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13 <br />2.d. Chatham Park <br />Background <br />Overview of Historic and Current <br />Site conditions <br />Much ofthis park will be <br />represented by discussing the <br />center, “Priority Area”. These 6 <br />acres of woodland have been <br />adopted by the city, community, <br />and neighbors for stewardship and <br />restoration. These efforts are very <br />visible throughout the sections <br />where buckthorn removal and <br />native species establishment have <br />already begun, and <br />recommendations will take these <br />and other planned efforts into <br />account for the proposed <br />continuing stewardship actions. <br />Soils <br />Chatham Park is predominantly <br />Hayden fine sandy loam with 6 to <br />25% slopes (132C and D) and <br />Urban land Hayden-Kingsley complex with 3-5% slope soils (860C) in the upland sections with ponded <br />aquolls and histosols (1055) in the center and north wetland areas (see Appendix C for details). The upland <br />soil complex consists of moderately permeable, well drained sandy glacial till which may be remnant of <br />previous periods prior to urbanization but has been significantly impacted by human actions both directly <br />and indirectly. The lowland areas show water tables near the surface, with organic soils that hold rainwater <br />for long periodsof time.These near-surface water tables suggest that this location is either a collection <br />point for water in the landscape either underground or over land. Land managers can expect this site to <br />support wet to mesic hardwood forest specieswhich are adapted to high humidity environments and <br />significant exchange of water between the wetlands and atmosphere. Additionally, the soil here likely <br />retains high organic nutrient content, leading to high growth rates among the vegetation. <br />Vegetation <br />The canopy of Chatham Park was –in 2024 –and to some degree still is dominated primarily by both species <br />of invasive buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica and Frangula alnus), though significant portions of the canopy <br />were characterized by quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and box elder (Acer negundo). Combined with <br />the presence ofscattered, facultative hydrophytic herbaceous and woody plant species, the plant <br />community behaved like a mesic hardwood forest with pockets of depressional wetlands.In 2025’s survey, <br />portions of the site’s plant community have remained the same, and others have changed. Broadly <br />speaking, and while referencing the Restoration Evaluation Graph shown in Appendix D, Chatham Park <br />contains a vegetation community of lowquality with high invasive species presence, shown by the high <br />Figure 3.4 Chatham Park map showing the priority woodland area <br />and the full extent of park using city parcel data.