Latest news with #INHF
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Taking out wild trash: Volunteers pull invasive garlic mustard from wildlife area
Erica Place holds up a bundle of garlic mustard, an invasive species that volunteers helped remove on Earth Day. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) 'We found some!' Volunteers shouted from a wooded area on the Brenton Slough property between Grimes and Granger. They were hunting for garlic mustard, a fast-growing invasive species, as part of an Earth Day trash bash organized by Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Erica Place, communications and outreach manager for the foundation, said instead of human-generated trash, the group was hunting for 'garbage plants.' The invasive species has been reported in almost all states and across Canada, but was originally introduced to North America as an herbal antiseptic and erosion controlling plant, according to The Nature Conservancy. Garlic mustard, sometimes called poor man's mustard or hedge garlic, emerges early in the spring, which allows it to outcompete other plant species. This leads to a loss of plant biodiversity and the destruction of forest ecosystems, not only from the plant's above-ground growth, but also from a toxin in its roots that can inhibit soil fungi. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Areas with garlic mustard invasion had not been identified at Brenton Slough, a more than 1,100-acre property purchased by INHF in partnership with Polk County Conservation, which meant volunteers were also on a scavenger hunt for the plants. 'You would be hard-pressed to enter any Iowa woodlands and not find garlic mustard,' Place said to volunteers before they hiked further into the slough to begin their hunt. Garlic mustard has round, somewhat crinkly leaves with lots of veins and, per its name, a pungent garlic aroma. In the first year of its life cycle, the plants are small 'rosettes' on the ground, but in the second year, they send up a tall stalk with white flowers and prolific seeds. The plant looks similar to common blue violets and stinging nettle, which volunteers found plenty of on their first pass through a forested area. It's edible Many foragers will pull garlic mustard and use it to make things like pesto, pastas, or stir fries. 'This is one of those things where you want to find some to feel accomplished, but it's a good thing not to find any,' Place said and led the group to a different area of the slough to keep looking. Most of the volunteers chose to participate because their workplaces incentivized volunteer hours, and they decided to cash in on an opportunity that brought them outdoors on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon. Kate Davies, a volunteer from Des Moines, has participated in several 'trash bash' events put on by the City of Des Moines, and said she enjoys being involved in conservation work. As a mother to two children, she said she wants to make sure the nature she enjoys will 'still be around' when her children are older. Joe Jayjack, the external affairs director for INHF, said volunteer events like this accomplish two main goals. Practically, it takes a big group of people to do the work of pulling and identifying invasive plants like garlic mustard or honeysuckle. He said the events also bring people out to the natural spaces around them. 'And it helps people care,' Jayjack said. 'I think the more that people learn about these things, the more they're likely to care about protecting special spaces like this.' Most of the volunteers were at Brenton Slough for the first time. Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is finishing raising a total of $8 million in order to transfer the land over to Polk County Conservation. INHF bought the property from the Brenton family with the intention of holding it until it could raise enough money to transfer the property to the county conservation group, who will maintain and open the reserve to the public. 'It's a really really interesting place,' Jayjack said. 'The slough is kind of a wetland ecosystem. It backwaters off of Beaver Creek and it's just amazing for water quality … and for wildlife habitat.' Jayjack said the plan is to keep the area pretty wild, with minimal infrastructure of a parking lot and some mown trails. Walking around the slough, volunteers found garlic mustard beginning to carpet the forest floor. They pulled what was possible, making sure to bring up the roots as well to fully kill the plant, and Place noted the areas with garlic mustard infestation. 'That'll be really helpful for Polk County Conservation to concentrate their efforts when they take control of the property,' Place said to volunteers. Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has volunteer events throughout the year, but several upcoming events will remove garlic mustard and other 'garbage plants' from wildlife areas near Pella and Waukon. Central Iowans can also participate in trash bash events, organized by the City of Des Moines, through the end of the week in areas around the metro. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources encourages Iowans to celebrate Arbor Day on Friday by planting trees or learning about the tree species around them. DNR has a registry of some of the biggest trees in the state and resources on identifying the most common trees in Iowa. Additionally, the department has residential tree distribution events in Greenfield, Iowa Falls and DeWitt, where Iowans can purchase landscape-sized trees at an extreme discount. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tree removal to help foster remnant prairie at Green Valley
Apr. 15—Patrons of Green Valley State Park have witnessed an alarming sight this year — dozens of trees removed or even burned. Though the image is drastic, park operators are working to restore the natural balance of the land. "The cedar tree, they are a native tree but highly invasive," Green Valley Park Ranger Jason Hyde said. "Underneath the canopy of those trees is going to be some really good prairie grass. Looking at a lot of aerial photos from the 30s, we think this place was pasture ground in the past, and it might even have some remnant prairie." By simple definition, remnant prairie is true native prairie. Unlike restored or reconstructed prairies, which have been reestablished or returned to prairie, prairie remnants are fragments of the original, pre-settlement prairie landscape. "Remnant prairie is extremely rare in Iowa," Hyde said. "We're trying to, number one, have the opportunity to have it. And if we've got it, we have to make sure it's protected and safe. That's what we are doing here." The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation estimates 80% of the state was once covered by prairie, the largest percentage in the nation. Today, less than 0.1% of Iowa's native prairie remains, mostly existing in small, untouched parcels. "Native prairie is overwhelmingly rare in Iowa," INHF President Joe McGovern said. "We must do everything we can to preserve this important part of our natural history that is so fundamental to our future." Remnant prairies are home to a minimum of 100 species of prairie plants, some with roots known to reach depths of 20 feet. High quality prairie remnants can contain more than 300 species of prairie plants. Reconstructed prairies, on the other hand, typically have 20—100 plant species. Remnants also provide critical habitat for a wide variety of threatened and endangered wildlife including large and small mammals, birds, pollinators, reptiles and insects. Other than cedar trees, the park has been continuing to remove dead ash trees. "Joe Berg has been mechanically removing those trees with a skid steer, and we've been piling them up," Hyde said. The Friends of Green Valley State Park at High Lakes Outdoor Alliance splits the wood from the ash trees, and it's sold at the campground as firewood. The money is then used for walleye and other park improvements. Meanwhile, the next phase is starting to help the native prairie flourish once again. The Iowa DNR Prairie Resource Center provides more that 65 species of Iowa-origin prairie grasses and wildflowers to public land managers across the state. "They're literally sending us thousands and thousands of seeds," Hyde said. "We'll be able to introduce seeds in areas that need some help. In other areas we'll let it respond by itself and see how it does." Though the view and the areas of shade are different now than they were in previous years, park management is dedicated to helping the park be a bountiful habitat for plants and wildlife. "You can't have change without a little chaos," Hyde said. "It looks pretty extreme right now, but give it a few months and it will be a whole different ball game."
