Adventures in Conservation: Convicts with Knives
In 2005, Judy Joyce and I were working on an erosion control project on the banks of Clear Creek. We decided on cordgrass, also called sloughgrass, for the most vulnerable locations because it forms a dense deep sod. This native enjoys routine flooding, and with its own aeration system can root 2-5 feet deep in saturated soil, a rare capability.
A downside to cordgrass is that most of its seed is not viable. Paul Christiansen said that it is a pollination problem, plus tiny insect larvae eating their way through viable seed. Our solution to using it was to transplant small dormant sod chunks. A large donor patch was located on the floodplain a half-mile away.
In order to cover a large area with closely spaced sod pieces, we needed a lot of manpower. However, Oakdale Prison is only a few miles away and we borrowed the services of about eight inmates for a week. These fellows were considered reliable and they had all showed interest in working outdoors.
So on the appointed morning, a large van drove up with our team, and an armed guard. He initially seemed mellow in his role, until I opened a box and handed out knives with foot-long serrated blades. At which point he stepped back a bit, presumably to assure that no one could get behind him.
We got down to business, which consisted of me using my narrow long-bladed sharp shovel to slice out sod slabs about 18” x 18” x 3”. These were handed off to the knife guys who cut them into 3x3x3 bricks, and then packed them into sturdy trays, and loaded them into a pickup or a small boat. The boat was our access to the north side because the onramp from I-380 onto I-80 cuts off vehicle access to the floodplain.
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The knives, shovel, and a sample tray.
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Unloading a boatload of trays from harvest on other side of creek.
The sod pieces were planted on the tilled floodplain just behind the rock gabions.
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Planting sod chunks, trays on right.
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The blue flags helped keep transplants properly spaced.
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Newly planted sod chunks, complete with weeds.
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I’m grinning because I don’t have to plant them all by myself.
We were all well-behaved, and the guys did indeed enjoy working outdoors, and the whole planting project got off to a good start. Early summer was a little skimpy on rain, but Coralville came through with a Parks employee and a pump, and revived the sods with a drink from the creek.
By the following summer, most of the sods had sprawled out, were developing a substantial root system, and some were flowering.
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Growth of prairie cordgrass sod, second season.
Tags: habitat restoration, Lon Drake