tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post8093992470258719780..comments2024-03-23T19:52:53.611-07:00Comments on Strategies for Stewards: from woods to prairies : Odd Story about Sanguisorba CanadensisStephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-39437246039771746722014-11-02T07:00:32.604-08:002014-11-02T07:00:32.604-08:00My Opinion, manage deer overpopulations.My Opinion, manage deer overpopulations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-91726524899635244082014-10-27T06:33:58.934-07:002014-10-27T06:33:58.934-07:00With changing climate, less habitat, I think any p...With changing climate, less habitat, I think any place a rare species can survive, and possibly thrive is reason to let it be. Even in small preserves I've seen populations of plants move around. Maybe Somme will become the better place for this species. Carol Freemannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-27055041886976464772014-10-22T04:52:30.400-07:002014-10-22T04:52:30.400-07:00I won't vote, but I will make a suggestion. T...I won't vote, but I will make a suggestion. The first experiment was whether the plant would survive at Somme, and it did. If you keep it, why not try a second experiment: will it reproduce at Somme. Midewin is currently propagating American burnet for its restorations (I don't know if it was found onsite, but the wet prairie habitat is there). The Somme plant, having survived for 34 years, might well have something to add to the genetic mix that would contribute to the species' survival in Illinois. Why not contact Bill Glass at Midewin and see if they would share some seed.<br /><br />BTW, another previously undocumented Illinois site was recently discovered in Fayette County: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/am_burnet.htm<br /><br />Charles Deam, in The Flora of Indiana, thought that his state was the limit of Sanguisorba's range, so its existence in Illinois is even more surprising. Apparently only three sites remain in Indiana.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04608850767431630602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-16036166873411713202014-10-21T06:20:20.253-07:002014-10-21T06:20:20.253-07:00I've gotten a lot of comments via email, Faceb...I've gotten a lot of comments via email, Facebook, and carrier pigeon, mostly saying in various words, "I vote to keep it."<br /><br />I wrote to one: "Votes count less than reasons. Of course I appreciate your vote. But keep it how? Just by itself, all alone, as a freak? I wonder if it is or is not self-compatible, sex-wise. Perhaps we'll soon know from experience. It would be yet another weird experiment, I suppose, to see if a genetically-identical population would build up. Weird, but nonetheless ugly in this context, don't you think?" <br /><br />Stephen Packardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-70324042650667870432014-10-20T10:10:12.280-07:002014-10-20T10:10:12.280-07:00It is going to be lonely without friends. If you ...It is going to be lonely without friends. If you keep it, then you will need more than one. When establishing plants I always aim for a minimum population of 50. This might be the best argument for returning it from where it originated. It is much simpler that way.James McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12813312887957290703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-40704574131802728312014-10-20T06:32:54.021-07:002014-10-20T06:32:54.021-07:00Keep it. Nice work.Keep it. Nice work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-76833158854171823062014-10-19T18:21:08.164-07:002014-10-19T18:21:08.164-07:00I understand the 15 mile rule and subsequent excep...I understand the 15 mile rule and subsequent exceptions, somewhat. Sometimes I think, "do birds know, did bison and wolves know, that they should not distribute seed beyond 15 miles where they picked it up in their fur or hooves or feathers?" It seems that seed got passed along great long routes back in the day, and that wherever it landed is where it tried to survive. Either it did or didn't. I would say let it be, and see how it stands the test of time. Seems to me that it likes it at Somme or it wouldn't have endured. What's the difference if you put it there, a little bird?Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11903783922074004945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-33878225448036923162014-10-19T18:03:15.365-07:002014-10-19T18:03:15.365-07:00That is a nice plant. I have only come across it ...That is a nice plant. I have only come across it once in the lower 48 when I visited the Hudson gorge in New York. The Hudson river starts at the highest mountain in New York. In the Hudson Gorge the river looks much different than the estuary it becomes by New York City. The Hudson River at the Hudson Gorge has a gravel bottom with many gravel bars that are kept open by ice scouring in spring. The reason for my visit was to see Platanthera psycodes which integrates with Platanthera lacera in this vast wilderness area. The Sanguisorba and unusual Salix I found were merely a bonus. The gorge also had the New York State endangered Triantha glutinosa which I did not observe because my visit was too late in the season. I have since seen this tiny and beautiful lily relative in other locations, even locally.<br /><br />I think the highest purpose of this plant follows. The introduced Sanguisorba canadensis should be returned to the place from which it had originated. This might be best done by breeding it with other individuals in the restoration program and returning the resulting seed to areas where it is being restored.<br /><br />As for the Forest Preserves, I have a lot of experience with them not liking things I have done. Up until this point they have always just told me to not do it again.James McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12813312887957290703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-4074611440030762852014-10-19T17:00:30.086-07:002014-10-19T17:00:30.086-07:00The "radius rule" is a bit more complica...The "radius rule" is a bit more complicated that it seemed worth explaining in the post. Originally 15 miles for prairie species - then 25 miles for savanna species, because they were generally harder to find. But we also made exceptions for species that were once found nearby but now were gone. In those cases, we went to the closest spontaneous sources. Examples included white prairie clover, robin's plantain, and fringed gentian. But in all those cases, we found ample records that they once occurred (and often were plentiful) along the North Branch. We found no such records for Sanguisorba. Might it still be welcome as an experiment? Or is it better to stick to the larger experiment - to restore the full, documented, natural diversity of the site - and then let nature proceed? I just don't know. I'm interested in many perspectives on it. Stephen Packardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-87233773613322203502014-10-19T16:40:45.215-07:002014-10-19T16:40:45.215-07:00What a beautiful story! Shows how our understandin...What a beautiful story! Shows how our understanding of restoration ecology has developed. I feel the plant is now an important part of the history of the site, so I recommend it stay, even though it originally didn't fit the 'radius rule'.Kathy Ghttp://www.kathleenmariegarness.comnoreply@blogger.com