Grasslands SBG - Writing Prescriptions for Prairies

Writing Prescriptions for Prairies Jennifer Ceska, Conservation Coordinator with the SBG Science & Conservation Team State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Science & Conservation – March, 2018 Over the last decade, the Science and Conservation team has taken on the restoration and conservation of Georgia’s Piedmont Prairies as a research priority. The stars aligned to make this happen: (1) Georgia DNR’s first State Wildlife Action Plan listed Piedmont prairies as a “priority plant community in critical need;” (2) DNR Botanist Mincy Moffett asked SBG to prioritize the recovery of Piedmont prairies; (3) the US Forest Service provided funding for SBG to identify, collect, and increase specialty grasses and wildflowers for converting old fields in the National Forest to prairies; (4) the upper, more natural area of SBG’s powerline right-of-way – the Elaine Nash Prairie Project – was documented as one of the few surviving examples of an intact Piedmont prairie; and (5) we received funding to restore the Bermuda Grass-covered portion of the right-of-way to prairie.

Since then we have immersed ourselves in all things prairie – attending conferences, meeting with restoration specialists throughout the Southeast, pouring through herbaria and literature, collecting and increasing seeds, and working out restoration techniques that work in Georgia’s Piedmont.

Almost a decade later, we have the ability to assess the quality of a disturbed habitat, examine the land-use history, and prescribe a plan for moving the site towards a species-diverse prairie. Our “medicine cabinet” includes techniques such as strategic mowing, prescribed fire, over-seeding, seeding-in plots, and direct planting of plugs. We can stand on a site, let’s say a retired cow pasture, and write a prescription for restoring that site: “mow once in early spring, spray all Johnson Grass in early summer, pop out all exotic thistles with a shovel, spot spray the Tall Goldenrod and Dog Fennel one time, take two aspirin, and call me next year for a follow up assessment.”

Currently we are restoring a site – our own powerline right-of-way – that is perhaps a worst case scenario, and with success! Many decades ago this land was terraced and planted in cotton. In the 1970s, some parts of the right-ofway were planted as the original SBG perennial garden and other areas were covered with Bermuda Grass. Last but not least, the area was driven over regularly by heavy equipment. Several years ago, SBG received a grant to start the process of removing the Bermuda Grass and planting a matrix of native grasses and wildflowers. We tried a series of techniques in a half-acre research plot two years ago and have refined our techniques with a formula for restoring the rest of the area. While conducting this project on our own degraded land, we’ve continued to work with partners and private landowners to restore less disturbed sites. Our techniques apply specifically to Georgia’s compacted clay soils, long growing season, and intense weed pressures. We want to share our knowledge and experience with private property owners and public land managers. We are making plans for restoration classes and professional workshops, but how, with our small yet mighty staff, can we reach landowners, visit their properties, make site assessments, and write prescriptions for restoration?

Here the stars continue to align, and a new partner emerges with a plan for outreach. In 2016, the Athens Land Trust noted that many of their landowners were wanting specific advice for ecological restoration. The land trust began reaching out to partners for advice and techniques and quickly realized there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Athens area on land restoration, a need for sharing information among these experts, and an ever-growing list of land owners and gardeners who want to undo the harm done to their land by invasive plants. Athens Land Trust successfully gathered these experts, sought and received federal funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation‘s Pulling Together Initiative, and has created the Northeast Georgia Cooperative Weed Management Area.

Initial partners for this Cooperative include Athens Land Trust, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, Memorial Park Weed Warriors, UGA Extension, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens-Clarke County Office of Sustainability, and New Urban Forestry. The grant supports a Coordinator who will increase on-the-ground invasive species management projects in the Athens region. The Coordinator will work one week a month at Sandy Creek Nature Center and SBG learning restoration techniques from staff experts. The Coordinator and volunteers will remove invasives from a variety

of Athens area habitats such as old fields, woodlands, and floodplains, and will be able to prescribe and implement habitat restoration. Look for information on the Northeast Georgia Cooperative Weed Management Area on the SBG website by summer 2018, and get ready to get your prairie prescriptions.

Sidebar or pull out box: Depending on a project’s goals, we may recommend controlling some aggressive native plants such as Wingstem, Dog Fennel, and Tall Goldenrod. While these weedy species may initially reduce erosion, they eventually reduce biodiversity by excluding other natives that provide a broader range of wildlife habitats. These include mints, milkweeds, peas, and blueberries that native bees, butterflies, birds, and mammals rely on to complete their life cycles.

Photo https://pso-uga.smugmug.com/Botanical-Garden/Native-Plants-restore-Prairie/i-N9Q54w5/A Heather Alley planting the SBG prairie restoration plot with 10,000 grass and wildflower plugs she and her volunteers grew. Photo by Shannah Cahoe-Montgomery.

Or https://pso-uga.smugmug.com/Botanical-Garden/Native-Plants-restore-Prairie/i-brWzbm4/A View of prairie planting at “The Hill” at SBG under the powerline right-of-way. Photo by Shannah Cahoe-Montgomery.