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| Fall color in the Central Barrens complex |
From the Shoal Creek Volunteers board meeting:
It met on January 18, 2016. New on the board is Andy Furman.
Welcome!
A report on our SCV website,
which has been inactive, indicated that it is still ‘owned’. We want to do a
major revision once it is vacated and tie it to our blogs.
We will be calling a workday
later this winter to improve appearances of the sign bed. No one has come forth
to help manage it and we therefore plan to reduce its size greatly. We will
retain several short statured plant species and eliminate all others.
Volunteers are welcome to salvage the many fine
prairie wildflower species that
will otherwise be discarded. Please call Henry at 324-3410 if interested!
Much needed prescribed fires
are still planned. Windows of opportunities for safe burns are always limited
and we will have a call for volunteers on the usual short notice.
It was decided that we should
have a guided wildflower walk for the public this spring. This will be after
our spring board meeting and finalized at that time.
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| Late sun at Rocky Hollow |
Steward’s Report
Seed was collected throughout
the summer and fall at numerous locations specifically for our barrens
restoration project. We completed additional canopy reduction, mostly of Black
Oak trees. Many of these have health issues to begin with. Another one of them
toppled and revealed that the tree was only held up by a trunk consisting of a
thin outer shell. Certain flatwoods areas were also thinned. That should
benefit large populations of Prairie Blazing-stars here, as well as other
wildflowers. We will need to track all treated sites and evaluate them as the
dead and dying trees start dropping. Trees girdled here 2 and 3 years ago are
already starting to disintegrate. The ground vegetation has benefited greatly
meanwhile. Its recovery would be much
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| Pin Oaks in North Old-field |
advanced by a good fire before spring.
Here is hoping.
Removal of Multiflora Rose,
Autumn Olive and Honeysuckle is a continuing effort and another 1,000 or so
plants were removed.
Recent high water on the lake
The recent record setting rainfall and
resulting high water had a profound effect on the low flood plain areas below
the dam. In the woods near the creek and especially along hillsides were areas
of considerable scouring and elsewhere huge debris drifts had piled up. Water
had been apparently 4-5’ high on average, based on stranded debris up in the branches.
It may also have washed away seed of site specific species that had been
scattered in the Rocky
Hollow and other ravines just a few weeks prior.
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| Water, water everywhere |
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| Water beginning to recede |
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| Wind and water shaped drift deposit |
International Oak Society
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Walking up the steep
ravine from the
dock to the barrens |
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| FOLLY boat shuttle |
In
September we hosted a bus load of members of the International Oak Society,
hailing from many countries. They came here to see the preserve and naturally
we wanted to show them the best section for Oaks of various varieties. That
would be the central barrens section which happens to be the most difficult to
access of the entire preserve. Access from the east is not possible because it
is bounded by a farm which we can’t cross. The south and north sides are OK but
require a 20 to 30 minute hike. On the east side is Lake Lou Yaeger. We spent
several days looking for the best way to get these people from the bus into the
preserve. Then we found a nice path that followed a gully down to a small cove
on the lake. It was an easy walk but how to take the visitors from the bus to
the cove. We called for help from a group called FOLLY which stands for friends
of Lake Lou Yaeger. They were able to provide a floating dock which we anchored
in the cove and five pontoon boats to ferry the visitors across the lake. We
all realized how beautiful the preserve is when accessed from the lake. The Oak
Society members were very, very happy with their visit to the Shoal Creek
Preserve.
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| Group of Oak Society visitors listen to Henry (in the very center) |
The visitors explored samples of barrens and
flatwoods, all rich in oak species. There may have been acorns on the ground
when they arrived but not when they left. Pockets were full. The lunch break
afterwards stretched well beyond the allotted time, clearly a sigh that they
all had a good time. Many were profuse with their praise. We really appreciate
the help from FOLLY.
Without them access would have been less spectacular and
much more strenuous.
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| Descending from the barrens to the dock |
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| On the hike to the flatwoods |
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| Exploring the Pin Oak grove in the flatwoods |
Winter Woodland Walks
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| Cup fungi in woody debris |
I checked on a patch of
Spinulose Wood-fern and counted some 30 plants, indicating a very slow increase
in numbers over a period of more than 20 years. I expected to find more, but
here too the hot and very dry summer of 2012 had taken its toll. This low
evergreen species is quite common throughout much of its range; it is even
found abundantly in England
and the continent there. Why is it so rare here? The natural world is full of unknowns.
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| Narrow crowned Pin Oak |
Trees really stand out this
time of the year. I took notice of a Pin Oak in the increasingly brushy north
old-field area. This tree was noticeably narrower crowned than others nearby.
What will it look like many decades from now? Meandering through the hills and
hollers toward the lake one notices a lot of picturesque old White Oak trees.
‘Picturesque’ often stands for crooked, misshapen. These trees most likely were
not harvested for that reason over 50 years ago when the lake was built.
Meanwhile they would make many a good saw log, though perhaps of low grade!
Many more White Oak are very slender trees. Where they are abundant they might
be referred to as ‘dog hair’ stands. These have been thinning out slowly on the
preserve for several biologic reasons. I decided to measure one by the stick
method. With a trunk about 12” in diameter it was between 70 and 80’ tall. With
a ramrod straight and uniform trunk and no branches for 2/3 of the way up it
should yield a most valuable log some 100 years hence. Well, let’s hope that
money will not be the measure of all things! To the best of my knowledge the
last 2 acre patch of Pin Oaks in a neighboring county, with trunks 6’ in
diameter was pushed out in the early 1950’s to make room for a few more rows of
corn. Even larger trees, as much as 10’ across, existed previously in that area.
No such forest remains today, anywhere. What a loss, though mourned by few.
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| Raft of Canada Geese, note the single swan |
At the edge of the timber and
old-field I came across a small patch of White Gentian, now just pale tan
foliage. It has held its own here. Elsewhere on the preserve it has declined
greatly in numbers. That decline in populations and numbers goes back many
decades and is also true for several other species. We are making educated
guesses as to the reasons, but they are still just guesses. Near the Gentian
some vegetation was
covered with small black globs. These were clusters of seed
capsules, remnants of Dodder. It is a parasitic plant during the growing season,
with no chlorophyll and no roots. .Its host plant here is the abundant and very
invasive Lespedeza sericea. We can only hope that it might some day aid in
control of this pernicious weed. Who says that such a walk in the winter has no
interest?
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| Ice patterns |
Also fascinating is the land
itself. Scouring water from the recent deluges had exposed rock bottomed waterways
and piled up large drifts of leaves and twigs in some places. Those will in
time form their own little habitats, hiding places for rarely encountered reptiles
and amphibians. Speaking of leaf piles: upland areas by the acre look a bit as
if some haphazard ploughing had taken place. Piled up leaves form irregular
patterns with bare, exposed soil in between. Flocks of turkeys have been at
work here, looking for seeds or insects. It must be slim pickings as they rely
much on acorns, which are notable this season for their complete absence. Such mast failure event can spell hard times
for wildlife. The press has been reporting that out east the black bears have
been showing up in towns as there no acorn there either.
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| Ice patterns |
With the lake waters being
drawn down long drifts of sand, shaped by prevailing winds and currents are now
visible. Elsewhere sand and various sized pebbles have been deposited in
distinctive drift lines. Remaining ice, crystallized in many ways is a study in
diversity as well.
Sustaining Members Please Contribute
We hope that you enjoyed the Shoal Creek Volunteers blog. Pleae remember, we need your money but not very much of it. Please make an annual contribution of $10 by sending your check to our treasurer, Jim Stapleton at 364 Westlake Trail, Litchfield, Illinois, 62056.http://shoalcreekvolunteers.blogspot.com
