RIVER BENDS PARK-WEST AND HOLLAND ... - Shelby Township

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EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'ST<strong>AND</strong> 1. SOUTHEAST FLOODPLAIN' Land area: 75.34 Acres Land use history: This floodplain forest may have been here as forest for 100 years or more, as some of the larger trees are in that age range. There is evidence of a small community or camp at the end of an abandoned road on the north side of the river, and remains of a business or other old human activity at the end of a short road south of the river. Forest Type: -Existing: Southern Hardwood Floodplain Forest -Potential: Same Successional trend: Pole-size to large sawlog-size eastern cottonwoods and silver maples dominate this extensive and variable river floodplain stand. Also numerous among sawlog-size trees are black willow, black maple, American sycamore, sugar maple and American basswood. Other trees present in the canopy are black walnut, boxelder, American elm, bitternut hickory, red maple, northern red oak, swamp white oak, white oak, bur oak and green ash. The understory includes ash, buckthorn, bur oak, boxelder, silver, black, red and sugar maples, elm, non-native honeysuckles, sycamore, hawthorn and basswood. Ground vegetation and vines includes poison ivy, wild grape, Virginia creeper, black swallowwort, multiflora rose, barberry, various goldenrods, reed canary grass, common St. John's-wort, jewelweed, stinging nettle, garlic mustard, various thistles, moneywort, enchanter's nightshade, dames rocket, ostrich fern, dandelion, wild strawberries, meadow horsetail, white avens, wood sorrel, jack-in-the-pulpit, white grass, spotted Joe-Pye-weed, small forget-me-not, iris, violet, agrimony, early meadow-rue, currant, wild parsnip, bedstraw, sedges, wild geranium, wild leek, green dragon and giant ragweed. Forest health: There were no obvious signs of disease, insect infestation or malnutrition among the trees and shrubs in this stand. The ash trees are dead or dying from emerald ash borer infestation. Site quality: Site index is estimated at 66 for Silver maple. This stand appears to be a moderate site for growing silver maples and cottonwoods, and in some areas of higher ground it supports good quality sugar maple and black walnut. A site index of 66 for silver maple is in the low to moderate range. Approximate age: 93 Size Class: Medium Sawlogs (17.5 - 23.5") Trees per acre: 178 Mean Stand Diameter: 16 in. Basal Area (BA): 69 Acceptable BA: 90 or more Growth Rate: % Timber Quality: medium Stocking: Total basal area of 69 square feet per acre is toward the low end of the fully stocked range for this forest type, equivalent to just over 50% stocked, or 50% of the average maximum stocking expected in undisturbed stands of similar size and species composition. This relative density is in the optimum range for best individual tree growth, with excellent growth rate of the largest trees, good growth of medium to smaller trees, and low mortality from crowding. Cottonwood and silver maple together comprise nearly 40% of the total basal area, and black willow, black maple, sycamore, sugar maple and basswood account for another 44% of the basal area. Three oak species make up only 3 percent of the basal area. Basal area is a method used by foresters to approximate density 14
and size of trees in a forest stand, based on sample plots done at randomly or systematically chosen locations. If a circular acre of trees around a plot center were all cut down, leaving 4.5 foot tall stumps, the sum of the area of the tops of all those stumps in that acre, calculated in square inches and converted to square feet, would be the basal area for that acre. Basal area is expressed in square feet per acre, for all trees of all diameter sizes combined, or for all the trees of each species. When sampling trees in a forest, foresters typically measure diameter of the trees at 4.5 feet above the ground, referred to as diameter at breast height, or DBH. Stand volume: 19 Gross cords per acre Habitat and wildlife use: It is well known by researchers and land managers that the ecological integrity of stream corridors is directly related to surrounding terrestrial plant communities. Perhaps the highest use of riparian (river-side) forests is to protect water quality while providing much needed habitat combinations for many different species of wildlife, on the land and in the water. The guilds of fish, turtles and frogs, salamanders and mudpuppies, crayfish and other crustaceans, snails and insect larvae that find home in a particular stream or river depend on the relative temperatures and chemical nature of the water. In general, the cooler the average temperatures of a river, the healthier the river remains and the more diverse the fauna will be. Keeping undisturbed buffers of forest vegetation along both sides of a stream will keep water cooler in summer, and provide thermal cover along the stream in winter. Forest vegetation also serves to stabilize stream banks, minimizing erosion during flood events, and covering and anchoring forest soil, keeping more of it in place on land and out of the stream during heavy rains and snow melt. Another important element of a river is how much microhabitat is available for shelter, feeding sites and reproductive sites for fish, amphibians, insects and others. The Clinton River as it passes through River Bends Park would be considered a type C stream in David Rosgen's stream classification/river morphology descriptive system 4 . The river has meandering channels with frequent point bar development, and continuous series of welldefined ripples and pools. The dominant streambed material is gravel. The sensitivity of the river channel to disturbance, and stream bank erosion potential are both very high, the supply of sediment is high, and the recovery potential following disturbance is good. The controlling influence of terrestrial vegetation is very high. The adjacent forest contributes trees and other woody debris with each major storm and flood event. All these physical characteristics contribute to a rich diversity of habitat elements and spaces for fish, turtles, insects and other guilds, which in turn provide food sources for otters, raccoon, mink, herons, kingfishers, swallows, beaver, deer, snakes and many other wildlife groups. Rivers offer a unique menu of food items for visiting wildlife - fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, plants, reptiles and amphibians, some of which are themselves predators 5 . Riverbanks provide easy access to drinking water, den sites for muskrats and beavers, nesting sites for bank swallows and eastern phoebes, and often sunny spots for the growth of grasses, nuts and berries. Phoebes will also make use of the undersides of bridges as nest sites. Several species of bats find roost trees and caves in riparian corridors, including silver-haired bats, and Indiana bats in at least the southern two tiers of Michigan counties. River otters, bald eagles, northern water snakes and several turtles are among the many predator species that may use the river corridors in the Park. In addition to providing food and shelter habitats for relatively stationary wildlife species, riparian corridors provide safe travel corridors for many large and small individual animals on the move from one territory to another. Also there are wildlife species, from deep forest birds like pileated woodpeckers to red-shouldered hawks to several warblers, as well as certain salamanders, that need large uninterrupted tracts of forest to live and prosper. The relatively large blocks of riparian and adjacent upland forests in the Park are among few contiguous forested communities in southeast Michigan that may provide for the needs of these animals. For these and other reasons the riparian corridors in the Park can perhaps be considered the single most important group of habitat communities to protect from disturbance, to monitor and in some locations to restore buffers of undisturbed natural vegetation. Recommendations for the widths of natural vegetation buffers along streams, lakes and other wetland types vary greatly, from an absolute minimum of 10 feet in very urban settings 6 , to more than 700 feet on either side of large rivers in very rural or wild settings 7 . The minimum buffer width agreed upon by most researchers and land managers is between 50 and 100 feet. The 15
Page 1 and 2: RIVER BENDS PARK-WEST AND HOLLAND P
Page 3 and 4: V. APPENDICES
Page 5 and 6: APPENDIX B: WILDLIFE AND FORESTRY I
Page 8 and 9: APPENDIX D: PLANTS LIST
Page 10 and 11: Legal description or directions to
Page 12 and 13: General Property Information Total
Page 14 and 15: Common Name Scientific Name Status
Page 21: III. STAND DESCRIPTIONS AND MANAGEM
Page 25 and 26: just such a trail in existence alon
Page 27 and 28: MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 'STAND 1. SOUT
Page 29 and 30: One of several large steel girders
Page 31 and 32: Even though they provide fruits for
Page 33 and 34: EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND 3. C
Page 35 and 36: Recreational opportunities: The wes
Page 37 and 38: EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND 4. O
Page 39 and 40: the stand can be allowed to eventua
Page 41 and 42: MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 'STAND 5. WATE
Page 43 and 44: One view of Stand 6 pond. Note the
Page 45 and 46: important wildlife habitat complexe
Page 47 and 48: of the stand that would lend themse
Page 49 and 50: wildlife species. Potential for oth
Page 51 and 52: Forest health: Ducks and other wate
Page 53 and 54: Swamp, showing emergents, scattered
Page 55 and 56: MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 'STAND 12. SMA
Page 57 and 58: The Natural Resources Conservation
Page 59 and 60: salamanders and snakes. There are a
Page 61 and 62: EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND 15.
Page 63 and 64: Silvicultural Prescription: Recomme
Page 65 and 66: EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND 16.
Page 67 and 68: Planned Activities: 2010: Improve C
Page 69 and 70: while maintaining a reasonably inta
Page 71 and 72: 2012: Consider developing maple syr
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The main north-south road with seve
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gray catbird, song sparrow, indigo
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Camping cabin at Kenai NWR OEC. Bea
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Potential for timber production: Wi
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EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND 19.
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Planned Activities: 2010: Once the
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the old garage. Recreational opport
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Habitat and wildlife use: This fore
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Priority: 2 2015: Conduct second FS
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Habitat and wildlife use: This sect
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would need to be monitored and main
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Old house foundation near river, on
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half might be planted to oaks, suga
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MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 'STAND 28. RAI
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Details of the silvicultural prescr
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Recreational opportunities: This st
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EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR 'STAND STAN
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Potential for other uses: Water qua
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to venture into the Park proper to
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Page 119 and 120:
IV. SUMMARY INFORMATION 111
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‟Stand 14. Buildings Pond‟ - Pr
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'Stand 1. Southeast Floodplain' - P
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'Stand 21. Black Walnut' - Priority
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COMPARISON OF MANAGEMENT UNITS ON T
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Sources (Numbered) for West River B
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Also various pamphlets and articles
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125
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Family (Tribe) Scientific Name Comm
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Family Scientific Name Common Name
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Table 2. Trees, shrubs, woody vines
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Family Scientific Name Common Name
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RIVER BENDS PARK-WEST AND HOLLAND ... - Shelby Township

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