Establishment of Native Vegetation

Why you do it Planting native species can approximate the species composition of the target community type. Because establishing a native plant community is costly and time intensive, this treatment is limited to priority areas selected because of their location in the natural landscape or because a farm has few other options.

How you do it Consult with an ecologist to develop a management plan that describes the overall goal for the site’s plant species composition. Consider the site’s soil, hydrology, adjacent weed sources and potential for a remaining native seed bank. For the establishment, determine if it is feasible to collect seed from nearby sources and with the labor available. If buying seed, pri-oritize sources from Wisconsin that best match the site’s conditions. Prepare a seed bed with as few weed seeds as possible. Areas may be broadcast seeded by hand or with a leafblower. A warm season grass drill may be used to establish prairie after soybean harvest or appropriate tillage. Establishments often require intensive management in the first few grow-ing seasons to eliminate invasive species outbreaks. Offending species should be controlled and monitored as outlined in the management plan. The management effort required to successfully establish an area will likely include all of the treatments (mechanical cutting, prescribed fire and invasive species control) in addi-tion to the initial planting activities. To assess overall progress, compare the planting to nearby examples or to historical records.

Documentation Documentation may include keeping records of hours spent planning and managing the site, seed purchase receipts and records of fuel or equipment costs.

Assistance numbers and websites: Cost share assistance may be available for site prep-aration, seed, planting, or other restoration activi-ties. All activities utilizing outside assistance should adhere to a grower’s annual plan of work.

∙ US Fish &Wildlife Service, landowner assistance office for advice on restoring habitat. Call (608) 221-1206 ext. 21 or see http://www.fws.gov/mid-west/WisconsinPartners

∙ International Crane Foundation, Field Ecology Pro-gram. Advice and potential assistance to Wiscon-sin Healthy Grown® growers in natural community establishment. Call (608) 356-9462 ext. 125

Prescribed Fire

Why you do itHistorically, frequent fire was essential in maintain-ing many native plant communities. Without fire, the regional landscape and plants shift and change from the presettlement historic condition. With proper timing, prescribed burning controls many undesirable woody plants and herbaceous weeds while invigorating native, fire-dependent species. Prescribed burning can prepare a site for planting and/or seeding, improve habitat for fire-adapted species, and reduce the potential for property damaging wildfires.

How you do it With an experienced resource manager develop a com-prehensive fire plan for the site. The Prescribed Burn Plan is prepared in detail before the burn and includes elements such as maps, permits, a burn prescription (including proposed date and weather conditions, personnel, equipment, mop up plan, etc), emergency assistance sources, safety plan, necessary notifica-tions, and a checklist for burn boss and crew. The day of the burn, the crew leader adds notes on the fire’s behavior and results.

Documentation Documentation of prescribed burning may include the fire management plan, dated farm records, permits, and photographs. The landowner or field ecologist should monitor the site afterwards, evaluating plant recovery by measurements or photographs.

Assistance numbers and websites:∙ University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Fire Crew for

low-cost prescribed fire assistance to private land-owners. See www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/fire or contact by phone, (715)-346-2897 or email, firecrew@uwsp.edu

∙ Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council has contacts for private contractors, training opportunities for land-owners, and educational materials. See: http://www.prescribedfire.org

Mechanical Removal of Vegetation

Why you do itSome natural communities require tree thinning to reach the desirable canopy density (trees/acre) de-tailed on the management plan. Without thinning, shade-tolerant understory plants out compete the prairie grasses and light dependent flowers of these natural communities. Pulling, cutting, or damaging plants can also control some invasive plants, especially if the population is relatively small.

How you do itWork with an ecologist or approved forester to iden-tify and mark the plants/trees to be removed. Manu-ally removing vegetation is commonly done with weed trimmers, loppers, brush pullers, and chain saws. The time and labor requirements of using hand tools can be considerable and using large equipment (tractors, brush hogs, loggers) may be a better choice. The trade-off is that large equipment is non-selective, tramples vegetation, and disturbs the soil which may encourage existing invasive species. To reduce the potential for in-vasives becoming established, select the proper season for removing vegetation, plan repeat treatments, and consider applying herbicides to aggressive species and resprouting undesirable plants.

Documentation Documentation may include air photos taken before and after treatment, canopy analysis, tree counts, or progress records of trees cut versus standing for specific species.

Assistance numbers and websites:∙ Your local County’s Deparment of Natural Resourc-

es (DNR) forester listed in phonebook or at the Wis-consin DNR website at http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/ftax/county.asp

∙ The Woodland School - provides classes to land-owners to improve their technical abilities managing native woodlands. Class availability and contact info at http://www.aldoleopold.org/woodlandschool

∙ “Weed Control Methods Handbook: Tools and Tech-niques for Use in Natural Areas”, a manual available online from The Nature Conservancy at http://tnc-weeds.ucdavis.edu/handbook.html

∙ Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, “Pri-vate Landowner Forestry Assistance Guide” avail-able at http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/private/finan-cial/costshare.htm

Invasive Species Control

Why you do itInvasive plant species are problem plants that are for-eign to the natural community. They displace or replace native species, causing economic, environmental, or human health harm. To prevent invasives from spread-ing into the targeted natural plant communities, stop small infestations before they are well-established. For most restorations, the minimal goal is to reduce inva-sives to less than 25% of the plant population.

How you do itWork with an ecologist or land manager to identify invasives as well as the desirable native plants. Select the means of control from the range of options avail-able and develop a multi-year plan of attack. The best approach to use will depend on overall management goals, the size, distribution and location of the infesta-tion, acceptability of using herbicides, and the available resources (such as worker or volunteer time, money, and equipment).

Documentation Documentation may include pre and post plant surveys, spray records, records of other control methods, and photographs taken at the same point before and after control. Every method of control will require follow-up monitoring and treatment. This may include replanting native species to ensure long-term success.

Assistance numbers and websites:∙ Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin (IPAW), a

membership organization providing resources, news, local contacts. See www.ipaw.org

∙ “Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest” by Elizabeth J. Czarapata, a comprehensive guidebook to identi-fication and control of invasive species in our region. Available from IPAW for $25.

∙ Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/index.htm

Treating a stand of reed canary grass A controlled burn on an Oak Savanna

Description: Small blue butterfly with bands of orange spots on underside of wing. The larva is a small, light green caterpillar that feeds exclusively on the native wild lupine. The butterfly was selected as a target so its conservation is given priority within the grower’s farm plan. The Karner blue is federally listed as an endangered species. Central Wisconsin contains much of the Karner blue’s last remaining habitat.

Eco-benefit: The butterfly needs open barrens, oak savanna, or sand prairie to live. Protecting the Karner blue conserves these rare ecosystems as well.

Oak/Pine BarrensDescription: Barrens occur on infertile, dry, sandy soils and are dominat-ed by grasses, low shrubs, small trees, and scattered large trees. Central Wisconsin barrens are dominated by scrubby black oak and jack pine.

Eco-benefit: Barrens are the favorite habitat of the Karner blue butter-fly. Small, isolated tracts may lack rare barrens species, but larger areas also favor sharp-tailed grouse, American badger, Franklin’s ground squir-rel, and the endangered Western slender glass lizard.

The Wisconsin Central Sands Regional PlanThe regional plan was developed by the project’s conservation partners* to direct the management and restoration efforts. The restora-tion efforts are directed toward six targets (five native plant communities and the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly) that are adapted to the Central Sands. These targets and their components are declining for numerous reasons including fire suppression, develop-ment, agricultural expansion, altered hydrology, high deer populations, and fragmentation of natural areas into small isolated patches.

The potato growers of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegeta-ble Growers Association and the University of Wisconsin’s Eco-Potato Program* are working together to establish/restore natural communities on potato farms. These ef-forts are enhancing the biodiversity on the growers’ land and supporting regional biodiversity.

This brochure is divided into two parts: the Wisconsin Central Sands Regional Plan and the techniques section. The Wisconsin Central Sands Regional Plan identifies the threatened native ecosystems that are targeted for res-toration or protection with the overall goal of maintaining biological diversity and stable, resilient landscapes. The techniques section details the methods used to achieve these goals. The techniques described are prescribed fire, mechanical removal of vegetation, invasive species control and establishment of native plants (see reverse side).

For each farm, the process begins with the grower working with an ecologist to map their land and select priority non-agricultural areas to manage. The grower and ecologist then develop an annual plan for applying specific techniques to manage the prioritized areas. The plan is reviewed annually and updated to reflect the management needed to maintain or improve the restored land. Some growers are using these techniques with documentation for market-place incentives of the Wisconsin Healthy Grown® Potato Brand (for more information see www.healthygrown.com).

read about the four basic techniques on the reverse side

Example technique: Thin dense stands of trees by logging or selective cutting. Cut or mow then stump-treat with an appropriate herbicide to kill invasive plants such as honeysuckles, prickly ash, black cherry and boxelder.

Example technique: Follow the Prescribed Burn Plan in area. Follow-up with photo-graphic documentation. Check for presence of wild lupine and other nectar plants the follow-ing spring.

This publication is available from the Nutrient and Pest Management program. For more copies, please contact us at:email: npm@hort.wisc.edu phone: (608) 265-2660website: ipcm.wisc.edu I1C-12-07 College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UW-Madison. University of Wisconsin-Extension is an EEO/Affirmative Action employer and provides equal opportunties in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements.

*The Eco-Potato Program is a partnership of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) and the University of Wisconsin (UW). For a full description of the program, see: http://ipcm.wisc.edu/bioipm.

Partial funding for the biodiversity research is provided by a USDA/CSREES/NRI grant.

For more information about the Eco-Potato Project, contact Deana Knuteson, Biointensive IPM Coordinator/ Researcher, Nutrient and Pest Management program, University of Wisconsin, 445 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706-1577, Phone: (608) 265-9798 Fax: (608) 262-7743

*The Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Project Management Workbook framework was adapted for the Wisconsin Central Sands landscape. The conservation groups involved are The World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, and The International Crane Foundation.

Floodplain Forest

Sedge MeadowDescription: Open, treeless plant community dominated by sedges (a relative of grass with triangular stems) with organic soils and seasonally standing water.

Eco-benefit: The sedge meadow provides ecosystem services (long-term benefits) including water purification, flood control and wildlife habitat. Wetlands are high in biodiversity harboring a greater variety of wildlife than almost any other ecosystem.

Karner Blue Butterfly

Oak SavannaDescription: Open-grown oak trees with both prairie and woodland plants in the understory. The restoration goal is to have less than 50% tree canopy (more than 1 tree/acre but less than 10 trees/acre) of large, open grown bur, white or black oaks. The understory may be hazelnut with a ground layer of grasses and flowering plants typical of prairie or oak woods. Oak savanna (or oak opening) was common in historic survey records, but is now rare in Wisconsin.

Eco-benefit: Protecting remnants of oak savanna or restoring degraded sites conserves rare savanna species of plants, birds, insects, and reptiles. Even small sites may be important to the genetic survival of some species. Among the species of concern are red-headed woodpecker, bobwhite quail, Blanding’s turtle, and Karner blue butterfly.

PrairieDescription: Native grassland of perennial flowers and grasses. Dry and sand prairie types comprised mainly of short grasses were characteristic of this region.

Eco-benefit: Restoring prairie conserves rare plants, declining grassland birds (short-eared owl, bobolink, and Henslow’s sparrow), and Wisconsin’s prairie-associated reptiles and amphibians.

Description: Low woods found along major rivers with spring flooding. These damp hardwood forests are typically black ash, red maple, and yellow birch with a variable understory that may include buttonbush, stinging nettle, sedges, native grasses, ostrich fern and vines of Virginia creepers, grapes, and poison ivy.

Eco-benefit: These lowland forests serve to slow floodwa-ters, allowing sediments to fall out of suspension and im-prove river water quality. They are an important community for a number of rare or declining species including several warblers, the red-shouldered hawk, and the wood turtle.

NPM

Managing Natural Areas on Wisconsin Potato Farms