Planting wet areas at Goose Pond

Last Saturday Kathie and I joined a group of volunteers to plant some prairie and wetland areas at Madison Audubon Society's Goose Pond Sanctuary. The day was crystal clear and warming up, virtually windless, so we ended up in shirt sleeves.

One of the jobs Kathie and I had was to plant some wet areas at the edge of Goose Pond. These were areas that had flooded during the heavy rains of 2008-2009. After the water receded, a contractor came in with a front-end loader and did what is called a "scrape", creating a depression where water can accumulate during wetter areas, thus encouraging shorebirds and other waterfowl.

As the photo shows, the snow and ice were starting to melt, but the surface was still hard enough so that we could walk around and toss out seeds. We planted a mix of water plantain ( Alisma triviale) , Pennsylvania smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum), and a few other emergent aquatics. These are annuals whose seeds can remain alive but dormant during lengthy dry periods, but then germinate and form extensive patches when water is present. What we were doing was creating the "seed bank" that would remain until favorable growing conditions prevail.