Wetland Wander

By Carrie Karl, WREN Education Assistant

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Weather: A canopy of clouds and light rain.

Matt Benotsch, from The Nature Conservancy, lead eleven people along a fire break in the Willow Creek Natural Area during this Wetland Wander. As we travelled Matt narrated the battle unfolding before our eyes between forest and prairie. The struggle for space is constant. Humans have played a deciding role in this battle beginning with the Kalapuya thousands of years ago. The Kalapuya used fire to cultivate food sources and the plants we see today now depend on fire for survival. Without fire, the Tufted Hair Grass would ebb away and the Oregon Ash would dominate.  As this battle is waged there is considerable beauty to behold. As we looked out over the prairie we watched a Northern Harrier swoop low hunting for a mid morning snack. At prairie edges we glimpsed Pacific Green Tree Frogs, a Rough Skinned Newt and a Southern Alligator Lizard hidden amongst the grasses and fallen leaves. Restoration technicians today utilize fire to help the prairie and forest to maintain their space. As areas are burned or mowed, a mechanical way to mimic fire, there is balance and a forging of habitat for a diversity of life. 

Restoration in action this morning

How do you change a pile of 800 tires into 800 flowers? Send out the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership, of course!

Last September this team of experts took out over 800 tires along with 1800 cubic yards of fill material ranging from red brick, river rock, 4 inch cobble, south hill clay, household garbage (cans, bottles, plastic bags, wire etc.) and construction debris (lumber, conduit, electric junction boxes, scrap metal etc. ), and hauled away 75 cubic yards of brush and wood. Here's what it looked like durning the excavation:

Future wet prarie?

Now look what's there!

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Wetland Wander

-by Susanne Twight-Alexander, WREN Board Member

This morning's (last Wednesday's) wetland wander started with overcast skies but we were fortunate the showers held off until we were nearly to our cars. The Nature Conservancy's Matt Benotsch led our group of eight from the 18th street across through TNC fields on a "burn" road. We were able to see the difference between areas where trees and undergrowth are rampant, inhibiting the growth of native plants and those where burning and/or plowing are encouraging their growth. Right away there were bird observations of acorn woodpeckers and singing meadowlarks. Other birds spotted during the trip included juncos, songsparrows, robins (of course), and Canada geese. Matt pointed out many of the early spring plants, a few of which were flowering. A new one to me was the bittercress, delicate white flowers on small plants that love to have their feet in the water. We also found a buttercup and some saxifrage in bloom. Matt showed the group the leaves of the Kincaid Lupine (the favorite food of the Fender's Blue Butterfly) just beginning to emerge and we were fortunate to find a Bradshaw's Lomatium at the edge of an area which is being protected to encourage their development. (that was the flower in last weeks post!)