Page 75 - parks-master-plan

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Establishing and Managing Prairies

Restoring natural prairie systems will increase habitats and species diversity by adding the natural qualities of prairie wildflower and grasslands to the City’s parkland inventory. Prairies also provide a certain visual quality that only a naturalized environment can attain.

When creating prairies on newly acquired or existing parklands, the plan should include the following considerations:

• The process of re-creating a prairie is slow will take many years to reach maturity.

• Properties bordering the site also must be assessed and development be performed with sensitivity to residential proximity.

• Site exposure and terrain best suited for prairie habitat should be full sun to partial shade with a wide open terrain.

The following guidelines should be followed during new prairie establishment:

• Perform ecological assessment for the site as soon as practical. This should be used as a reference for guidelines and recommendations for information

on habitat health and for details on soils notations.

• Create a specific plan with goals for each site using the guidelines and recommendations from the ecological assessment, including the

management of invasive, endangered or threatened species.

• Create buffers along edges of open spaces using native plant material where appropriate to allow for wildlife migration.

• Create screening along private property lines when necessary using native plant material when practical.

• Use mowing strips to create buffers along bike paths and residential borders where deemed necessary.

• Control weeds and woody plants, especially invasive species. This control is essential to the correct establishment and success of any planting, including grassland, wildflower or combined prairie. Sites that have previously been covered with woody vegetation or heavily weeded may require extra preparation.

• Select native plant species, plugs, seeds and plant stock according to site and soil type.