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Introduction <br />In the wooded area with a vernal pond at the southern entrance to Hazelnut Park, I propose that we remove the <br />majority of non-native species and replace them with native plants adapted to the existing conditions of the site. The <br />primary purpose is to improve ecological function, supporting insects and the birds, bats and other animals that <br />depend on them. <br />Background <br />Prior to European settlement, this area was <br />dominated by oak savanna. There was also a <br />mix of tallgrass prairie, marshes, and oak/ <br />aspen woodland. In the original surveyors' <br />notes from 1847, the area closest to what is <br />now Hazelnut Park is described as "Sand <br />high rolling oak barrens Soil 2nd rate." <br />Ecological Context <br />432 spp of North <br />American birds at <br />risk of extinction. <br />3 billion fewer <br />breeding birds <br />compared <br />to 45 years ago. <br />Studies looking at the Species of <br />Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) <br />have found that habitat loss and <br />degradation are the most significant <br />threats. <br />A few years later, settlers started moving in and turned <br />much of the oak savanna into farmland. As we can see in the <br />middle of this aerial image from 1937, most of what is now <br />Hazelnut Park was likely used as pasture. (That would explain <br />the presence of smooth brome—an invasive non-native grass <br />that was commonly used in pastures —in parts of the park.) <br />By 1953, you can see trees and shrubs beginning to fill in. <br />This includes the area that this proposal focuses on, where <br />elms and cottonwoods had begun to grow at the northern end <br />of Prior Ave. i <br />2 <br />