Category: Wetlands | Accent on Natural Landscaping

WOFVA Chapter Plant Sale Orders Due March 31, 2021

March 14, 2021

Female monarch nectaring rough blazingstar (*Liatris aspera*).

Are you starting to get excited about spring and getting out in your yard? Digging in the dirt? Planting new plants, trees, and shrubs? Are you asking yourself what you can do for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators? Then you should know about the Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter’s annual native-plant sale. Orders for native plants, trees, and shrubs are due Saturday, March 31, 2021.

Native plants are the host plants and food source for most native pollinators and insects. They evolved together, so it’s natural that they would rely on each other for their preservation. In this day and age of bee-colony collapse, monarch-butterfly loss, and insect eradication, it’s important for all of us to do our part by gardening for wildlife. Without bees and other insects, many of the foods we eat would not be pollinated naturally, which means our meals would be a different experience and would become more costly.

The Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter’s annual spring native plant sale will be held at the WILD Center in Neenah, Wisconsin (2285 W. Butte Des Morts Beach Road, Neenah, Wisconsin), on May 22, 2021.

Chapter volunteers sorting pre-orders of native plants. — Chapter volunteers sorting orders of native plants. Photo by Donna VanBuecken.

The plant sale order form identifies all plants, trees, and shrubs offered as to ecotype (shade, sun, mesic, etc.). There are also some pre-designed collections of prairie and shade plants available, and a listing specifically for monarchs and pollinators. If you need assistance in selecting native plants, see alternatives to non-native cultivars and nativars.

Plants are in 4-inch pots and are more than reasonably priced at $6 per plant. Trees and shrubs are individually marked. There is also special pricing available for non-profits purchasing plants for their outdoor learning centers and habitats.

Don’t forget to place your order!

Orders are due Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

Pick up is May 22, 2021, from 9AM to 2PM.

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The e-mail photo is by Robert Carlson.

http://www.accentnatural.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WOFVA-PlantSale-BackUp.docx

It’s Time to Reauthorize Wisconsin’s Stewardship Program

February 24, 2021

In 1989, Governor Tommy Thompson and the Wisconsin legislature created the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries, and expand the opportunities for outdoor recreation. Normally, the Stewardship Program is on a 10-year cycle, but it was only budgeted for three years until 2022. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has recommended that Governor Evers’ next biennial budget include 10-year reauthorization of the program through 2031. The Nature Conservancy was deeply involved in crafting this recommendation and will work with the governor, state legislators of both parties, and the WDNR to ensure that this recommendation is adopted in the next state budget.

We have time to get a coalition of partners from other conservation, hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation groups to increase funding for the program, and reauthorize it for a longer period of time.

What Does the Stewardship Program Do?

One of the projects that was helped by the Stewardship Funds. This is the Guckenberg-Sturm Marsh on Little Lake Butte des Morts. Photo taken by Donna VanBuecken.

More than 90 percent of Wisconsinites recognize the importance of reauthorizing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to protect our state’s lands, waters, and wildlife, fight climate change with natural solutions, maintain our mental and physical well-being, and grow our outdoor recreation and local economies. (The Nature Conservancy)

Clean Water — Protecting the forests, wetlands and grasslands that filter out pollutants in runoff before they reach our lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
Groundwater Protection — Protecting the lands that are essential to replenish the groundwater is critical to ensure a consistent supply of clean, safe water.
Flood Protection — Protecting grasslands, wetlands, and forests along rivers upstream to store water and help reduce the risk of severe flooding downstream.
Recreation Economy — Protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of land and hundreds of river miles for hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, and other types of recreation.
Urban Outdoor Opportunities — Providing outdoor opportunities near home for all Wisconsin residents, including more trails and parks for those living in cities and surrounding urban areas.
Wildlife Habitat — Protecting large blocks of wetlands, forest, and prairie for birds, waterfowl, pollinators, bats, small and large mammals, and other rare, protected, and endangered species to roam.
Working Lands — Protecting working forest, prairie, and rivers in Wisconsin, along with the jobs and products they provide.

Nonpartisan Program

The Stewardship Fund is a nonpartisan program. It was named after former governors Warren Knowles, a Republican, and Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat. It’s the right thing to do for Wisconsin’s land, water, and wildlife. We have to make sure our lawmakers know how important land and water protection is for our state.

Write the legislature today.

Please let them know what you think about it.

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The e-mail photo courtesy of WDNR.

What’s Happening to Land Use?

December 1, 2020

The first formal study of erosion took place under the Soil Conservation Act of 1935. Through the years, it has been updated by many Acts. The Rural Development of Act of 1972 implemented a land inventory and monitoring program, which generally follows a complex sampling of five-year increments. For 35 years, the NRCS (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) has been collecting information on the status and condition of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation’s non-federal lands. It covers erosion, agricultural, rangeland, forestry, wetlands, and other lands. It covers 49 states (Alaska is excluded), Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to assess resource quantity and quality.

Developed Land

The National Resources Inventory (NRI) is a statistical survey of natural-resource conditions and trends in the United States. Non-federal land includes privately owned lands, tribal and trust lands, and lands controlled by state and local governments. The 2020 report shows that about 44 million acres of land were developed between 1982 and 2017, bringing the total to about 116 million acres. This represents a 61 percent increase during the last 35 years. However, the developed land has been increased less and less proportional to population change. This results in less land available for agricultural, rangeland, and forests. Loss of rural land will have an impact on wildlife and native landscaping.

The NRI collects data on natural resources, soil and water conservation practices, irrigation, and many other farming practices. For 35 years, NRCS has been collecting information on the status and condition of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation’s non-federal lands.

The Report

Taken from “What’s Happening on America’s Lands, Soils, and Waters?” by Bob Sowers, NRCS.

“The 2017 report shows trends from 2012 to 2017,…Conclusions from the report will take years to evolve as people study the data, but we can already see that cropland acreage increased, erosion rates stabilized, and the expansion of developed land decreased. Some highlights include:

Cropland acreage increased by 5.6 million acres between 2012 and 2017, continuing a trend since 2007. Eighty percent of that increase came from land coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program, which decreased during that time.
Forest land continued to steadily increase over the last 35 years, with an increase of 1.1 million acres between 2012 and 2017. The increase was mostly from conversion from pastureland, counterbalancing losses to developed land.
Rangeland continued to steadily decline over the last 35 years with a reduction of 1.2 million acres between 2012 and 2017. Most of that reduction was due to losses to cropland and developed land.
Palustrine* and estuarian** wetlands saw no change overall between 2012 and 2017.
Cropland erosion rates remained stable despite the increase in overall cropland, indicating that new cropland does not have a higher likelihood of erosion.

The report also gives a statistical perspective on natural resource and environmental conditions for these lands, with the specific goal of supporting agricultural and environmental policy development and program implementation. It serves as the foundation for critical analytical efforts for USDA and other agencies and groups.”

*Palustrine wetlands include all non-tidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergent plants, or emergent mosses or lichens, as well as small, shallow open water ponds or potholes (called swamps, marshes, potholes, bogs or fens.)

**Estuarine wetlands are tidal wetlands that are usually semi-enclosed by land but have open, partly obstructed or sporadic access to the open ocean, and in which ocean water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater runoff from the land (where a river flows into the ocean).

For the complete report, see the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s What’s Happening on America’s Lands, Soils, and Waters?

Hummingbird exchanging pollen for nectar from this Cardinal Flower. Photo by Larry Master masterimages.org

Conclusion

The net change of rural land into developed land has averaged 1.6 million acres per year over the last 25 years. This results in reduced agricultural land, rangeland, and forests. This loss of rural land — compounded by climate change — leads me to think that our environment and the extreme weather caused by climate change will result in a loss of wildlife and native landscaping.

American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

November 10, 2020

While visiting Mandy Ploch’s cabin recently, I noticed the American Witchhazel was blossomed out two weeks ahead of time. I looked again the following weekend, and the plant was just about blooming. A couple of days to go, just when it was supposed be.

Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

One of the latest flowering shrubs of the year, American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a hiker’s delight when spotted late in the fall. Native to both the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S., the plant’s fragrant bright yellow blossoms appear late in the autumn after all the leaves have fallen from the other woodland species.

The extraordinary flowers are bright yellow, with four very slender bright yellow petals measuring from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. The spicy fragrance of the flowers is so welcome in the late fall. The American Witchhazel leaves are large with uneven teeth, alternate, simple, broadly ovate, 2-1/2 to 6 inches long, unequal offset leaf base and with the upper surface dark green and the lower surface a paler green. It is considered a “service berry.”

What Pollinates the Witchhazel?

A Winter Owlet moth known as a Sallow. These moths have a remarkable ability to heat themselves by using energy to shiver, in order to fly in search of food, thus raising their body temperatures by as much as 50 degrees. Other pollinators include flies and maybe some bees.

The fruit of the Witchhazel blossoms goes dormant during the winter, developing into a seed during the following growing season. Once the seed is fully developed, it is expelled some 20 or more feet in the autumn. Although minuscule, the seeds are edible and high in fat and protein. Witchhazel is the host plant for the Spring Azure butterfly,

Often called water-witch, early settlers observed Native Americans using forked twigs of the American Witchhazel (*Hamamelis virginiana*) to find underground sources of water. The well at our hunting property was driven where the dowsing branch pointed for my father and the well digger.

Wicke Hazel

The most interesting use for the plant has been the use of its forked limbs as dowsing or divining rods. Early European settlers observed Native Americans using American Witchhazel to find underground sources of water. This is where the common name witchhazel came from. “Wicke” is the Middle English for “lively” and “wych” is from the Anglo-Saxon word for “bend.” American Witchhazel was probably called Wicke Hazel by early white settlers because the dowsing end of the forked branch would bend when underground water was detected by the dowser. Dowsing became an established feature of well-digging into the 20th and even now in the 21st century.(U.S. Forest Service)

The Astringent

The astringent called “witch hazel” is made from the leaves and bark of the witchhazel shrub. It is used to treat a variety of ailments from acne to insect bites, and for more aesthetic uses from aftershave lotion to tightening baggy skin.

Just Right for Turkey Hunting

As you might expect, seeing this lovely American Witchhazel shrub blossoming during my turkey hunts is something I look forward to every fall. The shrub prefers semi-shaded habitat, so it is found along the edges of many of the wildlife trails I use for scouting. The plant likes rich, moist soils, so it is right at home along the edges of the hardwoods. I love going to my hunting property!