HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Big Woods - Inspection resultsFrom:Ball, Emily
To:Hennen, John
Cc:Petree, Christopher
Subject:The Big Woods - Inspection results
Date:Wednesday, May 3, 2017 9:38:47 AM
Hi John,
Last week, I inspected the majority of the parcel of land referred to as “The Big Woods”. There is a small section on the far
southern edge that I did not yet walk but could in the next few weeks if needed.
I approached from the King Park side of the parcel, from the north. Walking south into the property, the majority of the property
could be categorized as floodplain forest – the over story/canopy tree species were dominated by boxelder, ash, dead elms and
some willow and a few aspen in the drier spots. As you walk south, the elevation increases and it seemed more like a remnant
mesic oak forest. I found several large northern red oaks, green ash and black cherry trees. Most of the sapling sized trees were
American elm, boxelder, hackberry or ash trees. Overall there was not a lot of natural regeneration happening other than
boxelder trees. Based on the standing dead elms I saw, it seems like Dutch elm disease wiped out a good portion of canopy on
some areas. I found a great deal of garlic mustard in the canopy openings (non-native invasive species), sometimes reaching
100% cover on the forest floor. I also found buckthorn, though in many places canopy closure and moisture levels seem to restrict
large thickets. Some of the native plants I found were red berried elder, chokecherry, marsh marigold, jack in the pulpit, and
Solomon’s seal.
The parcel is pretty degraded due to the amount of garlic mustard found, but at this point the buckthorn is manageable. In
order to continue to bring back native plants, there would need to be a concerted effort to pull garlic mustard on a regular basis
about this time of year. The sooner this starts, the better, because that this point there are areas that are relatively free of the
plant but it won’t stay that way for long. Along the eastern edge of the property adjacent to the farm field, there is quite a bit of
burdock present as well (to be expected on a disturbed site like a farm field). There is a lot of water that flows through the parcel
– my thought is that if you were to put a trail or anything through here you may need to do a boardwalk as the soil is quite soft. I
think there are a lot of natural features that would make this an interesting addition to the park system, but the interest would
need to be about a bigger picture idea– preserving an ecosystem type, not just preserving the trees.
I’ve saved my photos here if you would like to see:
I:\Public Works\Forestry\Big Woods Inspection Photos
Let me know if you need any additional info.
Emily
Emily Ball
Forester
(952) 985-2724