11-21-2005 Planning Commission Packet

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extends off site to the northeast, and consists of a mosaic of upland forests,black ash swamps,cattail marsh,and other natural areas. On November 17,2005,an AES ecologist walked the site,viewing the majority of the property under light snow cover. The site's uplands generally consist of loam and clay loam and contain old fields and deciduous forest. A flow-through wetland traverses the southern and eastern portions of the site. These wetland areas consist of silty clay loam and loam soils. Surface water enters the site via a ditch in the southwest corner,and then traverses the southern portion of the site and exits into a marsh located in the northeast portion of the site. Plant communities observed on the site include: � Old Field-The site's old field contains a mixture of agronomic grasses and weeds,including smooth brome,Kentucky bluegrass,Canada goldenrod,orchard grass,and reed canary grass. Scattered trees(e.g.,green ash, sugar maple,silver maple,catalpa,and American elm)exist in the northwest and other portions of the old fields. This is not considered a native plant community. � Deciduous Forest-The majority of the site's forests consist of relatively young volunteer trees (green ash,American elm,boxelder)with scattered mature trees(mostly green ash). One rnajestic bur oak(approximately 36" diameter at breast height,or dbh)was observed in the northeast portion of the site,and some younger bur oaks were observed in a forest patch nearby to the west. The forest shrub layer,which was generally sparse but occasionally dense,was dominated by invasive common buckthorn. The forest groundlayer appeared quite sparse as well, and young buckthorn seedlings and invasive garlic mustard were observed. These forests are considered altered native forests,and would receive a natural community ranking of poor. Two patches of Maple-Basswood Forest were observed in the northeast portion of the site. These areas contained some moderate sized(e.g.,20'°dbh)basswood trees,and the sapling-shrub layer contained young basswood trees,ironwood trees,common buckthom,and gooseberry. The groundlayer appeared generally sparse. This native plant community would receive a natural community ranlcing of poor,but it does represent the highest quality native plant community on the site. � Non-native Dominated Wetland-The flow-through wetland receives water via an off-site ditch. This drainageway flows through what appeared to be a dug channel along the southern edge of a stand of deciduous forest,just north of the large reed canary grass wetland located in the southern portion of the site. A patch of dogbane and scattered sandbar willow shrubs were observed in this southern portion of the wetland. The wetland and its associated drainageway continue downslope to the northeast where the drainageway flows into a reed canary grass opening containing scattered black willow ttees and one weeping willow tree. In this area,the wetland edge was observed to contain some native wetland plants(e.g.,bugleweed,green bulrush,and asters). Further downstream,the wetland flows through a degraded lowland forest,and then discharges into a cattail marsh in the northeast portion of the site. Due to the dominance of reed canary grass in the southern portion of the wetland,t�is area is not considered a native plant community. '�'he wetland in the northeast portion of the site has a reed canary grass edge,but then becomes a cattail marsh. �ased on a visual assessment from a distance,this northeast wetland would likely receive a natural community ranking of poor. �re�aan�ee�e�y Conservation�esa�n I�ecoaa�a�ee�ae��tao�n� On November 15,2005,AES met with�ohLand I)evelopment and reviewed the proposed development plan for�he 1VIacKinnon�-Ii11 site(dated 10-10-OS j. We understand there is Iittle flexibility in the general layout of the new road and residen7ial lots;therefore,our recommendatiions are made ira the context of that design. 050929:111805 � Of s MacKinnon Hill