6.2 at 1 Camp Cozy Park_NRMP_2023

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8 Friends of the Mississippi River Camp Cozy Park NRMP Natural Resources Inventory and Assessment A natural resources inventory and assessment was conducted by FMR ecologists during the summer of 2023 to determine existing plant and wildlife communities, identify opportunities for restoration, and develop guidance for long-term public use. The Camp Cozy site consists of five primary vegetation cover types: remnant dry prairie, oak forest, mixed deciduous forest, terrace forest, and floodplain forest. These cover types occur in eight distinct units across the park. The most notable and imperiled features of the property from an ecological perspective are the two remnant dry prairies in the central north and central south portions of the park now comprising 15.3 acres. These plant communities, likely remnants of plant communities present at the time of European colonization, are part of 0.1% of the remaining native prairie in Minnesota, which once covered two-thirds of the state. In the absence of natural disturbance regimes, woody species have encroached into the perimeters of both remnant prairies at Camp Cozy. In addition to a mowed, natural surface main trail that encircles and connects the two prairies, several mowed spur trails loop through the prairies. Oak forest and mixed deciduous forest encircle the remnant prairies in the upland areas. The forest plant communities exhibit a range of quality with some intact native plant communities, and other areas have been degraded by non-native, invasive woody and herbaceous species. Very small mesic prairie remnants occur in three distinct areas surrounded by oak forest. A plant community resembling a southern terrace forest is present on the southwestern edge of the park, and vegetation characteristics synonymous with terrace forests continue to the east-central edge of the site due to dredging in the 1920’s. These channels receive flashy flows during rapid snowmelt and heavy rains and are undercut and not well-vegetated. A floodplain forest is present within an oxbow of the Elk River at the eastern extent of the park. High quality wetlands with high species diversity are present here, but the floodplain appears to be frequently inundated, and a significant amount of trash has littered the area. Maintenance, restoration and preservation efforts within Camp Cozy have been limited. Several wide trails are maintained by mowing throughout the prairie remnants, and narrow footpaths are present in the forested areas. Vegetation management has been restricted to a single prescribed burn of the prairies conducted by volunteers and an Eagle Scout candidate more than 20 years ago. Elk River City Council meeting minutes from 2003 include a report on this prescribed burn and indicate that 5 acres of a 10-acre prairie and an additional 10 acres of a 20- acre prairie were burned and seeded. While the prairie acreage may have been overstated in 2003, in 20 years’ time, the extent of prairie at Camp Cozy has been greatly reduced due to woody encroachment. Typically, a fire return interval of 4-5 years would suppress woody species and weedy cool season grasses that are present in the prairies at Camp Cozy. The lack of burning in the fire-dependent prairies has allowed woody species – both native and non-