Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 04/08/2021

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The understory does include a number of other species, but buckthorn was apparent as the dominant understory species of the floodplain forest. Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) was present in the southern portion of the restored prairie. Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) was found to be along the southern edge of the floodplain forest and in the shrubland on the southeast corner of the site. Significant amounts of poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) inhabited the understory of the floodplain forest and the quaking aspen grove in the northern portion of the site, including at the edges of these areas near trails. There were a few volunteer trees in the prairie that have persisted through burns and some beginnings of cool season turfgrasses invading the edges of the prairie. Other species of potential concern present include perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis), yellow goatsbeard (Tragopogon dubius), riverbank grape (Vitis riparia), prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), field horsetail (Equisetum arvense), common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) and amur maple (Acer ginnala). Ecologically Sensitive Areas Several areas on the property should be considered ecologically sensitive. These areas either have diverse populations of plants or are important areas in the life cycle of animals. Public use should be monitored or restricted to best protect the quality of these areas.' The entire eastern border of the property is considered sensitive because it borders the Rum River. Since the property provides direct access to the river, there is an inherent risk imposed to the waterway by public use. Excessive use along the riverbank can cause bank instability and erosion issues that could negatively affect water quality and should be monitored closely.' Additionally, this wooded area is an ecologically sensitive riparian zone. Undisturbed riparian zones are considered reservoirs of diversity that act as key habitat to species that depend on these areas, such as nesting and migrating birds as well as certain woody plant communities. They provide spatial heterogeneity to a landscape through edges and ecotones while also creating beneficial habitat corridors. A critical part of watersheds, riparian zones reduce the delivery of runoff and pollutants to water bodies, contribute to stream bank stability and sediment control, incorporate nitrogen from shallow groundwater, provide shade that reduces stream temperature, and provide allochthonous inputs that drive river ecosystems.11, 12 The restored dry, tallgrass prairie is undoubtedly sensitive as this type of land cover has become so uncommon in Minnesota. Prairie ecosystems have been in serious decline due to fragmentation, invasive species, and surrounding land uses, resulting in less than two percent of the original native prairie area remaining in Minnesota while continuing to experience decreasing plant diversity. These sites are ecologically critical because they contribute so much to pollinator and wildlife habitat and connectivity, allow for increased animal and plant dispersal, and contain concentrated, unique biodiversity. The vegetation communities present in native prairie have dense root systems that anchor and build nutrient rich soil through their contribution to biogeochemical cycling and storage. Within the landscape, they link upland and wetland sites for organisms that utilize both habitats and act as key sites for the transfer of energy between trophic levels.' If managed properly, the site could become habitat for Minnesota Species of Special Concern regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species listed rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis). Any area that could increase habitat connectivity for such 8