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Restoring wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area – 2012 report

This document was prepared for the ODFW Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program by staff at the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE):

Peter Moore

The Institute for Applied Ecology is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to conserve native ecosystems through restoration, research, and education.

P.O. Box 2855 Corvallis, OR 97339-2855

(541)753-3099 www.appliedeco.org

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Restoring wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area – 2012 report

The Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are restoring two non-native fallow grassland fields into wet prairies at EE Wilson Wildlife Area, north of Corvallis. The fields are known as Pipit and West Check Station, and both are 33 acres in size. Ultimately we aim to boost populations of rare and endangered plants, and to provide native prairie habitat for wildlife, such as grassland birds. The two fields have been prepared over the last few years by ODFW and IAE. Pipit prairie was seeded with native grasses in October 2011 and West Check Station has been in chemical fallow before establishment of native grasses. During 2012 IAE staff, ODFW and subcontractors mowed and sprayed invasive and non-native species to prepare the ground for native grasses and wildflower forbs. This report summarizes 2012 activities. IAE funding was provided by ODFW’s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program and OWEB and USFWS grants for the Nelson’s checkermallow recovery project. The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Plant Materials Center near Corvallis also raised the checkermallow and camas. Many thanks to ODFW staff at EE Wilson Wildlife Area for support of the project. 1. Weed Control April 23, 2012 – Milestone was broadcast over three-quarters of Pipit prairie. The remainder of

the field was too wet. July 9-16, 2012 – Hand weeding of isolated plants of velvet grass in Pipit prairie during 3 days,

by a 2-4 person weeding crew. July 19-20, 2012 – On Track Spray Service was contracted to spray the borders of both fields (c.

10 acres), targeting blackberry and teasel using Element 4 and Milestone, plus USO surfactant (Cost = $1631).

July 20, 2012 – Wilbur-Ellis was contracted to broadcast spray West Check Station with

Roundup RT3, Cayuse Plus (adjuvant) and Crosshair (surfactant). Target all weeds, esp. velvet grass, which had previously been hard to kill (30 acres, cost = $473).

November 6 & 14, 2012 – Habitat Restoration LLC was contracted to broadcast spray West

Check Station (33 acres, cost = $1817) and spot spray weedy forbs at Pipit (8 hours, cost = $670) with Capstone and R-11 surfactant.

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2. Mowing, Brush Control & Disking Late July – ODFW mowed south border and part of east border of Pipit. Mid-August – ODFW mowed the fire lines around Pipit in preparation for the burn. September 4-5, 2012 – Charlie Creek Environmental was contracted for Skid steer mowing of

previously sprayed blackberry and small shrubs on the field borders at Pipit and West Check Station (c. 10 acres, 18 hours of mowing, cost = $1800).

September 7, 2012 – OFDW mowed West Check Station to remove thatch after herbicide

treatment. September 10, 2012 – ODFW mowed entrance into south Pipit in preparation for burn. October 4, 2012 – E.D. Hughes Excavating, Inc. was contracted to excavate and remove 9 loads

of dirt from Pipit Prairie in the mound separating the two halves of the field. October 5, 2012 – ODFW disked portions of the fire line and blackberry borders at West Check

Station to flatten out the zone for grass sowing and future mowing. October 9, 2012 – ODFW disked the left-over mound and neck of ground separating the two

halves of Pipit field in preparation for grass sowing. 3. Prescribed Burn September 11, 2012 – Pipit prairie was burned to reduce grass thatch and to provide an ideal

seed bed for the native forbs. The burn was run as a training exercise by Oregon Department of Forestry, with assistance from USFWS and Philomath Fire and Rescue fire crews. The burn was somewhat patchy on the south half of the field but good coverage on the north half of the field.

4. Seeding of Grasses and Forbs October 4-9, 2012 – IAE staff used the ODFW tractor and 12-foot no-till drill to sow 306 pounds

of native grasses at West Check Station and 90 pounds of native grasses around the fire line borders of each field.

Two different seed mixes were used to suit the wet prairie and upland prairie parts of the field (see Table 1). For sowing efficiency, it is easier to sow large areas, so the field was divided in two. Most of the wet prairie mix, which included slender hairgrass (Deschampsia elongate), American sloughgrass (Beckmannia syzigachne) and water foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus), was used in the south half of the field, which has more wet areas. Most of the upland mix, which

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included a large component of meadow barley (Hordeum brachyantherum), was used in the north half of the field. The fire line mix included a large proportion of blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus)(Table 1). Grasses were sowed at 9-10 pounds per acre. Total cost of grass seed was $5564 (including $1650 already pre-paid by ODFW). A range of nursery sources were used, including Pacific NW Natives, Heritage Seedlings and IAE seed supplies. October 9-11, 2012 – IAE staff used the ODFW tractor and 12-foot no-till drill to sow Pipit

prairie with forbs. A total of 23 species were chosen for the 196 pounds of forb mix, including species with different habitat preferences, to suit the subtle differences in topography of the field (Table 1). For example, fragrant popcornflower (Plagiobothrys figuratus) thrives in ephemeral pools that hold water in the spring, great camas (Camassia leichtlinii) grows best in wet parts of the prairie, farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) prefers the more upland portions, whereas Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum) has a wider tolerance for soil moisture. The largest component of the mix was 66 pounds of Nelson’s checkermallow seed (Sidalcea nelsoniana), a threatened species that is being planted out at many sites in the Willamette Valley at part of an IAE recovery project. Total cost of forb seed was $18,600 (including $9,900 seed production cost for Nelson’s checkermallow; cost to this grant was $7,491). A range of nursery sources were used, including Pacific NW Natives, Heritage Seedlings, IAE seed supplies and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Plant Materials Center. It is important to calibrate the drill so that the right amount of seed flows out of the 18 hoppers and drill lines to give good coverage on the field and not run out of seed. Our aim was to drill at 6 pounds per acre, and this can be tricky, as some species have fairly large seed and others are like dust, so they don’t necessarily flow consistently in a mix. Consequently a finer seed mix was used in the smaller hoppers and Nelson’s checkermallow seed in three of the medium hoppers for seeding the whole of Pipit field. This was followed up with additional seeding of larger forb seeds (including gumweed, lupines, tarweed, dwarf checkermallow and Nelson’s checkermallow) from the medium hoppers at the south end of the field and by seeding strips across the north end of the field. Fortunately, the weather conditions were perfect, so we did not have to contend with moisture affecting the drilling. We anticipate that the high seeding rates used over the whole field will allow the different species to thrive in the areas that most suit them, and therefore create a diverse and varying plant community. High seeding rates will also help to compete with the native grasses and invasive species. October 25, 2012 – Hand seeding was conducted to complete the corners and edges of the fire

lines that were missed by the drill, and a small amount of forb seed that was left over from the drilling.

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5. Planting of Forbs November 21, 2012 – IAE staff returned to Pipit with a Birrueta Reforestation crew to plant

forbs. Over 1000 plugs of Nelson’s checkermallow and 3000 other forbs were planted (Table 2). Checkermallow and camas were planted near the south border of the northeast arm of Pipit prairie. Biscuitroot, iris, cinquefoil and heal-all was planted in the north central part of the field and geranium, iris and yarrow was planted near the southwest edge. Total cost of forbs was $2,290 (including $1,250 production cost for checkermallow plugs; cost to this project was $1,040). A range of nursery sources were used, including Sevenoaks Native Nursery, Trillium Gardens and the NRCS Plant Materials Center (for checkermallow and camas – supplied free of charge).

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Species lbs Species lbs Species lbs Species lbs

23 196.20 3 90.00 4 141.25 6 164.50

Table 1. Seed Mixes at EE Wilson in 2012

site

Pipit forbs

Fire line grasses

West Check Station Upland

grasses

West Check Station Wet

prairie grasses acres

lbs/acre 33

5.95 10

9.00 16.5 8.56

16.5 9.97

Scientific Name

Common Name

Form

Habitat

lbs/acre

lbs

lbs/acre

lbs

lbs/acre

lbs

lbs/acre

lbs

Achillea millefolium common yarrow forb wet, up

0.265 8.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 Asclepias speciosa

showy milkweed forb wet, up

0.106 3.50 0.00 0.00 0.00

Camassia leichtlinii tall camas forb wet

0.212 7.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Clarkia amoena farewell-to-spring forb up

0.212 7.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Eriophyllum lanatum woolly sunflower forb wet, up

0.174 5.75 0.00 0.00 0.00

Grindelia integrifolia Puget Sound gumweed forb wet

0.230 7.60 0.00 0.00 0.00

Iris tenax toughleaf iris forb up

0.002 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.00

Lomatium nudicaule barestem biscuitroot forb up

0.126 4.16 0.00 0.00 0.00 Lotus unifoliatus (purshianus)

American bird's-foot trefoil

forb

wet, up

0.212

7.00

0.00 0.00

0.00

Lupinus polyphyllus bigleaf lupine forb wet

0.182 6.02 0.00 0.00 0.00

Lupinus rivularis river lupine forb wet, up

0.660 21.79 0.00 0.00 0.00

Madia elegans showy tarweed forb wet, up

0.106 3.50 0.00 0.00 0.00

Plagiobothrys figuratus fragrant popcornflower forb emerg

0.106 3.50 0.00 0.00 0.00

Potentilla gracilis slender cinquefoil forb wet, up

0.212 7.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Prunella vulgaris var. lanceolata

common selfheal

forb

wet, up

0.235

7.76

0.00 0.00

0.00

Ranunculus occidentalis Western buttercup forb up

0.106 3.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ranunculus orthorhynchus

straightbeak buttercup

forb

wet

0.074

2.45

0.00 0.00

0.00

Saxifraga oregana Oregon saxifrage forb wet

0.010 0.32 0.00 0.00 0.00

Sidalcea nelsoniana Nelson's checkermallow forb wet

2.004 66.13 0.00 0.00 0.00

Sidalcea virgata dwarf checkermallow forb up

0.074 2.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 Symphyotrichum (Aster) hallii

Hall's aster

forb

wet

0.051

1.69

0.00 0.00

0.00

Agrostis exarata spike bentgrass grass wet

0.000 0.00 0.00

1.636 27.00

1.061 17.50 Alopecurus geniculatus

water foxtail

grass

emerg

0.000 0.00 0.00 0.00

2.121 35.00

Beckmannia syzigachne American sloughgrass grass emerg

0.000 0.00 0.00 0.00

2.121 35.00

Bromus carinatus California brome grass up

0.000 0.00

1.500 15.00 0.00 0.00

Bromus sitchensis Alaska brome grass up

0.000 0.00

1.500 15.00 0.00 0.00

Danthonia californica California oatgrass grass up

0.000 0.00 0.00

0.530 8.75 0.00

Deschampsia cespitosa tufted hairgrass grass wet

0.000 0.00 0.00 0.00

0.424 7.00 Deschampsia elongata

slender hairgrass

grass

wet

0.000 0.00 0.00 0.00

3.182 52.50

Elymus glaucus blue wildrye grass up

0.000 0.00

6.000 60.00

1.061 17.50 0.00 Hordeum brachyantherum

meadow barley

grass

wet

0.000

0.00

0.00

5.333

88.00

1.061 17.50

Carex unilateralis

one-sided sedge

sedge /rush

wet 0.530

17.50

0.00 0.00

0.00 Juncus tenuis

poverty rush

sedge /rush

wet 0.053

1.75

0.00 0.00

0.00

Habitat key: wet = wet praire preference

up=upland praire preference

emerg=vernal pools

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Table 2. Number and Species of forbs planted at EE Wilson on November 21, 2012

EE Wilson - planted 11/21/12 Species Common name Total

Achillea millefolium common yarrow 504 Camassia leichtlinii v. suksdorfii great camas 800

Geranium oreganum Oregon geranium 330 Iris tenax Oregon iris 484

Lomatium nudicaule barestem biscuitroot 445 Potentilla gracilis slender cinquefoil 328

Prunella vulgaris lanceolata Heal-all 216

Sidalcea nelsoniana Nelson's

checkermallow 1031

Total plants 4138

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Photo Gallery

Blackberry being sprayed at West Check Station

Broadcast spray of West Check Station

West Check Station after herbicide treatment

Sprayed blackberry at Pipit being mowed with a skid steer

Brush edge after herbicide treatment and mowing

Disking the fire line

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Oregon Department of Forestry fire-fighters conducting a prescribed burn at Pipit

Burnt grassland at Pipit

Colorful mix of forb seeds

Tractor and seed drill at Pipit

Geoff Gardner and Matt Blakeley-Smith calibrating the seed drill

Figure: Drill lines at West Check Station field

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Seeding West Check Station

Geoff Gardner hand seeding at Pipit Photos by Peter Moore and Geoff Gardner, IAE