Transcript Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality

LAKESCAPING FOR
WILDLIFE AND WATER
QUALITY
Lakescaping
 Definition

Landscaping in areas that are lake front
properties
Affects of Managing Lakeshore
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Fisheries
Wildlife
 Non-native plants and wildlife control
 Water quality
 Use of native plants
 Landscape design
 Forest management
 Aquatic plants management
 Management of swimming beaches
 Watershed management
 Lawn and garden management
 Control of shoreline erosion
Involvement in Shoreline Activity
 Local
 County
 State
 Federal
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Zoning regulations, laws, and permits
Topics
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Life at the water’s edge
The lake ecosystem
Solving lakeshore problems with buffer zones
Designing lakeshore landscapes
Site preparation and plant installation
Maintenance
Shoreline stabilization
Good stewardship practice
Lakescaping examples
Life at the Water’s Edge
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Buffer Zone-extends 25 to 100ft above shoreline
The Lake Ecosystem
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Watershed
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Lake
River
Stream
Wetlands
Lakeshore is one of the most biological diverse
natural communities
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Interaction between
• Soil
• Water
• Air
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Long term stability and water quality
Vegetation Profile
Habitat
 Nesting
& Nursery area
 Cover
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Wildlife
Aquatic
 Feeding
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Food web
Lake Chemistry
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Cycles
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Biological
Chemical
• Phosphorus-limiting factor
• Oxygen
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Atmosphere
Aquatic plants
Physical
• Water transparency
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Interdependent
• When one changes it affects the others
Solving Lakeshore Problems with
Buffer Zones
 Problems
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with groomed lakeshore
Erosion and sedimentation
Sandy beach maintenance
Excessive plant growth and algal blooms
Loss of wildlife habitat
Nuisance animals
Loss of leisure time
Buffer Zone
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Definition
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Is a natural strip of vegetation along at least 75% of a
property frontage
Vegetation used to create a buffer zone
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Native trees
Shrubs
Wildflowers (forbs)
Grasses
Sedges on land
Emergent, floating and submergent aquatic plants
Designing Lakeshore Landscape
 Consideration
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Climate
Water
Soil
Plants
Animals
Lakescaping Vs. Landscaping
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Differences
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Lakescaping
• First assesses the growing environment
• Then selects plants to grow in that conditions
• Preference to native plants
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Thrive in specific soils, moisture, and light conditions
Do not require supplemental water, fertilizer, pesticides or
excessive labor
Landscaping
• First selects a plant for color, fragrance, or characteristic
• Then alters growing environment
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Needs fertilizer, pesticides and supplemental water
Steps
 Develop
a plant list
 Consider you needs and desires
 Draw a base map
 Create space by designing outdoor rooms
 Design specific plantings
Developing a plant list
 Native
landscaping in area
 Properties
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Soil – sandy, rocky, mucky, etc
Light conditions – full sun, part sun, or shady
Moisture
Slope
 Take
photo of other areas for ideas
Considering your Needs and Wants
 What
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Site inventory
 What
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do you need in your landscape
Utility requirements
 What
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are the characteristics of your site
do you want in your landscape
Recreation desired
 What
can you do to improve the
environment and water quality
Drawing a Base Map
 Draw
you property
 Measure dimensions
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Buildings- windows and doors
Driveways and walkways
Landscape
 Plot
all measurement on large sheet of
graph paper
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Suggested scale 1”=4’, 1”=8’, or 1”=16’
Creating Space by Designing
Outdoor Rooms
Outdoor room – is an area in you landscape that
accommodates your activities
 Create with wall of
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The Floor being
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Trees
Shrubs
Wildflowers
Fence or other structure
Lawn
Patio or Deck
Consider ceiling
An Outdoor Room
Consult
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State natural resources agency (DEQ)
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Minimum requirements
• Buffer zone
• Permits
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Michigan’s wetland regulatory program
• Wetland Protection Act
• Clean Water Act
Permit Standards
• Public Interest Test
• Acceptable Disruption to Aquatic Resource Test
• Wetland Dependency / Alternatives Analysis Test
Common Law
Local Regulations
Laws
 Soil
Erosion and Sedimentation Control
 Subdivision Control Act
 Michigan Environmental Protection Act
 Michigan Endangered Species Act
 Flood Plain Regulatory Act
 Inland Waters
 Shorelands Protection and Management
 Sand Dunes Protection and Management
Designing Specific Planting
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Aquatic Buffer Zone
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Emergent plants
Submerged plants
Floating plants
• Absorb wave energy, hold fine sediments in place, and
provide food and shelter for many fish and wildlife species
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Upland Buffer Zone
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Herbaceous plantings
Woody Plantings
• Protects the lake by filtering nutrients, leaves, and holds the
bank soils in place
Emergent Plants
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Grow in large
colonies
 Once established will
spread
 Establish 2 to 3
species in large
groups
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Grasses
 Sedges
 Forbs
Will move to where
they are best suited
Arrange Grasses
Inter-planted with
wildflowers
Herbaceous
 Low-growing,
non-woody, leafy, ground
layer plant
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Sedges – triangular stem grass-like plants
Grasses
Wildflowers
• Plant grass and sedges approximately 3ft between
individual plants
• Place wildflowers between the space of grasses
and sedges
Woody
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Trees and shrubs
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Shrubs
• Space 6ft between each shrub
• Do not place any close then 2ft from grasses and sedges
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Shrubs can be planted right up to lakes edge without
obscuring view
Design a filter or framed view
• Add trees where need if desired
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Make sure you take in consider shade tolerance
species for planting if using trees
Budget
Money and
Time by
Planting in
Intervals
Lakeshore Transformation 1
Lakeshore Transformation 2
Lakeshore Transformation 3
Site Preparation & Plant Installation
 Sourced
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of Native Plants
Nurseries
Contract Growers
Diggings from the wild
Rescue plants from the blade of bulldozers
Propagation of seeds
Cuttings
Rootstock
 Planting
Costs
Nurseries
 Rules
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Purchase local-origin plants from local
nurseries
• Not more then 200 miles away
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Make sure plants bought are not collected
from the wild
Contract Growing
 Order
them 3 to 6 months in advance
 Necessary for large quantities
 Typically half-down payment is required
 Investment is worth the timely delivery of
the plants you desire
Digging From the Wild
 Digging
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is destructive
Robbing plants of their natural beauty
Opens soil
• Creating a seed bed for invasive weeds
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Reduces reproductive potential
 Digging
some plants is illegal
 Transplants are difficult to establish
 Do collect seeds and propagate
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Seed collect is illegal on public property
Rescuing Plants from the Blade of
the Bulldozer
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Thousands of native plants are destroyed each
year by construction
 Permission to harvest is required
 Must plant in a bed immediately
 Best dug in the spring or fall, when cool
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In mid summer
• Cut aboveground stems in half to reduce the amount of leaf
surface that loses water
• Keep transplants out of the sun after digging
• Keep exposed roots wet
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Aquatic plants need DNR permits
Propagation from Seed
 Collect
seed in the summer and fall
 Propagate wildflower and grasses indoors
over the winter
 Obtain permission from appropriate
agencies to collect seeds on state land or
from landowner on private property
Cuttings
 Lakeshore
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shrubs
Propagated from twig cuttings
• Taken in spring
• Before leaving
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Examples
• Willows
• Red-osier dogwood
Rootstock
 Portions
of the root system without stems
and leaves
 Purchase fewer plants with larger sizes
 Clean of seed and plant fragments
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So as not to introduce invasive species
Planting Costs
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Wildflower and grass plugs 6-12 plants
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Woody bare-root plant in spring
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$40 per 1000ft²
Small live plants -- $600 per 1000ft²
Prairie kits
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$8 per shrub and trees
Wet-meadow seed mix
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$1 a plant
$225 per 1000ft²
Prairie grasses and wildflowers large areas
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$1700 to $10,000 per acre
Turf vs. Prairie
Purple Loosestrife
Common
Buckthorn
Site Preparation
Crown
Vetch
 Eliminate invasive weeds
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Reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, crown
vetch, and common buckthorn
• Takes time and persistence
Reed Canary Grass
Site Preparation
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Eliminate turf
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Organic herbicides – scythe or superfast weed killer
• Require permit from DEQ to apple herbicide
• 10 to 14 days for sod to die
• Spot spray for at least to 2 day before planting
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Remove sod with gas-powered sod cutter
• Labor intensive
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Smother lawn
• black polyethylene plastic, old carpet shower curtains, or
layer of newspaper or cardboard
• Takes all growing season – 5 to 6 months
Site Preparation
 Soil
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preparation
Live plants
• Elimination sod and invasive plant for
• Nothing else for native plants
Planting Tips
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Keep planting affordable
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Divide master plan into small sections and plant over 5 to 6 year
period
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Plant emergent and floating plants in the spring-when
water levels are low
 Label plants
 Cut a thin slice into root mass to simulate growth
 Soak containerized plants before taking them out to plant
 Installing
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Wide but not deep hole
Create a mound of soil
Dig wide enough to speed roots
Planting Tips
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Bare-roots
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Wash roots
Plant before they leaf out and temp. moderate
Cover with damp straw, compost, soil or wet burlap
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Avoid burying plants too deep or to shallow
 After planting water thoroughly
 Planting in lake need to be anchored to prevent wash
away
 Exception to the rule of not adding soil amendments
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Shady upland
• 3 to 6 inches of compost or manure
Seeding Tips
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Within 15ft of lakeshore do not seed use living
plants – soil erosion
Above 15ft seed and use cover crop of rye, oats,
or mixed seed
On shallow slopes and flat grades place a light
application of straw – prevent erosion
Keep new seedings moist
Most perennial species are slow to establish –
have patience
Planting are difficult to differ from weeds – learn
to identify native plant seedlings
The “No Planting” Technique
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Mowing and competition keep native plant from
growing
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Stop mowing up to lake shore
Above 15ft kill lawn with herbicide-next to native
plants
• Kill grass 5ft to 10ft at a time
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Allowing for native plant to take over
This will not work in areas with invasive species
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Buckthorn, reed canary grass, crown vetch, and
smooth brome
Mulching
 Prevent
soil erosion
 Keeps weed from germinating
 Holds in moisture
Maintenance
 Maintaining Aquatic
plants
 Maintaining Onshore plantings
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First season
Second season
Long term maintenance – 3 years and beyond
 Replacement
Maintaining Aquatic Plants
 The
trick is getting them established not
long-term maintenance
 Secure plants
 Replant and anchor if uprooted or washed
away
 Some species will come back on their own
Maintaining Onshore Plantings
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First season
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Benefit from supplemental watering
• Need 1in of water per week
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Keep weeds out
• Once every two weeks
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Look out for invasive species
• Pull out will young
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Use mulch
Do not fertilize
Do not use insecticides and fungicides
Maintaining Onshore Plantings
 Second
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season
Water only during drought periods
Scout for weeds once every three weeks
• Dig out the roots of unwanted trees
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In spring cut back dried herbaceous
vegetation
In fall leave dried vegetation
Maintaining Onshore Plantings
 Long-term
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maintenance (+3years)
Beginning of each season cut back dried
vegetation
Scout for weeds once a month
No watering is necessary
Leave dried vegetation standing in fall
Replacement
 A few
plants will not make it through the
first year
 In large gaps replant quickly – erosion
 A continuous vegetative cover is the goal
 Expect your lakeshore planting to change
over time
 Enjoy
Shoreline Stabilization
 Bioengineering
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Stabilizes bank
Uses living materials
• Creates habitat
• Self repairing
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cheaper
Methods Below Normal Water Line
– breaking devices
 Plant – anchoring methods
 Wave
Methods above Normal Water Line
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Slop preparation
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Cut back to get 2:1 (horizontal to vertical) slope
Erosion – control fabrics
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Revetments
Rock Riprap
Wattles
Live stakes
Willow Post
Brush Layers
Brush Mattresses
Revetments
Rock Riprap
Wattles
Live stakes
Willow Post
Brush Layers
Brush Mattresses
Vegetation
Ice Action
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Depends on
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Wind direction
Ice thickness
Lake level
Other factors
Land ridge
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Leave in place
• Filters runoff from the yard
• Covered in vegetation – removal will expose the shoreline to
erosion
Cost Estimates
Good Stewardship Practices
 IT ALL RUNS
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DOWN HILL
Storm drains
Gullies
Swales
Tiles
Ditches
 Use
buffer strips
Maintaining a Vigorous and
Environmentally Sound Lawn
 Planning
 Soil
preparation for seeding or sodding
 Seeding
 Watering
 Mowing
 Fertilizing
 Weed and insect control
Planning
 Design
a smaller lawn to reduce overall
maintenance
 Replace unnecessary lawn areas with
shrub borders or herbaceous native
plantings
 Consider planting native ground covers
that tolerate the adverse growing
conditions found in these spots
Maintaining a Vigorous and
Environmentally Sound Lawn
 Planning
 Soil
preparation for seeding or sodding
 Seeding
 Watering
 Mowing
 Fertilizing
 Weed and insect control
Soil preparation for seeding or
Sodding
 Soil
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test
Soil type, pH, and nutrients
 Loosen
soil before seeding or sodding
 Till in compacted upland soils
 Use aerator in compacted established
lawn once a year in mid-spring or in the
fall after Labor Day
Seeding
 Select
low-maintenance turf grasses
 Read labels on seed packages carefully to
learn what they contain
 Do not buy cheap grass seed
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You get what you pay for
Watering
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Encourage deep rooting by watering seldom but
thoroughly
 Actively growing turf requires 1in of water per
week
 To survive hot, dry weather, lawn grasses
naturally go into a state of dormancy
 During severe drought, water dormant grass ¼
to ½ in every two to three weeks to keep crowns
from dehydrating beyond the point of recovery
Mowing
 Mow
high
 Mow frequently
 Keep lawn mower blades sharp
 Increase mowing height by ½ to 1in in
midsummer
 For small lawns consider using a manual,
nonmotorized mower
 Sweep up grass clippings blown onto
pavement
Fertilizing
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Leave grass clippings on the lawn
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Low-maintenance lawn need just one application of
fertilizer per year applies in the early fall
Use organic fertilizers
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Use a mulching mower
Milorganite, Ringers, synthetic organics (Nitroform, Par-EX)
Sweep adjacent paved surfaces after applying fertilizer
Water lawn after applying fertilizer
Have soils test for lack of phosphorus
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Don’t use if not needed
Weed and insect control
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Insecticides are seldom needed for grass management
When needed us a broadleaf herbicides for weed control
in the fall
In small yard pull weeds by hand
Spot treat individually with ready-to-use sprays
Read and adhere to labels on pesticides
Maintain a healthy lawn
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Weeds will not be able to establish
Historically, lawns were composed of a variety of
grasses and broadleaf plants
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Consider going back to a more diverse community of plants with
in your lawn
Managing Invasive Non-Native
Plants

Learn the difference between non-native and native plants
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Native
• Plants or species that have originated in an area and continue to grow in
their ecological niche
• Thrive because they are well adapted to the environment
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Non-Native
• Move or carried here through an unnatural process
• New location devoid of competition and predators
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Purple loosestrife
Eurasian water milfoil
Reed canary grass
Curly-leaf pondweed
Yellow water Iris
Flowering rush
European frog-bit
Hydrilla
Ornamental water Lilies
Water chestnut
Leaf Cleanup
 Rake
leaves soon after falling
Rain Gutters
 Directed
onto the lawn
Detergents
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May contain phosphorus
Use ones without phosphorus
Do not bath in lake
Do not wash pets in lake
Do not wash car on property or park on lawn
while washing
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Wash pollutants in to lake
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Soil
Nutrients
Hydrocarbons
gasoline
Septic System Maintenance
 Make
sure it is properly maintained
 Pump it when it needs pumping
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Use a knowledgeable contractor
 Left
on maintained will cause the septic to
fail
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Public health problem and violates local laws
 Do
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not dump chemicals down sink or toilet
Will kill good bacteria
 Do
not use a garbage disposal
Pet Management
 Contribute
to excess nutrients
 Health hazard
 Clean up after pet as soon as possible
 Keep cats inside
 Train dogs to not chase wildlife or restrain
them
Mosquitoes
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Tall grass does not cause a mosquito problems
 Need mosquitoes standing water
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Remove clogged rain gutters, tire swings, whiskey
barrel planters, neglected bird paths, and old pails
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Un-mowed area near water increase the
predators of mosquitoes
 Plant repentant plant
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Citronella, chamomile, basil, evening primrose,
peppermint, comfrey, cloves, garlic, and thistle
Put up bat houses
Enhancing Lakeshore Habitat
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Nest boxes
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Purple martin
Tree swallow
Eastern bluebird
House wren black-capped chickadee
Barred owl
Screech-owl
Wood duck
Hooded merganser squirrel
Common goldeneye
Common merganser
Enhancing Lakeshore Habitat
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Snag Management
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Snag is a dead tree either fallen or standing
Habitat
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Flickers and Woodpeckers--downy, hariy, red-bellied, and pileated
Red, gray, and fox squirrels
Wood ducks
Great crested flycatcher, Tree swallow, Eastern bluebirds, House
wrens and Black-capped chickadees
White breasted nuthatches, Brown creeper, and Eastern kingbirds
Bald eagles and Osprey
Salamanders
Snakes
Insects
Turtles
Ducks
Eastern phoebes, purple martins, and belted kingfishers
Lakescaping Examples
 Fish
Lake
Thank You!
Lakescaping Examples
 Bush
Lake
Lakescaping Examples
 Eagle
Lake
Lakescaping Examples
 Gervais
Lake
Lakescaping Examples
 Big
Sandy Lake
Lakescaping Examples
 Big
Marine Lake