Lagoon Park Restoration tour with Jim Engel
SUNDAY, June 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Jim Engel has worked passionately
these past several years to
restore native
species at the Lagoon Park Wildlife Preserve on
Lakeshore Drive
in Canandaigua.
The Canandaigua
Botanical
Society and the
Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association worked
together to raise
funds towards Jim Engel’s efforts.
Join
us as Jim
gives us an
informative walk through the 34 acres of wetlands and
walking trails
explaining the species were removed and planted.
Plans are in
place to add a covered information center and natural
log benches.
Notes from our LAGOON PARK RESTORATION TOUR
A group of Botanical members and friends met Jim Engel at
the Lagoon Park on the sunny Sunday afternoon of
June 8, 2014 to take a look at how the restoration of native species is coming
along.
Jim gave us a history of the area:
1930’s –
the outlet was a stream with forest on either side. The stream split with a channel to the north
and east
1950-60’s –
Route 5/20 was moved to current location.
Fill was taken from the area creating the lagoon and Muer Lake
near the current water park. The lagoon
is about 6 to 8 feet deep and has a gravel bottom. Roseland Amusement Park
had miniature train that traveled through the lagoon.
1985 – Roseland Amusement Park closed and the area was
let go – unmaintained.
Invasive species (Common European Buckthorn, Asian
honeysuckle, Glossy Buckthorn) took over and created dense shade crowding out
the native species.
2002 – The
City of Canandaigua and Department of
Transportation created the trails and built bridges to form the current Lagoon Park.
Jim Engel has been in communication with the
City of Canandaigua since 2001 about his desire
to restore native species back into the Lagoon Park. The City of Canandaigua granted Jim permission to work on
the restoration and has had city officials donate time along side volunteers
from FLCC and the Canandaigua Botanical Society working towards restoration
efforts. Over the past several years
money has been raised through the Canandaigua Botanical Society, Canandaigua
Lake Watershed Association, and Canandaigua National Bank to help pay for the
removal of invasive species and the purchase of native plants for
restoration. Most recently the
Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association has secured a significant grant to
complete work on the retention basins.
The Canandaigua Botanical Society is in the process of having Boy Scout
work on his Eagle Award by building a kiosk with future hopes of an
interpretive trail. We also plan to have
Marty Dodge create log benches to place along the trail.
Laura
Ouimette is a member of the City of Canandaigua Tree
Advisory Board where the Lagoon
Park was made an example as to what
type of species should be planted in the future North Shore
project. Native species are essential in
maintaining a natural healthy ecosystem.
Jim
explained the importance of insects and their role in the food chain that
attracts and supports plants, fish, birds, and mammals. Insects are essential in creating biomass
which supports fruits which attract birds.
The more species of plants leads to more insects leads to more fruit
leads to more ornamental qualities.
Because the buckthorn chokes out the native species, the variety of
insects, plants, birds, fish, and other animals also declines.
A
substantial amount of buckthorn was removed in 2013 and Jim continues to work
at removing buckthorn by cutting smaller ones and girdling larger trunks. Plantings of trees, shrubs, and wetland
plants were made in 2013 and again with FLCC this past spring along with seed
dispersals. Trees were caged to help
prevent damage from the Lagoon
Park resident beavers. Jim
reported a 20 percent dieback of spice bush and decent success of plants taking
to the heavy clay soil.
The Lagoon Park
restoration project continues to be a work in progress for Jim Engel requiring
support from the Canandaigua Community.
Jim Engel owns White Oak Nursery (http://www.whiteoaknursery.biz/index.shtml)
and has a webpage about the Lagoon
Park: http://www.whiteoaknursery.biz/Lagoon_park.shtml
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| Swamp Oak |
 |
| Previously cleared area seen behind kayakers |
|
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| Invasive phragmites can be seen over taking cat tails |
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| Red Twig Dogwood and Silky Dogwood are desired species |
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| Jim has cleared most of the invasive species off of the island reached by canoe |
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| rose |
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| Evening night shade - not edible! |
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| aster |
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| bed straw |
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| that large shrub/tree is buckthorn |
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| silky dogwood |
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| POISON ivy |
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| Arrow wood virburnum |
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| winter berry - bright red - holly family |
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| The restoration will hopefully bring back: oriels, yellow warblers, northern oriels, tree swallows, osprey, wood duck | . |
Evidence of Eastern Screech Owl have been seen at the Lagoon Park this year.
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| Russian Olive |
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| white flowers are bindweed |
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| sumac |
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| Black willow |
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| Dawn Redwood |
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| Jim also built wood duck houses |
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| above and below: Cottonwood tree |
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| cinquefoil weed |
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| LARGE buckthorn |
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| trunk of large buckthorn girdled and treated for removal |
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| hemp dogbane in the milkweed family |
