Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas Everyone!
It's almost Christmas! If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping, a membership to Nahant Marsh is a wonderful idea for both adults and children! Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Bald Eagles are back!
The bald eagles are back in the area! A lot of them can be found along the Mississippi River. You should come to the Marsh and see if you can find any here.
Friday, December 10, 2010
2009-2010 Nahant Marsh Restoration Project
Wetlands are one of the most complex, diverse and the most difficult ecosystems to manage because you are dealing with water. They are difficult to access, easily disturbed, and management activities are greatly effected by weather conditions. Nahant Marsh Education Center received a restoration grant from River Action, Inc. to aid in the recovery and restoration of the marsh following the floods of 2008.
The rains and floods (including a storm with 80 - 90 mph wind) effected Nahant Marsh both negatively and positively. The negative effects greatly outweighed the positive. The low prairie areas and sedge meadow areas were positively effected by the flood. The sedge meadow areas improved due to increased wet conditions which temporally helped retard the growth of reed canary grass (a highly invasive grass) and cottonwood and allowed an increase in sedge meadow species. At the same time, the flood had minimal effect on the native willows and silver maple in the sedge meadows.
The lowland prairie areas came through the first flood as they normally would following a flood, flowering as expected. However, the second flood was higher, lasted longer and came at the worst time, when many of the plants were developing buds or already blooming. Many prairie species did not tolerate the severe wet conditions. Increased moisture conditions for invasive species such as reed canary grass and phragmites favored their establishment on the normally drier prairie areas.
Both floods scattered debris and trash throughout the low areas of the marsh, especially in the lowland woods and along the north facing slopes overlooking the marsh. Major deposits of cattail debris were deposited along the high water lines after each flood. Depth of cattail debris was as much one foot in some areas, choking out most of the existing ground vegetation. Numerous invasive species such as curly and pale dock, thistles, wild parsnip, dogwoods, sweet clover, mares-tail, giant ragweed, and Queen Anne’s lace increased in areas covered by the cattail debris and silt, or in areas where vegetation had been reduced by the wet conditions. In addition, there was the trash and debris that was deposited by the floods. The severe thunderstorms with high winds toppled or damaged many trees, especially some of the large catalpa trees in the Carp Lake area. Many of center’s trails had downed trees or limbs blocking or hanging over them. Many of trails couldn’t be mowed to the end of the summer.
Two conservation crew leaders and a resource manager were hired for the summer of 2009 through the River Action restoration grant. Six conservation aides were provided by the Iowa@Works Program. A resource manager and three crew members were hired for the summer of 2010, since Iowa @Works Program enrollees were not available.
The greatest threat to the Nahant Marsh’s natural areas and its diversity is invasive species. Because of this, over the two summers, 70-80% of their time was spent on invasive species. Other projects included trail maintenance, beaver management, turtle-nest site restoration, natural area inventories (plants, fish, and dragonflies), cutting up downed trees, picking up trash and junk and water-level management. Rainy day projects included: remounted pegboard in garage, organized office and put up new bookshelves, organized garage, GIS mapping, inventory data entry, installed pumper rails on new boardwalk and cleaned newly acquired taxidermy mounts. A lot of work was accomplished the past two summers and visitors have commented how nice the prairies are looking without as many weeds. Restoration work, especially the control of invasive species, is an necessary ongoing management practice, and we will back at it next summer.
By: Bob Bryant
Wetlands are one of the most complex, diverse and the most difficult ecosystems to manage because you are dealing with water. They are difficult to access, easily disturbed, and management activities are greatly effected by weather conditions. Nahant Marsh Education Center received a restoration grant from River Action, Inc. to aid in the recovery and restoration of the marsh following the floods of 2008.The rains and floods (including a storm with 80 - 90 mph wind) effected Nahant Marsh both negatively and positively. The negative effects greatly outweighed the positive. The low prairie areas and sedge meadow areas were positively effected by the flood. The sedge meadow areas improved due to increased wet conditions which temporally helped retard the growth of reed canary grass (a highly invasive grass) and cottonwood and allowed an increase in sedge meadow species. At the same time, the flood had minimal effect on the native willows and silver maple in the sedge meadows.
The lowland prairie areas came through the first flood as they normally would following a flood, flowering as expected. However, the second flood was higher, lasted longer and came at the worst time, when many of the plants were developing buds or already blooming. Many prairie species did not tolerate the severe wet conditions. Increased moisture conditions for invasive species such as reed canary grass and phragmites favored their establishment on the normally drier prairie areas.
Both floods scattered debris and trash throughout the low areas of the marsh, especially in the lowland woods and along the north facing slopes overlooking the marsh. Major deposits of cattail debris were deposited along the high water lines after each flood. Depth of cattail debris was as much one foot in some areas, choking out most of the existing ground vegetation. Numerous invasive species such as curly and pale dock, thistles, wild parsnip, dogwoods, sweet clover, mares-tail, giant ragweed, and Queen Anne’s lace increased in areas covered by the cattail debris and silt, or in areas where vegetation had been reduced by the wet conditions. In addition, there was the trash and debris that was deposited by the floods. The severe thunderstorms with high winds toppled or damaged many trees, especially some of the large catalpa trees in the Carp Lake area. Many of center’s trails had downed trees or limbs blocking or hanging over them. Many of trails couldn’t be mowed to the end of the summer.
Two conservation crew leaders and a resource manager were hired for the summer of 2009 through the River Action restoration grant. Six conservation aides were provided by the Iowa@Works Program. A resource manager and three crew members were hired for the summer of 2010, since Iowa @Works Program enrollees were not available.
The greatest threat to the Nahant Marsh’s natural areas and its diversity is invasive species. Because of this, over the two summers, 70-80% of their time was spent on invasive species. Other projects included trail maintenance, beaver management, turtle-nest site restoration, natural area inventories (plants, fish, and dragonflies), cutting up downed trees, picking up trash and junk and water-level management. Rainy day projects included: remounted pegboard in garage, organized office and put up new bookshelves, organized garage, GIS mapping, inventory data entry, installed pumper rails on new boardwalk and cleaned newly acquired taxidermy mounts. A lot of work was accomplished the past two summers and visitors have commented how nice the prairies are looking without as many weeds. Restoration work, especially the control of invasive species, is an necessary ongoing management practice, and we will back at it next summer. Thursday, December 2, 2010
News from Nahant Marsh
By: Brian Ritter
Over the past year, Nahant Marsh has been an extremely busy place. Many new and exciting programs and projects have been implemented over the past year, therefore pushing the attendance to record levels, over 5,800 during FY2010, with thousands more being reached through festivals and special events offsite. Also, several “discoveries” over the past month have added strength to the argument that the Nahant area is a special place worth saving.
In September 2009, Nahant implemented a monthly science program for homeschooled children. The program, for kindergarteners to 9th graders, focuses on teaching students about the environment and new technologies in the natural setting of Nahant Marsh. Each month, there is a different theme, to reflect the changes in the natural world.
Also in 2009, Eastern Iowa Community College District agreed to re-start their Conservation Technology and offer classes at Nahant Marsh. The program has grown in popularity since last fall, with over 20 students now enrolled. In addition, the program has partnered with Western Illinois University to create a unique 3-year fast-track option for students interested in completing both there A.S. and B.S. degrees in a short amount of time.
During the summer of 2010, over 130 children took part in Renewable Energy and Conservation day camps at Nahant Marsh. With activities ranging from solar boat building and solar cooking to canoeing, children from around the Quad Cities metro area had a chance to experience a variety of activities that they would not normally have access to. Hundreds of more children were reached through other special events at the marsh. In addition, children were able to observe the construction and installation of a new greenhouse that will be fully powered by a wind turbine and solar panels. The greenhouse project will also be a teaching area for adults interested in learning about energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
Teachers also had the opportunity to take part in educational activities at Nahant Marsh this past summer. Several Davenport Community School District Science teachers took part in a new project with ATEEC, Nahant Marsh, and the University of Iowa in which they are developing hands-on experiential learning techniques to implement into their classroom curriculum.
Finally, over the past month, researchers and workers at Nahant have re-discovered some rare species in the area. Turtle research being conducted at the marsh confirmed that there is a population of the rare Blanding’s Turtle still surviving in the area. Also, a population of the rare earleaf false-foxglove was observed blooming on site. In addition, at neighboring Credit Island, another rare plant, the rose turtlehead, was found in bloom.
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