Conservation: Managing Open Habitat

Last month we shared that we are using sheep and goats to help manage our Epping Way property.  They are still munching away to keep some of our open areas open. But if you’ve been to our Epping Way property recently, you’ve seen many “new” re-cleared areas.  These areas include priority habitats that had become overgrown with invasive shrubs and too many trees. By contracting with a forestry mulcher, the Conservancy has reset the successional stage of important habitats for pollinators and bluebirds alike.  

For instance, the edge of our 30-acre agricultural field (currently planted with soybeans) had become a dense thicket of sweetgum, sycamore, and ash. What is most desirable for the crops, wildlife, and visitors alike is a strip of beautiful wildflowers and grasses.  See the after picture of this work below. With continued management, city-goers can interact with both this all-too-rare habitat and a picturesque field of beans: a truly quaint experience.  

The mulcher was also able to address many nonnative invasive species such as Chinese privet, Bradford pear, and bush honeysuckle, along with native nuisance poison ivy that was choking out the understory next to the 20-acre lake. This work to restore the understory will greatly improve habitat as more desirable native vegetation is given a chance to return while also providing a higher quality recreational experience on the Wolf River Greenway.

Previously hidden behind a wall of greenery, visitors can now look out over serene Epping Lake where turtles bask in the sunlight, fish leap out of the water, and bullfrogs bellow from the weeds.