Visitors to Lake Erie Bluffs this winter may have noticed Lake Metroparks staff mowing and removing trees to increase open space with more native shrubs, grasses and wildflowers. Through thinning and the removal of trees and invasive species, our goal is to restore the area to a more shrub and grass-based habitat, which is important for a diverse range of wildlife like migratory birds.
We conducted these management practices in the winter season to reduce disturbance to birds and other wildlife rather than in the breeding and migratory seasons when they are most at risk from human disturbance. There were areas in the park left undisturbed to provide escape and winter habitat for our winter resident species. By enhancing the old field mosaic that was originally present at Lake Erie Bluffs, we will help to restore higher-quality habitat for breeding and migratory birds, provide more food sources for pollinator species, and promote wildlife and plant diversity, which are all important for a healthy habitat.
Lake Erie Bluffs provides important habitat for a diverse number of wildlife species throughout the year. Many of the open areas of Lake Erie Bluffs are classified as old field habitat, which consists of a mosaic of grass and wildflower fields, young thickets of trees and shrubs, and vine-shrub tangles. This variety is important for many species of breeding birds and is a vital staging and refueling area for migratory birds before they continue their journeys across Lake Erie.
These open habitats with flowering native plants and shrubs are also utilized by diverse pollinating insects like butterflies for habitat and food sources. Over the past several years, Lake Erie Bluffs has started to lose its old field habitats to encroaching invasive plant species and forest succession, which could cause the loss of early successional birds, pollinating insects, and native wildflowers that make the park so unique.
Conservation is an important part of Lake Metroparks’ mission. To help restore these crucial old field habitats, Lake Erie Bluffs will undergo management in several areas. The map and detailed descriptions of each area below explain the careful, balanced plan. We removed invasive species (buckthorn, honeysuckle and alder), thinned saplings to allow beneficial trees to continue to grow and provide more open area for wildlife movement and habitat, and spot mowed some areas to provide grassier habitats for early successional species.
Section 1: The old field management practices for section 1 included spot mowing, thinning dense areas of trees, and removing buckthorn and other invasive shrubs. This section is at risk of becoming too thick with invasive species to the point that native shrubs and plants are crowded out. By removing the invasives, we allow native plants the opportunity to grow and increase in number to fill those gaps that have been opened up. The thinning of dense areas of saplings promotes the growth of beneficial trees, opens the area up for wildlife movement, and allows for other native plants like wildflowers and native grasses to thrive. We also utilized spot mowing to help keep some patches open with grasses and wildflowers, which promotes pollinating species like butterflies and provides a food bank for birds throughout the year.
Section 2: The old field management practices for section 2 included thinning dense stands of trees and the removal of buckthorn, honeysuckle and other invasive shrubs. This section of is quickly becoming too dense with invasive species for native plants to grow. This dense growth is also becoming too thick for many successional and scrub-shrub bird species that need tangled growth but not so thick that it prohibits effective movement through the underbrush. The thinning of trees in this area will also help to promote the movement of wildlife species, help encourage the growth of the remaining trees, and provide the ground space for native plant species to thrive.
Section 3: The old field management practices for section 3 included increasing the width of mowed strips in the large lower field. This area is one of the few places at Lake Erie Bluffs that provides early successional open field habitat that is predominately grass and wildflower based. These mowed strips help to keep the habitat at this stage, which is important for the rapidly declining grassland/open habitat group of birds. By expanding the mowed strips, we will provide more areas of this habitat and help to knock back encroaching trees, vines and shrubs.
Section 4: The old field management practices for section 4 involved removing buckthorn, thinning young tree growth, spot mowing, and keeping beneficial shrubs like viburnum. This area has been kept in an early successional state with wildflowers, grasses and some scattered shrubs. Our goal is to keep this area in this state to promote pollinators and native wildflowers and provide important foraging and nesting habitat for birds. Removing invasive species like buckthorn that quickly take over open areas is imperative to keeping this a meadow habitat. It is also important to thin back trees that have begun to encroach in these areas to promote open habitat and prevent the loss of native plants and the habitat and food they provide wildlife.
Section 5: The old field management practices for section 5 included spot mowing in the open areas of the meadow. Some sections of the meadow are beginning to get overgrown and lose the open habitat that is important to pollinators, birds, and native, open grown wildflowers. Mowing will help to reduce woody invasive species, promote native grasses and wildflowers, and keep sapling growth low. This took place in selected spots to prevent the disturbance of the entire section so loafing/escape habitat for wildlife species remains.
Section 6: The old field management practices for section 6 included removing and thinning saplings and young trees, removing invasive black alder and promoting native shrubs. This area is quickly becoming overgrown with thick patches of young trees and a lack of shrub habitat. By removing and thinning young trees, we will allow for more wildlife movement, provide beneficial habitat for early successional bird species, and provide more area for native shrub and wildflower growth that is needed for early successional species. It is important to remove black alder to help promote a healthy habitat with a decreased invasive species component.