It’s time for a little look behind the scenes of OLC’s Preserve management! Mother Nature’s force is massive and inexorable, but thanks to members, volunteers and grantors we strive to give her a nudge in a favorable direction. A recent visit to the southern section of Valley Creek Preserve shows how that is paying off.
A decade ago, a winter photo (below) of the flood plain in that section showed a monoculture of Phragmites Australis, Giant Reed, half flattened by a recent flood. Trees in the background are draped with bittersweet and grape vines. Thanks to the leadership of OLC Director Art Blumenthal, professional management from (now OLC Director, then with Green Valleys Association) Margot Taylor, funding from the TreeVitalize program, planting efforts from, among others, Siemens Medical, and ongoing volunteer tending, the area has been transformed.
In Fall 2014, the Phragmites was treated and mowed and 350 trees planted. The flood plain is a tough environment for new plantings. Trees are periodically flattened and/or washed away. Mice take shelter and sustenance inside the tubes. The above-average rainfall in recent years made soil just too wet for all but the hardiest wetland species.
But now the fruits of our labor are becoming apparent, as the survivors are burgeoning and natural regeneration is taking hold. The two recent photos above from the north and south of the area show the transformation. Maple, black willow, swamp oak, sycamore and even ash trees are beginning to split their protective tubes, and most can withstand the floods with only occasional volunteer restoration.
A careful view of the photos, though, will show another reason why this project was so important. The background of both photos shows the stark silhouettes of the mature ash trees that surround the site, completely bare of leaves although it is the height of summer. Unfortunately they have succumbed to the Emerald Ash Borer insect, the larvae of which kill all species of ash by feeding under the bark, creating serpentine galleries, and effectively girdling the tree. Our 2014 planting was undertaken before the threat was widely known and included the ash trees noted above.
It remains to be seen whether those young ash trees will survive long term. Scientific data is not encouraging and the trees are weakened by the black spot fungus. However the other native species should continue to thrive and begin to recover a native ecosystem.
The long-term success of this project already catalyzed a similar 2017 project in Cedar Hollow Preserve and OLC will be repeating it upstream in Valley Creek this year. Valley Creek Preserve has the highest incidence of ash trees of all OLC Preserves, and our reforestation efforts are thus especially important there. Two half acre patches of Phragmites north and south of the Treeline Drive entrance have been treated and mowed, and another treatment will have them ready for planting in October. Follow OLC on social media for the opportunity to help in the planting!