The Secrets of Bluff Creek West

Posted on March 14, 2016 by paulmozina • Posted in State Natural Areas • Tagged Bluff Creek SNA, Bluff Creek West • 3 Comments

Thanks for following the adventures of The Buckthorn Man! I’ve been keeping a relatively low profile lately compared to the borderline compulsive level of activity seen in the past, but my head is always in the game. I want to thank all of you who have contributed financially to support my efforts — it means a lot to me! And thanks to all of the volunteers who share my passion for preserving our beautiful Kettle Moraine landscape.

Pati and I took some time off from preparing for our trip to South Africa to visit a good friend up in Gurney Wisconsin. The waterfalls on the Potato River (on the left below) and the Black River (on the right) were spectacularly scenic.

I memorialized the trip with pictures and video accompanied by the sparkling brilliance of Jimi Hendrix’s May This Be Love.

Last Saturday I joined the Southern Kettle Moraine State Natural Areas Volunteers at the Bluff Creek West SNA for the last brush cutting workday of the winter season. I stopped at the Scuppernong Springs to get some drinking water on the way there.

State Natural Areas Program

State natural areas (SNAs) protect outstanding examples of Wisconsin’s native landscape of natural communities, significant geological formations and archeological sites. Encompassing over 380,000 acres, Wisconsin’s 675 natural areas are valuable for research and educational use, the preservation of genetic and biological diversity and for providing benchmarks for determining the impact of use on managed lands. They also provide some of the last refuges for rare plants and animals.

The Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation is responsible for managing the SNAs.

Natural Heritage Conservation staff work with citizens, private landowners and businesses to track, assess and manage nongame species; provide regulatory protection to endangered and threatened species; manage State Natural Areas to preserve the best remnants of Wisconsin’s original landscapes; and consult with other DNR partners and private landowners to help them manage their land to help maintain Wisconsin’s unique plants and animals and special places.

The program sounds great, and it is, the problem is that it is woefully underfunded. It’s akin to a fire department showing up at raging fire with hand pumps and backpack sprayers — it’s just not enough! The Natural Heritage Conservation program’s 2015 annual report shows a budget of approximately $5.5 million. I made the case during my acceptance speech last year at the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council‘s “Invader Crusader Award” that shortchanging our Natural Heritage is unconscionable.

How do we persuade the powers that shouldn’t be to reallocate funds from the military-security-industrial complex to protecting our natural resources?

My frustration with the current state of affairs boiled over at the start of the Bluff Creek West workday when The Buckthorn Man let loose a mini-rant. I hope my outburst did not ruin the day for all of the volunteers present.

Jared Urban, DNR Conservation Biologist, explains the goals of the workday.

Jared started with an overview explaining that we would divide into three teams to cut, treat and pile buckthorn.

Then he gave an excellent explanation of calcareous fens and why it was important to remove invasive species from the area. He showed us two maps: one with the locations of rare plants and the other with locations of rare animals. I love maps and asked if he would send us copies of the maps with the intention of posting them here. Jared, replied that “no”, the public was not allowed access to this information. The reason given was that people would use the information to plunder the rare plants and animals, and an example of an orchid thief selling his stolen plants at a farmer’s market was provided.

OK, let me get this straight. The government uses money it taxes from us to acquire public lands. It designates federal land, and land it acquired from the federal government when it was incorporated into a state — lands that were stolen from the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas — as National Forests, State Forests, State Parks and Natural Areas. It adds to it’s bounty lands donated by private individuals, conservancies and county government lands. Altogether, these public lands, “the commons”, comprise 5.7 million of the 34.8 million acres of land in the State of Wisconsin. These public lands, especially the 675 State Natural Areas, contain rare plants and animals but The State doesn’t trust the people with specific information about their locations.

Maybe that is why our SNA program is underfunded. People are not educated and exposed to the beauty of the rare plants and animals in the state. They don’t understand the threats they are under because they have never seen them in their natural settings to appreciate their beauty and what it takes to preserve them. I asked the gathering if anyone saw a problem with The State keeping the locations of the rare plants and animals a secret from the public and there was silence.

I dunno, it just bothers me: according to The State the people cannot be trusted. The mindset of the believers in the authority of government is that people are naturally bad, untrustworthy, lazy, uncooperative, thieving, selfish bums. Therefore, a subset of them need to be ~~selected~~, oops, elected, to rule over and protect us. Uh-huh, I see.

Well, it’s just my opinion after all, and there was work to do…

Here is a gallery of before and after images of the area that I helped work in (it is the leftmost yellow outline on the map above).

The area looking west of our “base”

Lindsay, Andrew and Nicole hard at work

And at the end of the day.

The area looking east of our base camp

Gary piling brush

And at the end of the day.

Andrew, Nicole and Lindsay

There is a magnificent group of oaks up the moraine from our base location and we couldn’t resist clearing under them, although our focus was supposed to be working along the wetland edge.

Lindsay and I stuck around to talk and I cut a few more tankfuls worth into the afternoon, so we missed the parting group shot. It was a pleasure to participate in the workday and I hope no one was too offended by my morning rant about The Secrets of Bluff Creek West.

Photo courtesy of Jared Urban

I stopped by The Springs on the way home and took a nice walk around the loop visiting my favorite haunts.

See you at The Springs!

Bluff Creek Rendezvous

Posted on January 11, 2016 by paulmozina • Posted in State Natural Areas • Tagged Bluff Creek, Bluff Creek SNA • 2 Comments

Aficionados of the Kettle Moraine converged at the Bluff Creek State Natural Area this past Saturday to continue clearing the buckthorn from the headwaters of the creek. The Buckthorn Man left his heart the last time he worked there and, I’m happy to report, he found it pulsing strongly in the springs that flow from the base of the bluffs. It’s hard not to fall in love with this peacefully remote and stunningly beautiful place. The massive moraines loom over deep kettles and ravines where no trails constrain your imagination. Come and explore!

We rendezvoused at the parking area on Esterly Road and found Scott Farrell, Zach Kastern and Ginny Coburn already hard at work. Zach picked up a truckload of equipment from the DNR facilities in Fitchburg the day before and had already been to the worksite with Scott to start brush piles on fire; the Southern Kettle Moraine SNA Volunteers were here back in November cutting and piling buckthorn. Ginny was clearing some brush that had fallen across the trail. Pati and I visited the area on Christmas day and captured a few images of their prep work as well as documenting our own exploration of the eastern complex of springs which you can see above near the power line corridor.

There are major springs at the base of the ridge on the left

And more springs ahead on the right side of the ridge.

We didn’t make it all the way to the last brush pile…

Instead, we descended the ridge to the east and followed the high ground around the bowl to visit the easternmost spring complex.

Pressed for time, the DNR sometimes just cuts and poisons the buckthorn

Zach explained that the goal for the day was to cut and burn buckthorn on the terminus of the ridge that Pati and I were walking along when we took the pictures at the beginning of the gallery above. Below is a closer look at the worksite, which is to the left of the “Bluff Creek” label on the first photo above and just to the right of the open field.

SNA volunteer stalwarts Michelle Bonness, Herb Sharpless and Gerry Petersen from the Kettle Moraine Land Trust, Gary Klatt, secretary of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, and Scott Farrell, and Lisa Ritzert were there, as well as some new free agents like Lindsay Knudsvig, Sarah Betzler and Lindsay Rheingans. We split into two teams: one began up on the ridge and the rest of us proceeded to the rounded point shown above where the outflow of the springs on the left side of the ridge curls around. Scott was working the burning brush piles when we got there and Zach soon had Sarah and Lindsay R. swinging brush cutters for the first time.

Zach, Gary and Lindsay

Gary, Herb, Gerry, Michelle, Ginny and Lindsay

Hi Ho, Hi Ho…

Lindsay and Scott

Scott had started two fires

The creek is just on the other side of that brush pile

Looking east towards the “tip” of the peninsula

Lindsay and Scott

Zach wrapping up the “official” volunteer event

Scott, Lindsay, Lindsay, Michelle, Paul, Ginny, Herb, Lisa, Gerry, Gary and Sarah

The “A” team worked up on the ridge

and got lots of brush cut and burned — Lindsay keeps and eye on the fire

Zach, Scott, Lindsay and I stuck around to cut and burn more buckthorn

Here’s that big oak again

and the creek just beyond this burning pile

I love hanging around a fire on a winter day and Zach and Lindsay had me in stitches…

I got this with my iPhone and just missed a great picture of Lindsay walking near that huge oak

Ask Zach to tell you about “The Curse of Oak Island”

It was a fun and satisfying day at The Creek. Come and visit the springs and kettles at Bluff Creek, and the nearby Lone Tree Bluff overlook; you won’t regret it!

See you at The Springs!

Sky Dancing

Posted on December 28, 2015 by paulmozina • Posted in Ottawa Lake Fen SNA • Tagged Bluff Creek SNA, Ottawa Lake Fen SNA, SkyDance Pet Lodge, Southern Kettle Moraine SNA Volunteers • 4 Comments

Winter’s first blizzard is raging outside and I can’t wait for spring and the return of the Sky Dancing American Woodcock to The Springs. The past few seasons The Keepers of the Springs, John and Sue Hrobar excitedly asked The Buckthorn Man: “Have you see the woodcocks?” The joy and wonder brightly illuminating their faces was not enough to spark a glow in The Buckthorn Man’s dimly lit bulb. It took a serendipitous encounter with Dennis Lutynski, owner of the SkyDance Pet Lodge, at the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA to turn on my learning switch.

Lindsay Knudsvig and I were relaxing yesterday in front of one of our blazing brush piles on the north side of the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA when Dennis emerged from the woods. Although we had never met, I knew it was him; I had introduced myself at SkyDance a couple weeks earlier to let them know about the NAWCA grant application and review where the property line was. The Buckthorn Man is a notorious interrupter and I could barely restrain myself as we began sharing information about how the restoration effort might impact SkyDance and how Dennis and his family took ownership of the property 12 years ago.

The SkyDance Pet Lodge is immediately north of the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA and completely surrounded by DNR land. We talked about the need to preserve the privacy of the dog kennels, sans the buckthorn, black locust and box elder, and about the potential impact the removal of all that cover would have on the local American Woodcock population. Dennis is the only woodcock bander in southeast Wisconsin and his face lit up as he described the sky dancing performances they put on right in their front yard.

In Dennis’ words:

“There is magic in experiencing the sky dance of the male woodcock during his courtship.

A series of spiraling flights and ground strutting mixed with musical loud buzzy bzeeps! Sky dancing as he plummets back to earth, twittering as he descends, inviting you to wonder about this unique spring ritual and the rotund little shore bird that rarely sees the shore! We invite you to experience the magical dance in the open fields surrounding our property in the Kettle Moraine Forest.

Banding the woodcock chicks is required to aid in research of the rapidly declining population. English Setter’s are frequently preferred for locating the nesting chicks. The English Setter’s careful footsie ghost-like motions set the woodcock, enabling the banders to net, record and band the chicks.”

Dennis named their kennels after the unfathomably mysterious flight of this beautiful bird.

Aldo Leopold wrote eloquently about the American Woodcock in A Sand County Almanac essay: Sky Dance.

I get it now! and plan to be front and center near the parking lot of the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail, where the American Woodcock will be performing again next spring.

It was a real pleasure to meet Dennis and he could not have been more supportive and cooperative. We are looking forward to working closely with him during the restoration to insure that a suitable visual and sound border is established between the trail on the north side of the fen and the SkyDance Pet Lodge kennels.

Dennis returned a few minutes later with a large aerial photograph circa 1967 of the property, which has been utilized as a dog kennel for over 50 years. “You got a lotta work to do!”

Yes indeed there is a lot of work to do at the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA and throughout the Kettle Moraine Forest; everywhere you look invasive plants are spreading and dominating the native flora. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to support The Buckthorn Man’s efforts — it means a lot to me and I do appreciate it. Most of all, I thank people like Andy Buchta, Lindsay Knudsvig and Ben Johnson, who have consistently volunteered their time and energy to help me on these restoration projects.

Andy and Lindsay joined me at the Ottawa Lake Fen SNA yesterday, December 27, 2015 and we lit our first brush piles of the season. There was no snow cover so we avoided the brush piles that were nestled in the edge of the marsh and instead we lit piles that were well upland. This worked out great as there were plenty of massive buckthorns on the hillside to cut and throw into the fire. We had a safe and very effective first outing with fire on land this winter season.

We lit the three piles on the right

ditto for this picture

The view south from the worksite

The buckthorn thicket just up hill from the brush piles we lit.

Andy Buchta stoking the fires

Lindsay makes an adjustment

Dennis Lutynski

with Lindsay

I love hanging out by a buckthorn fire on a winter night

In case you have not noticed the events on the front page of this website, I’m posting all of my volunteer workdays on a iCalendar which you can subscribe to by visiting the Volunteer page. I’m really looking forward to the next State Natural Areas workday at the Bluff Creek SNA on January 9th. Visit the State Natural Areas Volunteers DNR site to see their workday schedule and get on their mailing list. You can also follow the action on Facebook at Southern Kettle Moraine SNA Volunteers.