Restoring wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area 2012 report

Transcription

1 Restoring wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area 2012 report This document was prepared for the ODFW Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program by staff at the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE): Peter Moore The Institute for Applied Ecology is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to conserve native ecosystems through restoration, research, and education. P.O. Box 2855 Corvallis, OR (541)

2 Restoring wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area 2012 report The Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are restoring two non-native fallow grassland fields into wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area, north of Corvallis. The fields are known as Pipit and West Check Station, and both are 33 acres in size. Ultimately we aim to boost populations of rare and endangered plants, and to provide native prairie habitat for wildlife, such as grassland birds. The two fields have been prepared over the last few years by ODFW and IAE. Pipit prairie was seeded with native grasses in October 2011 and West Check Station has been in chemical fallow before establishment of native grasses. During 2012 IAE staff, ODFW and subcontractors mowed and sprayed invasive and non-native species to prepare the ground for native grasses and wildflower forbs. This report summarizes 2012 activities. IAE funding was provided by ODFW s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program and OWEB and USFWS grants for the Nelson s checkermallow recovery project. The Natural Resources Conservation Service s Plant Materials Center near Corvallis also raised the checkermallow and camas. Many thanks to ODFW staff at EE Wilson Wildlife Area for support of the project. 1. Weed Control April 23, 2012 Milestone was broadcast over three-quarters of Pipit prairie. The remainder of the field was too wet. July 9-16, 2012 Hand weeding of isolated plants of velvet grass in Pipit prairie during 3 days, by a 2-4 person weeding crew. July 19-20, 2012 On Track Spray Service was contracted to spray the borders of both fields (c. 10 acres), targeting blackberry and teasel using Element 4 and Milestone, plus USO surfactant (Cost = $1631). July 20, 2012 Wilbur-Ellis was contracted to broadcast spray West Check Station with Roundup RT3, Cayuse Plus (adjuvant) and Crosshair (surfactant). Target all weeds, esp. velvet grass, which had previously been hard to kill (30 acres, cost = $473). November 6 & 14, 2012 Habitat Restoration LLC was contracted to broadcast spray West Check Station (33 acres, cost = $1817) and spot spray weedy forbs at Pipit (8 hours, cost = $670) with Capstone and R-11 surfactant. 2

3 2. Mowing, Brush Control & Disking Late July ODFW mowed south border and part of east border of Pipit. Mid-August ODFW mowed the fire lines around Pipit in preparation for the burn. September 4-5, 2012 Charlie Creek Environmental was contracted for Skid steer mowing of previously sprayed blackberry and small shrubs on the field borders at Pipit and West Check Station (c. 10 acres, 18 hours of mowing, cost = $1800). September 7, 2012 OFDW mowed West Check Station to remove thatch after herbicide treatment. September 10, 2012 ODFW mowed entrance into south Pipit in preparation for burn. October 4, 2012 E.D. Hughes Excavating, Inc. was contracted to excavate and remove 9 loads of dirt from Pipit Prairie in the mound separating the two halves of the field. October 5, 2012 ODFW disked portions of the fire line and blackberry borders at West Check Station to flatten out the zone for grass sowing and future mowing. October 9, 2012 ODFW disked the left-over mound and neck of ground separating the two halves of Pipit field in preparation for grass sowing. 3. Prescribed Burn September 11, 2012 Pipit prairie was burned to reduce grass thatch and to provide an ideal seed bed for the native forbs. The burn was run as a training exercise by Oregon Department of Forestry, with assistance from USFWS and Philomath Fire and Rescue fire crews. The burn was somewhat patchy on the south half of the field but good coverage on the north half of the field. 4. Seeding of Grasses and Forbs October 4-9, 2012 IAE staff used the ODFW tractor and 12-foot no-till drill to sow 306 pounds of native grasses at West Check Station and 90 pounds of native grasses around the fire line borders of each field. Two different seed mixes were used to suit the wet prairie and upland prairie parts of the field (see Table 1). For sowing efficiency, it is easier to sow large areas, so the field was divided in two. Most of the wet prairie mix, which included slender hairgrass (Deschampsia elongate), American sloughgrass (Beckmannia syzigachne) and water foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus), was used in the south half of the field, which has more wet areas. Most of the upland mix, which 3

4 included a large component of meadow barley (Hordeum brachyantherum), was used in the north half of the field. The fire line mix included a large proportion of blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus)(table 1). Grasses were sowed at 9-10 pounds per acre. Total cost of grass seed was $5564 (including $1650 already pre-paid by ODFW). A range of nursery sources were used, including Pacific NW Natives, Heritage Seedlings and IAE seed supplies. October 9-11, 2012 IAE staff used the ODFW tractor and 12-foot no-till drill to sow Pipit prairie with forbs. A total of 23 species were chosen for the 196 pounds of forb mix, including species with different habitat preferences, to suit the subtle differences in topography of the field (Table 1). For example, fragrant popcornflower (Plagiobothrys figuratus) thrives in ephemeral pools that hold water in the spring, great camas (Camassia leichtlinii) grows best in wet parts of the prairie, farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) prefers the more upland portions, whereas Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum) has a wider tolerance for soil moisture. The largest component of the mix was 66 pounds of Nelson s checkermallow seed (Sidalcea nelsoniana), a threatened species that is being planted out at many sites in the Willamette Valley at part of an IAE recovery project. Total cost of forb seed was $18,600 (including $9,900 seed production cost for Nelson s checkermallow; cost to this grant was $7,491). A range of nursery sources were used, including Pacific NW Natives, Heritage Seedlings, IAE seed supplies and the Natural Resources Conservation Service s Plant Materials Center. It is important to calibrate the drill so that the right amount of seed flows out of the 18 hoppers and drill lines to give good coverage on the field and not run out of seed. Our aim was to drill at 6 pounds per acre, and this can be tricky, as some species have fairly large seed and others are like dust, so they don t necessarily flow consistently in a mix. Consequently a finer seed mix was used in the smaller hoppers and Nelson s checkermallow seed in three of the medium hoppers for seeding the whole of Pipit field. This was followed up with additional seeding of larger forb seeds (including gumweed, lupines, tarweed, dwarf checkermallow and Nelson s checkermallow) from the medium hoppers at the south end of the field and by seeding strips across the north end of the field. Fortunately, the weather conditions were perfect, so we did not have to contend with moisture affecting the drilling. We anticipate that the high seeding rates used over the whole field will allow the different species to thrive in the areas that most suit them, and therefore create a diverse and varying plant community. High seeding rates will also help to compete with the native grasses and invasive species. October 25, 2012 Hand seeding was conducted to complete the corners and edges of the fire lines that were missed by the drill, and a small amount of forb seed that was left over from the drilling. 4

5 5. Planting of Forbs November 21, 2012 IAE staff returned to Pipit with a Birrueta Reforestation crew to plant forbs. Over 1000 plugs of Nelson s checkermallow and 3000 other forbs were planted (Table 2). Checkermallow and camas were planted near the south border of the northeast arm of Pipit prairie. Biscuitroot, iris, cinquefoil and heal-all was planted in the north central part of the field and geranium, iris and yarrow was planted near the southwest edge. Total cost of forbs was $2,290 (including $1,250 production cost for checkermallow plugs; cost to this project was $1,040). A range of nursery sources were used, including Sevenoaks Native Nursery, Trillium Gardens and the NRCS Plant Materials Center (for checkermallow and camas supplied free of charge). 5

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8 Table 1. Seed Mixes at EE Wilson in 2012 acres lbs/acre site Pipit forbs Fire line grasses West Check Station Upland grasses West Check Station Wet prairie grasses Scientific Name Common Name Form Habitat lbs/acre lbs lbs/acre lbs lbs/acre lbs lbs/acre lbs Achillea millefolium common yarrow forb wet, up Asclepias speciosa showy milkweed forb wet, up Camassia leichtlinii tall camas forb wet Clarkia amoena farewell-to-spring forb up Eriophyllum lanatum woolly sunflower forb wet, up Grindelia integrifolia Puget Sound gumweed forb wet Iris tenax toughleaf iris forb up Lomatium nudicaule barestem biscuitroot forb up Lotus unifoliatus (purshianus) American bird's-foot trefoil forb wet, up Lupinus polyphyllus bigleaf lupine forb wet Lupinus rivularis river lupine forb wet, up Madia elegans showy tarweed forb wet, up Plagiobothrys figuratus fragrant popcornflower forb emerg Potentilla gracilis slender cinquefoil forb wet, up Prunella vulgaris var. lanceolata common selfheal forb wet, up Ranunculus occidentalis Western buttercup forb up Ranunculus orthorhynchus straightbeak buttercup forb wet Saxifraga oregana Oregon saxifrage forb wet Sidalcea nelsoniana Nelson's checkermallow forb wet Sidalcea virgata dwarf checkermallow forb up Symphyotrichum (Aster) hallii Hall's aster forb wet Agrostis exarata spike bentgrass grass wet Alopecurus geniculatus water foxtail grass emerg Beckmannia syzigachne American sloughgrass grass emerg Bromus carinatus California brome grass up Bromus sitchensis Alaska brome grass up Danthonia californica California oatgrass grass up Deschampsia cespitosa tufted hairgrass grass wet Deschampsia elongata slender hairgrass grass wet Elymus glaucus blue wildrye grass up Hordeum brachyantherum meadow barley grass wet sedge wet Carex unilateralis one-sided sedge /rush sedge wet Juncus tenuis poverty rush /rush Habitat key: wet = wet praire preference up=upland praire preference emerg=vernal pools Species lbs Species lbs Species lbs Species lbs

9 Table 2. Number and Species of forbs planted at EE Wilson on November 21, 2012 EE Wilson - planted 11/21/12 Species Common name Total Achillea millefolium common yarrow 504 Camassia leichtlinii v. suksdorfii great camas 800 Geranium oreganum Oregon geranium 330 Iris tenax Oregon iris 484 Lomatium nudicaule barestem biscuitroot 445 Potentilla gracilis slender cinquefoil 328 Prunella vulgaris lanceolata Heal-all 216 Sidalcea nelsoniana Nelson's checkermallow 1031 Total plants

10 Photo Gallery Blackberry being sprayed at West Check Station Sprayed blackberry at Pipit being mowed with a skid steer Broadcast spray of West Check Station Brush edge after herbicide treatment and mowing West Check Station after herbicide treatment Disking the fire line 10

11 Oregon Department of Forestry fire-fighters conducting a prescribed burn at Pipit Burnt grassland at Pipit Colorful mix of forb seeds Tractor and seed drill at Pipit Geoff Gardner and Matt Blakeley-Smith calibrating the seed drill Figure: Drill lines at West Check Station field 11

12 Seeding West Check Station Geoff Gardner hand seeding at Pipit Photos by Peter Moore and Geoff Gardner, IAE 12