Dancing Rabbit ecovillage has the responsibility of managing the wild spaces that supply it with natural resources.
A balanced long term ecology plan is based on managing a diverse flora and fauna in order to promote plentiful and varied resources for wildlife habitat and human use.
Providing food, cover, and water for wildlife should be high on our list of ecology management goals. Keeping wildlife habitat in mind we are free to consider human profit and recreation.
Another consideration that should guide the choices we make is knowing what was here at the time it was originally surveyed in early 1800's before the native flora and fauna were disturbed.
So there are four considerations; habitat, profit, human recreation, and ecological tradition. All of these are to be considered under the umbrella concept of diversity.
The two main habitat types Dancing Rabbit citizens care for here at the village are grassland and woodland.
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As you may know, about 70% of our ground is in a program run by the federal government called the Conservation Reserve Program. The C.R.P. rents our acres as a wildlife refuge. This program also helps landowners plant trees and grass that promote soil stability and wildlife habitat. In exchange for the rent money we promise to leave the ground fallow and not take a cash crop of any kind from it. Working for the next ten years within the C.R.P. guidelines gives us an opportunity to do some serious habitat building as well as preparing resources to be used in the future.
The grassland we have is cool season grass. We have the opportunity to expand our diversity with help from the Conservation Reserve Program by planting native warm season grasses. An even greater opportunity is to restore warm season grass prairie. There is a subtle difference. A field of Big Blue Stem grass is a mono crop. It is valuable to wildlife, but not diverse enough for a robust ecosystem. A prairie is a diverse plant and animal community. Each species plays a role, filling its particular niche. We can start to create a prairie community with help from the C.R.P. by planting Big Blue Stem, Indian Grass, Little Blue Stem, Side Oats Gamma, and native forbes (wild flowers). The C.R.P. recommends a 2, 2, 1, 1, 1/4 pounds of seed per acre respectively. This by no means will look like the original prairie, but with care and maintenance will become a diverse and healthy intentional prairie community. This spring the ecovillage will be planting four fields in prairie grasses. The four fields are 2 acres, 3.2 acres, 4.9 acres, and 9.8 acres. These fields are scattered throughout the property and will add to the diversity in their particular areas. Seed sources have been investigated and it looks like we will be able to get non-cultivared species from close to our bioregion as possible (our bioregion being a Oaked-Savannah Glaciated Plain in the Central Mississippi Fly Way). The C.R.P. program will pay 50% of the seed cost and 25% will be paid by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The cost sharing makes this a wonderful and inexpensive opportunity.
In 2007 when the restored prairie comes out of C.R.P. we could possibly have a seed producing business ready to go into production.
The current woodland on our property is not in the C.R.P. program. Our woodland resides along the creek, in the draws between the hills, and along the fences. Our woods are dominated by American Elm and Pin Oaks. Other tree species playing a minor role on Dancing Rabbit's ground are the Black Walnut, Hickory, Black Cherry, Cottonwood, Black Locust, Honey Locust, Eastern Red Cedar, Silver Maple, and Osage Orange. Other species are present in small numbers. Diversifying our tree population even further will benefit wildlife. We can do this by planting trees on and off C.R.P. acres.
There are many trees valuable to humans that provide benefits to wildlife as well. The C.R.P. promotes native hardwood forest restoration. Their list of trees includes almost all of the species I recommend we plant. The C.R.P. hardwood list is as follows (I have asterisked the species I think we should exclude for one reason or another): Black Walnut, Black Locust, White and Red Oaks, Hardy Catalpa*, Cottonwood, Yellow Poplar*, Sweet Gum*, Sycamore*, Silver Maple, Pin Oak*, Osage Orange, and Native Sweet Pecan. The Eastern White Pine, Jack Pine*, and Short Leaf Pine* are the softwoods that the C.R.P. will approve and cost share on. However, only 25% of the total trees planted per acre on C.R.P. ground may be softwoods. Add to this list Red Mulberry, Hickory, Red Bud, Wild Plum, Hazelnut, Sugar Maple and Deciduous Holly and the list of what I think we should be planting is complete.
Soils formed by woody plants are different from the soils formed by grasslands. Many of Dancing Rabbits acres that are now in grasses are woodland soils. In the spring of this year we will begin reforesting parts of our ground, starting with the highly erodable hillsides and the un-wooded draws. We are waiting on the survey results, but approximately 20 acres of C.R.P. ground will be planted in trees over the next several years.
A minimum of 400 trees per acre are required by the C.R.P. Program. Twenty acres times 400 trees means Dancing Rabbit will plant about 8000 young trees.
The George O. White State Nursery offers some of the suggested tree species at a substantial savings compared to commercial nurseries. Combining this savings with the C.R.P. cost sharing makes the tree planting effort very affordable. Commercial nurseries which carry some of the needed species, although more expensive, produce a higher quality seedling.
We will need to mow the fields to be planted, plant the trees, and then do some kind of weed control. Eliminating chemicals leaves us mulching or placing a weed containing mat of some sort. Commercial weed control mats are produced at the tune of about $2 a piece. We would need about $16,000 worth. A more realistic option would be cardboard. Cardboard would be cheap and bio-degradable. Ideally the cardboard would be 3 ft square, have a hole in the middle for the tree trunk, and a slit from the hole to the outside so it can be placed around the tree after planting. The cardboard would also need to be secured to the ground in some manner. Creating these "tree mats" would take some labor, but (if successful) improve survival and growth rate. If any of our readers have clever ideas about tree mulching that is practical on an 8000 tree scale we would love to hear it. We will be organizing tree planting weekends in March, April and May. If you would like to join us and plant a few hundred trees drop Halle' a line here at Skyhouse and she can arrange a date.
We have the opportunity to restore the feel of the savannah by planting the appropriate tree species in our newly restored prairie. Within our lifetimes these trees will provide beautiful picnic spots and a reminder of what once was. These trees traditionally were White, Post, or Bur Oaks.
Implementing forestry practices on our present timber stand will improve the quality of saw logs and still provide food and cover for wildlife. These practices include pruning, thinning, removing trees and vines competing with commercially valued trees, killing trees for snags that can be used by wildlife, and making brushpiles for cover.
Another aspect of our ecology land use plan are our ponds. Landscaping our stock ponds gives us an opportunity to create food and cover for aquatic life and create aesthetic value for human use as well. Pond and dam maintenance must be considered, as well as access by heavy machinery to do the maintaining. Further planning will have to be done, but landscaping the ponds promises to be very rewarding.
Erosion is an issue that needs to be considered in both woodland and grassy habitats. Several sites must be dwelt with soon. We have several options. In wooded heavily washed areas planting woody bushes with large root mass may be a first step. Pond building or swale building may have to be considered in the most drastic cases. In less heavily wooded and washed areas we may be able to fill in the ditches and seed with a soil stabilizing grass or actually transplant sod. Further research is necessary.
A formal Ecology Land Use Plan is being developed to guide the planting and maintenance of the villages natural resources. To reiterate, food and cover for wildlife; and human recreation, and profit under the umbrella concept of diversity should all be considered when putting together our ecology plan. If we can provide for all of these considerations then we will be able to truly set a sustainable example for land use in our bioregion.
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