Restoration Strategy and Methods

Restoration Journal

When mowing ceased on the buffer property and restoration techniques and prescribed burns were introduced in the mid-1990s, native species showed up that had somehow survived decades of mowing and urbanization in either the seed bank or a stunted form. These species include wild hyacinth, wild geranium, prairie trillium, bottlebrush grass, wild leek, marsh milkweed, woodland sunflower and a variety of goldenrods, grasses and sedges.

Rough marsh cress (Rorippa palustris hispida) was discovered growing in a disturbed area of the stream bed. Riverbank sedge (Carex emoryi) was discovered along the stream banks. Both are rare species associated with wet areas.

The discovery of savanna and wetland species in defined parts of the site, validates the designation of this area as buffer with original landscape features. These survivors verify that the land has value as a nursery for inviting the expansion of adjacent high quality natural areas.