Friends of the SLSB Activity Report
for 11th July 2015

Serps Stewardship Day Report

Goat Hill

7/11/15

Participants: Tracy Raymond, David Ross, Henry Whitesel, Bill Whittaker

Major accomplishment:

Completed the maintenance work on site 91 started on 5/15.

Full report:

We gathered in the Red Pump Road Parking area around 9:30 am, signed the FSLSB form, and pick-up pooled to the scrapped areas on the TNC land.  We were at site 91 shortly after 8, completed our work by 9:45 and were out of the Barrens by 10:10, pretty much beating the heat (and lucky to pick a pleasant, low humidity day).

We found the site in pretty much the same condition the team left it in May – an encouraging core of prairie dropseed dotted with small cedars with greenbriar encroaching from north and south. David and Tracy tackled the cedars with the weed wrench (sawing a few larger specimens) while Henry worked uphill (S) and Bill downhill (N) against greenbriar thickets using the hand held brush whackers.  Henry opened the trail connecting 91 with 92 and Tracy was indefatigable in tackling the scattered greenbriar in the core.  Henry estimates that we’ve opened up 80% of the available grassland at the site.

On our way out, Henry observed that the NW corner of site 86 (the sloping grassland below the scraped areas) needs attention lest the cedars grow beyond the weed wrench stage.  86 would be a perfect site for the walk-behind once the warm-season grasses have gone to seed or in early spring.

Tracy observed that this limited, early-in/early-out approach might be a good way to tackle the remaining glade spurge cages, if we can coordinate with Carol Loeffler.

Submitted

David Ross 7/11/15