Ecological Consulting Native Plant Nursery Restoration Services Cultural Resource Management

1. Wolf Lake Aquatic Restoration Project • Ecological Consulting • Native Plant Nursery • Restoration Services • Cultural Resource Management

2. Location Map

3. Project Background • Initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Chicago District under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 • $6.5 million project cost • The city of Hammond, IN was a major project collaborator, providing a percentage of matching funds

4. Project Background • Designed by the Chicago ACOE and Tetra Tech as habitat restoration and to restore portions of the lake to wetlands similar to pre-settlement conditions • Islands created by hydraulic dredging of sand from lake bottom

5. Project Features • 20 acres of islands created and ½ mile of shoreline restored • Over 14 acres of native seed installed • 115,000 native plants and shrubs planted • Over five miles of goose predation fence constructed • Sand prairie, wet prairie, emergent, and deep aquatic habitats created

6. Project Challenges: sterile sand substrate • Newly constructed island surface similar to that of Mars

7. Arid sand had no organic matter, soil structure, microorganisms, yet design called for seeding of species found only in advanced successional stages of ecological progression

8. Nutrient deficiency exhibited as red coloration

9. Project Challenges: Geese

10. Goose predation barriers of chicken wire and string were only marginally effective

12. Goose Repellants • Predator silhouettes worked for one week until geese caught on

13. Project Challenges: Exotic Species • Including: • Phragmites • Purple Loosestrife • Eurasian Watermilfoil

14. Project challenges: water levels • Record rains destroyed portions of plantings early planting phase • Note floating algae a top strings, evidence of high water levels

15. Project Challenges: Water levels • Beavers plugged outlets, causing altered water levels which delayed planting

16. Project Challenges: Erosion

17. Erosion barriers • Cabled log barriers failed after one winter in high wave energy zones

18. Sand Prairie after five months of high winds, heavy rains, and goose grazing.

20. Project Successes Before After

21. Project success: emergent zones

22. Project Success: Sand Prairie

23. Project Success: Wet Prairie

24. Lessons Learned • Design island shapes for greatest area-to-perimeter ratio…skinny islands can disappear before stabilization 2007, immediately after construction 2009

25. Lessons learned: use straw blankets on all seeded areas Blanket No Blanket

26. Lessons Learned: Protect vulnerable shorelines during vegetative establishment

27. Lessons Learned: Focus on vegetative stabilization above shoreline Most vegetative stabilization occurred after a dense sod of native grasses, sedges, and forbs became established in the wet prairie zone adjacent to waterline. Emergent zone plant mortality was very high.

28. Lessons Learned: Miscellaneous • Allow island materials to settle and consolidate before planting • Build islands larger than final desired dimensions to allow for erosive attrition • Limit emergent zone plantings to “pods” and protect them rigorously from predation by geese, carp, and muskrats • Post-planting maintenance is essential • And, be prepared for Nature to trump your plan!

30. Direct Additional Questions to: Tony St. Aubin Operations Manager tony.staubin@cardno.com 708-932-9306 www.cardnojfnew.com