Panorama | Fall 2022

panorama

Fall 2022

Digging Deep Into Soil Page 4

Stand Assessment Page 5

Physics of Flight Page 8

WELCOME HELEN BOOMSMA Executive Director

Welcome to fall! The forests are bursting with the colors of changing leaves, while the prairies are dappled with the finale of blooming wildflowers, and animals make their final preparations for the colder months.

In this issue of Panorama, you will learn about the process of conducting a stand assessment. This survey of our land is an awesome tool for guiding the work of the conservation team. Discover the incredible details about the physics of bird flight. Read about the makeup of soil, from former glaciers to the nourishing forest floor. Discover the joy and utility of Ever-Green Energy’s commitment to employee volunteerism.

The purpose of stand assessments is to give a high-level picture of the health of the land and guide restoration priorities. After analyzing our 2014/15 assessment results, the land management team chose a formerly unremarkable four and a half acres between Brown Deer Road and the West Meadows Loop for conservation work. With major support from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, over the last two years, volunteers and staff were able to convert this area into an emerging southern hardwood swamp. This was done in part by removing dead ash trees and replacing them with more diverse plantings.

We are pleased to announce that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recently awarded Schlitz Audubon an additional $73,700 for the next phase of this project. This funding will allow us to restore the 2.5 acres between Butterfly Bend – the beautiful area on Lake Drive surrounding our sign and the first hardwood swamp project area along Brown Deer Road.

This new work, already underway, will consist of removing 80% of the dead ash trees and replacing them with the same hardwoods featured in phase one, including swamp white oaks, American sycamore, and hackberry. Native wildflowers, such as wild bergamot, swamp milkweed, and cardinal flower, and shrubs like buttonbush and winterberry, will also be added. In total, 350 trees, 125 shrubs, and 15,000 plugs will be planted. When complete, the conversion of these areas will welcome birds, pollinators, and other insects, as well as people arriving at the Center.

There are plenty of reasons to visit this season, whether to take a hike, participate in a program, or attend one of our special events. October 13 brings the return of Flight Night, an event that supports our Raptor Program, where attendees taste local craft brews while meeting our birds of prey. Three sessions of our seasonal family event, Species Spooktacular, take place on Sunday, October 16. Meet our raptor ambassadors up-close at Xtreme Raptor Day, our annual celebration of all things birds of prey, on Saturday, November 5.

Officers Shane Delsman President Evan Kirkstein Treasurer Benjamin T. Pavlik Secretary Barbie Brennan Nelson VP-Development John Schaub VP-Governance Directors Renee M. Clair Heidi Dondlinger Amy Giuffre Therese Gripentrog Jonathan T. Luljak Leia C. Olsen Jeff Rusinow Lindsay Stevens Past Presidents John H. Kopmeier, Jr. Philip R. Smith Dennis L. Fisher Terrence K. Knudsen Thomas J. McCutcheon Thomas B. Fitzgerald Randolph H. Dean Stephen F. Geimer Thomas J. Drought David K. Hoover John S. McGregor Margarete R. Harvey Timothy J. Gerend John Grunau Aliah Berman Director Emeritus Dorothy K. Vallier (1910-2013)

Bridget Carlson, our new Director of Corporate and Special Events, is ready and excited to book your next special event in our natural setting, whether it's your organization's holiday gathering or a team retreat!

CREDITS FOR PANORAMA

Enjoy this season by taking an enriching hike on our trails filled with autumn colors and activity.

Creative Lead | Design & Photography Zoe Finney

Admission

FREE admission to Members Adults: $8 | Youth: $5 (ages 3 — 17)

Director of Marketing & Communications Nancy Quinn

Editing | Select Writing Craig Mattson

COVER PHOTO A fallen maple leaf.

Hours Monday - Sunday | 8:30am-5:00pm Schlitz Audubon is an independent, locally supported partner of the National Audubon Society.

1111 East Brown Deer Road | Milwaukee, WI 414-352-2880 | www.schlitzaudubon.org 2

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

SEASONAL SIGHTINGS

Discover the changing season

An autumn landscape at the Center.

CARRIE HIESTAND Nature Preschool Teacher

Fall is an exciting time of seasonal changes at Schlitz Audubon! While October, November, and December may all belong to fall, each month contains multitudes of seasons within to surprise and delight your senses!

A walk along the Gateway Trail’s prairie boardwalk in early October showcases golden hues of prairie grasses and rainbow shades of big bluestem. Find a grey headed cone flower along the trail and rub your fingers gently around the seed head. Lift your fingers to your nose and breathe in the citrus-mint scent, then listen for the breeze moving through the drying grasses and prairie flower stems. These plants that provided habitat for insects, birds, amphibians, and reptiles during the summer will stand through the cold months ahead, providing shelter for overwintering birds and small mammals.

logs and the bases of dead trees and you are sure to discover turkey tail, a common bracket (shelf-like) fungus famous for its medley of colors. A beautiful example of a symbiotic relationship, this fungus gains nutrients from the dead or dying tree it calls home. As a primary decomposer, it breaks down the cellulose in rotting wood, creating healthy soil and space for new trees to grow.

November brings a chance to enjoy sunset at the Center. If you head up the Observation Tower near dusk, you may glimpse large, silent shapes in the trees. At first, they may appear motionless, but if you catch one moving you have just discovered an Eastern Wild Turkey at roost! To avoid nocturnal predators, turkeys roost in trees from dusk to dawn throughout the year, preferring conifers during colder temperatures.

Mid-October is typically the peak of fall leaf color in Southeast Wisconsin, and there is no better view than from the top of our sixty-foot Observation Tower. Take in the view of maple yellow, rich oak brown, and conifer green set against the infinite shades of Lake Michigan blue. In the nearby Maple Grove, every hour is the golden hour! As the yellow maple leaves crunch beneath you, breathe in the earthysweet smell. These leaves, now on their way to becoming nourishing soil, spent the summer providing food, shelter, and shade for both wildlife and people.

Early December days unveil the hidden details overlooked in flashier seasons. A stroll on the Central Wetlands Loop between Dragonfly Trail and Birch Point Overlook is an ideal place to take in the silhouettes of trees. Gaze up and enjoy their intricate branching patterns. As you continue your hike, search for eastern grey squirrel dreys made up of leaves and loosely woven twigs.

While only the leafy outside is evident, the inside is lined with grasses, mosses, and shredded bark. December is their grand reveal!

Fall colors are not only found in the treetops! In the weeks after a soaking rain, a hike around the Woodland Loop reveals a variety of mushrooms. Caste your eyes towards fallen

From the lush hues of October to the subtle landscape of early December, autumn contains many seasons. Come out to experience yours!

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

3

EDUCATION

Digging Deep Into Soil

TESS STAHLER Naturalist

We walk over it and wash it away daily, and although we don’t think about it much, soil is an important part of our lives. All our food comes from the soil, the materials we use in our homes and jobs come from beneath the soil or grow from it. Rarely do we appreciate it for all it does for us, and even less often do we consider where it comes from.

fining feature of the soil developing from them, influencing the soil’s texture and many of the minerals it contains. Over time it becomes weathered and breaks down into smaller components, becoming more accessible to plants. In southeastern Wisconsin our soils originate from glacial till – deposits left by the glaciers when they retreated over 10,000 years ago. In some places this glacial till is up to 600 feet deep. The parent material that the In essence, soil is a combination of two things; parent materi- glaciers left for us is mostly brown clay and silt. These minerals al – meaning the rock or base layer beneath the soil, which can combined with our state’s history of lush prairie and savanna be inches or thousands of feet beneath the surface; and organic gives us deep, nutrient dense, fertile soil that has become highly material from plants and animals at the surface. valued by farmers.

When we first observe soil, we may notice the rich black and brown colors and its ability to retain moisture. This first layer is called the O horizon, named for the organic matter it contains. We find roots and fungi weaving through it and insects and invertebrates making their homes within it; these living organisms are essential components of this layer. Each autumn, fallen leaves slowly break down and add essential nutrients to it. Insects and animals add organic matter to it throughout their lives as well as when they die. All these things contribute to the O horizon’s soft, pillowy texture and high nutrient content.

Digging deeper we can reach more horizons, each one with less organic material and more parent material. Eventually we reach the original mineral deposit that constitutes the majority of the soil. These materials vary from place to place and become a de4

For all the things soil does for us, we should also consider what happens when we lose this vital resource. Impervious surfaces like parking lots, roads, and buildings cause rainwater to accumulate and funnel into natural areas. Water at high volumes and speeds can rip away topsoil and organic matter, washing it into our rivers and lakes. Then, not only do plants lose their livelihood, the chemistry of the water bodies can also be changed by the nutrients the soil adds, promoting algae growth and impacting water quality and the lives of aquatic animals. Healthy soils are the basis of the food chain, providing for plants, animals, and humans in so many ways. And since it takes 100 years to make just one inch of topsoil, the things we do in our everyday lives, like planting native plants, supporting our local natural areas, and eating sustainably farmed foods, can make a huge difference.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

FEATURE

Performing a Land Management Stand Assessment

CRAIG MATTSON Communications Specialist With contributions from Sarah Long and Drew Shuster

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

5

FEATURE

Our conservation team is currently surveying the vegetation growing within 256 individual sections of our 185 acres, conducting a land management stand assessment throughout our woodlands, prairies, and wetlands. They are working to get a high-level understanding of the vegetative material growing in each of these areas. This assessment will provide impactful insights to inform present and future conservation activity.

A stand is an area of the property that exists as a unit. Vegetation throughout a stand is ubiquitous and is therefore treated in the same way. This includes canopy trees, sub-canopy trees, shrubs, and ground layer vegetation. Each of the 256 sections on the Schlitz Audubon property is a stand, which are different sizes and have unique conditions.

The size of a stand, as well as the land’s complexity, can determine the time it takes to do an assessment. Stand 2A, east of the main building, is our smallest at .038 acres, and stand 7, next to Doctor’s Park, is the largest, with 6.6 acres.

The Center’s stands were created in 2014-2015, when the conservation team formulated our 15-year Conservation Plan. The process started by looking at aerial photography of our property to view where clusters of similar species were located. Staff created a rough sketch of potential stands and then surveyed the land, adjusting the stands’ borders based on their on-the-ground habitat observations.

THE PURPOSE OF STAND ASSESSMENTS Dividing land into stands is a common practice in land management. It helps conservation teams track species and changes in habitat over time. Conservation work benefits from the methodical process of the stand-by-stand vegetative surveys, which allow the team to maintain orderly restoration work.

Drew Shuster has worked at the Center since 2015 and knows the Center’s land well. Since becoming our Director of Conservation last year, he has maintained the importance of these surveys. When a land manager wants to know the land, Drew said, a stand assessment is the first and best thing to do.

Since the 2014-2015 stand assessment, the team has made progress removing invasives, restoring many areas of the property, and increasing biotic diversity, resulting in higher quality habitats. The current assessment will help the conservation team plan for the next five years of land management and indicate progress towards the 2030 Conservation Goals.

PERFORMING A STAND ASSESSMENT To illustrate the process, Drew and Center Land Manager Sarah Long conducted a survey on stand 15A, which runs along a trail on the terrace and borders the bluff on the north. They found the edges of this stand by looking at both a paper map and the GPS system on their phone. To begin the assessment, they walked the area, on and off-trail, to get an idea of what is growing there.

6

Then, they began recording observations, starting with the canopy, or the highest-level trees.

Measuring the percentage of open space versus how much space is filled, they determine the scope of the canopy. They noted variability within this stand as the canopy has changed due to emerald ash borer. When there is loss to the canopy, it opens the ground to new growth, accounting for many changes in wooded areas.

THE ABUNDANCE OF TREES The percentage of coverage for this stand of forest is now 25% canopy, which is broken down into categories, first determining whether trees are native or non-native species. Native species are found in an ecosystem due to natural processes, such as natural distribution. Non-natives are not indigenous to a given area.

Of the canopy trees, there is often a dominant species, but in this stand, currently there is none.

Species in the stand are then labeled common, uncommon, or rare. These terms refer to a tree’s abundance within the stand, not its status as a tree. The last step for each layer of vegetation is to find the individual species. In stand 15A’s canopy, Drew and Sarah found that basswood and box elder are common, black walnut is uncommon, and white ash is rare.

The team does the same calculation for the sub-canopy, which consists of smaller trees just below the canopy. If canopy trees fall, they are replaced by sub-canopy trees. Here, the team found a coverage of 65%. Common natives are box elder, and ash. Rare trees are oak and black walnut. While the previous survey indicated 5% non-native trees, they are no longer present due to the team’s conservation work.

Next, the team measured the shrub layer. There are many definitions of shrub vs tree, but typically shrubs are between three to fifteen feet tall. In this stand, the team found 25% shrub coverage, all native species, with none being dominant. Black cherry is common, box elder is uncommon, and elderberry is rare within the stand. It contains 3% ash trees.

THE COMPLEX GROUND SURVEY Surveying the ground layer takes more time and is more complex. Land managers search for open space, or the amount of light hitting the ground and soil. These are spots that invasives may fill, as they thrive on disturbance. Wooded areas have more bare ground compared to prairies, which have almost zero. The amount can also vary by time of year – in spring the ground is filled by ephemerals.

This layer contains more categories of plants living within the same space but occupying several layers. In the filled spaces, the team looks for a dominant species and measures for native and non-native herbaceous plants, graminoids (grasses, sedges, and rushes), and plants that are woody, such as tree seedlings and small shrubs.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

FEATURE

Drew Shuster & Sara Long performing a stand assesment on the terrace.

In this case, the team noticed that open ground was 20%, or 80% filled. Some of the species in the ground layer include the dominant jewel weed, and common occurrences of wild geranium, Canada goldenrod, black snakeroot, and many more. Uncommon plants include Virginia water leaf, cow parsnip, and creeping Charlie, among others. Creating a species list for the ground layer can take longer due to the sheer number of plant types and categories.

WHAT THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY MEAN Drew and Sarah compared this survey of stand 15A to notes taken from the last assessment in August of 2014, looking for the differences. The team didn’t expect major changes or additional species except where work was done. The change in overall quality of habitat was also considered, reflected in a C value.

The Coefficient of Conservation (C value) is a number determined by scientists that refers to a plant species’ probability of growing in areas unchanged from conditions present before European settlement. Only native species are given this value, and species with a coefficient of 0-1 will grow almost anywhere. A coefficient of 10 means the plant needs very specific conditions and is very susceptible to disturbance. Rare plant species have

high C values. Plants with low values will outcompete plants with high C values, and invasives knock out everything.

All stands are assigned a mean, or average C value, based on the C values and prevalence of the plants within the stand. The conservation team assigned the stand’s habitat a C value of four, an increase from the mean C value of two in 2014. This increase was expected, as invasives and ash had been removed from this stand since the last survey. The goal of restoration work is to increase a stand’s C value over time.

Management recommendations constitute the last step in an assessment. The strategy for managing stand 15A will change because invasive removal by mowing was so successful. The stand now has desirable vegetation, so moving forward, hand pulling garlic mustard and dame’s rocket that arise from remaining seeds is chosen to maintain the native population.

This assessment work will continue into the fall, stand by stand, until it is complete. Management recommendations will be revised to ensure progress towards our 2030 conservation goals.

Visitors to the Center will see the rewards of this work for years to come.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

7

EDUCATION

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

EDUCATION

The Physics

of Flight

LINDSAY OBERMEIER Raptor Program Director

With great strength, grace, and beauty, birds are admirably adapted to the skies. They can travel hundreds of miles in a day, dive through the air at unimaginable speeds, and maneuver through tight spaces with a single flap of the wing. But have you ever wondered how flight can actually happen? Many factors are at play, including biology and physics, to culminate in this complex form of movement. Concepts from physics are key to understanding the mechanics behind flight.

others control the small yet essential orientation of each flight feather. For an example, let’s think of a duck: when a duck takes off from a pond, they create strong thrust forces to become airborne by rotating their wings in a rowing motion. The wings do not just go up and down but appear to ‘scoop’ the air and push it behind them in a figure-eight shape. This rowing of the wings provides the thrust upwards as well as increases the lift force as much as possible by reducing air pressure.

There are four opposing forces on a moving object that determine its mobility through space: weight, lift, thrust, and drag. Generally speaking, thrust is a force pushing an object forward; drag is the friction holding it back.

When thrust is stronger than drag, the subject can move forward. Weight, or gravity, is the force downwards towards earth. It’s determined by the mass of the object.

Lift is the upward force allowing the subject to get higher in the air. If the lift force is stronger than the force of gravity pulling it down, a bird can be airborne. Therefore, if a bird’s thrust (forward force) and lift (upward force) are stronger than gravity and friction, they can fly.

Flight is one of the most energy demanding forms of locomotion experienced by any animal. Many larger birds, with heavier masses, utilize large sail-like wings to soar on thermals. Turkey Vultures, for example, can cover up to 200 miles in day with very little flapping if the conditions are right with air currents. Conversely, hummingbirds constantly flap, adjusting the angle of their wings and flight feathers to have the ability to hover in front of a flower. They can maneuver their wings both vertically and horizontally, like a helicopter, affecting the air pressures around them and, therefore, lift and drag forces.

How does lift occur? This is where the physical design of a bird's body and wings are essential. A bird's wing, for example, is built in the shape of an airfoil. This can be roughly described as a comma ( , ) on its side. The top of the wing curves upwards before tapering down to the back. The underside follows this upward curvature. Because of this shape, there is less surface area on the top of wing than the underside. When the air moves around the wing, the air above the wing moves across it faster than the air underneath. This results in different air pressures on either side of the wing. There is lower air pressure above the wing, and the bird has created lift.

Over 50 muscles in the body work together to help a bird fly. Some are responsible for the downward and upward motions, some for folding and unfolding the wings, while

From the largest eagles to the smallest wrens, birds’ bodies embody the physical principles of flight. Whether they’re soaring on thermals like condors or maneuvering with agile swiftness through dense forest like the goshawk, birds rule the air.

Humans have noticed. To research plane design, the Wright brothers spent a significant amount of time studying vultures and hawks in flight, looking at the physics behind form and function. They discovered that the shape of the plane, including its framing, body, and wings, affected how the air currents moved around it. Everything on a bird's body is naturally designed the same way. From birds, they modeled the shape of their plane's wings, and observed the power of air pressures, to create the first human powered flight. This is just one of the many ways birds have inspired us in our history.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

9

DEVELOPMENT

Rory Peters, Ever-Green Energy

Ever-Green Energy Shares Values Through Volunteerism CRAIG MATTSON Communications Specialist

Volunteering with your co-workers is a wonderful way to get out and help the community. The employees at Ever-Green Energy accomplish this by embracing their company’s values of environmental stewardship and volunteering at Schlitz Audubon.

Ever-Green Energy, headquartered in St. Paul, MN, designs and runs advanced utility operations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois. These include plants for municipalities, higher education, and health care that provide improved efficiency in running heating, cooling, and energy production services. Their company’s development team designs efficient, state-of-the-art heating and cooling plants. Overall, they are working to decarbonize energy production.

Rory Peters is Ever-Green Energy’s General Manager for Milwaukee Regional Medical Center Thermal Services. This company specializes in providing an extremely reliable and efficiently produced supply of heating and cooling services, working with Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Since winning the contract to run the MRMC Thermal Services plant in 2015, Ever-Green Energy has reduced greenhouse gas emissions at the facility by over 70 percent.

To share Ever-Green Energy’s values in the community, employees at their offices in St. Paul, Duluth, and Milwaukee chose to all volunteer with the National Audubon Society on Earth Day in 2018. The Milwaukee team decided upon Schlitz Audubon and has volunteered at the Center one Friday per month since then, except during the height of the pandemic.

10

Ever-Green's volunteers contribute their skills to enduring projects. Rory remembered the satisfaction of moving a trail in the Stormwater Wetland and Ravine Restoration Project area with staff from his company. His team has been instrumental in removing hazardous ash trees, and they truly thrive doing demanding tasks like splitting logs and getting involved in major cleanups.

One reason that company volunteerism is so important to Ever-Green Energy is that it builds what Rory called “espirit de corps.” Getting to know your coworkers while working on a project, without job pressure, is a fantastic way to build and maintain a team. It develops harmonious relationships, Rory suggested.

Working on projects at the Center also allows employees to get out of the office together while doing a beneficial, healthy activity.

There are many ways to volunteer. Many companies aren’t able to contribute volunteer time once a month, and that’s okay. Schlitz Audubon works with each organization on a case-by-case basis to find a schedule that works. Companies such as Kohl’s, for example, visit a few times per year. The Catalyst Committee from Kohl’s recently spent an afternoon planting 60 trees in our Woodland Loop to replace those felled to the emerald ash borer.

If your company is looking for a way to enhance teamwork and build long-term relationships within your organization, consider joining us as a volunteer group. You can work on a cause you believe in, enjoy healthy activity in the great outdoors, and reap the benefits of enhanced community relationships.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

DEVELOPMENT

Thank You to Johnson Outdoors

In Memory Of

Raptor Sponsorships

Rosalee W. Bamberger Michael Bamberger and Family

Malary – American Kestrel

Marilyn J. Banzhaf Henry B. Banzhaf Bonnie Behee-Semler Robert Amich Mark Cavaluzzi Patrick & Karen Linnane Paul M. Hauer Mark Hauer Brett Hawkins Linda Hawkins John M. Jankowski Reed Rodenkirch & Carla Minsky

Special thanks to Johnson Outdoors, whose recent donation of four beautiful new Loon 126 kayaks is giving more people access to freshwater habitats both at the Center and across the region.

By adding state-of-the-art vessels to our trusty fleet of canoes, Johnson Outdoors has greatly enhanced the Center’s ability to conduct aquatic programming.

With more vessels, the Center can safely accommodate more people on the water.

Now multiple programs can even occur simultaneously: A school group can learn to paddle on Mystery Lake, for example, while an adult group kayaks the Milwaukee River or a State Natural Area. With lightweight, easy to transport kayaks, access to local waterways at the Center and beyond has increased dramatically, making it simple for small groups to explore pristine, high-quality river and lake habitats that are difficult to access by canoe.

Michael Lueck The Stanley Family Danny & Nancy Nessman Neen Rock Julienne M. Rock Chad Wickesberg Andrew & MacKenzie Julian

In Honor Of

In Honor of Isabella Hron Matthew Hron

Valkyrie – Bald Eagle Cynthia Backhaus

In Memory of Kenneth Balfanz Linda Balfanz

Willow – Northern Saw-whet Owl In Honor of Annie Tuman and Connor Doak Jennifer & Stephen Tuman

General Raptor Support

In Honor of Vicki Greenman Angie Greenman

Gifts listed in this issue were received between 04/01/22 – 06/30/22

Carrie Becker Barbara & Stephen Becker Susan Bell Mike & Pam Langan Hannie Danzig-Hall Jon Ellison Amelia Gunther Kyle Peschel Betty Meyer Mary Lee & John Walloch Joan Sommer Christine Prevetti

In addition to programming with adult and student groups, the new kayaks are also bolstering the Center’s research efforts. Every year, Schlitz Audubon conducts a number of citizen science projects to help add to collective research on a regional scale, as well as to inform our own undertakings right here at the Center. The kayaks benefit several of these projects by providing Center team members and volunteer researchers with the ability to quickly access aquatic habitats, and the plants and animals utilizing these habitats.

Fall 2022 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

11

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center 1111 East Brown Deer Road Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217

FALL 2022 PANORAMA

Saturday, November 5 Join our annual celebration of all things raptor!

Visit www.schlitzaudubon.org for more details

U.S. Postage

PAID

Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 4168