Oakological Succession

Posted on May 20, 2015 by paulmozina

What does the future hold for the Oak Savannas and Woodlands of Wisconsin? I left the 2015 Oak Savanna Alliance workshop last Saturday at Camp Timber-Lee with a decidedly unsettled feeling aka, cognitive dissonance. Am I fighting for another seemingly hopeless cause i.e., stopping the War On Drugs, or trying to get a real investigation into what happened on 9/11, when I volunteer my time and attention, my spiritual currency, to restore and preserve the oakosystems in the Kettle Moraine? Can, or rather, should, anything be done to prevent the oakological succession of the oak forests below the “tension zone” to mixed central and northern hardwood forests?

“Oak forests on medium- and high-productivity sites throughout the Midwest have been decreasing in extent for several decades. Historically, regeneration in these forests was facilitated by a periodic fire regime. Today, it is difficult to regenerate oaks on these nutrient-rich sites due to competition from native and nonnative plants that outcompete oak seedlings. Browsing by white-tailed deer also limits the survival and growth of oak seedlings. The lack of successful regeneration along with selective harvesting of mature oaks contribute to the gradual succession of oak forests to mixed central hardwoods, which includes species such as red and sugar maple, basswood, elms, green and white ash, and ironwood.” Wisconsin’s Forests 2004 United States Department of Agriculture

DNR Natural Area Conservation Biologist Matt Zine made an excellent presentation about the progress of the oak succession and the master planning process currently happening at the Lulu Lake SNA. But it appears, given the meager crumbs of financial support they get, that the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation should be renamed to the Museum of Natural Heritage Conservation. With an annual budget of around $5 million, supporting 33.5 full time employees (of which only a handful are working in southeastern Wisconsin), to manage the endangered resources on 673 State Natural Areas comprising 373,000 acres, they are hard-pressed to do more than save a few choice relics. Matt explained that they are 10 years behind when it comes to creating master plans for all of the SNAs, and that’s excluding the SNAs above the tension zone, which presumably do not contain any endangered resources, or stand to benefit from any formal management planning. We don’t know how many, or what percentage, of the SNAs below the tension zone have master plans. This limited perspective on our endangered resources ignores the other 5 million acres of publicly owned lands in the state as well as the privately held lands (approximately 29 million acres.)

Wetlands near Lulu Lake

Matt is the messenger and I’m having trouble with the message. Am I fighting Mother Nature when I cling to the ideal of the pre-settlement oak savannas and woodlands and work to restore something that can never be again? It’s not just the trees, it’s the oakosystems and the mystique of the Native Americans who nurtured and mastered a life sustaining and harmonious balance of flora and fauna. I fear that, if we don’t preserve the oak savannas and woodlands, we will loose forever the native wisdom accumulated over centuries, that they intrinsically and beautifully embody.

Thank goodness there are people like Eric Tarman-Ramcheck, Emily Stahl and Amanda Kutka, who organized the Oak Savanna Alliance Workshop, and Zach Kastern and Ginny Coburn, who share my passion for the oak savannas and woodlands of the Kettle Moraine! Zach and Ginny have been organizing volunteer workdays in the Southern Kettle Moraine in partnership with the DNR for three years now. Zach was awarded the Land Steward of the Year award by the Oak Savanna Alliance. Way to go Zach!

Zach receiving the award from Matt Zine.

The Buckthorn Man made a decent presentation baring his heart and soul while sharing his experiences volunteering for 20 years in the Kettle Moraine.

I’m plagued with doubts as I continue my efforts at The Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail: am I doing “The Right Thing” or am I fighting the natural succession? Is it wise to abandon the management practices of the people who lived here for thousands of years, which kept the natural succession in check?

On Tuesday May 12, I spent most of the day cutting garlic mustard with my brush cutter. I am observing that in the areas where I concentrated on cutting garlic mustard last year, there is significantly less this year and the plants that are present are typically 6-8″ tall, spindly, and with relatively few seeds. I am gaining confidence that the strategy of mowing garlic mustard can succeed by focusing on keeping it out of the “best” areas and then gradually expanding the no-GM zone.

The river is starting to make a head cut at the Hotel Spring bridge location where the DNR recently excavated (scroll down to the leprechaun image in this post for more details.)

The sun made a dramatic appearance late in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, May 13, I was back at it whacking garlic mustard and pulling water cress. I also spent some time weeding the spotted knapweed from the patches of lupine that are proliferating on the west slope of the sand prairie.

Sunset at Ottawa Lake.

On Saturday, May 16, Pati and I stopped at The Springs on the way home from the Oak Savanna Alliance Workshop to check out the lupine.

And finally, on Monday, May 18, I spent an absolutely beautiful spring day cutting garlic mustard, pulling water cress and digging out spotted knapweed.

I weeded quack grass and water cress from the Indian Springs.

In the late afternoon I joined Pat Witkowski and the Ice Age Trail Alliance “Monday Mudders” to do a little trail maintenance near the tower at Lapham Peak State Park.

Views from the tower.

See you at The Springs!

Bluff Creek West

Posted on March 20, 2015 by paulmozina

Thanks again for coming to visit me at The Springs!

The Sand Hill Cranes are back and I’m wondering if we have opened up enough new habitat for a second family to take up residence in the area. It has been an exceptional winter season for cutting buckthorn and, thanks to the Kettle Moraine Natural History Association funding the efforts of Chris Mann and the Kettle Moraine Land Stewards, LLC, we have opened up many acres of wetlands.

Prime real estate is available for ducks as well and on April 2, Brian Glenzinski, former DNR Wildlife Biologist now working with Ducks Unlimited, will be joining me to tour The Spings. You might recall that Brian is the artist who carved The Acorn given out by the Oak Savanna Alliance for their Land Steward of the Year award. We plan to list with Brian and he was very positive about building some new “upscale” duck homes in the neighborhood.

By the way, don’t miss the Oak Savanna Alliance workshop on May 16th. Contact Eric Tarman-Ramcheck (TR Natural Enterprises, LLC) for details and be sure to let him know who you think deserves The Acorn this time.

The highlight of the last two weeks was the morning I spent with the Southern Kettle Moraine SNA Volunteers at the Bluff Creek West State Natural Area, just south and east of Whitewater, WI.

For sanity’s sake though, I’m going to recollect the events of the past few weeks in chronological order.

After weeks of cramming to prepare my defense against the band of thieves and robbers known as government, for my “day in court”, I needed a day in the woods with my chainsaw to settle my nerves. I returned to the marl factory on March 12th to attack the last stand of buckthorn on the wedge of land between the Tibby Line railroad tracks (signpost #2) and Marl Pit Bridge (signpost #4). Below, the area as seen from signpost #4.

Now, imagine you just stepped forward to the treeline shown above and looked right, straight ahead and left.

We carved a hole in the middle of this buckthorn thicket and now was the time to finish the perimeter. I had a fine day cutting and stopped early to help my friend Scott, and his buddy Mr. Schnuddles, collect some firewood.

The view from signpost #4.

I love to take a walk around The Springs at the end of a hard day’s work!

Hmmmm, why is that monster parked in the DNR lot above the Hotel Springs?

The bubbler at the Emerald Springs was especially active.

Ben, dude, we need to build a bridge here man!

On Saturday, March 14th I joined Zach Kastern, Ginny Coburn, Jared Urban, and a great crew of SNA volunteers clearing buckthorn from the transition zone between the calcareous fen and the oak uplands at Bluff Creek West. The area we worked is at the base of the forested ridge shown in the upper right hand corner of the Bluff Creek Prescribed Burn plan shown below.

Zach and Jared introduced the agenda for the day…

… and we got after it!

We made tremendous progress thanks to volunteers like this team from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Ecology Club.

I got a chance to talk to Zach Kastern about the project.

I really enjoy these events and you might like it too!

I spent the afternoon at The Springs finishing the last patch of buckthorn near the marl factory that I described above.

Ben, dude, we gotta fix this boardwalk!

Sunset at the Sand Prairie.

On St. Patrick’s day I found evidence that leprecons had visited the springs the night before!

I had NO IDEA they could operate heavy equipment!

Abe Wittenwyler, heavy equipment operator with the DNR, wasn’t looking for a pot of gold under the Hotel Spring bridge; he had come to excavate the riverbed to address the hydrology issues that Ben Heussner identified as a result of the elevation survey the DNR conducted last year. I called Ben for an update, left a message, and got to work cutting buckthorn in the wetlands just down the trail — to the left — from the main parking lot on Hwy ZZ. Here is how it looked before I got started.

When I broke for lunch, I got Ben’s message and headed over to the Hotel Springs to meet him. We walked along the river and reviewed the results of our efforts last year while Ben waited for Michelle Hase, DNR Water Regulations and Zoning Engineer, to review the project.

Ben Heussner, Steve Gospodarek and Abe Wittenwyler.

Michelle recommended they distribute the “spoils” excavated from the river slightly differently than Ben had in mind. They regraded the slope on the east side of the river, sowed a crop of annual grass, and then covered the area with straw. Ben was genuinely proud of the bridge he built there back in 1992 and he’s looking forward to building the replacement this summer. Me? I’m going to watch the river make a head cut.

I returned to my work site and cut buckthorn, like a mischievious leprecon, for the rest of the day.

And later visited my favorite haunts.

Yesterday I returned to the area and continued to open up dramatic views into, and out of, the very interior of the Scuppernong River Nature Preserve. I completed clearing the area shown below to totally open the views into the interior wetlands.

Then I moved much closer to the parking lot to take on this wall of buckthorn.

It was a flawless day and I cut down a hell of a lot of buckthorn. Views into the interior wetlands are now revealed.

And, looking back towards the parking lot, that wall of buckthorn is not so formidable anymore.

I’m going to cut as much buckthorn as I can before the garlic mustard and other weeds start to emerge.

I got my first call of the season from DNR Burn Boss, Don Dane. Let’s get it on!

See you at The Springs!

p.s. I did not prevail against the agents of the state in court on Friday the 13th. It ain’t over yet!

I Left My Heart At Bluff Creek

Posted on February 15, 2015 by paulmozina

I’ll always love the Scuppernong Springs, but there is an even prettier, more pristine, more remote complex of springs at the Bluff Creek State Natural Area. There aren’t any noisy highways or bright lights nearby; just babbling waters emerging beneath old oaks in classic Kettle Moraine country.

The headwaters of Bluff Creek are a Class I Trout Stream!

It was great to get back to work in the forest and the highlight of the week was returning to the Bluff Creek Springs with Zach Kastern, Jared Urban and the hard-working, dedicated State Natural Areas volunteers.

Zach had done some preliminary work cutting and piling and he arrived early to light the fires.

Soon we were all hard at work. Thanks to Pati for these pics!

We wrapped up the morning’s efforts around noon and munched on some Valentine donuts.

A few of us continued working in the afternoon and here is how it looked at the end of the day.

That was Chris Mann and Zach Kastern talking shop after we visited the springs on the north side of the ridge. We hung out by the fire and watched the ducks and geese drift in for the night; it was blissful and none of us wanted to leave. It’s very inspiring to work with a big group of volunteers like we had yesterday. Lord knows we can’t rely on the arbitrary whims of the legislators in government to do the right thing by the land.

I got back to work last Monday cutting buckthorn amongst the tamaracks on the north west side of the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA. I can’t wait to see the tamaracks sans buckthorn this spring!

Here is the view from the pond.

The Buckthorn intertwines with the tamarack and kills it.

It will take a few more days to finish clearing this grove.

Ottawa lake sunset.

On Wednesday, I got back to The Springs to cut and burn buckthorn just down the trail from signpost #2. Here is how it looked before I got started.

I’m standing by my sled, which you can see in the picture above, for the next two shots.

I’m really looking forward to clearing this stretch of buckthorn between signpost #2 and the marl pit factory so that you’ll be able to see across the Scuppernong River Habitat Area to the Kettle Moraine ridges to the south.

Looking back up the trail towards signpost #2.

By the time I dropped my gear off at the truck and changed into some dry boots, the sun was already down.

See you at The Springs!

We Are A Conservation Force For Good

Posted on January 11, 2015 by paulmozina

It might have been the U.S. Navy that introduced the “force for good” meme 5 years ago with their imperial recruiting slogan, “A Global Force For Good”. And my former employer, Northwestern Mutual, modestly limiting its reach to the world around them, quietly claimed to be merely a “Force For Good” (this thought directing campaign was nestled between the very popular “Be One” and “Embrace Change”.) Even the alternative “B” Corporations have gotten into the act claiming that they are, “using business as a force for good.” I’m going to double down on these usurpers and make the bold claim that people who commit their lives to taking care of the land are A Conservation Force For Good!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with DNR Conservation Biologists Jared Urban and Nate Fayram, and a team of State Natural Areas Program volunteers led by Zach Kastern and Ginny Coburn, as we cut and burned buckthorn at the Whitewater Oak Opening, which is part of the Clifford F Messinger Dry Prairie & Savanna Preserve SNA.

I new it was going to be a great day when I spotted a gloriously bold and free, Bald Eagle, in a tree above the Scuppernong River, just below the Hotel Springs where I had stopped to get some water.

These birds are awe inspiring and I recalled that the last time I saw one in the Southern Kettle Moraine Forest was more than 10 years ago, when I took my parents, Al and Elaine Mozina, to visit Brady’s Rocks.

Jared Urban spends half of his time with the DNR nurturing and coordinating volunteer efforts at State Natural Areas in the southern half of Wisconsin, and we could sure use a few more like him to coordinate efforts in the rest of the state.

Jared lays out the plan for the day.

The brush piles were relatively fresh and buried under a couple inches of snow, so it took a little extra effort to get them lit.

Scott Farrell delivers air to the fire.

Some of us worked on lighting the piles while others cut fresh buckthorn and threw brush on the fires. We managed to get 8 piles burned and expanded the perimeter of cut buckthorn in their vicinity.

Scott and Herb worked for a few hours after lunch and Zach hung out with me until we had consolidated all of the burning piles.

As we tended the piles, Zach told me about the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and specifically about their support for the State Natural Areas Program. He told me about the Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan and promised to send me the links.

I was amazed and impressed at the depth and quality of the scientific analysis and the comprehensiveness of the plans. The maps in the Wisconsin’s Wildlife Action Plan (2005-2015) are outstanding. Here is an example:

I’m looking forward to reviewing the results of these plans, a decade after their conception, that I’m sure the DNR will publish. Well, to be honest, I’m more than concerned: I feel like George Tenet, former CIA Director who said before 9/11 that, “my hair was on fire!”. Can “we the people” succeed in reaching the conservation goals outlined in the DNR documents linked above if the current funding levels are not dramatically increased and we don’t get a much more substantial volunteer contribution across the state?

Take a look at the 2013-2015 and 2015-2017 Biennial Budgets for the Wisconsin DNR and compare the average $570 million annual allotments to the amounts we have spent on our Intelligence Agencies alone since 9/11.

And the proof is not in the pudding as all this money spent has actually increased the number of terrorist attacks.

I’m getting all riled up here, lets calm down by the fire and just talk.

See you at The Springs!

Natural Law

Posted on November 16, 2014 by paulmozina

It was a dam cold winter morning at the Hartland Marsh when I carelessly let my hands get bitten by frost. Like gravity, it’s a law of nature: if you don’t understand and protect yourself, you’re going to get hurt. Ever since then my hands are the first to tell me Winter has arrived.

The polarity between hot and cold is really only a matter of degree i.e., the amount of vibratory energy that is present. And the rhythm of the seasons is just Nature’s Way. We have no trouble understanding the physical laws of nature but how about the spiritual laws of nature? What are they?

I’ve recommended Mark Passio’s Natural Law Seminar before on this blog and it bears repeating. The degree to which we, collectively, live our lives in adherence with natural law, will determine the kind of world we create: the reality that manifests around us.

I’ll give you a quick, thumb-nail sketch, using a few slides from Mark’s presentation to wet your appetite.

What are the principles, or first things, underlying natural law?

And what binds them together?

But you already know this!

What are the consequences of following natural law or ignoring it?

At it’s heart, natural law teaches us the difference between right and wrong.

What distinguishes natural law from mans law?

How can we get what we say we want from life?

You don’t have to look far to see which way we are heading… but, we can change that by seeking and speaking the truth.

I like to think I’m combining the laws of nature (physical) with natural law (spiritual) by voluntarily giving my time and attention, my spiritual currency, working to reveal the beauty of God’s creation. For my reward, I get to keep my sanity in a world gone mad.

This past week I continued prepping The Springs for the prescribed burn that the DNR plans to execute next spring. I’m focusing on the sand prairie area now cutting buckthorn, cherry, red oak, black locust and honeysuckle seedlings and resprouts.

I’m taking my time and poisoning as many cut stumps as I can find after each tank of gas burned in my Stihl FS-90 brush cutter. One reason the buckthorn is coming back so strongly here is that I took the shortcut of not poisoning the stumps the first time I brush cut here back in 2012. For every stump I didn’t poison, a half-dozen new shoots appeared.

I quit early to spend time at The Springs with my dear friend Ed Brown, who was in town to attend the 2014 Urban and Small Farms Conference hosted by Growing Power.

Hey Ed, thanks for inviting Pati and I to take a tour of Growing Power’s headquarters here in Milwaukee with you!

Pati joined me for the sunset at Ottawa Lake.

Last Wednesday, I picked up where I left off on the sand prairie. It was another cold day swinging the brush cutter.

I’d really like to get all the brush laid down in the areas that I have previously cut before the snow falls, so I hit the trail again on Friday. Here are a couple of views Friday morning.

And the same two perspectives in the afternoon. Can you tell the brush was cut?

I worked until the sun went down.

Finally, to cap off the week, I joined Ginny Coburn, Zach Kastern, Jared Urban and a great group of State Natural Areas volunteers, including students from the UW Whitewater Ecology Club, at the Whitewater Oak Opening, one of the 16 sites that comprise the Clifford F. Messinger Dry Prairie and Savanna Preserves.

Ginny gives an overview.

That was a nasty site!

Zach shows how to poison a stump.

Jared, Ginny and Zach organized the teams and we got after it.

That’s Mike with the chainsaw below.

Eric swinging his saw.

Steve lives next store, literally, and he is committed to restoring the oak savanna on his property and the surrounding state owned land.

I was amazed at how much we accomplished before high noon!

Let there be unity between your thoughts, emotions and actions.

See you at The Springs!

Little Kestol Prairie

Posted on March 16, 2014 by paulmozina

Little Kestol Prairie is a secret nestled in the rolling moraines and oak savannahs of the Kettle Moraine Oak Opening State Natural Area (SNA). Well, OK, it’s not a secret anymore, it’s outlined by the black circle just south of Young Road on the map below.

Zach Kastern has known the secret of this remnant, dry prairie, for some time and has been working to keep invasive species, as well as fast spreading native woody trees and brush, from overtaking it. So when Jared Urban, the DNR’s SNA volunteer coordinator, asked him for a location for the March workday, Zach was quick to suggest it was time to reveal the Little Kestol Prairie. (Ed. note. After I posted this, Zach commented that the prairie was probably named after Joe Kestol.

The Joe Kestol house on Territorial Road was built when the Kestol family came from Norway about 1846. It has been occupied by Joe Kestol until 1993, when he went to live at a Retirement Home.

Georgia Kestol corrected the history in a comment posted on 5/5/15:

J. W. Kestol refers to the late James Kestol, my father, who was a teacher in Janesville, Wisconsin. The farm, about 200 acres bordered by the state forest, has been in the Kestol family for 105 years. Little Kestol Prairie is named for James Kestol, not Joe Kestol. Joe Kestol, deceased, was James’ brother. He owned the farm on Territorial Rd, a sesquicentennial farm that has been in the family since 1851.

Thanks Georgia!

The Little Kestol Prairie is also mentioned in the Walworth County Land Use and Resource Management Plan.) Listen to Zach share the secrets of this ecological remnant and what he hoped we could accomplish on a beautiful Saturday morning.

A great crew of volunteers including: members of S.A.G.E. (Students Allied for a Green Earth) at UW Whitewater, the Kettle Moraine Land Trust, and free agents like Don, Brandon and Ginny (thanks for the cookies) contributed to a very successful workday.

My day started at The Springs, where I stopped to get some “world class” spring water to drink.

When I arrived, Zach, Jared and Ginny were reviewing the plan for the day. Below, Zach documents Little Kestol Prairie with some before photos.

Soon we were hard at work on the slippery, snowy, wet hillside.

Herb and Stephanie cleared an area at the bottom of the hill.

I spent the morning following Brandon, who was swinging a brush cutter, with one of Jared’s patented poison daubers, and that was a nice change for me. Zach flagged the hazelnut, hickory, oak and other “keepers” so the brush cutters (Rebecca and Brandon) had to be very discriminating. As the morning warmed up, even the snow on the north side of the hill began to melt. Although many of us got cold, wet, feet, nobody bailed out!

Ginny and Herb double team the brush.

Wrapping up…

Here are some perspectives from the top of the Little Kestol Prairie.

I spent the afternoon back at The Springs harvesting black locust firewood for my upcoming camping adventures at My Shangri-La.

I ran into Carl Baumann and John and Sue Hrobar, who reported seeing American Woodcocks by the new spring we uncovered in the Buckthorn Alley (I forgot to mention the Sand Hill Cranes returned this past Monday, the 10th.) Carl was picking up some black locust and cherry firewood for his new friend Marty, who lives in the neighborhood and, like many others, ran short of firewood this season. Nice work Carl!

That’s Marty in the skid steer loader and Carl in the back of the truck.

See you at The Springs!

Buckthorn Alley Rumble

Posted on February 19, 2014 by paulmozina

I’ve never been in a street fight, but I imagine it might leave one feeling like I did this morning. Yesterday, Ben Johnson, Zach Kastern and I picked a fight with gang of mute, motionless, defiant and ultimately, defenseless, buckthorn that had invaded “our” territory at The Springs. Their thorny branches and stout, gnarly, trunks were no match for our sharp, steel, chains and our saws whirred their death knell in three part harmony.

“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.”
― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Fortunately, we’re not working alone at The Springs, and a team of dedicated volunteers is coalescing to undo the damage that has been inflicted on this “world class site”. I’m energized and encouraged by the growing level of commitment — the fresh blood (no pun intended) — that all of the new volunteers bring. It’s going to be a great year!

The last time we were at The Springs, The Buckthorn Man got skunked and left the Buckthorn Alley with his tail between his legs. With victory so close, it was a hard loss to bear.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Reinhold Niebuhr

I returned to the buckthorn alley yesterday determined to “change the things which should be changed!” There is a relatively thin curtain of buckthorn separating the trail here from a good sized wetland.

I started one of Andy’s brush piles on fire and was soon joined by Ben Johnson and Zach Kastern. We got our saws in tune and they began to sing.

John Hrobar, who has quite a voice by the way, joined the chorus and stoked the fire with freshly cut brush while Sue corralled this wild unicorn that was roaming north of the old barn site.

When the rumble was finally over, and slain buckthorn littered the alley, we gathered round the fire to savor and celebrate our success.

We left enough daylight to take a walk around The Springs, enjoy the scenery and catch the sunset.

The river bend.

The big valley.

Pati joined us for the sunset at the Indian Campground.

We finished the day walking the north end of the loop trail from east to west scoping out the last stretch of the buckthorn alley and hanging out by the fire…

See you at The Springs!