Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ecology update


This morning, the volunteer site stewards met with a Forest Preserve ecologist to discuss the management plan. It was a productive meeting, with the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) at left serving as honorary chairman.

We're at a point where enough buckthorn has been cut to allow serious efforts toward establishment of native plants. The question now is whether the existing seed bank is sufficient to provide viable plants without supplemental seeding or planting.