Group Trout Stream Therapy

Posted on June 8, 2014 by paulmozina

When DNR Fisheries Biologist, Ben Heussner, contacted me last week about a workday on the Scuppernong River, I didn’t dare to imagine the fantastic outcome we would realize yesterday. “Fix the water“, that’s what Tracy Hames, executive director of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, preaches and we put that mantra into action with a Group Trout Stream Therapy session.

Ben set the table last December with 2 workdays on the river where the DNR fisheries team, along with help from Southeast Wisconsin Trout Unlimited, installed dozens of coconut hull biologs to re-establish the river’s natural meander. Then Mike, a trout unlimited volunteer from Wilmette, IL, and Ben coordinated to bring a group of volunteers from Trinity United Methodist Church up to help us fill in the wet areas behind the biologs. I can say unequivocally that this was the hardest working team of volunteers I have ever had the pleasure to work with. They were filled with the spirit for sure!

Above that is Ben Heussner, Pastor Brian Smith, Donna McCluskey, Bob Meyers, Sarah Jacobs, Ella and Elliot Torres, Carol Meynen, Tom Board, Ward Reeves and Mike Jacobs seated in front.

Ben Heussner met Ben Johnson, Dick Jenks and myself to scope out the situation and plan the day’s work.

He is a very busy dude, and shortly after he introduced us to the group from Trinity United Methodist, we were on our own. It didn’t take long to establish a system to deliver the aspen I had cut to the locations on the river where it was needed.

Our first site was the major westbound bend in the river, where we constructed a V-shaped wedge to define a single stream channel.

We were literally on a roll and the team from Trinity was not shy about getting wet and dirty, which ironically, I found very refreshing.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling On A River!

Thank you, thank you! Look what you accomplished. The views below begin at the first site we worked and proceed downstream.

We hope to work with volunteers from Trinity United Methodist again. What a great group!

On our way to take a walk up the river and inspect our work, Ben Johnson and I ran into this sand hill crane and chick, who were also checking it out.

This is the point downstream of the recent activity where sand and marl is collecting after being flushed down the river.

We continued to walk upstream and review the day’s work.

The meadow on the south side (right side in the video above) is especially lush with native plants and flowers.

Ben and I agreed that the velocity of the river had definitely increased as a result of the work. Confirmation bias?

We’re not done yet! Ben Heussner will be back in the next couple weeks to do an elevation survey of the area around the hotel springs bridge. He is confident that, with a little excavation of the river bottom here, we can get a headcut traveling. This will flush out the marl and sand that collected in the riverbed upstream, while it was under it was under THE PONDS OF THE SCUPPERNONG. The result will be significantly improved trout habitat and restoration of the headwaters to its natural condition. I can’t wait!

See you at The Springs!

Scuppernong River Fish Count 2014

Posted on June 6, 2014 by paulmozina

The Scuppernong Springs are “a world class site” according to Ron Kurowski, the godfather of the Scuppernong River Habitat Area restoration project. I’m humbled to be a servant of Mother Nature helping take care of this beautiful place that attracts me so; it gives me the opportunity to manifest my vision for the world:

“The aggregate of all of our free will choices, bounded by the Laws of Nature, will determine the reality that manifests in this world.” The Buckthorn Man

The attractive force of The Springs has been drawing a lot of attention lately.

I hope to post the work of landscape photographers Byron S. Becker and Kristen WestLake, who draw inspiration from The Springs.

The dynamic DNR duo, Melanie Kapinos and Amanda Prange, organized a volunteer workday pulling garlic mustard at The Springs and we were happy to have Wendy and Rene help us.

Like a martial arts expert, Ben Johnson turned the pull of The Springs into the capstone project for the masters degree in environmental studies (emphasis on environmental management and planning) he is working on through the University of Illinois Springfield. This is a 240 hour commitment and we thank Anne Korman, Assistant Superintendent of the Kettle Moraine Forest — Southern Unit, for expediting this DNR internship.

Just last week DNR conservation biologists Nate Fayram, Jared Urban and Sharon Fandel visited The Springs and they provided great feedback and ideas about how we can do the right thing here together. Jared was inspired by the visit and shared this excellent document, Biotic Inventory and Analysis of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, which is also available at forest headquarters.

I had a heart-warming encounter a few days ago at The Springs, specifically, at the hotel springs,

where I met a group of people who were conducting a meaningful, and possibly religious, baptismal ceremony. I was drawn by their energy, and surprised later, when they stopped on their way out to give me a beautiful, rose crystal, straight from the Black Hills, for my heart. Not my head; my heart. I get it!

DNR fisheries biologist Ben Heussner, organized a workday tomorrow to fill in with brush the wet areas on the outside of the coconut rolls they placed into the river late last fall.

And yesterday I ran into DNR Water Resource Management Specialists Rachel Sabre, Craig Helker and April Marcangeli, who were doing their annual fish count on the Scuppernong River.

Yes indeed, The Springs are attractive!

I started yesterday near the old hotel site taking down some of the aspen we girdled last year so that we can use the wood as fill along the riverbanks tomorrow.

After a couple tankfuls of gas in the chainsaw, I was ready to move to the north side of the river when I saw Craig, Rachel and April with their fish shocking sled in the river. I helped them last year and learned how they use electric shocks to temporarily paralyze the fish so they can catch and count them. A coincidence, or was it the law of attraction? I took a break from the chainsaw and followed them upstream.

Don’t miss the shocking interview with the DNR team at the end of this video!

I was a mosquito on a buckthorn leaf watching them sort, count, measure and weigh the fish.

4 Brook Stickleback

58 Central Mudminnow

107 Sculpin

10 Grass Pickerel

46 Brook Trout

What do the numbers mean?

I really appreciated them welcoming me into their workspace and giving me an interview after barely catching their breaths!

I commenced to taking down some huge aspen on the north side of the river and, an hour or so later, there they were again,

taking their annual habitat survey. I’ll let Craig and Rachel describe it.

I ended the workday cutting garlic mustard flowers with the brush cutter. It looks like its run is just about over at The Springs this year. I think we put a hurt on it.

Then it was off to the baths at the marl pit bridge and a sun setting headstand.

See you at The Springs!

SNA Team Visits The Springs

Posted on June 4, 2014 by paulmozina

“This is one of the nicest oak savannahs in the kettles!”, that’s what Jared Urban, with the State Natural Areas Program (SNA), said as we toured The Springs and the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA last Thursday. After 3+ years of steady effort to rehabilitate The Springs, you can imagine how delightful it was to share the results with DNR Conservation Biologists Nate Fayram, Sharon Fandel and Jared Urban.

We marveled at all of the high quality native plants that have emerged in the Buckthorn Alley since we opened it up last winter. We could have spent hours identifying plants just on this stretch of the trail alone. I made some notes and, in an effort to solidify my learning experience, I want to share a few of the plants we found and encourage you to look for them the next time you walk the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail.

Tall Meadow Rue Thalictrum pubescens (Thalictrum polygamum)

Culver’s Root Veronicastrum virginicum Snapdragon family (Scrophulariaceae)

Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth)

Heuchera L. Alumroot

Lilium michiganense (Michigan Lily)

Only a few of the plants identified were flowering and it takes a keen eye to recognize species solely on leaves and stems.

Prenanthes L. rattlesnakeroot

Greenbrier Smilax Rotundifoilia

Red Baneberry & White Baneberry (Actaea rubra & Actaea pachypoda)

Aralia nudicaulis (commonly Wild Sarsaparilla)

Carex pensylvanica Lam. Pennsylvania sedge

Figwort Scrophularia nodosa

Arrow-Leaved AsterAster sagittifolius

Woodland Sunflower Helianthus divaricatus

Ohio Goldenrod (Oligoneuron ohioense)

Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa

Pimpernel Anagallis arvensis

New Jersey Tea Ceanothus americanus

Viola pedata L. birdfoot violet

Artemisia absinthium (absinthium, absinthe wormwood, wormwood, common wormwood, green ginger or grand wormwood)

Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum)

We’ve barely scratched the surface of “biotic inventory” at The Springs. It was a pleasure to experience the enthusiasm Nate, Jared and Sharon bring to their jobs as DNR Conservation Biologists, especially when Nate discovered the Yellow Lady’s Slipper. We were at the Ottawa Lake Fen and happened to run into Don Dane and Mike, who were doing a little maintenance on the trail that leads to the back country sites #334 and #335 and Don’s eyes lit up when Nate showed him the pictures. “Don’t tell anybody where they are!”, he cautioned.

One of the things we were discussing was the need to create a burn unit that includes the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA and Don explained that he had in fact been using a forestry mower this past winter to put in a fire break on the west side of the lake extending north to the dog trial grounds. The terrain is really rough and bisected with old drainage ditches from the days when they tried to mud farm the area. I think the SNA team is inspired to create a burn unit in this area. In the meantime, I’ll continue to cut buckthorn along the east shore of Ottawa Lake all the way up to and around the fen.

Yesterday, I continued cutting the buckthorn just east of the parking lot on Hwy ZZ to connect with an opening in the brush we created last winter. I think one more day will do it!

And after 5 tanks of gas in the chainsaw…

Ben Johnson took the afternoon off from his day job and pulled white clover near the old hotel site. I joined him when I finished cutting and then we headed up to the sand prairie to pull garlic mustard, which is rapidly going to seed.

It was a beautiful day and Ben and I took a walk around the trails scoping out where we could get material to fill in behind the bio-logs that the fisheries team installed last winter. We considered hauling the buckthorn that I’ve been cutting by the parking lot but then realized that the aspen we girdled along the river would make the perfect fill. We are meeting Fisheries Biologist Ben Heussner and a group of volunteers at The Springs this Saturday to work on that project. I’ll be out there tomorrow cutting down the dead aspen and getting it ready.

See you at The Springs!

Hognose Snakes

Posted on May 7, 2014 by paulmozina

I met my first hognose snake of the year with the tip of my brush cutter. Darn it! I watched helplessly as it writhed in pain, snarling angrily at me. I’m on the lookout for them now! When you encounter one on the trail, The Springs feel more wild.

Carl Koch captured these wild hogs at The Springs last year.

Sue Hrobar caught this hognose displaying its classic defensive posture: “When threatened, hognose snakes will flatten their necks and raise their heads off the ground, like a cobra, and hiss.” (from Wikipedia)

I’m getting more intimately familiar with every square foot at The Springs as I continue attacking garlic mustard with my brush cutter. Guiding a brush cutter focuses your attention to detail much more so than waving a poison spray wand. In many cases I found the garlic mustard amidst many diverse flowers and grasses. Using the brush cutter definitely causes less collateral damage than spraying a non-selective herbicide like glyphoste. Rich Csavoy suggested this approach and it will take a few years to judge its effectiveness.

Over 5 days I have worked at all of the locations where I sprayed garlic mustard in previous years and I have to note that, in some cases, particularly on the cut-off trail, the poison significantly reduced the amount of garlic mustard. Last year the area near where the cut-off trail merges with the main trail at the marl pit factory was carpeted with garlic mustard and this year there was barely a plant or two, and the forest floor is alive with sedges and flowers. I’ll speculate here that this area did not have as much garlic mustard seed in the soil as others areas where the mustard came back strong after spraying.

Sunday I worked on the south end of the loop trail in and around the bowl with the vernal pond.

It was a peaceful day and I did a little yoga on the marl pit bridge to unwind at the end. Here is the view from the old barn site.

I returned yesterday to work in the area around the old hotel site, then near signpost #13, and finally, along the cut-off trail. It was a blessed warm, sunny, bug-free day with fragrant breezes blowing in from the northeast.

Garlic mustard on the hillside at the old hotel site.

As I was finishing up at the hotel, I heard the sound of heavy machinery working on Hwy 67; they were taking down the black locust trees I girdled back in March. I was headed that way to signpost #13 with my wheel barrow and stopped to check it out.

I don’t know what this machine is called, but I think Hognose is a fitting description.

The operator of this hydraulic hercules was a virtuoso, and I could have watched him for hours.

I’ve never seen forestry done like this before. Below, Steve Tabat cuts the base of a tree and his partner pushes it over. Check out the snout on this hog and the way it chews off logs and spits them out at the end of the video.

I returned to admire their work after cutting garlic mustard all afternoon.

Again, the person operating this log loader was an adept and it was a pleasure to watch him drive that huge machine through tight spots and skillfully manipulate the log picker.

The corner of Hwy ZZ and Hwy 67.

I’m glad to see the black locust go and I have a lot of respect for the hard-working foresters, who were paid for their efforts in wood; the coin of the realm.

From there I headed over to the boat landing at Ottawa Lake to check out the brush and tree removal the DNR did there this past winter.

Above you can see the shadow of the mighty oak below.

These nice improvements compliment the buckthorn clearing we have been doing on the east shore of the lake, which you can see in the views from the fishing pier and boat launch dock.

My new favorite place to hang out, meditate, and do yoga after working is the observation deck at the handicap accessible cabin.

The Emerald Spring is really looking the part these days. This past winter was a hard one and I often saw ducks feeding and staying warm in the river. I wonder if the algae bloom might be fueled by duck poop?

Sunset at the marl pit bridge.

See you at The Springs!

Buckthorn Man Accepts Bitcoin!

Posted on May 3, 2014 by paulmozina

I’m pleased to announce that The Buckthorn Man will now be accepting bitcoin donations to support his work at the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail. Here is the QR code for my Blockchain.info wallet. Just scan it into your favorite bitcoin payment system and start sending bitcoins to me now!

I sympathize if this is moving a bit too fast for you. You might even be asking ‘what is he talking about?’ or, ‘what has The Buckthorn Man been smoking?’ It is no hyperbole to refer to bitcoin as a movement; it is one of the most exciting new technologies to come along since the internet. From the November 2013 ssue of BitcoinMagazine:

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency. It does not depend on any particular organization or person and it is not backed by any commodity like gold or silver. Bitcoin is a name for both: the currency and the protocol of storage and exchange. Just like dollars or gold, Bitcoin does not have much direct use value. It is valued subjectively according to one’s ability to exchange it for goods.

It took me a bit of investigation to appreciate the revolutionary, game-changing, nature of bitcoin. From it’s roots, eloquently expressed by it’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, it has matured into a bonafide, 21st century solution, to the corruption endemic in our current, central banker controlled, fiat money system. The Federal Reserve banks are privately owned and, with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, the U.S. Congress bestowed on them the power to create money out of thin air; they are accountable to no one. Just listen to former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke telling Representative Alan Grayson to pound sand when he asked which foreign banks got bailed out to the tune of $550,000,000,000 during the meltdown of 2008.

But it is the bitcoin software and distributed architecture that has captured my attention. I cut my teeth programming in C++ and when I found out that bitcoin was written in this language, I had to take a look at the source code, which is open to anyone to inspect, or clone to build something totally new. I’m off on a new adventure and, if I can get my chops back, I’d love to go back to work programming for a bitcoin startup (I can hardly believe I’m saying that.)

Meanwhile, back at The Springs, my bête noire is Garlic Mustard. It’s everywhere and I’ve noticed that in the places where I sprayed it with glyphosate the past three years, it is the only thing that has survived. I committed to going organic because of my fear of poisoning the water in this sensitive location at the headwaters of the Scuppernong River, and my concern about collateral damage, and now the reality of that challenge is daunting me. I will dig it out of the highest quality locations, or where there are just a few plants, but for the majority of the infestation, I’m going to try cutting it back with the brush cutter to prevent it from going to seed; a fool’s errand perhaps.

Last Wednesday, after dropping off the Buckthorn Barrow at one of the piles Dick Jenks cut up…,

…I worked on the south end of the loop trail wacking garlic mustard with my brush cutter. Let me know if you have seen enough garlic mustard pictures.

I have no illusions that this will kill the plants, I’m just hoping that, with repeated mowings, I can prevent it from going to seed. I mowed all day and then took a walk around the loop and admired this new signpost, #9, marking the location of the hatching house (see Maps and Brochures.) Thanks to Jim Davee and Melaine Kapinos for making it happen!

Is it ever going to get warm and sunny?

Yesterday, I was back at it, this time cutting garlic mustard in the area by the old gnarly oak and the old barn site at the bend in the river.

I’m going to stick it out with this experiment and hopefully the garlic mustard cuttings won’t take root and make matters even worse. If you are walking the trails at The Springs, and you see some garlic mustard flowering, please, stop and pull it. And, send me bitcoin if you can!

See you at The Springs!

p.s. If you are interested in learning more about bitcoin, join me at the Milwaukee Bitcoin Meetup.

Burn Bluff Creek East!

Posted on April 22, 2014 by paulmozina

The Bluff Creek State Natural Area is a jewel in the Kettle Moraine State Forest–Southern Unit. The rolling moraines, deep kettles, massive oaks and bubbling springs that source Bluff Creek, make this one of the most beautiful areas in southeastern Wisconsin.

The DNR’s SNA team has been prepping the east side of the Bluff Creek property for months creating clean, wide firebreaks all around the burn unit, which is no easy task on the steep moraines. This would be the second time they burned the area and everyone was anxious to get it done. Last Saturday I spent the day there with Zach, Ginny, Don, Jerry and Brandon raking the areas around dead snags and taking down some really punky ones that might have fallen across the firebreak. We worked along the eastern perimeter of the 454 acre burn unit between A and K on the map below.

Zach and Brandon reviewing the situation.

A monster dead oak that we cleared around.

I stopped at Bald Bluff on the way home hoping I would get an invite to come back the next day for the burn.

I forgot my phone and, sure enough, when I got home, there was a message from Jared inviting me to join their crew to Burn Bluff Creek East. Cool!

The team from the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation included: Burn Boss Matt Zine, Nate Fayram and Jared Urban the north and south line bosses respectively and Jessica Renley, Alex Wenthe, Adam Stone and Bridget Rathman. Paul Sandgren, Matt Wilhelm, Don Dane, and Dennis Mclain represented the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit. Greg Kidd and Erin Holmes, volunteering their time, represented the NRCS (Erin also works with Pheasants Forever). And, last but not least, Bill Walz, an SNA volunteer who also works with The Prairie Enthusiasts was there.

Greg gearing up.

Alex, Greg and Matt.

Matt Zine explains the burn plan.

It was a pleasure to hang out with the “pros” and be one of the team. Matt Zine attributes much of their success developing the SNA’s in the Kettle Moraine State Forest–Southern Unit to Paul Sandgren’s leadership and commitment. A lot of thought and effort went into planning this day — bringing the people and equipment together — and the conditions were perfect for a woodland burn!

Per the plan, we began anchoring the unit on the line between points B and A.

Then the south line team began lighting a backing fire from A to L while the north line team did the same moving west from B to D.

The steep moraines were not for the fainthearted to drive an ATV up and down on, and the wetlands on the northern perimeter had some deep, water filled trenches to negotiate. I was really impressed with the fortitude and level of effort and cooperation amongst everyone involved. They carried out the plan without a hitch!

This classic kettle required a bit of extra effort to carry fire through it.

David Bart, Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture and Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies UW-Madison, contributed the next 5 pics showing the north line team in action.

Bill and I got “released” around 6:30pm and I quickly changed clothes and headed back to the burn unit to get some more pics.

A happy Matt and Erin.

Double D.

I was eager to see the blackened kettles and moraines along the line from A to L.

Then I headed west from point A and decided to try to walk the perimeter of the burn unit.

I was blown away when I saw how difficult it must have been to lay down the backing fire on the north line. Here are a couple views of the wetlands Nate, Jess and Adam lit up.

You could see lines of fire still creeping through the center of the unit.

I threaded my way through the black and brush until I came to the big open water where all the springs collect forming Bluff Creek.

There are dozens of springs flowing into the headwaters.

It’s a good thing I had walked this area once before on an SNA workday at Lone Tree Bluff and knew where I was. I had no problem picking my way through these creeping fires on the trail leading back to the parking lot on Easterly Road.

I found my way in the dark back along the firebreak at point J and came all the way around the south end of the burn unit back to point A. And reminiscent of last year’s Scuppernong Burn, I ran into Don Dane, just beginning his all-night vigil at the burn unit.

The new Statewide Prescribed Burning Guidelines require that all burning and smoking wood on “the entire burn” be extinguished before the burn can be declared “controlled”. Don watched the fires throughout the night and the SNA team returned today to complete the mop up. It is hoped that the guidelines can be amended to acknowledge the low level of risk that smoldering logs pose in the middle of a huge burn unit. It is hard and complicated enough as it is for the DNR to effectively use fire to help manage the forests.

See you at The Springs!

I Am Not Buckthorn

Posted on April 21, 2014 by paulmozina

The Buckthorn Man has been doing a lot of soul-searching lately. Could his dis-ease be caused by excessive mind-identification? Is his preoccupation with past and future at the expense of the present moment dimming the radiant light of his Being?

In an effort to help him sort out his mess, I’ve recently been listening to The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”

“The past has no power over the present moment.”

Tolle has deep insight into what it means to be enlightened, but there is something missing it seems and I’m not sure The Buckthorn Man will be able to let go of his ego; his excessive need to be right, his belief that HE knows the truth. He might respond that we need to understand our past — the origins of the Powers That Be — to have any chance of responding intelligently to the events unfolding around us every day. The Truth — that which is, that which has actually occurred — does it matter?

The Buckthorn Man has never been one to “go along to get along”; he’s always been an activist speaking truth to power about the 9/11 cover-up, the nefarious origins and dealings of the CIA, the totally insane and misguided “War on Drugs”, the international banking cartel that pulls the levers of power etc… I fear pillow sitting and new age philosophy will never make The Buckthorn Man ignore what he knows.

Last week my mind was troubled and I tried in vain to be in the present moment. I returned to Ottawa Lake to continue cutting buckthorn on the bluff above the lake in the area around and below campsite #380. Here is how it looked when I got there.

The buckthorn were huge!

It was a cold day, hopefully the last for a while.

The views of the lake are outstanding!

I think that will be the last time I cut buckthorn all day until the Fall; I need to give my left shoulder a rest.

The USGS team came out to reset the water depth indicator in the river; someone had pulled it out.

The sights at The Springs.

Don Dane cut a lot of brush with the forestry mower on the south end of the nature preserve. Thanks Don!

I returned a couple days later still trying to adjust to the reality that I would not be going along with Pati to South Africa. I piled brush in an area just 100 yards or so down the main trail, towards signpost #1, that Dick Jenks and I cut last December while tending brush pile fires.

That was a tangled mess and it took me all morning to pile it up.

When I returned to my truck, I was greeted by Jim Davee and he willingly agreed to help me pull garlic mustard by the old hotel site.

I really enjoyed his company and we dug out 3 large bagfuls of the herb/weed and I burned them up with my torch. Ben and Karen Johnson joined us near the Indian Spring and we shared the late afternoon sun.

See you at The Springs!

Adventure in South Africa

Posted on April 3, 2014 by paulmozina

When The Buckthorn Man retired early from the Quiet Company back in February 2012, he made a deal with his mate that he would help her with her business. Pati always dreamed about taking her work as a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® and Anat Baniel Method™ for Children practitioner on the road, and she recently accepted an invitation to work with special needs children in South Africa. I’m going to put my chainsaw down for the month of May and help Pati on her big adventure. We’ll be staying at the beautiful Umtamvuna River Lodge, just upstream from the Indian Ocean on the eastern side of South Africa. We plan on doing a week of touring after 3 weeks of Pati’s intensive work with the children. I can’t wait!

Is it just a coincidence that I was listening to Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs when Pati first heard about the opportunity in South Africa and decided to pursue it? And was it just a coincidence that I listened to Mark Twain’s classic time travel novel, A Connecticut Yankee In King Aurthur’s Court, just prior to embarking on my own trip through time? Think twice before you pick out your next book!

Well, I’m going to get my licks in on the buckthorn that is crowding the hillside on the east shore of Ottawa Lake before I go. Anne Korman, Assistant Superintendent of the Kettle Moraine State Forest–Southern Unit, asked us to focus on the area below the handicap accessible cabin at the Ottawa Lake campground.

I’m trying to learn how to use my Canon G15 camera and accidentally left it on a weird setting, so all of my “before” shots are hopelessly blurry. But, Dick Jenks can back me up when I say there was a lot of nasty buckthorn there.

It was a gorgeous day; perfect for cutting buckthorn! Ben Johnson and I are planning on returning this Saturday with a brush cutter to clear the little stuff and do some piling. The “after” pictures below are of the area around and below the cabin panning from north to south.

I was glad to have Dick Jenks and his dog Zeus there to help!

I had scheduled a week camping at My Shangri-La in April and May, but with the trip to South Africa, I’ll have to wait until August for my next reservation. I’m looking forward to seeing the stars, skies, sunrises and sunsets from the perspective of the southern hemisphere; I’ve never been south of the equator.

From Ottawa Lake I headed over to The Springs to rake out ash rings from all the brush piles we burned. DNR trail boss, Don Dane, is going to give us some seed to sow on the barren soil. He also has seed for the sand prairie that we will be sowing. Is there anything more fun than sowing seed?

I took a nice, meditative, walk after my labors were done.

See you at The Springs!

The Buckthorn Barrow

Posted on April 1, 2014 by paulmozina

Don’t miss the Kettle Moraine Natural History Association’s annual meeting at 10:30am on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit Headquarters, located 3 miles west of Eagle on Hwy 59. We couldn’t do the work we do at The Springs without the support of the KMNHA! Come and see what this great organization is all about.

Conservation Biologist Matthew Zine, Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation (formerly the Bureau of Endangered Resources), will present a program on “State Natural Areas in the Kettle Moraine”. The program will cover the 12 State Natural Areas found throughout the area of the Southern Kettle Moraine and describe their special qualities and their management concerns.

This program is open to all members and their guests (If anyone asks, tell them The Buckthorn Man sent you.) Membership applications are available at the State Forest Headquarters.

A short business meeting will follow the program.

Refreshments will be served and door prizes awarded.

The brush pile burning season at The Springs is finally over and, unfortunately, Matt Wilhelm, a volunteer with the North Prairie Fire Department, who also works for the DNR in the Kettle Moraine State Forest–Southern Unit, had to put out the last fire. I was wandering around the sand prairie watching the sun go down, and Marty driving his skid steer loader north, home bound on Hwy 67, when I saw the lights of his 4-wheeler heading to the site where Dick Jenks, Rich Csavoy and l burned piles earlier in the day.

It was a calm night and there was no chance of any of the fires spreading, but the glowing embers from a few of the fires were visible from Hwy 67 and someone called it in. That prompted a call from Paul Sandgren, the Superintendent of the Kettle Moraine State Forest–Southern Unit, and he explained that the DNR was reviewing their prescribed burning procedures and that no more burning should be done until that review is complete. That’s OK with me, the conditions this past Sunday were a little dicey and we stopped lighting piles early because of our safety concerns. Thanks to Matt for completing the mop up!

We are looking for a wheelbarrow donation! If you have one, new or used, we’d like to leave it at The Springs near the buckthorn firewood piles that Dick Jenks is preparing.

I want to paint The Buckthorn Barrow on the sides and hopefully campers from Ottawa Lake will utilize it to haul the buckthorn firewood to their vehicles. Thanks Dick!

Sunday was a busy day at The Springs and I met many new and old friends. I was on my way to clear a large red oak that had fallen across the trail near the Emerald Springs (thanks to John Hrobar for notifying me!) when I met Lester Crisman. Check out his photos, including this beautiful shot of the river just upstream from the gaging station bridge.

I was soon joined by Dick and Rich and we commenced to prepping, lighting and tending brush piles along the north east rim of the loop trail between the old barn site and signpost #13.

Ben Johnson, and his wife Karen, stopped to visit on their tour of all the birdhouses to collect fresh GPS points. Ben was not satisfied with the accuracy of the data he got the first time around. Let us know if you spot any birds moving in!

As we broke for lunch, I happened to look up and see a line of flames spreading east into the woods from one of the brush piles. We put the creeping fires out quickly and focused on tending the burning piles from that point on.

As I was mopping up, I was greeted by the friendly faces of Mark Duerwachter and his daughter Karri. Mark is the son of Robert Duerwachter, the author of THE PONDS OF THE SCUPPERNONG and Karri helped Robert format and edit the book. Mark agreed to help me persuade Robert to meet me at The Springs for a video interview!

As I was taking my equipment back to my truck along the trail near the old barn site, I saw someone standing in the river. Who was that? I loaded my gear and drove over to the main parking lot on Hwy ZZ just in time to meet Scott C., the trout fisherman. That was the first time I saw anyone fishing in the river!

After chatting with Scott, I headed down the trail for my evening stroll.

When I got into the the upper river valley, I could hear the sound of Marty’s skid steer loader and I hastened to the south end of the trail hoping to talk with him about his plans to repair the damage done by his heavy machine. Marty, with lots of help from Carl Baumann, has been harvesting dead black locust trees for firewood.

I missed him and was surprised to see him from the sand prairie driving his machine slowly north on Hwy 67 to his home some 3 miles away. Marty called me last night and assured me that as soon as the frost is out of the ground and things dry up a bit, he will return to clean up the slash and repair the skid steer scars.

As I was watching the sun go down, I heard the call of a sand hill crane behind me to the east and turned to watch in amazement as two birds glided overhead not more than 20 feet above me. I watched hundreds of cranes lazily floating north in wave after wave all afternoon. It is remarkable to contrast the apparent effort exerted by cranes versus that of geese.

See you at The Springs!

Open House

Posted on March 25, 2014 by paulmozina

Thanks to Ben Johnson there has been a bird-housing boom at the Scuppernong Springs. On March 13, Ben put up 26 woodland bird houses and this past Sunday, Pati, Mark Miner and I helped him put up 4 more woodland bird houses and 20 bluebird houses. He made all of the houses with scrap wood salvaged from work. Ben captured the GPS locations of all the houses and he is planning to convert the data to GIS so he can accurately display the locations on maps of the Scuppernong Springs Nature Preserve. By the way, check out the new topo maps of The Springs. We hope to overlay the trail map from the brochure over one of the topo maps. That would be cool.

Sunday morning was cold, but that was a good thing because we were able to walk over ice to get to some of the bluebird house sites. Ben and Pati putting up the first house near signpost #1.

A new house erected between the gaging station and marl pit bridges.

The views of channel restoration work the DNR Fisheries team did last year.

Ben mounts a woodland birdhouse near the Indian Spring.

Mark Miner was interested in monitoring bluebirds and heard about our efforts at The Springs at a DNR volunteer information meeting. We are very happy to have Mark join us, and he provided invaluable assistance yesterday as I continued burning brush piles in the Buckthorn Alley.

The morning started off cold — what’s new — but I warmed up fast.

The wind blustered occasionally and was steady enough all day to make it relatively easy to start fires. I was able to light piles all the way around the corner.

Two huge, dead, black oaks caught fire and Mark and I agreed; they had to come down.

Mark worked with the Forestry Service for 8 years and he is very experienced! He fetched the red buckets shown above that enabled us to put the fires out that were raging in the fallen black oak. Thanks Mark!