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Thanks to work done over the weekend in honor of Earth Day, oak forests across the Baraboo Hills will cover more ground once young saplings reach maturity in 20 to 30 years.

“In about six years, you’ll really notice a difference,” said organizer Karina Cardella of the Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin.

The Nature Conservancy held a tree planting event Saturday on a nine-acre plot of its Baxter’s Hollow preserve southwest of Baraboo. About 65 volunteers from local schools and businesses turned out to help plant 2,700 white and bur oak trees, according to Cardella.

She noted that between 30 to 50 percent of the trees likely will survive.

But, she added, more oak trees than expected survived their planting in an adjacent tract of land several years ago, “which is very interesting.” The Nature Conservancy hopes to eventually recreate an oak savanna on the Baraboo Hills property. Cardella said that’s what dominated the area before it was repurposed for agriculture.

Oak plays an important role with wildlife and insects, said Ann Calhoun, project coordinator for the Nature Conservancy. Calhoun said the environmental organization has been active in the Baraboo Hills for about 50 years.