natural resources department land management and wildlife

NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
LAND MANAGEMENT AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH
SUMMARY FOR 2012
Prepared February 2013
By Drew Ullberg
Forest Preserve District - Kane County
1996 S. Kirk Rd
Geneva, IL 60134
Introduction and Background
The Forest Preserve District of Kane County (District) was organized in 1925 with the defined purpose of
acquiring, preserving and managing land for public use and enjoyment.
Land acquisition had a humble beginning, when 97.5 acres were purchased in 1926 to create the Johnson’s
Mound Forest Preserve. From this first purchase through the first 65 years of existence, the District sought to
establish a preserve in each township so all county residents had equal opportunity to enjoy public open
space. Although originally purchasing land for open space preservation, by default the District became the
local entity saving vestiges of the historic Illinois landscape.
By 2012, District holdings had grown to 20,000 acres and staff were hard at work managing natural areas
concurrent with documenting the diversity of flora and fauna that depend upon it’s holdings. The role of
managing and maintain the biodiversity and function of this land is the responsibility of the District’s Natural
Resources Department. Formally organized in 2005, the Natural Resources Department (Department) is
composed of 7 full-time staff, including:
• 1 – Director (Drew Ullberg)
• 1- Restoration Ecologist (Ben Haberthur)
• 1- Wildlife Ecologist (Bill Graser)
• 1- Senior Restoration Technician (Jason Johnson)
• 3 - Restoration Technicians (Pete Dall, Andy Olnas and Pat Chess)
The mission of the Department is to ensure the preservation of native flora and fauna diversity through the
protection, maintenance, restoration or reconstruction of native ecosystem types. Specific Department goals
and objectives were presented in the District’s 2008 Master Plan and are provided here as Appendix 1.
Each year a wide variety of natural areas management projects are planned and then implemented by
Department staff, with the assistance of contractors and citizen volunteers. This report provides a look back
at 2012 in terms of what types of projects were completed and what amount of staff time was dedicated to
specific activities.
Beginning in 2008, a data system was setup to track field staff time devoted to land management work. Data
is presently recorded for major types of work, location, number of staff involved per task and hours devoted
per task. Tracking of staff time has proven valuable and has allowed more rapid preparation of monthly
reports present to the Board of Commissioners. This report has been formatted so that information on each
major activity is summarized in one or two pages.
It is important to note that the Operations and Maintenance Department as well as Volunteers assist the
Natural Resource Department in a variety of areas. That assistance is noted throughout the report within
specific areas of management.
-1-
2012 Accomplishments
This report provides descriptions for major task categories and related number of hours tallied are presented
in graphs. A separate category for Wildlife management & studies is presented near the end of this
document. Where possible, photos of notable projects are included. Work is reported here on these 9
activity categories:
1. Prescribed Burning
2. Plant propagation
3. Research / Monitoring
4. Seed Harvest & Cleaning
5. Seed Planting
6. Tree / Brush Clearing
7. Tree Planting & Tree Care
8. Weed Management-herbiciding
9. Weed Management-mow, etc
Completion of any natural areas management project is highly dependant upon season of the year and
weather during that season. Below is a table showing the type of activities staff tackle during the year:
LAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES – ROUGH TIMETABLE
ACTIVITY
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Cut & herbicide tree stumps
Tree & shrub thinning
Prescribed burns- Woodland
Tree planting
Install native prairie seed mixes
Herbicide garlic mustard rosettes
Herbicide reed canary grass
Prescribed burns- Grassland
Pull garlic mustard
Herbicide thistle
Install plugs/potted plants
Mow field thistle
Mow giant ragweed
Mow sweet clover
Herbicide invasive trees – basal bark
Herbicide purple loosestrife
Seed harvesting
-1-
Below is a table which contains all the major activity groups that were tracked during the year. Only those
items highlighted in yellow are discussed in greater detail. It is interesting to note that the hours for office
tasks (planning, report preparation, research) exceeded hours in 2012 logged for tree and brush clearing.
Natural Resources Department 2012 Hours by Activity
Activity
Total Hours
Chemical Weed Management
974.95
Contractor Oversight
86.42
Drive Time
1,427.75
Plant Propagation Work
936.25
Mechanical Weed Management
265.25
Meetings
597.50
Office Tasks
1,386.50
Other
389.50
lug Planting
149.00
Prescribed Burning
385.75
Research / Monitoring
257.75
Seed Harvest
232.75
Seed Planting
95.00
Seed Preparation
180.25
Shop Work
897.50
Staging
134.25
Time Off
1,529.75
Tree / Brush Clearing
1,143.75
Tree Planting
582.50
Grand Total
11,652.37
Data presented in this report only concerns on-the-ground tasks accomplished by the field staff plus hours
logged by seasonal staff or interns. Time dedicated to grant writing, administrative tasks, Director’s field time,
and related staff training or/mentoring is not included.
For all of 2012, a total of 11,652 working hours were tracked for all levels of activity. When we subtract from
11,652 those hours for staff time off (holiday/vacation/sick leave), driving time, work completed at the Aurora
West – Natural Resources Facility on muddy/rainy days, office tasks, meeting and planning time, then on-theground natural areas management was 5,023 hours. One of the largest non-land management activities for
2012 was driving, where 1,428 total hours were logged.
-2-
Activities per Season
To give the reader a sense of which tasks are undertaken during our four seasons, an Activity per Season chart
and table have been prepared. Many tasks overlap from one season to another, such as seed harvesting or
tree & brush control; however some work is more restricted to one season, such as weed control with
herbicides. For the purpose of this report seasons of the year are defined as:
• Spring = March, April, May,
• Summer = June, July, August,
• Fall = September, October, November,
• Winter = December, January, February,
During the spring months, the top activity by logged hours was plant propagation (416 hours) followed by
weed herbiciding (239 hours). In the summer of 2012, weed herbiciding (532 hours) was the major activity,
followed by plant propagation (330 hours). By contrast, in the fall more hours were logged for tree and brush
clearing (317) than for the next two leading activities (tree planting or plant propagation or prescribed
burning) combined. Tree and brush thinning, and the associated stump herbiciding work, was the major
winter activity recorded at 604 hours.
Activity Per Season Chart
Plant Propagation
Plug Planting
Prescribed Burning
Research / Monitoring
Seed Harvest
Fall
Seed Planting
Summer
Spring
Tree / Brush Clearing
Winter
Tree Planting & Care
Weed Management - mow/cut
Weed Management- herbicide
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Hours Per Activity
-3-
Staff Hours Per Activity Per Season In 2012
Activity Class
Plant Propagation
Plug Planting
Prescribed Burning
Research / Monitoring
Seed Harvest
Seed Planting
Tree / Brush Clearing
Tree Planting & Care
Weed Management - mow/cut
Weed Management- herbicide
Grand Total
Winter
49
Spring
416
52
53
1
39
604
24
1
101
923
179
74
46
78
144
49
239
1,225
Summer
330
141
19
122
130
9
145
258
215
532
1,901
Fall
142
8
136
9
102
1
317
157
102
975
Grand Total
936
149
386
258
233
95
1,144
582
265
975
5,023
What follows is a more detailed description of each activity in the above table.
-4-
Prescribed Burning
After settlement, land use changes and fire suppression dramatically influenced the condition of today’s relic
natural areas. All our native ecosystems need fire to thrive. The most effective way to reinvigorate our lands
is to reintroduce that primal natural force that shaped the diversity of the prairie biome eons ago.
The use of fire to manage natural communities dates back centuries. Presently, however, fire is the most cost
and time effective means to control brush, setback weedy species, recycle nutrients and burning reduces
thatch thereby easing seed installation.
A total of 947 hours were devoted to the District’s Prescribed Burn efforts in 2012. Both the Natural
Resources and the operations and Maintenance Departments dedicate a considerable amount of time to the
District’s prescribed burn program. Natural Resources is the lead department developing/overseeing the
overall burn program. In 2012, Natural Resources attributed 386 hours to the program, which includes
administration, and site work, while Operations and Maintenance staff contributed 561 hours with on-site
burn assistance. The Natural Resource Department figure includes time spent conducting burns, preparation
of burn maps and plans, cutting burn breaks, preparing burn equipment and field checking sites for burn
readiness. Twenty-two individual burns were completed across 13 different preserves. The two largest burns
were at Aurora West (190 acres) and at Burnidge (229 acres).
Operations Department staff separately contributed 561 staff
hours to conducting prescribed fires.
NATURAL RESOURCE STAFF HOURS
DEDICATED TO PRESCRIBED BURNS 2012
BURN
BURN BREAKS
BURN RECON
EQUIPMENT PREP
PLANS/MAPS/REPORTS
Breakdown of Staff Hours Per Burn in 2012
231.5
250
189.5
200
Staff Hours
150
100
50
94.5
54
48.5
40
63
48
9
42
59.5
17.5
49.5
0
Preserve
-5-
Plant Propagation – 936 hours
Ten years ago the District accepted a large donation of native plants from Midwest Groundcovers, St. Charles,
IL. These plants were used to start a seed nursery at the Aurora West -- Natural Resources facility. The goal of
creating a seed nursery was to establish a reliable, annual seed source for hard to find native plants. Since
2007, staff has grown numerous flats of prairie flowers and grasses from nursery seed for later outplanting.
Some of the nursery seed is used to grow plants for the Prairie @ Home program, where Kane County
homeowners are given native plants, with the agreement they maintain the plants then harvest & return the
seed to the District. As of 2012 there were 31 different plant species in the seed garden, including the
federally threatened leafy prairie clover (Dalea foliosa).
Pot grown trees and shrubs are also produced in-house from locally harvested seeds and nuts. In 2012 staff
grew white oak, bur oak, red oak, chinquapin oak, Kentucky coffee tree, Kingnut hickory, shagbark hickory,
blue ash, wild plum, alternate-leaved dogwood, american hazel, button bush, wafer ash, speckled alder (a
State endangered species), bog birchshrubby St. John’s wort. Many of these trees and shrubs will be used in
future reforestation projects. An inventory of on-hand pot grown trees & shrubs is found in Appendix 2
For all of 2012 staff devoted 936 hours to managing the seed garden plus growing and caring for thousands of
pot grown trees and shrubs.
2012 Natural Resource Staff
Plant Propagation & Care
448
500
400
300
200
249
167
73
100
0
Maintenance
Planting
Propagation
Weeding
-6-
Research and Monitoring – 258 hours
Department staff engages in a variety of annual and unique
scientific research that is separate from work conducted by Bill
Graser, our Wildlide Biologist. Of the more than 94 properties
owned by the District, baseline tree surveys, woodland
characterization or timber cruise data are lacking for 33 sites.
Likewise, we lack good data on the spring woodland flora for
dozens of woodlands. Each year we prioritize to evaluate trees
Wild chervil study
and spring flora with work usually completed at 4 or 5 sites
annually. Of the 258 hours dedicated to research and
monitoring this past year, 49 hours was spent on tree surveys and 26 hours used for spring vegetation surveys.
Other notable projects from 2012 were an experiment measuring the efficiency of different herbicide
treatment for Wild chervil control, a study of prairie vegetation height and density using the Robel Pole
method, and many regionally rare plants were monitored as part of the six county Plants of Concern (POC)
project.
Plant Research & Monitoring for 2012
hours per project
25
Deer Browse study
26
Vegetation Transects
A
c
t
i
v
i
t
y
49
Tree Survey
56
Robel Pole Reading
50
POC Monitoring
9
Photopoint Monitoring
3
Other
40
Chervil Experiment
Hours
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Robel Pole Reading
Vegetation Transect
-7-
Seed Harvesting & Seed Cleaning – 413 hours
Seed is one of the most important commodities the Department both purchases and harvests locally.
Without native seed we could not restore or improve our native ecosystems. Indeed, the fuel that powers
the restoration engine is seed. Without an annual and reliable source of locally grown seed, work on new
prairie recreations would come to a halt. Likewise, we would drastically reduce the acreage of woodland
brush clearing if seed needed to re-vegetate and stabilize our woodlands was not available.
Seed harvests were accomplished in two modes during 2012: 1) hand harvests by staff and 2) hand
harvesting by volunteers. The Department logged 109 hours supervising and assisting on volunteer
harvests, while staff directly spent 124 hours collecting seed. The drought of 2012 decreased the amount
of wild seed produced and the amount of time harvesting was close to one-half the hours spent collecting
in 2011. In the last year seed of 49 species were collected, totaling 205 pounds when cleaned and
commercially valued at roughly $72,160 [= (205 x16oz) x $22/oz.].
As in past years, staff has expended a lot of energy --totaling 413 hours -- in 2012 to dry, sort, mill,
process, and clean wild harvested seed all leading up to creation of native seed mixes.
A dedicated corps of volunteers contributed 333 hours to seed collecting in 2012.
Seed Harvesting
2012 Seed Harvest & Cleaning Hours
333
350
300
233
HOURS
250
180
200
150
100
50
0
Seed Screening
NR Seed Harvest
Volunteer Seed Harvest
NR Staff Seed Preparation
Processed Seed
-8-
Seed Planting – 95 hours
Actively managing thousands of acres of land involves several critical steps, be it a prairie or woodland habitat.
Months after a woodland is cleared of brush, staff will return to manage stump re-sprouts and control garlic
mustard. Ground cleared of brush also should be seeded with native species to prevent a massive weed
invasion. When working to create a prairie from cropland, seed is usually installed in the late winter after the
final soybean crop is harvested. Mowing weeds is once monthly following the initial seeding. Prairie recreations which are several years old are also over-seeded after a burn to fill in weedy spots or to boost
overall plant diversity.
Due to the 2012 drought, staff spent only 95 hours sowing seed. For comparison, staff dedicated 281 hours to
installing seed in 2011. Sixty-seven acres of farmland were removed from production to accommodate
seeding in 2012. Also, at Johnson’s Mound, twenty acres were removed from crop production so cover crop
grass could be established in advance of a planned 2014 reforestation effort. Woodland seed mixes were
installed at Bliss Woods and Lone Grove.
Natural Resource Staff
2012 Seed Planting
Aurora West
9
Big Rock
17
Bliss Woods
12
Burlington Prairie
Preserve name
25
1
Campton
1
Culver
2
Dick Young
5
Johnson's Mound
10
Lone Grove
4
Mill Creek
3
Pingree Grove
7
Prairie Green
0
5
10
Hours
15
20
25
-9-
Tree / Brush Clearing – 1,144 hours
Of all the land management tasks undertaken in 2012, more hours were dedicated to clearing trees and brush
than any other activity (1,144 hours). The six major categories under tree and brush clearing tracked last year
were 1) tractor mowing brush, 2) leading volunteer brush cutting workdays, 3) cleanup of slash following a
chainsaw or volunteer brush cut, 4) staff chainsaw tree felling projects, 5) felling trees with the ASV tree
shear, and 6) ASV brush mowing using the FECON forestry mower.
The top four chainsaw tree felling projects by tallied hours were at
1) Fabyan - to thin brush near the dolomite prairie on the west bank of the Fox River (144 hours)
2) Campton - to clear wind snapped trees plus dead black locust trees near the entrance (97 hours)
3) Aurora West -to fell hundreds of EAB killed ash in an old nursery planting along Hankes Road (61 hours)
4) Fitchie Creek - to remove both an island of trees among an oak planting and remove hundreds of dead
box elder near the parking lot off Russell Road (62 hours).
The top two brush mowing sites in 2012 were also at Fabyan and Aurora West - Culver, with 46.75 and 33
hours respectively.
In addition to the staff hours, our volunteers contributed an astounding 3,062 hours to tree and brush cutting
in 2012.
2012 Natural Resource Staff
Tree & Brush Clearing
ASV Brush Mowing
195
12
Recon
5
Chainsaw Projects
479
Site Clean-up
202
Tractor Mowing
144
Volunteer Brush Cuts
107
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
HOURS
350
400
450
500
Natural Resource Staff:
2012 Brush Mowing Per Preserve Hours
Aurora West
46.75
50
Campton
45
Culver
40
33
35
Hours
ACTIVITY
ASV Tree Shear
Dick Young
28
30
25
Freeman Kame
0
Glenwood Park
12
15
5
Fitchie Creek
19.5
20
10
Fabyan
25.5
7
3
8.5
4.5
Preserve
Kenyon Farm
5.5
2
LeRoy Oakes
Miscellaneous Lands
Rutland
- 10 -
Natural Resource Staff:
2012 Chainsaw Project Hours
144
97
62
44
11
53
9
61
150
125
100
75 Hours
50
25
0
Preserve
- 11 -
Weed Management- herbiciding – 975 hours
Weed management has always been a challenge for the District. As land is added to the District system, or
Canada thistle invades new areas, or land is converted from row-crops to tallgrass prairie, the need to conduct
basic weed management increases.
A wide variety of weeds grow across our lands, but in terms of management, priority is given to controlling
those species listed as noxious or exotic per the Illinois Noxious Weed Act and the Illinois Exotic Weed Act.
Examples of target species include Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense); giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida), and
purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
During all of 2012, Natural Resource staff spent 975 hours on all forms of weed herbiciding. Presented in the
chart below is the breakdown of hours by 1) boom spray, 2) hand spray, 3) weed scouting, and 4) stump
treatment. Extremely hot weather in 2012 prevented staff from completing many herbiciding projects.
Herbicide Management in 2012
638
375
257
Hours
300
225
150
75
48
33
0
Most Canada thistle populations on District
lands are mowed. Since 2000, extremely
large and/or hard to mow clusters of this
plant have been herbicided using a tractor
towed boom sprayer. In 2010-11, 40 hours
were invested in boom spraying Canada
thistle. Hot weather in 2012 prevented
boom spraying.
Weed Management by Herbicide Form
Canada thistle
- 12 -
Weed Management- herbiciding (continued)
A core group of 20 plant species are treated with herbicide each year. Below is a chart depicting the top 10
plants targeted throughout 2012. While most weed herbiciding occurs between May and September, during
fall and winter tree felling operation, stumps are herbicided to prevent stump resprouting. The top three
weed receiving herbicide treatments in 2012 were teasel, wild chervil and purple loosestrife. Purple
loosestrife continues to invade many high quality wetlands and is so aggressive it can quickly outcompete
native plants. Boom spraying this plant is also not an option, thus careful hand spraying herbicide is necessary
to avoid killing desirable plants.
Additionally, both teasel (two forms) and Wild chervil are more frequently invading our preserves, mainly from
established, unmanaged old field and roadside right-of-way populations.
Top 10 Plants: Herbicide Management in
2012
Hours
150
145
139
131
100
60
50
53
49
46
45
44
42
41
0
Plant Name
Purple loosestrife (above) is an aggressive
invader of our wetlands. Controlling this
plant takes repeated herbicide treatments
over several years.
Over 400 hours were devoted to cut stump and stump resprout treatment during the last year. This is a good
representation of the level of follow-up effort required after a tree felling project is complete- meaning there
is more to the project than cutting down trees and removing the slash. Left untreated, winter cut trees and
brush re-sprout with vengeance during the following spring. Control of box elder, buckthorn and honeysuckle
resprout using herbicide occurred primarily at Burnidge, Fabyan, Dick Young, and Johnson’s Mound in 2012.
- 13 -
Weed Management - mowing , cutting & pulling – 265 hours
The second type of weed management undertaken by staff entails the physical cutting and/or removal of
herbaceous plants through mowing, cutting or pulling. For all of 2012, a total of 265 hours were tallied across
these activity categories: 1) Hand cutting, 2) mowing, 3) mowing recon (scouting for weeds to mow), 4) garlic
mustard pulling by staff and 5) staff led volunteer weed control days.
Weed Mowing and Cutting in 2012
5
6
38
33
Hours Spent
184
Hand Cutting
Mowing
Mowing Recon
Pulling
Volunteer Days
In 2012, 184 hours were logged for wildland weed mowing, mainly accomplished with our 15 foot wide
Schulte mowers powered by either the John Deere 6410 or 6420 tractors. The primary targets were fields of
white –sweet clover (Campton, Meissner-Corron and Dick Young preserves) and patches of Bradford pear
(Dick Young and Schweitzer Woods preserves)
Top Species Mowed or Hand-Cut in 2012
140
120
Hours
100
139
80
38
60
40
20
1
15
2
18
15
0
Plant Name
White-Sweet Clover (Top)
(Lower) Garlic mustard
- 14 -
Tree / Shrub Planting - 582 hours
Starting in 2007, the Department made a dramatic shift in long- held reforestation practices and began
planting 3 foot tall bare root saplings and pot grown trees instead of small bare root whips. A large mass of
fine roots gives pot grown trees a much better chance of survival compared to small bare root stock trees. Pot
grown trees are planted both spring and fall.
Staff, with extensive help from volunteers, planted a total of 912 pot grown oak trees in 2012. Most of those
trees were grown in 5 gallon pots and measured 2 feet tall. A mix of red, black, white, and bur oak were
planted this year. Specifically, 412 oaks were planted at Aurora West during National Public Lands Day, 400
oaks were planted at Schweitzer Woods during Earth Day 2012, plus 100 oaks were planted at Dick Young as
part of a Veteran’s Conservation Corps event.
Volunteers contributed a combined total of 887 hours during the National Public Lands Day and Earth Day
events.
Tree Planting Hours for 2012
487
500
Hours
400
300
200
35
100
61
0
Maintenance /
Prep
Planting
Volunteer
Events
Activity
Hundreds of plants and trees awaiting installation
Staff – aided by volunteers – planting trees
Our new standard for reforestation includes watering
each tree as it is planted, followed by mulching, then a
four foot long 2” x 2” stick is installed by each tree.
This stick is then sprayed with a non-toxic deer
repellant several times until winter.
- 15 -
The single largest category of work related to reforestation involved the follow-up watering and deer repellant
applications. Due to the drought of 2012, staff spent a large amount of time (over 400 hours) hauling then
watering newly planted trees to keep them alive.
Tree Care stewards – specialized volunteers – logged 70.5 hours involved in deer repellant application in 2012.
Hundreds of trees were rapidly planted by eager
volunteers during National Public Lands Day
Jason Johnson applies deer repellant to a wood
stake next to a freshly planted oak
- 16 -
Wildlife Studies – 1,869 hours
Bill Graser joined the Natural Resources Department in late 2008. Right at the beginning of his career here,
Bill made plans for documenting amphibian and reptile populations, plus planned to study the white-tailed
deer populations at numerous preserves. Most of the hours Bill logged in 2012 were tied to tasks related to
white-tailed deer projects (690 hours). Dozens of hours were spent obtaining then reviewing current wildlife
literature, writing documents as foundation for the Deer Management Program, writing the Deer
Management Strategy & Plan document, preparing deer related presentations for District committees, and
most importantly implementing all aspects of the new archery hunting program.
Though less than two dozen deer were harvested from District lands between November 2012 and midJanuary 2013, the program got off to a positive start. Each and every one of the 33 deer hunters were pleased
with the Commission approving of this recreational activity, and everyone involved understanding the
ecological importance of reducing the deer herd. In 2012, archery hunting was only allowed at the northern
segment of Freeman Kame – Meagher and across the Brunner Family Forest preserves.
There was not enough of a consistent snow cover between January and February 2012 to allow Department
staff to conduct our annual deer population counts from a helicopter.
Wildlife Biologist’s Time
- 17 -
Bill Graser inspects a check in box for records of hunting activity
One of our lucky archery hunters with his prize
Although the establishment of a wildlife biologist position in 1994 has allowed the District to implement a
considerable number of wildlife surveys, we still lack data on frog, snake, turtle and salamander populations
(collectively called “herpts” or “herptiles”) for dozens of preserves. In 2012, Bill conducted snake surveys at a
Aurora West, Campton and part of the Dick Young Forest Preserves. No highly conservative snakes were
recorded. Briefly, our snake sampling method entails distributing 2’ x 3’ plywood boards across a field in early
spring. The GPS location of each board is mapped, then
revisited and lifted several times during the summer
months.
Snake survey work - we got some big ones!
Another component of the annual herpt surveys involves netting and monitoring turtles. Since 2008 we have
emphasized trapping for, then radio tagging and tracking Blanding’s turtle – an Illinois State Endangered
species. Usually Bill and his intern are knee to waist deep in water from June to August at least twice a week
netting or tracking this species. Not so in 2012, due to the drought, there was more mud than water. Actual
radio tracking of turtles ended a month early last year due to the drought.
- 18 -
Photos from top left to right: A Blanding’s turtle; netting for turtles; and bottom – a freshly mounted radio
transmitter on a Blanding’s turtle.
A very limited small mammal census was conducted by staff at three sites in 2012 (Aurora West, Blackberry
Maples and Campton). No rare or endangered species were found, just the usual voles, mice and shrews.
- 19 -
APPENDIX 1
Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Natural Resources Department
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1)
Maintain biological diversity in all designated Illinois State Nature Preserves.
•
•
2)
Evaluate ecological health of all District lands.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
3)
Conduct multi-tiered herbaceous vegetation analysis across plant communities to
document baseline pre-restoration/enhancement conditions. This effort shall
document species presence and abundance.
Collect data on woodland composition, quality, structure and age classes across all
holdings.
Expand in-place butterfly, amphibian and avi-fauna monitoring programs which involve
both volunteers and staff.
Hire full time Wildlife Biologist to implement mammal monitoring programs.
Initiate limited scope small mammal census projects at high quality sites and establish
restoration units.
Further support volunteer based aquatic/stream ecosystem monitoring and avi-fauna
monitoring programs.
Support and expand involvement in the regional rare plant monitoring project titled
Plants of Concern.
Conduct field evaluations of dominant habitats at critical preserves, such as Johnson
Mound, Burnidge, Helm Woods, and Freeman Kane and determine plant community
quality. Quality may be based on the Illinois Natural Area Inventory system.
Develop plans which identify site specific land management needs.
•
•
•
•
4)
Implement and evaluate prescribed burn regime across all nature preserves.
Reduce and/or eliminate all non-native and invasive plants and animal species which
immediately threaten plant community integrity.
Establish management objectives for all primary habitat types on District lands.
Prepare Annual Management Schedule booklet which outlines proposed restoration
projects and objectives for site receiving management efforts.
Refine existing ARC Map/GIS data files and layers to reflect and incorporate present and
projected plant community quality.
Draft management unit maps for all lands purchased between 1980 – 2005 and not
currently undergoing large-scale land restoration.
Maintain and enhance the overall biodiversity, quality and character of 90% of District lands
preserved as natural habitat and open space.
•
Continue to implement common land management techniques such as plant control,
prescribed burning, and wildlife control, seeding and planting.
- 20 -
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5)
Conduct routine evaluations of land management methods and techniques to measure
effectiveness. Adjust tactics to improve results and achieve land management goals,
e.g. adaptive management.
Continue to hire qualified contractors to assist with large-scale restoration and
enhancements projects (e.g. tree thinning, herbicide application, etc.)
Increase species diversity and restore community structure upon lands degraded by past
land uses and/or invasive species.
Annually remove 200 – 300 acres of land from the farm lease program. This land shall
then be planted to improve habitat valve to wildlife.
Annually plant 5,000 – 10,000 oak seedlings across the appropriate habitats.
Focus management activities on these lands where; 1.) Ecological health can be restored
with minimal effort and 2.) Lands supporting locally rare or listed threatened and
endangered species.
Consult with Planning & Development staff in order to suggest greenways and links
between preserves.
Provide expertise and advice to the President and Executive Director with regard to
purchasing critical lands supporting rare or endangered species, or regionally rare plant
communities such as fens or seeps.
Reintroduce natural conditions and environmental forces/factors that favor
proliferation of native species. This would include disabling drain tile systems and/or
routinely conducting prescribed burns.
Consult with Executive Director, Planning staff and President to create macro-site size
preserves.
Increase management and biodiversity planning on land adjacent to forest preserve.
•
•
Work with developers during permit process, to establish buffer between public lands
and urbanized lands.
Work with homeowners and HOA’s in established areas that abut preserves to reinforce
valve of protected lands.
6)
Create and manage for mosaic of plant communities.
7)
Reduce deterioration of aquatic ecosystem quality.
• Remove unnecessary dams
• Restore emergent vegetation at selected streams
• Remeander channelized streams where possible
• Restore riffles, pools, sand bars and associated natural in-stream structures
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APPENDIX 2
Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Natural Resources Department
Inventory of in-house pot grown trees & shrubs
Scientific Name
Common Name
Source
Number
Pot size
Alnus rugosa (incana)
Alnus rugosa (incana)
Alnus rugosa (incana)
Betual pumila
Cephelanthus
occidentalis
Cephelanthus
occidentalis
Carya lac
Catalpa speciosa
Catalpa speciosa
Cornus alternafolia
Corylus americana
Fraxinus quadrangulata
Gleditsia tricanthos
Golden rain tree
Gymnocladus dioicus
Gymnocladus dioicus
New Jersey tea
Ptlea trifoliata
Quecus alba
Quercus alba
Quercus alba
Quercus alba
Quercus alba
Quercus alba + macro
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus rubra
Quercus rubra
Quercus rubra
Quercus rubra
Speckeld alder
bog birch
LeRoy Oakes
LeRoy Oakes
LeRoy Oakes
Dick Young
23
9
45
39
5 gal
1 gal
5 gal
1 gal
Button bush
unknown
42
1 gal
hickory
Catalpa
Alt. lvd dogwood
Blue ash
honey locust
kentucky coffeetree
Wafer ash/hop tree
White oak
Burr oak
Red oak
Fermi
DuPage
DuPage
Kane
Fermi
J Mnd
DuPage
DuPage
Batavia?
DuPage
Coffee
Big Rock
Hannaford
St Charles
FabyanEast
St Charles
unknown
mixed
Bliss
2011
unknown
unknown
unknown
Bliss A-1
unknown
blackberry
Blackberry
Blackberry
unknown
33
11
9
4
8
59
22
2
1
45
20
1
80
13
60
219
235
69
67
47
168
204
366
182
27
64
1
141
63
2
1 gal
5 gal
1 gal
5 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
5 gal
5 gal
1 gal
5 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
1 gal
5 gal
1 gal
1 gal
10 gal bag
1 gal
3 gal
10 gal bag
20 gal bag
Total Alnus
77
Total Q. alba
596
Total Q. macro
1,058
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