Current and Past LIP Projects
Sauk County

2009: Bird Habitat Enhancement on the Leopold Memorial Reserve

Project Goal and Site Description:
This project will enhance bird habitat for swamp white oak savanna, dry prairie, and savanna communities within the western portion of the Leopold-Pine Island IBA. The proposed work will create a natural mosaic of habitats with varying density of canopy cover and understory structure which will benefit populations of blue-winged warbler, brown thrasher, field sparrow, red-headed woodpecker, vesper sparrow, woodcock, willow flycatcher, and wood thrush.

Proposed LIP project area is 94 acres in total; five acres of grassland with minimal prairie component, three acres of high quality remnant dry prairie, eleven acres of oak savanna, and the remaining acres are a mosaic of floodplain forest and lowland swamp white oak savanna.

The grassland is being encroached with invasive buckthorn around the edges, there have been an inter-seeding done to increase the diversity of prairie species, but the success has been minimal. The high quality prairie remnant and savanna are burned as necessary to keep the current structure. The floodplain forest has great potential if the invasive species management continues.

Mossman-Hartman Bluff Prairie

Project and Site Description:
The goal of this project is to maintain a mosaic of dry prairie, oak savanna and woodland on a 17-acre bluff with high native plant and animal diversity, and minimal invasion by exotic and native. This work will maintain or increase populations of several plant indicator species.

This bluff includes former goat prairie and oak savanna that was pastured and allowed to succeed to red cedar, basswood, buckthorn, honeysuckle and prickly ash. Since 1996, the landowners have restored it to high quality natural area by removing cedars, many basswoods, invasive shrubs and herbs, and conducting 4 controlled burns, under a WHIP contract (since expired). The woodland is currently under MFL, but no more cutting is required though a few trees cut annually in concert with MFL and restoration goals. The bluff top is now white oak woodland, upper slopes dry prairie, and slopes below sandstone cliffs are bur-red oak savanna and woodland. Many native woodland, savanna and prairie plant species are present and documented for conservation easement with Stewardship funding.

Very few remnants of dry prairie and savanna occur in the Baraboo Hills and adjacent landscapes. This is the only remaining intact goat prairie-savanna within the series of rich remnants noted in Lange's (1998) Flora of Sauk County. Although the flora returned remarkably with our cutting, treating and burning during 1996-2006, there has been rapid invasion and re-invasion by sumac, Rubus, prickly ash and various exotics such as multuflora rose. It is essential that the bluff continue under restoration management, especially cutting and treating invasives, and periodic burns.

Invasive Species Control at the International Crane Foundation

Project and Site Description:
This project will contribute to an ongoing restoration effort by funding the control black locust, dramatically decreasing their coverage and stopping their spread in prairie, savanna, and wetland areas to improve habitat for grassland bird and plant species.

The project site is divided into six management units, two of which have wetlands and each has a gradient of open prairie to closed woodland habitat (map 1). Of the 150 acres of the project site, 90 acres are high-quality restorations or remnants (prairie and wetland), and 60 acres are degraded habitat (wetland, oak woodland and oak savanna). Invasive species are the most significant threat to the ecosystems on site. Black locust occurs in all management units and control efforts have been underway since 1980. Effort has been limited by available time and funding. Reed canary grass occurs in both wetlands, and in small patches across the property. Though these two species are the primary target of management in this project proposal, several other species are of secondary interest and need to be reduced further: garlic mustard control has been successful, with less than 20 plants found on site in 2007, whereas coverage of knapweed, sweet clover, wild parsnip, and Queen Ann's Lace has been substantially reduced but further control efforts are required.

ICF lies within a matrix of private agricultural and residential land, and ICF cooperates with grassland management on over 80 adjoining acres owned by our neighbor by conducting prescribed burns and advising on grassland restoration. As a part of the invasive species management plan, ICF is working to eradicate garlic mustard on the private lands bordering their site with the cooperation of neighboring landowners. These past efforts indicate the potential for future collaborative projects with black locust, reed canary grass and other invasive species.