6.2 at 1 Camp Cozy Park_NRMP_2023

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27 Friends of the Mississippi River Camp Cozy Park NRMP Other wildlife seen regularly include white-tailed deer, red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, American goldfinch, wood thrush, mallards, wood ducks, great blue herons, gray squirrels, red squirrels, evidence of coyotes, and numerous insects, including honeybees, bumblebees, and numerous butterflies and moths. There is also evidence of beaver activity on the property. Stumps left by beavers are visible throughout the floodplain forest, though most if not all seem to be old and were not felled in the last one or two years. Historical Vegetation Public land survey (PLS) records compiled by Francis J. Marschner in the 1850s identified the dominant tree (bearing tree) and recorded vegetation at every one-mile interval. Based on these notes, the landcover type in this region was mosaic of different habitats ranging from oak openings and floodplain forests to prairie, big woods forests, and aspen-oak woodlands. The boundaries of Camp Cozy Park lie within what would have been oak openings and barrens prior to European colonization (Figure 9). This was the most common land cover type of the region, and today these plant communities are known as oak savannas. Savanna is an area of scattered trees, primarily bur oak, with areas of open prairie between them. Prairie is dominated by mixed height grasses and forbs (wild flowers), with patches of shrubs and very few to no trees. The key differences between prairie and savanna plant communities are tied to frequency and intensity of fire. Generally, frequent fire (every 2 to 5 years) will result in prairie, while slightly less frequent fire (3 to 8 years) will result in savanna. Today, the riparian areas long the Elk River are mostly forested, but it is unlikely that trees lined the entirety of the river channel 200 years ago. While much of the current floodplain forest areas were likely floodplain forest in pre-settlement times, areas of the river were more likely lined with savanna or prairie vegetation. Prairie and savanna grasses would have grown right up to the channel, perhaps forming lips over the banks, and stabilizing the bank slopes, as currently occurs in the terrace forest areas on the east side of the park where sedges and other moisture-tolerant species form hummocks and retain soil during times of flooding. Bearing trees were noted by the 1850s PLS surveyors to help identify each section of land. If no trees were in the section, that was also noted. One bearing tree was recorded within the Camp Cozy boundary: a bur oak both on the western boundary of the site in the forest between the Elk River and the north prairie. The occurrence of bur oak here provides further evidence that this area was likely a mix of prairie and oak savanna vegetation. The soils data and the historical vegetation data concur with this determination; the soils are typical prairie soils and pre- settlement vegetation shows prairie and savanna land cover. Historical aerial photos, Figures 10-13, also provide clues to the vegetation communities within the last century, and photos of the Camp Cozy area dating back to 1938, 1953, and 1957 shed light on past conditions. In 1938, the present-day prairies appear entirely open and grassy with only sporadic trees. Present-day forest surrounding the prairies appear to have widely spaced