ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
Thanks to MPRB Natural Resources staff, we got to get some of the brush and root masses burned almost two weeks ago. I tried the best I could to advocate for a public event so we could enjoy seeing the waste transform from Buck to Dust, but my forestry friends tamped down that flame and said something reasonable like, let's just keep this chill until after we're done. Safer. I agreed, but must admit as witnessing it, I was singing to myself, "Burn baby burn/Buckthorn inferno/ Burn baby burn." The main purpose of burning was to address the volume of cuttings that the natural resources staff acknowledged was well well beyond what the area needed in terms of creating a supportive protective habitat for critters. But more importantly, it was really the only way we could get rid of root masses. Root masses are more than root balls when they are attached to Buckthorn tree trunks that measure more than 2 - 3" in diameter. We burned some. There's still much more hidden behind fencing made of Buckthorn limbs. sThe brush pile took little effort to light, having some of the trimmings being more than a couple year since originally cut from trees measuring 20 to 30 feet tall. It's hard for me to hear planners refer to thick Buckthorn groves as "understory". At some point after they kill the native trees, the "under-story" becomes the "over-story." And eventually, it's become "the-story" when it decimates the habitat and blocks the growth of other plants, and wildlife habitats. After the burn, all that remained was a pile of dust, ashes mixed in with the snow. It's like those nasties never existed. But one thing I've learned. Humans brought Buckthorn to our parks. Humans must remove it. Our natural resource staff is becoming resourceful to help volunteers to restore natural areas. One of the staff members was encouraging, saying he had some new seeding monies set aside for this area for the coming season. Awesome. To this point, all the new seedings and plantings has been from private money raised by the Cedar Lake Park Association. In my involvement reviewing the Cedar-Isles Plan, its been truly upsetting to read any sense of urgency expressed by planners to address our most immediate and urgent needs to restore natural areas. I shared this concern with one of the natural resources field staff members as we watched the fire burn. He enthusiastically reminded me that his was a new position. I replied, "Great! But we need something like 20 more of you!" This emerges reaches far far beyond this little peninsula. With only a few exceptions, Buckthorn can be found in virtually every other wooded parkland in Minneapolis, and beyond. While this silent crisis expands, the Cedar-Isles Plan continues to ring a Park Board passive tone when referencing natural areas management. They act like volunteers are going to take care of it.
No! Before designing and building new things, acknowledge the existing threat. Ring the alarm. If we continue to ignore the predatory cancerous affect of Buckthorn, our native species and ecological habitats will soon become nothing but dust.
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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. |