Began restoration of a key wildlife viewing area in the park and laid the groundwork for ongoing, long-term stewardship and further improvement of the area.
This project engaged 46 volunteers at six events. Volunteers cataloged pollinator presence and prepped and dispersed native forb seeds that will result in the transformation of the 5-acre Liten Park from a field dominated by non-native grasses and invasive forbs and flanked by invasive woody plants, to a pollinator planting of native prairie species.
Very few pollinators were detected in 2024. Of the 60 bees recorded, about a third were honeybees (not native) and only two were bumblebees. We expect these numbers to increase dramatically once the prairie species become established.
The project created a native vegetation barrier to discourage visitor traffic around an abandoned section of trail. Planting native shrubs in the picnic grounds at Minneopa impacted the park by increasing safety of park visitors by keeping them on trail, increase habitat for wildlife by adding native shrubs and also decrease the amount of area in the picnic grounds that needs to be mowed by park staff. Over the next few years, these shrubs will grow and hide the trail’s closed sign and complete our intended goal. In the next year, work is planned with local high school students to have them assist with invasive species management (pulling garlic mustard and treating Siberian elm volunteers) that are present in between the cages.