Habitat Restoration April 2018

Mostly Mild March

Volunteers spent March on the Refuge finishing up plantings and starting in on spring cleaning. Despite our somewhat abbreviated winter season, close to 400 trees and shrubs were planted across the landscape. Nine different species were planted to enhance habitat by providing browse and cover to deer populations, blooms and nectar to pollinators, and berries and nest sites for our feathered friends. Habitats and food webs are built from the ground up and volunteer efforts contribute to maintaining a diversity and redundancy within these systems.

Common Name	Scientific Name
Pacific Dogwood	Cornus nuttallii
Red-stem Dogwood	Cornus sericea
Mock Orange	Philadelphus lewsii
Black Hawthorn	Crataegus douglasii
Indian Plum	Oemleria cerasiformis
Bitter Cherry	Prunus emarginata
Salmonberry	Rubus spectabilis
Oregon Ash	Fraxinus latifolia
Black Cottonwood	Populus balsamifera

The mild March weather has also allowed us an early start to the invasive weed season. Staff and volunteers have been busy searching out one of our early season noxious weeds known by most as poison hemlock, or the plant that killed Socrates. All parts of the plant hold toxins so if you physically encounter this plant be sure to wash up.

The Friend’s fence removal crew continued to fight their way through blackberries and return more of the Refuge lands to open range. I was reminded of the benefits verses the costs (lots of scratches and a bit of blood loss) of this project the other day when I spooked a doe and fawn and watched as they sprinted across a field only to be not stopped, slowed, or separated by the fence line we removed.

As the spring progresses we will be searching and treating a whole host of invasive species. If you were/are the kid that took/takes the Easter egg hunt way too seriously you might be the volunteer I’m looking for. We will begin our Early Detection-Rapid Response (ED/RR) program in April and I am looking for folks who don’t mind off-trail hiking, or shore-line paddling, to help locate invasive species. You wouldn’t have to know them all and we will provide some id training, but you should be sure-footed, have the ability to spot and identify various plants, and know how to use a GPS or mark a spot on a map. It’s not a test so being able to key out plants using a field Id book or app is allowed. If interested please try and attend the Volunteer Training event on March 31 here at the River S Unit and I can provide you with more information.

And as always we continue with our Wednesday Volunteer Work Parties. Sign up today!