Glacial Heritage History

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Glacial Heritage History

• Carri Marschner
• Mima Prairie Land Steward

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Glacial History

• Originally prairie
• Pastureland and some farming
• Owned by Partners Financial Inc. by 1985
• Purchased by Thurston County in 1987

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TNC at Glacial

• 1996 -1998 Introduction to preserve
• USFWS Partners
• 1999 -2000 Preliminary broom control
  experiments
• Thurston County
• USFWS Partners
• 2000 2006
• USFWS Partners
• Quercas Y Aves
• NRCS WHIP
• 2007
• ACUB
• USFWS Partners
• NRCS WHIP

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Glacial Positives

• Diverse mosaic
• Rare species
• Low impact historical use
• High quality patches
• Moderate native species diversity
• Large size
• Limited public use

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Glacial Challenges

• Historically density Scotch broom
• High density pasture grasses
• Areas plowed/ poor quality
• Ecologically disjunct
• Fire suppression
• Resource limitations
• County use restrictions

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Proving ground

• Glacial as site for new techniques
• Wide range of management options
• Fire
• Landscape level treatments
• Restoration needed

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Outline

• Suite of projects at Glacial
• Scotch Broom control
• Native prairie enhancement
• Monitoring of habitat and wildlife

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Scotch Broom Outline

• Integrated Scotch broom control
• Suite of methods
• History of treatment on site
• Monitoring
• Results
• Data
• Photos

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Scotch Broom

• Objective
• Short term control
• Eradication from site

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Scotch Broom Methods
Treatment must be spatially and temporally
variable. Continue to apply the strategy over
multiple years to achieve success.
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Scotch Broom Methods

• Strategy
• Apply a range of control methods
• Hand-pull
• Spot spray
• Broadcast
• Mowing
• Fire
• Alone or in combinations

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Scotch Broom Treatment history

• Early treatment
• Mow site to prevent seed set
• Experiment with control methods
• Focus on south end of central prairie

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Scotch Broom Treatment history

• Mid treatment
• Expand focus to central prairie
• Introduce fire
• Weed sweep
• Hand pull sparse areas

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Scotch Broom Treatment history

• Late treatment
• Central prairie under maintenance
• Less tractor work
• More spot spray
• Focus on northern southern ends
• Second round of fire
• Expand hand pull areas

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Scotch Broom Monitoring

• Monitoring
• Broom height
• Broom cover
• Transects across site
• Opportunistic

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Scotch Broom Data
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• 1940s slide

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Glacial 1992
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Glacial 1996

• 1940s slide

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Glacial 2000
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Glacial 2002
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Glacial 2005
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Outline

• Suite of projects at Glacial
• Scotch Broom control
• Native prairie enhancement
• Monitoring of habitat and wildlife

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Native Prairie enhancement

• Invasive species control
• Scotch broom
• Tall oat grass
• Pasture grass
• Conifers
• Reintroduction of biological processes
• Fire
• Native plant restoration
• Fescue
• Forbs
• Native animal restoration
• Butterflies

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Tall Oat Grass
2006
1996
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Pasture Grasses

• Pasture Grasses
• Tall Oat Grass
• Agrostis
• Anthoxanthum
• Orchard Grass
• Other Grasses
• Reed Canary Grass
• Velvet Grass
• Red Fescue
• Airas

• Native Grasses
• Romers Fescue
• Danthonias
• Panicums
• Koehleria
• Native agrostis
• Red Fescue?

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Pasture Grasses

• Treatment options
• Herbicide
• POAST
• Fusillade
• Carbon reduction
• Dr. Kirkpatrick
• Mowing
• Fire
• Collins plots

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Restoration

• Grow and plant native species

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Restoration

• Re-introduce native species

Experimental reintroduction of Taylors
Checkerspot Larvae
Experimental reintroduction of Golden Paintbrush
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Restoration Fire

• Re-introduction of fire

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Restoration Fire
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Outline

• Suite of projects at Glacial
• Scotch Broom control
• Native prairie enhancement
• Monitoring of habitat and wildlife

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Monitoring projects

• Butterfly monitoring
• Bird monitoring

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Butterflies
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Butterflies Prairie
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Rare butterflies
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Birds
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Grassland Birds
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Summary

• Scotch Broom forest to Prairie
• Broom control Slow Steady
• Tall Oat Grass pasture grasses
• Partnerships crucial
• Restoration underway
• Time to focus on prairie quality

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Funding Begets Funding
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Into the Future

• Monitoring
• Pollinators
• Bats
• Black River
• Amphibians
• Riparian vegetation
• Reed Canary Grass

• Invasive plants
• Weedy annuals
• Weedy perennials
• Native prairie restoration
• Native grasses
• Native forbs
• Rare species reintroduction

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QUESTIONS ?