Two naturalists from SWxSW CISMA walked RHOA property on the 2024 June solstice to address native resources and invasive species.

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The sites visited were:

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• Edge of marsh

• The Blow

• Marquette Dr. section

• Woods off Marquette Dr.

• Quiet Cove

 

Initial observations suggest the Riviera community harbors a significant amount of invasive species. Underneath that burden remains a wealth of at-risk native species that contribute to biodiversity around the New Buffalo marsh.

 

See https://tinyurl.com/solstice-survey for large PDF (324 Mb) of A View of Riviera: Native and Invasive Species.   The document pairs images with text excerpted from a one-day snapshot of the environs. The sampling--thorough but incomplete--illustrates both the challenges of and opportunities from stewardship efforts.  The survey is on currently visible growth, whereas other native and invasive species are apparent at different times of the year.  

 

Please propose, lead, or support initiatives to supplant invasive species with native growth. Thank you for nurturing our natural resources.

 

PDF (93 Mb)

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324 Mb

https://tinyurl.com/solstice-survey

Keynote

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Transcribed excerpts from survey of Riviera community property by Alex Florian and Cole Lambrix of the SWxSW Corner CISMA on Thursday, June 20, 2024, the June solstice.   Note that

CISMA job is to provide expertise on invasive species.  They will enter species sightings into MISN database.  If not sure of species, send to Alex at CISMA to identify.  

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Riviera Dr. 18

[Start; backyard edge of marsh]

 

Reed canary grass is perennial.  Only way to kill it is with herbicide.  Fire won’t kill roots; would just open it up.  Will get back to us on specific techniques to eradicate. 

Narrow leaf cattails are invasive, broad leaf are the good ones.  Female part is bottom and male part of flower is on top.  You can see gap between them. Judging by how small the gap is, these are probably a hybrid, which is still invasive. 

Canada thistle.  Ouch.  Invasive that needs to go.

Good stuff…grapes, Virginia creeper, 

Hand pull invasive ivy, have seeds or replacement ready and at hand.

Priority (at backyard) is reed canary grass.  Get it before it gets out of control. 

White oak, cottonwood, black walnut, and a black cherry next to house.  Cherry is sour with high seed to flesh ratio.

Lily of the valley hard to pull but it makes thick mats.  Spray to kill with aquatic approved herbicide.  See label.  [Aqua Neat available? ]

Compared to other herbicides, glyphosate is okay.  Apply per label.

Spider wort is good.

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Riviera Dr 20:  

[Walking from marsh to the Blow; at the Blow.]

Tree of heaven on Pine Lane.  Smells like rotting peanut butter.  Singular large one needs to be cut and dabbed so it doesn’t spread.  [Until October or leaves change color, per DNR’s Wayne Glieber.]

[Invasive tree of heaven, spreading aggressively around Sokol Lane in particular, crowds out native species.  Secretes chemical into soil that is toxic to some natives.  Per Nature Conservancy, “It can be distinguished from (similar looking) native species by its fuzzy, reddish-brown twigs and clusters of light green seed pods.]   Only young plants can be pulled by hand.  Spreads by sending up root suckers, so cut and dab.  

At Blow, honeysuckle has been cut and garlic mustard pulled.

Black locust is invasive; on hill behind platform.Herbicide most effective; basal spray popular.  Does root suckers like tree of heaven, so can’t just cut.  Black locust tendrils popping up in multiple spots around Blow.  Definitely would get rid of, but perhaps not most important priority; TBD.

Sickly leaved trees along entrance.  Not American elm, but some kind of elm.  Unknown.

Poison ivy, though native, is a nuisance plant.

Catalpa is from around Missouri, so technically not native.  Like to grow by water.  Doesn’t spread much, so let it go.   

Norway maple is non-native, but they don’t spread a lot.  Leaf out earlier, so no spring ephemerals or wild flowers underneath because of shade.  Pull sprouting Norway maples. Leaves have seven lobes, more than native trees which have 3-5 lobes.

Three big basswood, or linden, trees along sandy path to beach stairs.  

Common hoptree is native; at least two at the Blow.

Invasive mullien; thumbs down.  Biennial plant, the plant in the dune grass is second-year growth; first-year is flat on ground.

 

Native grapes and Virginia creeper on revetment.  Note: Invasive Japanese knotweed can be common along revetment.

A few native cottonwood trees emerging by stairs.  Must be good if naturalist has cottonwood leaf tattoo on his arm.

Equisetum, a prehistoric native plant around with the dinosaurs, is also known as scouring rush.  The vertical rods take up sand as they grow, so abrasive and useful for scrubbing pots, for example.  Also known as horse tail.  Young version photographed. 

Common milkweed; flowers help identify.  

Native goldenrod.

Pepper weed, an annual disturbance lover.  Once perennials take over it will fade back.

Hoptree and catalpa behind the platform.

Invasive autumn olive with shiny undersides of leaves.  In winter has copper-colored twig in the undergrowth.  Native grape is growing into the invasive autumn olive.

Along with honeysuckle and poison ivy is invasive bittersweet, the tightly twisting vine.  Aggressively wraps around trees and kills them.  Lots of bittersweet along these 30 miles of shoreline.  [Large vines are at the Quiet Cove.]  

 

Grasses appear good.

 

Native milkweed with opposite leaves.  For confirmation, break a leaf and milky sap comes out.  This is the good stuff for monarch butterflies.  

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Marquette Dr. 8: 

[Walking from the Blow along Marquette Dr. and in field behind wood rail fence.]]

Pull the mullein with yellow flowers at bottom of Blow boardwalk by Marquette Dr. 

Bed straw is native, but annoying when it sticks to you.

Buckeye from southern Ohio is not native but close enough to here.  Moving north with climate change.  

Invasive buckthorn needs to go.

Privet…just the beginning by the road.  Pull small stuff by hand; cut and dab larger invasive privet.

Invasive money plant easier to identify when it goes to seed. Has pink flowers and is easily confused with Dame’s Rocket, which is also invasive. 

Invasive white mulberry, with glossier leaves than native red mulberry

[In the small field behind wood fence on Marquette.]

Bed straw native

Common soapwort is an introduced species but not a priority to remove.

[Mentioned previous sightings of blue vervain in the woods, by entrance field and at edge of marsh. Added spotted knapweed photo, too.]

Joe Pye weed.  A keeper.  Actually, this is hollow Joe Pie weed, with speckled stem.  A great pollinator.

Patch of purple crown vetch with a bee on it is still invasive.  Michigan does have a lot of common vetch; similar leaf but different flower.  

Pokeweed.  Native.

Bull thistle?  Easier to I.D. when it has a flower.  Thumbs down.

Poison Hemlock, the stuff that killed Socrates.  That can’t be good.

Not related to the hemlock tree.  Purple stem

Caution: Phytophoto toxic!  Sap reacts with light and burns your skin.  Handle it with gloves and not in sunlight.  

Garlic mustard first year growth.  

Second year growth looks different.  Seeds stay in seed bank a long time; gotta pull every year. 

Mayapple!  Native plant grows well through spring before browning.

Unknown firefly lands on naturalst Cole.  (Note: Say’s Firefly is state insect in Indiana)

Soil in ridge at marsh edge is compact and likely remnant from early construction or dredging.  Tough for plants to gain foothold.  Spring plug sale at CISMA SWxSW.  Can plant in fall.  Look for plants that help with compaction.  Break up dense soil so stuff can grow in it.  

Invasive Canada thistle and privet is abundant in marsh.

American goldfinch.

Prime view of a Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands

Invasive English ivy under mayapple.

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Marquette Dr. 9 

[Walking from the Woods to Quiet Cove]

Lower area of woods is lowland forest.  Losing hill at marsh’s edge to privet and thistle.  Q: To protect lowland forest, mix seed types?   A: Focus on what plants would meet moisture and shade requirement there.  Plant generalized lowland forest mix, plus some plugs that would do well in specific spots.  Plant mid-story bush plugs in strategic locations.

Caterpillar in road: spicebush swallowtail.  (Haven’t seen any spicebush yet.)

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Riviera Dr. i21

[Quiet Cove]

Blue stem goldenrod, which is native, is recommended.  Plug or seed.  Fill in by rhizomes, and we have just a few.  

Spider wort, the purple flower, colonizes and is a welcome native.

Native black raspberries.

Invasive multiflora rose has hairy armpit—fringed at the petiole, at the base.  

Wild yam is native.

Hemp dog bane is good, relative of milkweed.

Horse nettle, native but nuisance.  Ouchies.

Jewel weed grows alongside poison ivy and nettle.  Jewel weed has antihistamines in leaves; rub on the poison ivy rash for remedy.   In July or August, orange-yellow cornucopia-shaped flower. Flower matures and makes exploding seed pod; fun to watch.

Typical that densest near the edges and the further in you get the fewer invasives.

In Quiet Cove, could do selective trimming.  While it takes longer, can be done.  Just mowing down shrubs won’t help much cuz it will come right back.  Focus on keeping the best bare spots, like the woods, well maintained. Hit the harder, more invaded areas as you get time.  In Quiet Cove, mow down once with brush hog, then treat as it grows back (which it will).  Cut native stuff will come back up, too, but don’t spray it.  Cut first so not spraying above head.

Sumac has fuzzy stem; is native.

No frogbit.  Floating duckweed is native.  Frogbit leaves will be bigger, size of a quarter. 

Eurasian water milk oil.  Invasive but ubiquitous in Michigan.  Feathery leaves.  Not worrisome, will never eradicate.  Spreads by fragmentation.  If it did block waterway, could do herbicide treatment to suppress it.  Or a milk oil weevil (insect works well in shallow water) could work in our shallow waters.

Bittersweet nightshade is native.  Nightshades include tomatoes and potatoes.  

More of the good Joe Pye weed.  Will have puffy plumes of purple flowers.

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Riviera Dr. 23

Walking back home from Quiet Cove.

Wooly adelgid in summer looks like pepper grain, but in winter looks like fuzzy sac.  Ask nursery if they’ve been inspected by state Dept. of Ag.  Not recommending planting hemlocks cuz the adelgid is coming and will simply kill your new hemlock and need replacement in 10 years.

Asiatic day flower along road.  Invasive. Petite blue flower.