My Waushara County habitat project slideshow

[ken erickson]

I had put this slide show presentation together for some of the US Fish and Wildlife , Partners for Wildlife folks that were touring some of the projects they helped fund.

Trust me, I am not a film maker or even that tech savvy so the quality is not great but you may get some entertainment from it.

I put this slide show together late Dec of 2019, so much has improved and changed since then!

If you took the time to watch, THANK you!

 

[D2Cat]

Ken,you have a lot of wildlife on your property. I started watching then backed up and kept my finger on the pause button so I could take my own time. Thanks.

 

[Bisleybob]

Very nice, Ken. Great photography

 

[airbiscuit]

Fabulous

 

[Russell King]

Very nice presentation.

I hope your restoration is going well. I have about 5 riparian acres that I am trying to rid of invasive species and restore them to more native species.

These were “hay fields” and then fallow for years. Then we have had a long drought to contend with. I have pretty much eradicated Johnson Grass but now the KR bluestem is trying to take over.

How was the spraying of the invasive species done? Did you hire someone and spot spray or was it a scorched earth approach? How did you determine what to spray or identify the species?

We have an invasive species called “beggars lice” (Torilis japonica) that we have been pulling out but the seed bank seems to be pretty full but every year it is a little less to deal with. It blooms at the same time of year as the native plants so mowing it is difficult.

 

[ken erickson]

Ken,you have a lot of wildlife on your property. I started watching then backed up and kept my finger on the pause button so I could take my own time. Thanks.

Thank you!
Looking back I should have set a bit longer time between slides. I know what the captions are and I have a hard time keeping up! LOL

 

[ken erickson]

Very nice presentation.



I hope your restoration is going well. I have about 5 riparian acres that I am trying to rid of invasive species and restore them to more native species.

These were “hay fields” and then fallow for years. Then we have had a long drought to contend with. I have pretty much eradicated Johnson Grass but now the KR bluestem is trying to take over.

How was the spraying of the invasive species done? Did you hire someone and spot spray or was it a scorched earth approach? How did you determine what to spray or identify the species?

We have an invasive species called “beggars lice” (Torilis japonica) that we have been pulling out but the seed bank seems to be pretty full but every year it is a little less to deal with. It blooms at the same time of year as the native plants so mowing it is difficult.

I wish you the best of luck with your 5 acres! Challenging but rewarding work for sure .

For the most part things are going well but it is an ongoing battle with invasive species and woody species wanting to re-establish.

We started by "nuking" the complete 28 acres that we mulched. Once with Milestone to attack the spotted knapweed and then a round of glyphosate. Pretty much everything other than established woody species was a goner.

After that we did a spot spraying of un-wanted oak re-sprouts in a 10 area area.

Since then I have been spot spraying areas , primarily with Milestone , to control the spotted knapweed. I just returned from the land to button up the tent after last weekend guests etc. Because of the rains we have gotten this season the spotted knapweed has exploded in some areas. Arrrrrrrrrrrg.

A few pictures from today. Pretty much everything you see in these pictures are native species.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Thanks for sharing. Looks great!

I am just now starting to prepare site(s) to put in 2 pollinator habitats (both combined will be close to 2 acres when finished) as well as a wildlife planting (trees and shrubs).

I hope mine turns out as well as yours has. Great job!

 

[ken erickson]

Thanks for sharing. Looks great!

I am just now starting to prepare site(s) to put in 2 pollinator habitats (both combined will be close to 2 acres when finished) as well as a wildlife planting (trees and shrubs).

I hope mine turns out as well as yours has. Great job!

Thank you for the kind words! I was very fortunate that I had the help of some very hard working talented people who work in the habitat industry, along with friends and family.

I hope you share some of your progress and experiences as things move along, .

 

[Russell King]

Thank you for the kind words! I was very fortunate that I had the help of some very hard working talented people who work in the habitat industry, along with friends and family.

I hope you share some of your progress and experiences as things move along, .

How did you get the assistance from the habitat people? Where did you find them?

 

[ken erickson]

How did you get the assistance from the habitat people? Where did you find them?

There are many different organizations willing to help in various ways so what worked for me may not for you. That being said this is how things played out for me.

After purchasing the property in Jan of 2017 I played around myself trying to figure out what I even was dealing with. Carved a few trails, it was very dense with overgrown Scot pines, planted a few wild plum trees and American hazelnuts.

By the end of 2017 I realized that there was good potential for oak savanna restoration work and I made an appointment with my county DNR biologist to discuss what may be available for cost sharing, technical assistance etc.

The DNR biologist right away mentioned that my land was situated in the epicenter for the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly and highly recommended I make an appointment with US Fish and Wildlife , Partners for Wildlife to arrange a site visit.

March or early April of 2018 I met with the Partners biologist and within a month or so signed a landowners agreement that spelled out the cost sharing, the project in general, their obligations and mine. It was with Partners that the bulk of the work was performed.

I will supply a link to the Partners program. They operate in 50 states plus territories.

what-we-do

The site visit is zero cost for the landowner. One of the extra benefits working with the Partner's program has been getting to know the individuals, the contractors, the other cost sharing programs that are available.

Once you start digging I think you will be surprised how many Non-Govt-orgs and state, local and Fed orgs that have technical help and cost sharing programs.

 

[Russell King]

Thank you for the information

 

[Heehaw]

Wonderful pictures and very nice slide show.
We all need to slow down and observe the beauty that nature offers.
The time, sweat, energy and resources put into a project like this makes it all the more rewarding.
Well done!

 

[Ktrim]

Great jobespecially enjoyed the slides with the dubbed in sound affects

 

[NCL4701]

Beautiful photos and work.