I was elated! The large trees, once shrouded with thickets of invasive shrubs, now stood clear in the November light. I’d never seen this sight before! Once dense with shrubs, this beautiful meadow with mature trees opened up before me. I found a place to slip between the trees and look at the landscape that had appeared. ![]() The Hickory Lane with recently mowed meadow on the right and dense shrubbery remaining on the left Look at the contrast between the un-mowed left side and the open area in the distance on the right! I was immediately tempted out into that cleared meadow. The mature trees along the Hickory Lane, of course, were not touched and only a scrim of shrubs remain between them. A wetland along the Hickory Lane, now visible after the removal of invasive shrubs How nice to see it so clearly from this direction! Perhaps you can see the density of shrubs on the far side, which is what used to exist along the Hickory Lane. The invasives also took up nutrients and shaded out native plants all over the park.Īs I headed north from the parking lot at West Predmore Road and stepped into the Hickory Lane, I first noticed that I could see into a wetland that I’d struggled to reach from the opposite side last summer when a group of volunteers and staff monitored a vernal pool there. The almost impenetrable density of the shrubs blocked views of wetlands and the open vistas of large trees that had existed before the invasive plants took over. A tangle of invasive shrubs and vines created very little nutrition for wildlife, left only a narrow edge along the path for native wildflowers and had spread thickly into the fields beyond the trails. To appreciate the dramatic changes made by forestry mowing, here to the left is a typical view of most paths at Cranberry Lake Park before the restoration work began – and it’s not too scenic, I must say. Miraculous Transformation Along the Hickory Lane Along the way, we’ll see a few creatures that shared my walks during the mostly gray days of November and early December. I can’t show it all, but maybe I can give you taste of it. So come have a a look at the new vistas in the park. With the help of careful stewardship – treatment of non-native re-sprouts and the spreading of native seed – a habitat will be reborn. The diverse wildlife that evolved with our native plants will once again benefit from the food and shelter that they’ve depended on for thousands of years. As the carpet of mowed stems and branches decompose, the nutrition previously taken up by autumn olive, privet, glossy buckthorn and other non-native shrubs can gradually re-nourish the soil. Now the sun washes across the landscape, rain sluices into the ground, nourishing the roots of native trees, grasses and wildflowers waiting for spring. North meadow at Cranberry Lake Park after forestry mowingĪh, at last! The native trees and plants can breathe again! Many of the invasive shrubs that had crept across open areas at Cranberry Lake Park are gone.
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