Summer 2010: Melilotus Madness
It’s been another exciting, productive, and rewarding summer at Faville Grove Sanctuary. This marks the second year after the unprecedented 2008 Crawfish River flooding. The immediate effects of the flooding were painfully obvious in the images of silt encrusted prairie plants struggling to survive, but some the subsequent effects of the flood are perhaps equally detrimental. From the very start we knew it would be an exceptionally challenging summer, but with the help of an energetic intern crew, volunteers and staff ecologist, Lars Higdon, we accomplished much more than we ever imagined.
When the flood waters receded, the extensive disturbance of the prairies sparked a widespread germination of sweet clover (Melilotus sp.) unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. The expansion of reed canary grass was also a major concern but with the help of our intern crew, dedicated volunteers, and our contractors Michler and Brown, LLC we got a jump on the season and made great progress towards the eradication of this horrible invasive species despite its reputation for being extremely persistent and difficult to control. We covered the same areas in much less time compared to just one year ago, indicating that we are starting to gain ground on this species. After finishing with reed canary grass we quickly shifted gears and began attacking the dense stands of sweet clover with shovels, brush cutters, and bare hands. The crew spent many days in the scorching heat and pouring rain, with a symphony of mosquitoes buzzing around their heads, and finally managed to reclaim the prairie from the grips of this invader. The interns were grateful for the extra boost from volunteers Josh Seibel, Gary Col- lins, Judd Lefeber, former interns Mitch Levenhagen (2008) and Justin Nooker (2009), and of course David Musolf and Roger Packard. We also got a helping hand from a group of volunteers and staff at the UWArboretum who joined us for two days attacking sweet clover on Faville Prairie and its Milwaukee Audubon annex.
With both crews combined we had as many as 17 people working together weeding and mowing sweet clover. As July comes to a close, we are making our final sweeps through the prairies to pick out the last of the invasives.
Despite the need to focus on sweet clover, the intern crew has managed to find a few hours to care for our 50 newly established hazelnut shrubs and plant 36 purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) seedlings in the ledge savanna. A. purpurascens is an endangered species and new plant for the sanctuary. Seeds were donated by volunteer Kim Karow and grown into plants by volunteer sanctuary manager David Musolf. We hope this savanna species will find a welcoming home in the ledge savanna where great progress has been made over the last year clearing brush, openning the canopy, and restoring one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. This summer has also been a success for a variety of other threatened and endangered species. During the orchid survey on Faville Prairie, volunteers and interns located 65 flowering eastern prairie fringed orchids (Platanthera leucophaea), which are the first of this species to be seen since before the flood in 2008. Earlier in the spring, volunteer Sue Knaack reported seeing two flowering small white lady’s-slipper orchids (Cypripedium candidum),
also the first of their kind since the flood. Another encouraging sign of recovery is the expansion of the silphium borer moth (Papaipema silphii). We once feared that the small population of this threatened species may have been totally extirpated from Faville and Snapper Prairies due to the flood. However, we are seeing signs of the larval stage of the moth turning up throughout the sanctuary including sites outside of the Crawfish River floodplain!
This has also been a successful second year for our volunteer-based monitoring program. Lars and volunteers Jim and Liesa Kerler and Shirley Ellis completed three rounds of frog and toad surveys at 11 sites in and around the sanctuary. Chorus frogs, spring peepers, leopard frogs, Cope’s gray tree frog, and green frogs were all observed on the survey. Curiously, the survey did not record any American toads even though they are quite common in the area. Our second year of breeding bird surveys was also a great success as volunteers Nolan Kollath, Brad Webb, Levi Wood, Gaylord Plummer, Shirley Ellis, and Marcos Bermudez each conducted three surveys at various sanctuary sites. Each summer intern also participated to improve their birding skills and help volunteers record data. Several “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” were detected including bobolink, dickcissel, meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, savanna sparrow, bluewinged teal, willow flycatcher, black-billed cuckoo, and sedge wren. Dickcissels were especially abundant again this year. During one survey in late June over twenty individuals were recorded in the southern 40 acres of Charles Prairie alone. Eggs and nestlings were also observed in Charles Prairie and Faville’s Milwaukee Audubon annex. We are hopeful that other species of conservation need will reappear as we continue knitting together a diverse landscape of high-quality habitats. If you are interested in helping with frog and toad or bird surveys, please contact Lars Higdon at favillegrove@live.com to get started. We can always use your help!
Another super summer intern crew: Meghan Kuehnel, Ben Pierson, Cory Peters, Sam Petricca and Amanda Rudie
In the final two weeks of the internship program we look forward to shifting gears once again and begin removing invasive brush from Tillotson Prairie. Unlike our other sites, which appear to be recovering nicely from the flood, Tillotson has exploded with willow brush and perennial clovers. A lot of work will be needed in the weeks and years to come as we tackle these management challenges. We’ll continue to keep you posted on our progress and all the news from Faville Grove. We invite you to stop out for a visit.
Your contributions of time and financial support remain key to all of these successes. Many thanks to all.
