Arborist Chris Fischer said at last week’s Parks meeting that through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation he had been working alongside Patti Erwin, former Arkansas Forestry Commission Urban and Community Forest Coordinator, on plans for habitat mitigation at Lake Leatherwood City Park. The scope of their project is still being developed, but included in it will be a plant identification system that will lead to a management plan for addressing problems presented by invasive and non-native species but also finding effective uses for indigenous species.
He intends to use seeds harvested on site to help perpetuate growth of certain plants in specific areas, for example, but first they will take inventory of what species are where.
Fischer said the broad scope of the project is not totally defined, but one obvious positive outcome will be coordinated efforts of several interested groups such as the Native Plant Society, Master Naturalists and other volunteers.
To get the public interested, he and others intend to initiate public hikes every Wednesday at various locations. Times and locations will be announced on the Parks website eurekaparks.com.
Fischer complimented the trail builders for how certain trails interfaced so carefully with the environment.
Other items
- Huss hired Austin Hayes as Trails Manager.
- He said even though revenue in August was less than expected, revenue for the year was still ten percent ahead of the same period last year.
Next workshop will be Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. at Harmon Park and next regular meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m.