The shoreline of Lake Erie is a critical natural area for wildlife habitat and migration. Planting of this property has enhanced connectivity of a significant stretch of forested, and newly reforested, lands which extend along the lakeshore from east to west through Spooky Hollow and Turkey Point to St. Williams Provincial Forest Station (see map page 5).
The landowners completed all site preparation prior to planting the seedlings. Since the field had been left for several years, it was quite weedy. The field was lightly disced before planting for weed control and easier planting . Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) assisted with technical advice for a planting plan and ordered all the seedlings. Seedlings were ordered from three local nurseries in order to obtain the appropriate variety of local stock. The following is a list of tree seedlings planted to date.
| Species | Quantity |
|---|---|
| White Pine | 2800 |
| Green Ash | 800 |
| White Oak | 75 |
| Red Oak | 125 |
| Sugar Maple | 525 |
| Burr Oak | 225 |
| Shagbark Hickory | 150 |
| Black Cherry | 150 | Nannyberry | 300 |
| Silver Maple | 200 |
| White Spruce | 100 |
| Norway Spruce | 100 |
| Total | 5550 |
LPRCA was contracted to plant 4800 seedlings with the remainder being planted by the landowners. LPRCA used a heavy planting machine which was very effective for planting the roots deep into the clay soil on site. The landowner planted the areas that were too wet or too difficult for the machine planter to access.
Following planting, a herbicide treatment was applied to reduce weed competition and improve survival and growth of the seedlings. The herbicide was applied by back pack sprayer in a 3 foot diameter circle around each tree. This ensured maximum effectiveness with minimum use of chemical herbicide.
The landowner is committed to ongoing site maintenance including occasional mowing to reduce weed competition and rodent damage.