The vernal pool open space area along Morrison Creek was the gathering place for a group of watershed council members and friends this past Sunday morning. We came to prune and wrap oak trees planted along the creek, adjacent to the Independence at Mather community. The voles seem to be eating the bark on a lot of the young oak trees, killing them. So we pruned away most of the lower branches on about 50 trees, and where needed wrapped them with stiff plastic sheeting.
In addition to helping those oak trees along, we were treated to a great bloom of all kinds of flowers….yellow, orange, blue, purple….it was amazing to see such a beautiful field of flowers and rolling hills. If you get a chance, there is a nice hiking trail along Morrison Creek, on Eagles Nest about 0.2 mile south of Woodring. To get there, you have to take either Sunrise or Excelsior north since Eagles Nest does not go all the way through.
We’ll be planning a return trip next year to check on the trees and protect the ones we might have missed this year.
A nest of mallard eggs we found in the field:
A young oak…the kind the voles love. By pruning away any branches lower than a foot and wrapping the trunk, voles won’t be able to eat the bark until the tree and strong and larger, when the bark is harder and not as tasty to the voles.
A larger oak after pruning the lower branches
Red sanicle
