Forestry

Events

Trash Blast - Alexander County

May 2, 2025

County

Alexander

Johnson

Pulaski

Massac

Union

Illinois Invasive Species Symposium

May 28, 2025

Trash Blast - Hardin County

June 6, 2025

County

Hardin

Alexander

Massac

Pulaski

Johnson

Union

Master Naturalist Volunteer Program

June 9, 2025 - July 28, 2025

Blog Posts

The Hidden Dangers of Sharing Firewood: Protecting Our Trees

November 8, 2024

If there is one certainty for all humans is that we are drawn to natural elements. Two of the best examples are how we can become transfixed when...

Rooted for natural carbon storage

September 17, 2024

Trees in neighborhoods enhance our environment by creating beautiful green landscapes, providing climbing fun for kids, and offering us shade on...

The urban forest is a climate tool for all

August 22, 2024

I’m walking through a central Illinois neighborhood in mid-May this spring. The temperature is 92 degrees Fahrenheit, one degree shy of the record,...

Norway Maple Woes: Why it’s on my Do Not Plant list

July 5, 2024

We are stuck with the trees planted by those who came before us. At least I am at my house. Mostly because they are so expensive to cut down. One...

More Blogs

News Releases

a speaker address the audience at forestry conference

April 2, 2025

Sold-out conference addresses cross-state forestry challenges, points to solutions
DUBUQUE, Iowa — Forest owners voted with their feet this year, selling out the 26th Tri-State Forest Stewardship Conference weeks before its March 1 event date. More than 300 participants packed the Grand River Conference Center in Dubuque.The rise in attendance makes one thing clear:...

February 10, 2025

New agroforestry maps plot environmental, social, and economic benefits of trees
URBANA, Ill. — There’s a longstanding attitude in many farming communities that trees and agriculture don’t mix. But agroforestry — the intentional integration of trees and shrubs in agricultural systems, such as planting trees as windbreaks, integrating trees on pastures, or growing tree crops...

A man pours sap from a metal pot to another container outside

February 11, 2025

Maple syrup season is a short, sweet window of opportunity for tapping into trees
SIMPSON, Ill. — Maple syrup is a one-ingredient food. Only one thing goes into making it: the sap of maple trees collected in early spring. Every year in late January, the University of Illinois Extension...

February 5, 2025

Illinois Extension invites forest landowners to attend tri-state forestry conference
URBANA, Ill. — The Tri-State Forest Stewardship Conference has a 25-plus-year tradition of providing great information and resources to forest landowners in the Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin tri-state area. It has been one of the largest conferences for forest landowners in the Midwest....

More News

Videos

Making Maple Syrup - A Basic Introduction

Explore the basics of all of the steps involved in making maple syrup as Extension Forester Chris Evans walks through the maple syrup production process at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in southern Illinois.