9.B.3. PRSR 09 08 2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 1 of 2 ITEM i~9.B.3. Mcpherson, Michele From: Bockenstedt, Paul J [pbockenstedt@bonestroo.com] Sent: Monday, August 16, 2004 8:29 AM To: Mcpherson, Michele Cc: Gould, Elizabeth R Subject: FW: Ellk River Sportsman's Club field visit for Prairie Stewardship Hi Michele, Everything did go well. I have forwarded (below) the message I sent to Hannah Dunevitz of MN DNR a few moments ago. The Club property is an amazing place! Please call if you have more questions. Thanks, Paul -----Original Message----- From: Bockenstedt, Paul J Sent: Monday, August 16, 2004 8:25 AM To: 'Hannah Dunevitz' Cc: 'Peter Buesseler' Subject: Ellk River Sportsman's Club field visit for Prairie Stewardship Hi Hannah, I just wanted to give you a quick update on the Elk River Sportsman's Club hike yesterday at their annual picnic. Liza Gould and I served as "interpretive guides' for the hike, with about 20 people attending. Our 45 minute hike turned into 3 hours as we made a big loop around the property, going to about one third to one half of the prairie/dune openings. Liza and I shared information about the ecology prairie, the special nature of sand dunes in the area, and how ecologically important their piece of property is. Although we really couldn't roam around looking for unusual things very much (I was reluctant because the Board at its June meeting specifically did not approve a visit for an inventory), we still happened across 3 species of State Special Concern plants, in several locations: beach heather Hudsonia tomentosa (2 populations), sea beach needle grass Aristida tuberculosa (seemingly on every wind-disturbed sand face area), creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis (3 populations). With permission, I collected a stem of juniper and will submit it, along with sight record documentation to Welby as time allows. An additional neat thing was to see purple milkwort Polygola polygama in full bloom, as we got to tell the fun story about the subterranean flowers it bears. One of the Board members (Walt) was along for the entire length of the hike. Walt is keenly aware of the value of the natural areas on the property, as well as some of the management that would benefit prairie/savanna. He is enthusiastic about natural areas and wilderness (he took notes during the whole walk), and will be an important advocate/bridge to the Club Board. While hiking, Walt and I talked about what the Club might be interested in doing to protect/manage natural areas on their property. As a first step, Walt thought the Club Board would probably be open to the idea of having a plant community inventory completed along GPS location of rare plants and any other significant features. I tried to get a sense if they would be interested in having an inventory done yet this year, but he did not give me any clear answer. Walt and I also talked about some specific management activities such as brush clearing and prescribed burning. Walt thought that the Club would be very open to the idea of conducting a prescribed burn, particularly in areas where there would be demonstrable benefit to shooting sports facility maintenance. For example, burning the area that includes the archery range could open the understory of the oak area (in addition to burning prairie). 8/16/2004