By Jim Bloch
Certain parts of Columbus County Park will be off limits to visitors for several hours at a time as crews begin treating invasive plants with herbicide during the week of June 29.
The herbicide treatments, along with the mulching of invasive trees and shrubs, will lay the groundwork for the new grasslands, which will cover 100 acres.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently awarded an $80,000 grant to St. Clair County Parks and Recreation to create the grassland ecosystem on former farm fields in the northern, eastern and southern reaches of the park.
“Herbicide spray treatments by the contractor will begin on June 30, weather permitting,” said the county park system on its website. “Areas where the spray crew is actively working will be closed to the public for several hours until the spray has dried. Signs will be posted to alert park users of the treatments and closures. For safety reasons, we ask that everyone visiting the park comply with the posted signs and other directives from park staff and the spray crew.”
The goal of the project is to create a suitable environment for native flowers and grasses and the pollinators – such as Monarch butterflies – that sustain themselves in verdant grasslands. Once established, the grasslands to provide homes for the grasshopper sparrow, Henslow’s sparrow, Dickcissel and other songbirds.
Kristen Lyons, the park naturalist and invasive species specialist, expects white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and other species to thrive in and around the grasslands.
The contractor for the herbicide treatment is Wildlife and Wetland Solutions, of Manton, Michigan. WWS’s crew will apply the herbicide AquaNeat and the adjuvants – essentially enhancers to make the herbicide more effective – Cygnet Plus and Control Duo.
“AquaNeat controls almost 200 species of emerged weeds, including a wide range of broadleaf weeds, sedges and annual and perennial grasses, in and around flowing or stagnant fresh water and estuaries or brackish water.” On the list of unwanted plants are phragmites and poison ivy, according to the manufacturer.
Columbus Couty Park is in Columbus Township at 1670 Bauman Road. It is one of eight county parks in St. Clair County, Michigan.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
