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18 3.b.Hazelnut ParkRecommendations Contracted and Initial Management Hazelnut Park has ongoing contracted work which will reduce the mature buckthorn population in the northern woodland as outlined in Table 3.b.1. This work will continue through spring of 2027, employing a combination of critical period cutting during the growing season, and foliar herbicide application in autumn to control resprout and seedling buckthorn. Volunteer and city coordinated efforts have already significantly reduced or eliminated the buckthorn and invasive shrub population in the southern woodland, with native species planted at the edge of the woodland along the paved path. As this work continues, GRG will coordinate seeding the woodland to initiate an accelerated and directed succession process towards a composition like the mesic woodland systems listed in Table 3.a.1. This work will still be within the Outdoor Heritage Fund project to facilitate sustainable habitat that can be stewarded into the future. Continued Maintenance Once contract work in the northern woodland concludes in 2027, work in late 2027 and 2028 should focus on planting native trees and shrubs, and seeding native graminoids and wildflowers, with species selected from one of the appropriate plant community types listed in Table 3.a.1. The goals beingto provide direct competition for space to the buckthorn or other woody invasive species populations attempting to proliferate, and indirect competition by offering alternative food sources for birds, which are the main vector for buckthorn proliferation. Planting should occur in spring or autumn to ensure the best conditions for planting survival. Seeding for additional understory diversity is also advised and should happen sometime during autumn through spring for best germination and establishment rates.As the native plants establish in 2028 and onward, targeted foliar herbicide applications should focus on controlling invasive herbaceous species as, and if, they invade into the open spaces left by buckthorn removal. Similarly, from 2028 onward, the woodland should periodically receive renewed buckthorn control using critical period cutting and foliar herbicide application, or alternatives described later, every 2 to 3 years. The southern woodland in Hazelnut Park will need continued follow up/ maintenance work focusing on controlling buckthorn and establishing a mesic hardwood forest community. Although the southern woodland did not receive contract work under state grant funding, volunteer efforts have successfully eliminated most, though not all, buckthorn stems. Thus, follow up work will follow a similar trajectory to the north woodland with growing season cutting and autumnal foliar herbicide application for at least the next 3 years followingfullremoval of large buckthorn stems. Following that, the southern woodland can follow the same trajectory as the northern woodland with seeding, planting, herbaceous invasive control as needed, and continued buckthorn suppression, as described in the previous paragraph. Alternative control methods to herbicide application and critical period cutting include prescribed fire and goat browsing. Depending on when the native plant understory establishes throughout the northern and southern woodland areas, independently, prescribed fire can be used to further inhibit understory invasion/re-invasion by invasive woody and herbaceous species. Woodland burns should be conducted in autumn, when leaf litter is thickest and herbaceous vegetation continuous enough to carry fire. Meanwhile, goat browsing can be used as an alternative to fire and herbicide to suppress all woody species within an enclosed area. Goat browsing would be best used in areas where invasive shrubs and trees have overwhelmed the understory again,and they can be employed year-round.