Got Nature? Blog

Issue:

Professional arborists, horticulturists, including lawn and tree care companies, garden centers, and landscapers, require training in proper management techniques and pest control to better serve their customers and protect the environment.

 

What Has Been Done:

The Professional Landscape Management School is a two-day workshop offered every winter to local commercial lawn and tree care companies, landscapers, nurseries, grounds managers, and garden centers. The topics chosen for the program are based on current trends and needs. I located speakers, created the program schedule and brochure, and advertised it to over 1000 professionals, using both print mail and email.

Results:

• Over 160 professional horticulturists attended the Professional Landscape Management School in 2015. Out of this number, 49 returned completed surveys. Some of the notable results:
  1. Did you get your money’s worth from attending this year’s school? All forty-nine attendees replied – Yes.
  2. Do you think that you as an individual will benefit in the coming year because of your attending the 2015 Professional Landscape Management School? 100% said yes.
  3. Do you think that your company will benefit in the coming year because of your attending the 2015 Professional Landscape Management? 100% said yes.

• What horticultural practices do you think you will change in the coming year, based on what you learned at the 2015 Professional Landscape Management School?
  1. Plan on adding more native plants to my installations and designs.
  2. Will be more aware of honeybees when selecting and using pesticides.
  3. Tree Risk Assessment process can save lives and reduce my liability. Will definitely take further training in this subject.
  4. Will use information from Landscape Plants to Save Time and Money topic to reduce our campus manpower needs and budget requests.
  5. My staff and I have more knowledge to better serve our customers.

Purdue Commercial Nursery & Professional Landscape 

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The Hellbender is a giant, aquatic salamander that has experienced severe population declines throughout its range. It is a sensitive species and there are a number of factors contributing to its declines. To help address the varied threats facing the Hellbender, Help the Hellbender has produced several new products focused on educating both stakeholders and the general public on ways that they can help protect hellbenders.

Help the Hellbender has updated our brochure on hellbender biology and created a series of videos focused and hellbender threats and the relevant stakeholders. The updated brochure expands on the previous edition by including updated information on hellbender biology and the many projects that groups around the country are involved in to help protect hellbenders. Our video series builds off of information in our brochure. The first in this series focuses on the basics of Hellbender population declines. Subsequent videos address practices aimed at improving water quality by implementing conservation practices at farms, livestock operations, and around sinkholes, and also how recreationists can avoid harming Hellbenders.

We have also published two lesson plans targeted at educators of K-5 students. Both lessons contain numerous activities to help keep students engaged while learning about hellbenders and the science of water quality and conservation. Hellbenders Rock! focuses on basic Hellbender biology and the threats that Hellbenders face. Hellbenders Rock! can be combined with the recently published Hellbender Havoc video game to further engage students in learning about hellbender biology and the importance of water quality. Hellbender Havoc is a free app available for download from iTunes and the Google Play Store. The Healthy Water, Happy Home lesson plan focuses on the importance of water quality and how it relates to people and wildlife. Both lesson plans meet Indiana academic standards.

All of our resources are free and can be found at The Education Store, the Purdue Extension resource center. The links are available below. For more information about Eastern Hellbenders and how you can help, please visit helpthehellbender.org.

Resources:
Publications
Healthy Water, Happy Home Lesson Plan – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Hellbenders Rocks! Lesson Plan – The Education Store
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander – The Education Store

Video Games:
Hellbender Havoc – Google Play
Healthy Water, Happy Home Board Game – The Education Store

Videos:
Hellbender Decline – Help the Hellbender, Youtube
How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender – The Education Store
Hellbender ID  – YouTube
Improving Water Quality Around Your Farm – The Education Store
Improving Water Quality at Your Livestock Operation – The Education Store
Improving Water Quality by Protecting Sinkholes on Your Property – The Education Store

Nick Burgmeier, Research Biologist & Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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This comprehensive written abstract titled Tools for Staging and Managing Emerald Ash Borer in the Urban Forest shares research gathered in an eight-year period with a variety of management strategies.

Advances in control can help municipal foresters save ash trees from emerald ash borer (EAB) [Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire)]
in urban forests. Although ash trees of any size can be protected from this pest, cities often do not implement programs because they fail to recognize and act o incipient populations of EAB. In this study, researchers develop a model for predicting ash mortality over an eight-year period, and validated with data from the removal of >14,000 ash trees killed by EAB in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. researchers then developed a sampling scheme to help foresters map their ash trees along the expected progression of ash decline. This model was then used to modify a web-based EAB cost calculator that compares discounted annual and cumulative costs of implementing a variety of management strategies. It was determined that strategies that most heavily relied on saving ash trees were less expensive and produced a larger forest than those strategies that mostly removed and replaced ash trees. Ratios of total discounted costs to discounted cumulative benefits of strategies that saved most ash trees were over two-thirds lower than strategies of proactive tree removal and replacement. Delaying implementation of an ash management program until damage would be visible and more obvious to the community (Year 5 of the model) decreased the cost–benefit ratio by <5%. Thus, delays that rely on the abundance of locally damaged trees to bolster community support do not necessarily diminish the utility of implementing a control strategy.

For full article: Tools for Staging and Managing Emerald Ash Borer

Resources:
Tree Doctor App, The App Store
Invasive Species – Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Ask an Expert – Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources
Indiana Invasive Species Council – Includes: IDNR, Purdue Department of Entomology and Professional Partners
Great Lakes Early Detection Network App (GLEDN) – The Center for Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health
National Invasive Species Awareness Week: February 27-March 3, 2017
Invasive Species Week a reminder to watch for destructive pests, Purdue entomologist says – Purdue Agriculture News

Cliff Sadof, Professor
Purdue University Department of Entomology

Matt Ginzel, Associate Professor
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources & Department of Entomology

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The Forest Pest Outreach and Survey Project at Purdue reminds us that early detection is the best way to slow the spread of invasive species. You can report invasive species by calling the Invasive Species hotline at 1-866-NO-EXOTIC (1-866-663-9684) or using the free Great Lakes Early Detection Network smartphone app, which can be downloaded on iTunes or Google Play. View video to see how easy it is to use the app, Great Lakes Early Detection Network App (GLEDN).

If you’re interested in learning more about invasive pests and how to report them, sign up for one of our free Early Detector Training workshops!

National Invasive Species Awareness Week: February 27-March 3, 2017.

Resources:
Invasive Species – Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Ask an Expert – Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources
Indiana Invasive Species Council – Includes: IDNR, Purdue Department of Entomology and Professional Partners
Invasive Species Week a reminder to watch for destructive pests, Purdue entomologist says – Purdue Agriculture News

Sara Stack, MS student
Purdue Department of Entomology

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Issue:

Woodlands provide a multitude of environmental (e.g., carbon sequestration, enhance water quality, wildlife habitat), economic (e.g., timber, wood products manufacturing, tourism), and social (e.g., recreation, aesthetics) benefits to Indiana residents. The sustainability of these benefits is strongly tied to stability of the resource. In Indiana, 75 percent of the 4.65 million acres of forestland is owned by families. Actions they take on their property can impact the benefits woodlands provide all Indiana residents. However, many do not understand available options or sources of assistance.

What Has Been Done:

The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, in partnership with many other organizations, helps produce and mail over 31,000 copies of the Indiana Woodland Steward to woodland owners three times each year. This 16-page, two-color publication includes in-depth articles on forest stewardship and health, invasive species and pests, wildlife habitat management, economics, and more.

Results:

Subscribers owned more woods (71.6 ac) for a longer tenure (33 years) than the average woodland owner in Indiana based on data from the National Woodland Owner Survey. As a group, they were also more active managers based on the proportion enrolled in assistance programs and who had a written stewardship plan. Fifty-four percent regularly utilized information from the Woodland Steward. In addition, 51 percent of respondents have implemented at least one practice they read about from The Woodland Steward, potentially impacting an estimated 1.2 million acres of forestland. His use of print media to communicate with woodland owners could be considered expensive, but clearly a large number of woodland owners regularly read and utilize the information making the average investment per landowner much lower.

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When biologists and land managers talk about managing native warm-season grasses (NWSG) they are really talking about managing early-successional plant communities. Early-successional vegetation (i.e., stands of annual or perennial grasses and forbs [broadleaf plants]) provide benefits for a variety of game and non-game wildlife species. Songbirds, northern bobwhite, and ring-necked pheasants use these areas to build nests and raise broods in the summer and for escape and thermal cover in the winter. White-tailed deer also use these areas heavily for bedding, to hide fawns from predators, and the forbs provide deer with excellent nutrition during the summer.

 

However, as these stands age their value to most wildlife species decreases drastically! Most stands of planted NWSG have little value, for species such as bobwhite, within 3-5 years of establishment. As the stands age, the tall perennial NWSGs (big bluestem and Indiangrass) become thicker; eventually crowding out all the forbs in the stand and creating a monoculture of grass. In the winter, the grasses fall over or “lodge”, as in the picture, and provide little to no cover.

 

 

 

This is why programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program require Mid-Contract Management (MCM) during years 4, 5, or 6 of the contract. MCM is aimed at maintaining or enhancing the wildlife value of NWSG stands by thinning the NWSGs providing room for planted and volunteering forbs to grow. These forbs act as supports for the grasses, helping them stand tall all winter, attract pollinators and insects important to foraging songbirds and game birds in the summer, and provide seed throughout the winter. Additionally, thinning the grasses and providing more room for weeds or forbs to grow will make it easier for ground dwelling wildlife to move and forage.

 

If your stand of NWSGs looks like the picture above, the time to manage them is not now but 2 years ago! However, managing them now can be effective and you have some options!

For most early successional wildlife species, you want the field to be from a 50/50 to 70/30 percent mix of forbs and grasses (favoring forbs). The field should be split into portions and managed on successive years. For larger fields, split the field into 4-5 acres sections. If you have multiple fields on your property you can manage the whole field. The key is to ensure that some cover is left on your farm throughout the winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September – March

Step 1. Burn or mow a portion of the field.
Step 2. Disk the same portion within a few weeks of burning or mowing the field.
By burning or mowing the field prior to disking, you make it easier for the disk to cut into the soil. The field should be disked so that a majority of the plant debris is worked into the soil and the soil is exposed.
Disking from September through March will result in a more beneficial plant composition than disking in the spring or summer.

May – June or August – September

Step 1. Just after winter and prior to spring green-up (late March or early April) the field should be burned to prepare the field for management. This step is not necessary but can improve the herbicide application. If applying herbicide in Aug-Sep, mowing or burning the field 2-3 weeks prior to application can be beneficial.
Step 2. Apply 2 quarts/acre of glyphosate OR 24 ounces/acre of imazapyr (53% active ingredient) to the field or portions of the field where native grasses are extremely thick.
NOTE: Spot spraying problematic areas are always better than whole field applications, but sometimes whole field applications are warranted.
CAUTION: Imazapyr can harm desirable trees; avoid spraying imazapyr within the drip line of desirable trees.

These management options will reduce or “thin” the native grasses enough to provide forbs from the seed bank with room to grow! The field may look “messy” or “weedy” the first summer or two after application but that’s okay! Actually, it’s what you want! Most of the “weeds” that come from the seed bank provide excellent cover and food for a variety of wildlife species. Just be sure to control undesirable weeds such as Canada thistle, if they appear.

For more information on how to manage NWSG or other early successional vegetation, contact your local IN-DNR wildlife biologist or NRCS office.

Additional Resources:
Herbicides to reduce NWSG density, SEAFWA
Landowner’s guide to NWSG management, TRACE
Quail Habitat – Putting the Numbers in Perspective, The Education Store
Control of Canada Thistle in CRP and Other Noncrop Acreage, The Education Store

Jarred Brooke, Extension Wildlife Specialist;
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Videos:
Ask an Expert: Anurans (Frogs and Toads)
Ask an Expert: Salamanders
A Moment in the Wild: Wood Frogs
A Moment in the Wild: American Toad
A Moment in the Wild YouTube Playlist-Subscribe
Reptiles, Amphibians & the Scientific Method
Learn All About Hellbenders and Take a Tour

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This new lesson plan from The Nature of Teaching titled Hellbenders Rock! is full of engaging activities to teach K-5 students about the endangered eastern hellbender, while meeting Indiana academic standards. Hellbenders Rock is available as a free download in The Education Store, complete with instructional PowerPoint, videos, vocabulary worksheets, along with instructions on how to download the free Hellbender Havoc app.

This lesson is unique in the way that it requires teachers to download the free Hellbender Havoc app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to help students apply the educational content learned throughout the lesson. The lesson requires 60 minutes of class time to complete, including time for the students to play the app and complete the worksheets that accompany it. Throughout the lesson, students learn how to identify the eastern hellbender, how to describe the hellbender’s lifecycle, how the hellbender relates to healthy water quality, and how we can help the hellbender.

To find more nature-themed lesson plans that incorporate academic standards and teach material in hands-on and engaging ways, visit The Nature of Teaching website. All lesson plans are free to download. To learn more about the eastern hellbender and how we can help, visit HelpTheHellbender.org.

Resources:
Hellbenders Rock! Lesson Plan, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
The Nature of Teaching, Purdue Extension
Help the Hellbender, Purdue Extension
Hellbender Havoc App-Purdue Envision PC or Hellbender Havoc-Apple App Store

Rebecca Busse, Graduate Student
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Rod Williams, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Bovine tuberculosis (bovine Tb) is an on-going issue in Indiana’s wild white-tailed deer herd. Bovine Tb was first discovered in wild deer in Indiana in August 2016 near a bovine Tb positive cattle farm in Franklin County. Since August 2017, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Board of Animal Health have been monitoring and managing the bovine Tb situation. A second cattle farm in Franklin County tested positive for bovine Tb in December 2016, but no hunter harvested deer have tested positive for bovine Tb during the 2016 deer season. The IDNR will continue to monitor and manage the bovine Tb situation according to a departmental management plan. View the following web page to find more information, Bovine Tb in Wild White-Tailed Deer: Background and Frequently Asked Questions.

Resources:
How to Score Your White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection, video, The Education Store
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store
Indiana Deer Hunting, Biology and Management, and Safe Food Handling and Preparation, IDNR

Jarred Brooke, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Both urban and community forests alike are indispensable staples of our ecosystem that we cannot live without. The My Tree—Our Forest® campaign, from The National Association of State Foresters, is an urban and community forestry campaign that aims to increase public understanding about the benefits that healthy forests offer to communities across the United States and the role that state forestry agencies play in protecting the nation’s urban trees.

For your next outreach event, consider downloading the My Tree—Our Forest® fact sheet, a free pdf that takes a look at the amazing things trees do for you.

Resources:
Indiana’s Urban Woodlots, The Education Store
Urban Wood and Traditional Wood: A Comparison of Properties and Uses, The Education Store
Tree selection for the “Un-natural” Environment, The Education Store
Planting Your Tree Part 1: Choosing Your Tree – Video, The Education Store
Lumber from Urban and Construction-Site Trees, The Education Store

National Association of State Foresters (NASF)

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