Step 1 of a Woodland Restoration, continued . . .

Dead ash trees dominate what is left of the canopy of our 5.7-acre "Tower Woods" -- June 2015.

The Tower Woods following bush honey suckle and dead ash removal, prepped for reforestation -- April 2017.

It is already painfully obvious that it will be challenging to stay disciplined about posting regularly (much less daily) as the days get longer and the temperatures rise. The last few days brought 60s and 70s -- with today flirting with 80 degrees for the first time this year . . . a far cry from the upper 30s and snow of late last week. Good weather will tempt me away from the keyboard, but I'll do my best to keep journaling . . . 

Today was a noteworthy day in that we were visited by the Ohio DNR, Division of Forestry. The state forester came this morning to inspect the "site prep" portion of our the reforestation contract that we have entered into with the USDA. (More detail: 3/21/17) As you can see from the side-by-side from the sky, the "before" and "after" comparison is visually pretty striking.

The bottom photo depicts what remains of the woodlot after nearly two weeks of careful site preparation. An excavator with a surprisingly dexterous grabber attachment worked in conjunction with a dozer and track skidloader to minimize impacts on the surface soil while uprooting and removing invasive bush honeysuckle, dead ash trees (by far the dominant canopy tree), and any other less desirable woody species. What remains are just 50-60 solitary trees, mostly locusts and hackberries (with a few cottonwoods, oak, maples, and elms mixed in for good measure).

The state forester said he really could not have asked for a better job, so we got the green light to move to Phase II -- which will essentially be babysitting the understory to selectively remove any remnants of the invasive honeysuckle that try to rebound from this initial effort. Roy will serve as our regular watchdog. We have been given various suggestions for next steps based on how the weather plays out this spring/summer and how the site responds. It should be very interesting.

If all goes as planned, we will be ordering 1,100 trees from a Michigan grower in August or September. Each seedling will be a native hardwood (oak, black walnut, cherry, and sycamore), and each will be 2-4' tall when it is planted next spring (likely April 2018). 

While the local rumor mill in and around Bay View has many people convinced that we're prepping the site for houses our condos, those who hear we are planting more trees are all smiles. So are we.

Step 1 of a Woodlot Restoration

Ash logs -- ravaged by emerald ash borer and now destined to be repurposed (after being kiln treated) by the Amish.

It may seem strange to start a conversation on marsh restoration and conservation with an image of a new, nearly clear-cut woodlot, but this is restoration in action. While <5% of the total property is currently wooded, we have been focusing a good deal of attention this last week or so on a ~6-acre area that was decimated by the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle from Asia that is reeking havoc on ash trees throughout much of the U.S. and eastern Canada. Because Detroit, MI is thought to have been the epicenter of this invasive species' infestation (in 2002), northern Ohio was in the crosshairs early.

We estimate that this isolated woodlot had 200-250 trees that were 12" in diameter (DBH) or larger prior to the borer infestation. Of these, the vast majority (unfortunately) were ash. Literally every single ash tree in the area is dead, and most have been dead for five years or more based on the level of decay (note bark falling off trunk wood). Unfortunately, once the canopy is significantly thinned, an ecosystem like this is often further stressed by the proliferation of another invasive species -- bush honeysuckle. (More on that later.)

You may notice that the isolated trees left standing in the photo have pink flagging tape on them. These markers showed our contractor the ~70 trees that we were able to salvage. Most of the trees spared are hackberry and locust, but we also have a handful of nice oaks, maples, and even elms.

The understory (mostly made up of nasty honeysuckle) is being completely scraped in preparation for a replanting. We are working in conjunction with the Ohio DNR (Division of Forestry) and the USDA/NRCS through a program called EQIP such that by the spring of 2018, we will have 1,100 new trees growing. It will take some time and a good amount of effort, but eventually, we'll have a healthy canopy of desirable trees supporting a much more diverse ecosystem.