright colored flowers in a garden.

Image 1: Black eyed Susan
Image 2: Canada goldenrod
Image 3: Indiana grass with its flowers on top of the stems

05/10/2024

The return of flower Friday!

This Friday’s flower is the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Black-eyed Susan’s are yellow flowers with a black center. This black center is considered the “eye” and is where the name originates from. Black-eyed Susan’s are important plants used in restoring prairies. When converting farm fields back to prairies it is very important to seed the area with a mix of plants, so that you have healthy diversity. Black-eyed Susan’s are often incorporated in this mix but not actually for diversities sake. Many prairie plants spend a few years as rosettes as they focus first on growing their extensive root system. Black-eyed Susan’s however grow quickly giving us a visual of where the seed went down. If we find areas with no black-eyes Susan’s we then know that area was missed for seeding. Most importantly black-eyed Susan’s will quickly be outcompeted by the native prairie plants and they don’t prevent the more valuable species from growing.

Image 1: close up of a black-eyed Susan
Image 2: clump of black- eyed Susans

04/15/2024

Spring is here and so are the mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum). Mayapples are an early spring plant that typically grows in colonies as they share the same root system. Mayapples have a distinctive umbrella shaped leaf and grow in the understory of woodland areas. As the name would suggest the mayapple produces fruit that generally ripens in late may. Despite being called apples however the leaves and unripened fruits are poisonous. The ripe fruit however is not poisonous and can be made into a jam.

Image 1: Mayapple colony

03/14/2024

What is a prairie?

Prairies are defined as large areas of open grassland and forbs that have little to no trees. It is this lack of trees that makes prairies so unique in terms of ecosystems. In ecology every ecosystem is given a climax ecosystem that in theory the environment will turn into if left alone. In Illinois our climax ecosystems are oak, hickory forests. The reason we are the prairie state is because of fires. Fires create a disturbance which prevents the ecosystem from becoming a climax forest leaving us the praries that we have.

Image 1: Open prairie
Image 2: Prairie fire

01/23/2024

If you’re cold they’re cold, maybe don’t let them in though. Mice are a vital part of Illinois ecosystem. Mice make up the bottom of the food chain and provide food for many of our wildlife. Snakes, coyotes, and hawks are a few of Illinois predators that feed on mice. In winter mice build nest in whatever shelter they can find. Sometimes that is underground or in this case a rotted stump that has a hollow center. From their nest mice create a series of tunnels that allow them to travel beneath the snow to food supplies. Many predators have adapted ways to identify mice underneath this snow whether it’s the owls who can hear their heartbeat, or the fox that can sense their vibrations through the snow.

Image 1: Mouse hiding inside a rotting stump.

01/01/2024

Happy new years!
This year NRM’s new year resolution is to plant more native plants. In Illinois less than 0.01% of our native prairies remain. So whether it’s a new tree or some native grasses any little bit helps restore our ecosystems.

Image 1: prairie

12/25/2023

Happy holidays from NRM!!

Images: An eastern screech owl in a wreath.

Birds via Wings And Talons

Address

PO Box 702
Beecher, IL
60401

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

(708) 935-2100

Website

http://www.nrmecological.com/

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