Current and Past LIP Projects
La Crosse County

Holland Sand Prairie

Project and Site Description:
The goal of this project was to begin removal of a non-native pine plantation with the future goal of full removal. This site is actively managed by a friends group, and the gradual approach to this goal is intended to take the needs of the friends group and adjoining landowner's needs into account. LIP funded the removal and girdling of more than 10% of an open ring of pines to allow light to penetrate to the interior understory. LIP also assisted with the removal of slash from this site and from additional portions of the site. Mississippi Valley Conservancy contributed 36% match in the form of volunteer labor and donated use of equipment from the Town of Holland.

This project was completed in May 2007. 103 trees of the 950 that originally existed in the targeted pine plantation have been felled and removed from the site. This number was concentrated in the southern portion of the plantation to allow for the most light penetration into the plantation. Additionally, the remaining trees have been limbed to a height of 6' and sapling pines within the southern portion have been brush cut to curb recruitment and lessen competition for native plant species. Logs were removed in pulp stick lengths or cut up and piled, and branches were either chipped or piled and will be burned (a workday to burn any piles was not included as part of the grant, just the creation of the piles.) The State Natural Area crew from La Crosse completed 3 days of work that included cutting and limbing trees, brush cutting saplings and piling cut limbs logs. The Town of Holland Crew spent 5 ½ hours chipping limbs and other waste material and volunteers spent 44 ½ hours dragging and piling brush. The Mississippi Valley Conservancy has spent 30 hours of Staff Time on fieldwork (coordinating/overseeing work days, cutting and trimming logs for removal, assisting with chipping operations, and piling limbs. Additional volunteer/in-kind match came in the form of a tractor, truck and trailer that was unanticipated when writing the original grant. This additional set of equipment allowed for more efficient movement of materials (i.e. logs) and made possible the additional work that was completed (103 trees cut and removed instead of 95). Photos have been taken of the completed work and those points were recorded using a GPS unit. Follow - up photos will be taken during subsequent growing seasons to track the progress of these opened areas (map and photos included).