ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
Wait, that's a silly title. Of course trees are talking, with each other and to us. Let's try this: If we could listenAs work to clear Buckthorn from this site has progressed, we're starting to be able to see the trees from the forest of Buckthorn and other scrub that's dominated the landscape. Clearing the forest floor to ready for late fall seedings has involved pulling out a lot of stuff that just won't contribute to a restored habitat. Awful overgrown grapevines were strangling a lot of trees in the interior. What comes out and what remains in the forest is a selective process. I'm listening to the treasured trees that over the past week's heavy winds have swayed with a sense of freedom from being so entangles with their annoying intruders.
Beyond Buckthorn, the past couple weeks have included cutting down some Mulberries, as previously described. It's also included removing a lot of Buckthorn that was previously cut over the past almost three years now. There's so much of it, I am assured by MPRB Natural Resources staff and fellow nature restoration advocates that removing it and other brush will improve conditions. And sometimes the bees' nests are very convincing reminders of where I should keep my distance. I've learned that bees don't care much about your messing with areas they are seeking food. But disturb their nest, and they will make it clear. Buzz off! I'm starting to see the treasured trees in our forest. Cottonwoods. Black Willows. Lindens. Hackberries. And this is leading me to a process to label these trees with some tagging. I contacted the MPRB Forestry Department this week to ask if there was a way that I might be able to geo-identify tree species that might add to their database. I', assuming they have a system, but is it something that is user-friendly enough to accept the data I might offer to add to their database? This is an unmanaged area. So if they use a system that is user-friendly, maybe I should use the same? If not, I still want to identify the treasured trees so we can protect them, and for around them. I'm happy to focus efforts to clear Mulberries that might be choking a Linden or Cottonwood, for example. It would be exciting to inventory the size of the trees today and see if our restoration efforts might be helping these treasured trees over time. I call these treasured trees because the term Keystone Trees is an actual designation to some species, such as Oaks, that are very significant to establishing a whole ecosystem of wildlife that supports a healthy habitat. So I'd like to include the Keystone trees, but also others that are treasured, but may not qualify as Keystone. It will be helpful when deciding how to manage beyond Buckthorn, what kinds of trees should be cleared to create the healthy ecosystem we desire. So if you're walking through the area, you might start seeing some tags on trees, identifying their species, with the QR code that when scanned will direct to this blog and the Friends of Cedar Lake Point Beach Facebook Group.
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Originally wrote this in July, and was thinking I should get a photo to help it before publishing, but never got around to it, so will publish anyway. It leads to my next post. On many mornings, I walk around Cedar Lake Point Beach and spot a family of duckings along the shoreline. I do anything I can to not disturb them. They're sitting so restfully, just living their lives, trying to do their thing in this urban setting. But as urban beings sharing space with humans and our dogs and grandkids who might find these innocent beings, cute, endearing and approachable, they are adaptive and are in ready for retreat smoothly gliding into the lake to evade conflict. It's those ducks I thought about today as I read a re-post on Facebook by Windflower Natives about the loss of wildlife prairie to building a mountain bike trail. It's like nature is as innocent as a sitting duck when someone else sees it for a human use. There is no doubt that outdoor recreation is wonderful to the who enjoy it. We need to get off our butts and move. And transitioning kids from screen time to outdoor activities is beneficial in so many ways. But what seems to be happening is that open natural areas are viewed as a blank slate on which to develop recreation amenities and facilities. Those "improvements" are at worst paving over more land, and at minimum compelled without serious consideration and appreciation of what's already there. In many cases, what's already there is a natural habitat that in some way is connected to other habitats and in general is another slice into the limited and quickly diminishing inventory of places that support an ecosystem in which we as human literally need in order to exist. So what's with bears?While we don't have any bears in Minneapolis, maybe we need some. Maybe we need some "Nature Bears."
Bears are renowned for fiercely protecting their family members, right. We all know better when hiking in the real wild to not get ourself between a mama bear and her cubs. Bears aren't like ducks and scuttle away if they see you coming. If threatened, bears are apt to become more aggressive when it comes to protecting what's important to them. Too often, those who stand in defense of the environment find themselves in a protective mode. But that protective mode tends to be to be stagnant, to hold firm, to fortify. But often the speed, volume, and tenacity of those who are imposing their interests on assuming, occupying and ultimately destroying the natural environment in the name of recreational purposes generally overwhelm the thin veil of defense. We're in a situation at Cedar Lake Park these days where we're seeing something like this playing out. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's recently approved Cedar-Isles Plan is completed. The exhaustive action and energy that went into the multi-year planning process has come to a conclusion. Many elements of that plan were statements that protect Cedar Lake Park's woodlands from being bisected by a two-lane soft surface bike and pedestrian trail. That's a trail that would have not addressed the complexities of e-bikes, e-scooters, e-hoverboards, and whatever might come next in personal mobility devices. The issue is that plan as it stands is a noun. It's stagnant. It sits like a duck resting still, with suggestions of actions to follow anytime between now and the net 20 or 30 years. Something needs to happen to move the plan from its current defensive of natural areas to explicit policies that clearly state how the natural areas will be protected. Saying the park board is not going to build a bike trail is not the same thing as the park board saying that circulation through the trails will be restricted to pedestrians, and prohibit bikes and all the likes. We need to act like bears to protect the home to nature. Modeling the ecological restoration efforts after practices used in the the Roberts Bird Sanctuary, I trusted the advice of my restoration sensei Brian to clear out some of the less than desirable trees from the Cedar Lake Point Beach forest. The most obvious and prolific are the Mulberry trees. They are characteristically identified by their orangey wood, and unique leaves.
Much like Buckthorn trees, Mulberry trees assume a lot of space. While they help create a wonderful tree canopy, I have continued to learn that not all canopies are of equal value. Mulberry trees produce flavorful berries, enjoyed by both humans and birds. But while our snacking on a few Mulberries as we pass through the woods, birds who rely on Mulberries as a substantial part of their diet, so I have learned, are pretty much feasting on junk food. The fructose level of Mulberries is very high, and the portion content low. So while Mulberries may attract birds, we can and need to do better. We need flowering and berry bearing trees that are more heathy. So if you're in the area, you might see a few more of those coming down too. Acres of wooded lots with clean, clear lakefront access: Priceless How much is the forested public land the Minneapolis Park Board is entrusted to protect worth? How much is it potentially worth if it were raised from its own assessment as being is substandard conditions to becoming improved, more vital, more welcoming to humans and wildlife? How much should be reasonably invested to bring the value of this asset closer to its potential? These are questions that keep ringing in my head as I have shifted my mindset for the time being about thinking about loss of life, loss of habitat, decline of species, and degradation of ecosystems and the connections between places that enable those ecosystems to function. If news about weeks of temperatures in Phoenix over 100-plus degrees, wildfires that destroyed a community in Maui, or a boat that capsized filled with climate induced disaster driven migrants can't catch enough public attention of what's going on with our climate change, I'm loosing hope that the public and our public servants are going to be open to an argument based on dying micro organisms and insects. There are actually state laws that require us to manage noxious weeds: 18.78 NOXIOUS WEEDS CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT.§ Subdivision 1. Generally A person owning land, a person occupying land, or a person responsible for the maintenance of public land must manage all noxious weeds, according to the noxious weed categories under section 18.771, on the land at a time and in a manner ordered by an inspector or county-designated employee. And then they created categories of noxious weeds: 18.771 NOXIOUS WEED CATEGORIES.(a) For purposes of designation under section 18.79, subdivision 13, noxious weed category means each of the following categories: (1) the prohibited-eradicate noxious weeds category; (2) the prohibited-control noxious weeds category; (3) the restricted noxious weeds category; (4) the specially regulated plants category; and (5) the county noxious weeds category. Moreover, the University of Minnesota nature resources department states, "Buckthorn is one of Minnesota’s most damaging invasive plants. Landowners should be concerned if buckthorn is present in their woodlands because it is an aggressive invasive plant that outcompetes native vegetation and degrades wildlife habitat." And, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Noxious Weed Advisory Committee (NWAC) completes risk assessments for terrestrial plants. It lists 281 terrestrial invasive species in Minnesota. It assesses among a number of factors, each species. I created a spreadsheet to sort and whittle down this list based on the most damaging invasive plants in Minnesota based on their risk assessment ratings.
All told, Common Buckthorn is just one of three invasive species with such negative ratings among the 281 total invasive terrestrial plants. The other two are Amur Corktree and Bohemian Knotweed. Common Buckthorn is a priority problem. Where are the resource priorities aligned with solving the problem?So how much does it cost to solve the problem and where are the resources to reasonably invest in bringing public property to their potential value? Still working on find the working formulas and assumptions so we might be able to apply and/or facilitate the MPRB to apply for grants that address the problem. Volunteers cannot do it fast enough or cover enough territory. I've been working the 3-plus acres at Cedar Lake Point Beach for almost three years. Progress is certain, but I walk through the north side of the lake's woods, which I measure at about 43 acres, and wonder what it will take to save this area, from an economic/financial perspective as much as an ecological one. It's going to require more than weekend warriors and retired fanatics to make a real difference. It's taken three years to fully clear the Buckthorn from the eastern most tip of the forest at Cedar Lake Point Beach. For the first time in decades, beach goers can look into the woods and consider the potential wildlife that exists inside the woods. Before the clearing, the pathways to and from the beach from Cedar Lake Parkway was just a tunnel through unsavory thickets of a dying Buckthorn infested darkness. A few weeks ago I learned about some grant monies from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that might be available for forest ecological restoration. It seems apparent to me that we need to intensify some work in Cedar Lake Park in a rush to protect areas that continues to be less than adequately managed by the Minneapolis Park Board. Especially in the north side of the park, in the woods, we need to advance some progress towards supporting the Cedar - Isles Plan that establishes the natural wooded area should remain protected. But as of to date, this area remains undesignated as a Managed Natural Area. So we're in a state of limbo. It's like if you're going to do some kind of home improvement. Good concept drawings are a start. But you need some working or construction drawings drafted if you're going to get serious about actually getting things done. Looking for where the money growsIn search of potential funds to accelerate some kind of action, my park board commissioner informed me of a forestry grants offered by the DNR. So I attended a urban community forestry grants webinar. The session was interesting, but from what I heard, it didn't sound like it was such a good fit for our situation. More about managing Emerald Ash Borne. But it did raise some good questions, to which I forwarded to the contact person at the webinar. Delightfully, the DNR contact person was incredibly responsive, answering my multiple questions in multiple emails promptly and with amazing detail. As a blundering citizen trying to find my way through the bureaucratic forest of programs and acronyms and terminology, the DNR contact was encouraging and appreciative of my efforts. Answers stimulated more curiosity and generated new questions. The challenge in broadening my understanding was to avoid the temptation to go down distracting rabbit holes. Some of my fellow ecological restoration fanatics kept me on track. By the end of the week, I ended up calling the natural resources manager at the MPRB. To my delight, he picked up my late on a Friday afternoon call yo keep me on track too. He too was encouraging and cooperative. Navigating ForwardI don't want to get too far into the weeds with this post, but what I can say is that I'm getting a sense of the landscape. Turning over stones. Sort through which might bear resources. More on that later. Meanwhile the the ground at Cedar Lake Point Beach, this week included several hours of cleanup and the start of laying some timbers to design some trails through the east point of the woods. Hoping to create an inviting way for visitors to access the forest and delineate where new native seeds will be planted in a few months.
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March 2024
AuthorI'm Steve Kotvis, volunteer Park Steward for the Minneapolis Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula who has a newfound love of restoring this natural area and more. I'm learning as I go, and enjoy sharing that with those who have an interest. I'm also a photographer, so the photos in this blog are mine unless otherwise labeled. |