wildlife Monitoring program-2015

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1 INTRODUCTION In 2013, Dr. Nelson,owner of the Nelson Wetland, began planning and implementing the restoration of a marsh wetland and surrounding upland habitats at 520 Tonkawa Road, Long Lake,Minnesota (Exhibit 1). Ecological restoration in the uplands began in 2014. Permits to carry out the wetland restoration were obtained in 2014 and this restoration work will begin in 2015. It is expected that the wetland restoration will be substantially complete in 2015. Follow-up management of the young plantings will occur for three years after construction,as required by permit. Monitoring of vegetation and wildlife is underway in order to understand the effect of an experimental technique for restoring marshes dominated by invasive species of cattails. Tens of thousands of acres of invasive-cattail wetlands exist in the Twin Cities metro area,with additional hundreds of thousands of acres across the Midwest. The experiment at the Nelson Wetland involves removal of the shallow cattail root mass, burial of the area with material excavated from the wetland (which creates create an area of open water),and planting of a wet meadow on the former cattail area. Advantages of the technique is that less material must be removed from the marsh,cattail seed is buried,and the slight increase in elevation reduces future cattail invasion after the wet meadow is established. The total area of wetland remains the same, resulting in no net loss of wetland, but the quality of the wetland is improved by removal of invasive cattails and the addition of two wetland types,wet meadow and open water. Dr. Nelson,the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District,City of Orono, and others are interested in learning whether this is a useful technique for dealing with invasive-cattail marshes. The Wildlife Monitoring Program is one of two at the Nelson Wetland Restoration Project. The other monitoring program focuses on vegetation using two methods: a)wetland delineation with a review of wetland function and value using the Minnesota Routine Assessment Method (MNRAM)and b) periodic inspection of the vegetation with photo-documentation to evaluate progress of the restoration. A baseline MNRAM assessment was completed in 2014. A follow-up MNRAM assessment will occur after the restoration work and three years of management are completed. The results of the baseline, pre- restoration MNRAM will be compared to the results of the post-restoration MNRAM in order to document changes in wetland values and functions. With the removal of cattail over most of the site, and replacement by wet meadow and open water, it is expected that the restoration will improve wetland functions and values over pre-restoration conditions. The vegetation assessment and photo- documentation will occur two or three times during the growing season for three years after the restoration plantings are completed. A goal of wildlife monitoring at the Nelson Wetland is to draw general conclusions about the effect of the overall restoration and the experimental cattail reduction technique on wildlife populations. As the restoration matures,and with the addition of uncommon wet meadow vegetation and open water, wildlife populations should become more diverse. In the short term,the results of wildlife monitoring will not change the intended restoration and management approach. At the end of three years, however,when the restoration and three years of management are completed,trends will emerge in the monitoring data. These trends will be evaluated and the restoration plan modified in order to improve the outcome of the overall restoration initiative. 11 Page