A source
of local news around the LLNA neighborhood.
The LLNA hosted Mr. Whit Beals, Director of Land
Protection at the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) as a speaker
this year at the LLNA Annual Meeting. He gave a presentation on invasive
plant species, a topic that is very important to our mission of taking care of
Long Lake. Mr. Dave Burke, a
Wetland and Wildlife Biologist, joined Mr. Beals to speak on suburban
predators.
To follow is an overview of each presentation from notes
taken by Martha Folsom.
Invasive Plants:
Whit Beals brought several samples of invasive plants found in the
Littleton area and passed them around as he described how to recognize them,
and how to best control and/or get rid of them if possible.
Glossy Buck Thorn – Has red berries that turn
black and a speckled stem. Note it
still has its leaves. A later season
and early start give it a competitive advantage in displacing native
vegetation.
Best Solution: Can cut and apply herbicide to stem, but
beware that by cutting it, the root mass doubles. If can, uproot its shallow roots altogether. Best time to pull is in the spring.
Multi-flora Rose – Red Berries. Grows like a vine 20 feet up & more.
Herbicide of Choice: Trichlopyre,
specific to woody plants. This is also
good for tough brush and poison ivy.
Oriental Bittersweet – Stems twine and grow
upwards on themselves. Berries are
toxic. Native Bittersweet has fruit all at the ends. Oriental Bittersweet has berries throughout branch.
Flowering Crabapple – Problem is growing, but
not around here too much yet.
Burning Bush – Prouty Woods problem.
Japanese Honeysuckle – BAD! Used in sloped areas on highway and median
strips.
Best Solution: It’s a shallow
rooted plant. Pop up root mass.
Autumn Olive – Highway department used on Route
190/Route 2 in Leominster. Shiny light
green leaves.
Buckthorn – Scaly bark, sharp thorns, orangey
inner bark.
Japanese Barberry – Has oblong red fruit. Plant can take over wetland areas.
Japanese Knotweed – Has a corm like a tuberous begonia. Has been used in fill for road repair. Herbicide
Treatment over 3 to 4 years can help.
Purple Loosestrife – One medium sized plant will
put out 1/4 million viable seeds. Can
inundate it if plant is drowned. There
are two different kinds of beetles being released to cut down Purple
Loosestrife problem. In 6 to 7 years we’ll be able to analyze amount reduced.
Use seed free straw that is sterilized.
Mid to late summer is the best time to capture seeds before they spread. Can cut flower and paint stem with Round
Up. Beaver impact as they create new
environments for purple loose strife.
Water Chestnut – is on the move. Nickel-sized chestnuts have spikes, floats
on lake then sinks. Travels by connecting
to ducks that move from lake to lake. Muskrats
eat them. It’s an awful problem.
Poison Ivy – is actually a native plant. Good for song birds, not for us.
Note 1: Trichlopyre is better than
using Round Up. IMPORTANT HINT: Add a little dish detergent ½ tsp per gallon
in mix which holds chemical to leaf.
Otherwise it might bead up and roll off. Can cut back to75% of
recommended dose and will still work.
Note 2: Most invasive plants respond to disturbed areas and disturbed
soils. It’s best to re-stabilize with
natural mulch hay bale to protect from erosion. Dave says NO to normal hay bale.
We may be getting purple
loosestrife due to mulch and hay bales filled with noxious seeds on disturbed
site.
Suburban Wildlife
Predators: Mr. Dave Burke
brought with him several skulls of small and medium sized animals, as well as a
mounted 24-pound Fisher Cat and a Coyote pelt.
To follow are notes about the suburban wildlife predators found in the
Littleton area:
Opossum – Moving from the south, northward as
more trees are found on our landscape, Opossum are terrestrial and live in tree
tops. They feed on eggs. Preferred food is seed, young animals,
fruits, snakes, frogs, birds – partridge, rough grouse and other ground nesting
birds. Pheasant population knocked out
due to Opossum. They are limited by
cold weather. Ears are not furry, &
can sometimes see frost bite. Opossums
play dead. They can slow their heart
rate to nearly nothing. They can open
their jaw to 120 degrees, to eat the largest of eggs. So beware and don’t get bitten!
Neo-tropical Migrant Birds are especially endangered like Baltimore
Orioles, Wood Thrush, Humming Birds, Barn Swallows, Thrushes, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. When a nest is built in non-native bushes
like honeysuckle, it’s easier for an opossum to climb the vines and eat their
eggs.
Coyote – Coyote actually swam out to Monomoy
Island to eat gulls, showing where there’s a will, there’s a way. Typically Coyote are 25 to 38 pounds. In Massachusetts some are up to 86 pounds. They have collected wolf genes in N.
Atlantic. A long time ago coyote would
have 14 young per litter. Now, they typically
only have 2 to 3 based on what Nature will allow . The song bird population goes up when Coyotes come in. They have
a mournful howl much like a wolf and coyotes now hunt in packs, usually male
& female together.
Wood Rats – Wood Rats are native vs. Norway Rat
(No-Way Rat) which are considered a city rat.
It’s bigger and more damaging. Native
wood rats can be found anywhere you find chickens and grain.
Raccoons - Resourceful, smart, small skulls so
can get into 1 to 2 inch spaces. Rabies
really diminished the number of raccoons throughout the area.
Skunks – go for grubs in our lawns. They dig holes and are egg eaters,
omnivores, they’ll eat wasps, yellow jackets, larvae and eat turtle eggs which
are a large reason that our turtles are on the decline.
Fisher Cats – Typically 9 to 20 pounds. The mounted fisher cat Dave brought was 24
lbs. They eat 2 to 3 times a day and
are nocturnal, although typically they’ll eat at dawn and dusk. Typically, they
are no danger to people, but feed on cats and other predators. They are dimorphic. Females are typically 1/3rd the
size of males and are much quicker and agile.
Red Fox – 15 to 20 lbs. Always has a white tip on its tail.
Grey Fox – Silver – Cross fox – with a black
tail.
Box Turtle – It was also noted that humans are
predators, too. Our lifestyle has a dramatic impact on our environment. Our
pets in many cases are as big a threat to local wildlife populations as any
animal listed above. Our residential & Industrial development has proven
especially threatening to turtles. The Box Turtle is one of the
rarest reptiles in Massachusetts despite it being long
lived. They will stay in the same 20 acres over a 25 to 45 year
period. One newly built road could kill off generations of
turtles. Urbanization is a big problem for impacted wildlife.
Thanks to both speakers for sharing
their vast knowledge of Nature with us.
Both were terrific & informative presentations.
The Annual Meeting continued after
the presentations with dinner and dessert at Theresa's home. The elections were held and positions were
filled for a two-year period as follows:
President: Steve Foss, Vice
President: Jon Folsom, Treasurer: Dan Lord, Secretary: Linda Lord, Member of
the Board: Martha Folsom.
