Environment Committee Update, July 1, 2009
I am happy to report that Dave Kranz, a science teacher at Eagan High School, was at Laketrails again in June to work on developing our footpaths along the south shore of Oak Island. Along with the help of the ambitious and energetic camper workers, Joe Miller and Jacob Farmer, Dave gave a good trim job to the wonderful South Beach Footpath that he developed last summer. This footpath is now readily available to anyone wanting to take a nature walk along the forest edge and the beach that starts at R2D2 at Eagle Point past Toad Marsh up to Frog Marsh. These are the new names that we have applied to the various locations along our property on the southwest portion of Oak Island--a map of these locations is available in the EcoRoom in the Chart House. Come and enjoy.
Dave also got a good start on developing a new footpath from Frog Marsh to the cool tucked-in little beach on the way to Ash Point (again, these locations are available in the brochure). Dave really is impressed with an area that he believes can become a great campsite next to this mini-beach.
This new footpath will lead through two different types of forest that are also found on the South Beach Footpath.
The first type is a large section made up of impressive green and black ash trees, which average a height of 72-feet and 13-inches in diameter. The black ash like wet feet so prefer the swampy areas and the green ash stand on the higher ground. This section of forest also has many ash seedlings and saplings as well as some paper birch. The underbrush is made up of mountain maple, dogwood, alder, and high bush cranberry. This portion of our forest, while very beautiful, is an area of serious concern because of the advance of the Emerald Ash Borer that has recently been found in south central Minnesota and is now apparently advancing in our direction. At the moment, the Emerald Ash Borer is as invasive and destructive as Dutch Elm disease. We have information on the Emerald Ash Borer in our EcoRoom.
The second type is primarily a bur oak forest, many of which are 35-feet tall, and under them you can identify some oak seedlings and saplings. The underbrush here contains dogwood, hazel, Juneberry and mountain maple. In tree history terms, these bur oak trees are significant because they live very near the northwestern limit of bur oak in North America, and therefore are very slow growing. These trees can live up to 200 to 300 years old and their acorns are very important wildlife food--bears and squirrels go nuts over them.
Our forest is also critter country! If you walk these forest footpaths in the early summer evenings, you can join in and harmonize with the frog and toad choruses. There are also all kinds of birds along these footpaths and beaches. Bald eagles love to roost along these shorelines. So get your hiking boots on and bring your binoculars.
Thanks to Dave, Joe and Jacob for all their sweat, scratches, and mosquito bites.
Jack Conway
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