Sandbanks Draft Veg Mgmt Plan - Ontario Parks

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disturbances in accordance with the draft bulletin PM 11.03.02, Species At Risk Information Guidelines. • The NHE program should continue to include messages about vegetation stewardship 3.3. Restoration Activities Due to its long history of human use, several areas of Sandbanks require restoration to enhance and protect natural features. This section deals with a range of restoration activities, listed in priority order based on urgency. Funding will be required through Ontario Parks or external agencies, but in some cases, volunteer help may be sufficient. Intensive restoration activities specific to the dunes, plantations, and agricultural lands are described in further detail in section 4.0, Vegetation Management Units and Implementation Schedules B and G. Development Zone Restoration Several areas of the Outlet campground require restoration to prevent further destruction of vegetation communities. The riparian ecosystem along the Outlet River supports many rare species and at least 3 species at risk, and the shoreline should be maintained in as natural a state as possible. Campsites along the river in Area B will be assessed, and those that are negatively affecting riparian communities will be removed and restored, as recommended in the park management plan. Vegetation destruction and erosion due to pedestrian traffic in Outlet campground. Complete vegetation destruction and erosion is apparent along the ridge between campsites 55 and 59 (see inset). The roots of several mature trees are completely exposed and at risk of damage. In order to allow this area to recover, a cedar rail fence should be constructed at the back of campsites 54 and 55, and a chipped path installed between the campsites to direct pedestrians. Native shrubs like Black and Flowering Raspberry and Prickly Gooseberry obtained from a local greenhouse supplying local native stock (Appendix C) can be planted to deflect traffic. All campsites should be monitored for similar signs of erosion and impact on the surrounding vegetation. Much of the panne habitat in the Outlet sector was lost when the parking lots were constructed. However, some panne communities and species remain in isolated areas beside the parking lots and road. These communities and species are currently threatened by excessive mowing, uncontrolled pedestrian traffic, and invasion by Scots Pine. Scots Pine should be removed from these areas and a fence erected immediately to protect the most intact panne remnant panne habitat near parking lots in Outlet sector areas. Highly degraded panne areas are good candidates for educational restoration projects, where mowing and trampling are limited. Sandbanks Vegetation Management Plan 19 of 28 Ontario Parks, SE Zone 2009
• Habitat destruction in development zones will be assessed and mitigated where feasible. Sourcing Plant Stock for Landscaping and Restoration Planting To the extent possible, plants used in development zone landscaping and in restoration throughout the park will be propagated using seeds from the park, either by establishing a park nursery or through a partnership with a local nursery. Records are to be kept on amount of seed harvested, location, data, and destination. If this is not possible, plants should at least be of local (preferably Prince Edward County or south Northumberland, Hastings, and Lennox and Addington counties, or eastern Ontario) origin. These measures will help to ensure the continuation of plants that are specially adapted to the park’s environmental conditions. Appendix C lists local nurseries that may provide contract propagation or local native plant stock. Transplanting Marram Grass and other species may be done for restoration purposes. See section 4.1 for details on Marram Grass transplanting. • Local native stock will be used for all planting and restoration in the park. 3.4. Invasive and Exotic Species Approximately 82 of 384, or 20%, of the known terrestrial plant species at Sandbanks are not native to Ontario. Of these, at least 36 species have the potential to become invasive 12 . Four in particular, Garlic Mustard, Dog-strangling Vine (or Pale Swallowwort), Common Buckthorn, and Purple Loosestrife, are already established in the park and need to be monitored and controlled (Appendix D – Invasive Species Monitoring and Control Guidelines). The park staff has recently initiated several monitoring and removal protocols for these species. White Sweet Clover may also be behaving as an invasive in the dune and panne communities, and its spread should be tracked. The SE Zone Invasive Exotic Plant Management Strategy provides further guidelines for managing these plants. Priorities for control at this point are those plants that are not yet widespread, or that are threatening significant natural areas: all patches of Dog-Strangling Vine, Garlic Mustard in the mature deciduous forest in Outlet Campground, and small buckthorn shrubs where they are becoming newly established. These species are known to spread quickly and exclude native vegetation if not controlled. Appendix E provides fact sheets for each species of concern and appropriate control measures. In many cases herbicides are the only option for effectively controlling established invasive species. The Invasive Species Strategy and Appendix E provide direction for the proper control techniques and use of herbicides. • Aggressive invasive species will be controlled when possible following approved guidelines. • Invasive species that may pose a threat to park environments will be monitored. 12 Invasive exotic plants are species not native to Ontario that have the potential to negatively impact native flora, fauna, and ecosystems, often by spreading and dominating habitat Sandbanks Vegetation Management Plan 20 of 28 Ontario Parks, SE Zone 2009
Page 1 and 2: Sandbanks Vegetation Management Pla
Page 4 and 5: Summary of Key Management Recommend
Page 6 and 7: 1.0 Introduction This vegetation st
Page 8 and 9: Outlet Sector and the former “sug
Page 10 and 11: 2.0 Vegetation Communities - Descri
Page 12 and 13: sector receive much heavier visitat
Page 14 and 15: Shallow Marsh Ecosites A few small
Page 16 and 17: 2.5. Plantations The current versio
Page 18 and 19: Hazardous Trees and Windthrows Safe
Page 20 and 21: Prescribed burning is the deliberat
Page 22 and 23: Table 3.1. Provincially rare specie
Page 26 and 27: The park staff has controlled Purpl
Page 28 and 29: Zones Management Objectives Managem
Page 30 and 31: 6.0 Funding/Linkages The projects i
Page 32 and 33: Norris, T. and D. Cuddy. 1990. An E
Page 34 and 35: APPENDIX A - Hazardous Tree Treatme
Page 36 and 37: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE B - Plantat
Page 38 and 39: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE B - Plantat
Page 40 and 41: APPENDIX D - Invasive Species Monit
Page 42 and 43: APPENDIX E - Invasive Species Infor
Page 52 and 53: APPENDIX F - Woodlands Monitoring P
Page 58 and 59: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE G - Restora
Page 66 and 67: APPENDIX H - Sandbanks Species List
Page 72: APPENDIX H - Sandbanks Species List

Sandbanks Draft Veg Mgmt Plan - Ontario Parks

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