Vanishing Prairies, Part 2

Today’s prairies are home to a dazzling array of wildflowers, as well as birds, butterflies, and mammals. Endangered prairie species, besides the golden paintbrush, are the Mazama pocket gopher, streaked horned lark, and Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly. They all depend on the prairie plants. Some critters that I’ve seen at the prairies include the osprey, northern harrier, and Puget blue butterfly. Bats and owls are also common, but I haven't seen them because I haven't gone there at night.

Golden paintbrush

Mazama pocket gopher (from US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Puget blue butterfly

The gopher is endangered because it eats the plants that inhabit the prairie. No prairie, no plants, no gopher. The butterflies use the prairie plants as host plants for their caterpillars. No prairie, not plants, no butterflies. Streaked horned larks nest on bare ground. In western Washington, pretty much anything that is not forested is either oceanfront or developed, with the exception of the prairies (US Fish and Wildlife Service).

Northern harrier (from New York Department of Environmental Conservation)

Streaked horned lark (from US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Taylor's checkerspot butterfly (from US Fish and Wildlife Service)

How did a region known for its forests wind up with this little-known prairie? The geology is fascinating and mystifying all at once. The prairies formed on glacial outwash, but the origins of the mounds remains a mystery to this day. The soil around them is dry and gravelly. The mounds, however, are made of black sandy loam mixed with gravel. There are several theories as to how they formed.

Mounded prairie

Cross section of a mound (from Washington Landscape blog)

One theory is that the mound soils collected on top of glaciers in pits, then settled as mounds after the glaciers melted. Another is that they are wave peaks caused by soil that liquefied during earthquakes. Another theory is that following floods caused by a glacially dammed lake, sediment deposits collected when water flowed around vegetation, forming the mounds. There is a theory that the mounds were formed by erosion. My favorite theory is that pocket gophers built the mounds (Washington Department of Natural Resources). A lot of very industrious pocket gophers.

There are some prairies that are open to public access for hiking and wildlife viewing. Glacial Heritage Natural Area, where I took last week’s pictures, I owned by Thurston County and open only on Prairie Appreciation Day in May. Others owned by the State of Washington, such as Mima Mounds Natural Area and Scatter Creek Wildlife Area (also in Thurston County) are open year-round.

This week's references:

US Fish and Wildlife Service: https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=B0B3

Washington Department of Natural Resources:  http://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/amp_mima_mounds_mistery.pdf

Gopher: https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/articles.cfm?id=149489588

Harrier: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7090.html

Horned lark: https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489450

Checkerspot: https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/articles.cfm?id=149489449

Mound cross section: https://washingtonlandscape.blogspot.com/2012/05/mima-mound-cross-sections.html

Vanishing Prairies, Part 1

When you think of the Pacific Northwest you probably think of misty forest full of towering trees and glacier-covered volcanic peaks. You think of killer whales and salmon in Puget Sound and coffee-fueled hipsters of Seattle and Portland. Do prairies ever cross your mind?

The Puget Sound region is home to remnant prairies, an ecosystem that currently only covers 10% of the area it covered before the arrival of European settlers. Why did the prairies disappear? Settlers replaced prairie grasses and flowers with pasture grass, crops, and orchards. Cities sprang up in other areas. Forests took over some prairies after the settlers didn’t keep up the Indians’ practice of setting fires to keep the prairies open. Invasive species overran others.

I was privileged to visit Glacial Heritage Natural Area, a mounded prairie, earlier this year to pull invasive Scotch broom. Mounded prairies are covered in small hills of indeterminate origin. Weather was the biggest challenge that day. Part of the time it was sunny and warm, but there were periods of sideways rain and even sleet. I got into such a frenzy pulling my archenemy that when I happened to find some broom that was already pulled, I was disappointed.

Flash forward to May, and the place was almost unrecognizable. The weather deteriorated to constant downpours, but the biggest change was in the flora. During my first visit, the only plants I could identify were Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, and a shooting star that had already bloomed. This time, the place was awash in color. There was more blue camas than I’ve ever seen, as well as endangered golden paintbrush and a bunch of other flowers I’m not familiar with. Next week we’ll discuss some of the critters that call our prairies home, as well as look into the mysterious geology of the mounded prairie. Until then, enjoy some pictures of the flowers!

Notice the mounds?

Red columbine

Endangered golden paintbrush and blue camas

Blue camas

A white "blue" camas

Red sorrel

Stand of Douglas fir in the middle of prairie

The forest edge

Harsh paintbrush

Species of the Month- Black Cottonwood

It’s May so why is it snowing? That’s not snow floating in the breeze and accumulating on the roads, it’s the seeds of the black cottonwood tree. Like dandelions, the black cottonwood’s seeds are attached to a white feathery substance. Allergy sufferers throughout the west lament this time of year because of the cottonwood snow.

Scientific name: Populus trichocarpa

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida (dicots)

Order: Malpighiales

Range: Southern Alaska to northern Baja California east to western Montana and Alberta

Habitat: Riparian woodlands, moist areas

Lifespan: 70 years on average

Diet: Sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and soil minerals         

Predators: voles, mice, rabbits, deer, elk, slugs, insects (moths, tent caterpillars, borers), fungi

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: Black cottonwood is the largest western hardwood species. Every cottonwood I’ve seen is near water. Not surprising then that it takes forever for the wood to season before you can burn it. Because it is usually found near water, it can be a great tool to use if you get lost in the woods. Look for the tall tree with glossy leaves and follow the water downstream to civilization. It is used to make pulp and veneers. In addition to windborne seeds on those cotton tufts, cottonwood also reproduces through cloning. Stumps will sprout and cutting can grow into a new tree.

This week’s information comes from USDA’s Forest Service Silvics Manual. Lifespan information come from Northern State University.

This cottonwood is estimated at about 140 feet tall

The glossy leaf. Note in the background the lighter underside of the leaf

A look at the thick bark

USDA: https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/populus/trichocarpa.htm

Northern State: https://www3.northern.edu/natsource/TREESA1/Easter1.htm 

Plight of the Bumblebee

Let’s talk about bees. When I was a kid it took me years to learn not to run around outside barefoot. After countless bee stings, I finally got the hint. Of course, I wanted every bee to die as revenge. Then one day I realized no bees, no honey. Now that I’m older and wiser I realize it’s much bigger than that. No bees, no food.

Bee pollinating pearly everlasting flowers

Bees are small animals but vital not just to ecosystems but to civilization as we know it. For a critter that has the weight of humanity on its shoulders, you would think that these busy little workers would be better protected. Worldwide, bee populations are plummeting. No one sure what is behind the die-offs, but the leading suspects are pesticides and disease, coupled with habitat loss of course.

According to the EPA, the suspected causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (in which the workers leave the hive- the queen and larvae remain with an adequate food supply) are: the invasive varroa mite, new and emerging diseases, pesticides applied to crops or in-hive for mite control, stress from transporting hives, habitat degradation, poor nutrition, and immune-suppression caused by one or more of the previous listings.

Honeybee (from Finger Lakes Land Trust)

In Europe, neonicotinoid pesticides have been banned because of the harm to the bees (The Guardian). America has yet to follow suit. You may be wondering how bees can lose habitat. Well, bees are just like everyone else in the world. They need a place to live, food to eat, and a lack of stuff that kills them. When that field or forest gets converted into "New Townhomes Starting In The Low 200s!" it isn’t just deer and birds that are displaced. Not every bee hive is under your eaves or inside your Mustang’s engine.

Bumblebee (from keywordsuggests.com)

How can you help the bees? Plant flowers. Native flowers are best because the native bees are attracted to them, they support other native wildlife, and they are low-maintenance because they are adapted to the local climate. Not sure where to start? Ask your local National Wildlife Foundation Habitat Steward (like me) for help.

Mason bee (from Gardeners Supply Company)

Fast fact: There were no honeybees in the Americas before they were brought from Europe.

This week's sources:

EPA: https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder

EU ban on neonicotinoids: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/23/europe-poised-for-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides

Finger Lakes Land Trust: http://www.fllt.org/cl-the-honey-bee-our-friend-in-danger/

keywordsuggests.com: http://www.keywordsuggests.com/216WYHErZLESNc*3XIHAyvHvnvYHZLEjeAwp6kKWUxWfg*RQ6TyVcou9EM7ms6O*EtEwdMeAl9n2qfSJuf%7CIBw/

Gardeners Supply Company: http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/about-mason-bees/8198.html