The Emerald Ash Borer

As if we didn't already have our hands full with invasive species in MN, another one might soon be crossing our borders. The emerald ash borer has already killed more than 20 million trees in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and has made it as far west as Illinois. Wisconsin and Minnesota are next in line, and we also happen to have the most ash trees of all the states in the country - more than 1 billion ash trees in the two states combined! Minnesota alone has about 870 million ash trees.

The adult ash borers eat the leaves of the tree, but they aren't the real problem, and only cause minimal damage. The real buggers are the larvae, which feed off the inner bark and disrupt the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. By the time you see the adults, the damage has already been done.

Because of the numbers of trees already killed and the great threat posed, the USDA has imposed quarantines and fines on moving wood from infested trees. MN and WI state parks have banned out-of-state firewood in an attempt to prevent the transport of the beetles into the states. The insects are not strong flyers and can only make it about a half mile on their own, but humans tend to give them a lift - 80% of the infestations in Michigan, for example, were traced back to firewood.

Entomologists say the arrival of the emerald ash borer in MN is inevitable, and all species of ash appear to be susceptible. The loss of the ash tree would have a significant impact on our urban landscape (my backyard would be a completely different and much less appealing place!), but it would have an even more detrimental effect on our forests. In the river gorge, green ash is a common tree species, and prickley ash and black ash are also present.

For more information:

• http://www.emeraldashborer.info/ - a multi-state effort (MI, IL, IN, MD, PA, OH, WI) to provide the latest information on the emerald ash borer
• http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/eab.htm
• MN Dept pf Ag's Response Plan and Strategic Plan, survey maps and tree traps
• http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/05/03/buggytrees/
• http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2005/emeraldashborer07.html

Photos: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/eab_child.shtml, David Cappaert
http://www.ppdl.org/dd/images/eab.jpg, H. Russel, Michigan State University
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12141-69866--,00.html
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/image/f/frpe--lf13383.htm, Steven J. Baskauf

Winchell Trail Repairs Underway!

Repairs on the Winchell Trail in the gorge began September 17th, so those of us who use it for recreation or transportation need to be aware and extra careful. Sections will be closed intermittently as they work to stabilize areas prone to erosion and replace deteriorating and damaged trail surfaces.

The areas of the trail near 24th, 25th, and 42nd Streets are the focus of the project, funded by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Parts of the trail will be completely resurfaced, and erosion work will include repairing or replacing existing retaining walls, and planting native vegetation (hurray!). Added bonus: it sounds like some buckthorn is going to get removed in the process!

Watch for detour signs and workers moving equipment in and out of the area. Once we get some real snow (keep your fingers crossed!) the work will be put on hold and the trail will be closed through the winter. The project is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2008.

For more details, the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board's website has an information page on the project here.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13965410@N06/1749836220/

Restoration Season 2007

The Gorge Stewards have had a busy and productive restoration season this year!

More than 450 volunteers have contributed almost 1200 hours to help protect and enhance the natural communities of the river gorge through a variety of activities including clean-ups, removing invasive species, and collecting and redistributing native seed.

FMR once again coordinated the 36th Street and West River Parkway site of the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board's citywide Earth Day clean-up. With almost 200 volunteers, the gorge was given a pretty good spring cleaning! Later in the season, a group of students from Northwestern College participated in another clean-up, focusing on the areas near 34th and 44th Streets and West River Parkway.

During the spring months of April and May, Gorge Stewards volunteers devoted much of their energy to pulling garlic mustard, a highly invasive exotic woodland plant. As a way to empower and increase the impact of our volunteers, we held a "Pledge to Pull" event, during which volunteers were provided training and asked to pledge to return to the site to pull more garlic mustard on their own time. After providing a brief orientation on garlic mustard, we began work on a slope of the restored oak savanna. Thanks to the hard work of so many volunteers over the years, this area is teeming with a variety of good natives, like this beautiful bloodroot plant. Removing the garlic mustard helped to ensure the success of the native plants in this amazing spot. The group then headed to the river flats, a large section of floodplain that unfortunately is carpeted with garlic mustard. Eight volunteers later returned to the gorge to pull more garlic mustard on their own, for an additional 67 hours! In addition, a group of students from Carondelet Catholic School learned about and pulled garlic mustard in the river flats area in mid-May.

Oak Savanna Workdays began in May and were held once a month through October. During these events, volunteers under the direction of Carolyn Carr of Ecological Strategies carried out a variety of tasks associated with caring for the mesic prairie and remnant oak brushland/woodland that is being restored to an oak savanna. This often involved removing invasive species, such as buckthorn, reed canary grass, and sweet clover. Volunteers also helped maintain existing plantings by weeding and watering during the dry period this summer. Towards the end of the season, volunteers helped prepare sections of the site for seeding, then collected seed from native prairie plants, spread the seed, and laid erosion blanket.

In the fall when trees begin to drop their leaves, buckthorn stays green, giving it a competitive advantage over other plants. However, this also makes it easier for volunteers to identify and remove! Our last Gorge Stewards public restoration event of the season was a buckthorn pull at a site in the Seward neighborhood, near 24th Street and West River Parkway. Around twenty brave and hearty souls tackled a patch of buckthorn on a steep slope between the paved walking and biking path and the Winchell Trail. A few individuals also tended to the prairie plantings that had been installed by volunteers several years ago.

As in years past, Gorge Stewards volunteers were of all ages and from all walks of life. Some volunteers have been regular Gorge Stewards for several years, some became regulars this season, and some came to just one event. But all brought with them infectious enthusiasm and dedication, and their hard work made a valuable contribution to the health and future of this rare and precious gem, our Mississippi river gorge.


Photo 1 courtesy of Tim Boyle
Photo 2 courtesy of Peter Kastler
Photos 3, 4 courtesy of Karen Solas
Photos 5, 6, 7, 8 courtesy of Hillary Oppmann