Eagle Point Park Environmental Restoration Management Plan

Final Report | January 20, 2017

Submitted to: The City of Dubuque, Iowa

Submitted By Applied Ecological Services, Inc. And Ayres Associates Inc. - Page intentionally left blank - Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ...... iv

Executive Summary ...... 1 1 Introduction ...... 3 1.1 Reasons for Environmental Restoration Plan 3 1.2 What is Ecological Restoration? 3 1.3 Benefits of Ecological Restoration 3 1.4 Restoration Management Approach 3 2 Site Assessment Methods ...... 4 2.1 Existing Data Review 4 2.2 Field and Desktop Assessment Methods 5 2.3 Ecosystem Model for Restoration and Management 5 2.4 Cultural Features and Avoidance Rating 5 3 Ecological Conditions & Assessment ...... 6 3.1 Location, Size and Context 6 3.2 Geology, Soils and Historical Vegetation 6 3.3 Site History, Cultural Resources, and Contemporary Uses 7 3.4 Water and Hydrology 9 3.5 Land Cover and Vegetation 9 3.6 Wildlife 15 3.7 Rare Natural Features & Ecological Sites 17 4 Summary of Findings ...... 17 4.1 Cultural Resources 17 4.2 Water and Hydrology 17 4.3 Vegetation 17 4.4 Wildlife 18 5 Ecosystem Model for Restoration & Management ...... 18 5.1 Ecosystem Model 18 5.2 Conditions of the Distant Past (before 1800) 18 5.3 Recent Historical and Present Conditions (1800-2016) 19 5.4 Anticipated Future Conditions (2050 Without and With Intervention) 20 6 Vision, Principles & Goals ...... 21 6.1 Background 21 6.2 Vision Statement 21 6.3 Planning Principles 21 6.4 Project Goals 22

January 20, 2017 i Table of Contents (Cont.)

7 Ecological Restoration & Management...... 23 7.1 Restoration and Management Stages and Approach 23 7.2 Invasive Vegetation 23 7.3 Proposed Native Plant Communities 23 8 Cultural Resource Protection ...... 26 9 Stormwater Best Practices ...... 26 9.1 Best Practices for Eagle Point Park 26 9.2 Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices 27 10 Monitoring, Adaptive Management & Training...... 28 10.1 Ecological Monitoring and Adaptive Management 28 10.2 Specialized Training 28 11 Restoration & Management Tasks ...... 29 11.1 Prescribed Burning (Park-Wide) 29 11.2 Enhanced Mesic Forest, Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland 29 11.3 Woodland with Natives, Prairie 31 11.4 Bluff Prairie/Savanna 32 12 Restoration & Management Phasing & Costs...... 33 12.1 Management Units 33 12.2 Restoration and Short-Term Management Phasing (Years 1-3) 33 12.3 Restoration and Management Phasing & Costing (Years 1-10) 33 13 Public Outreach & Interpretation ...... 37 14 Partnering & Funding Opportunities ...... 38 14.1 Partnering 38 14.2 Funding 38 15 Conclusion ...... 39 16 References & Resources Consulted...... 40

ii Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Table of Contents (Cont.)

Tables Table 1: Existing Land Cover Types 9 Table 2: Incidental Wildlife Observations at Eagle Point Park 15 Table 3: Summary of Habitat Preferences of SGCN Statewide by Habitat Class (Iowa DNR 215) 16 Table 4: Changes from Existing to Proposed Plant Communities 24 Table 5: Cultural Resources Avoidance Ratings for Eagle Point Park 26 Table 6: Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices at Eagle Point Park 28 Table 7: Generalized Schedule for Restoration & Short-Term Management of a Given Project Area 34 Table 8: Restoration and Management Phasing & Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) 35 Exhibits Exhibit 1: Regional Context Exhibit 2: Topography & Soils Exhibit 3: 1930s Aerial Photograph Exhibit 4: 2015 Aerial Photograph Exhibit 5: Stormwater Issues Exhibit 6: Existing Land Cover Exhibit 7: Core Habitats Exhibit 8: Pre-1900 Vegetation Exhibit 9: Proposed Land Cover Exhibit 10: Cultural Resources Avoidance Exhibit 11: Recommended Stormwater Best Practices Exhibit 12: Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices Exhibit 13: Ecological Management Units Appendices Appendix A: Glossary and Acronyms Appendix B: Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (Including Cover Class) Appendix C: Iowa DNR “Environmental Review for Natural Resources” Response Appendix D: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Identification and Description of Practices to Avoid the Introduction or Movement of Invasive Species Appendix E: Native Species Lists and Seed Mixes for Ecological Restoration & Enhancement of Eagle Point Park Appendix F: Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program

January 20, 2017 iii Acknowledgements

Applied Ecological Services gratefully acknowledges City of Dubuque staff, which directed and contributed to this Environmental Restoration Management Plan. City of Dubuque contributors include: Steve Fehsal Park Division Manager Jeff Ahlers Natural Resources and Sustainable Practices Specialist Denise Ihrig Water Plant Manager Wally Wernimont Assistant Planner David Johnson Assistant Planner Dean Mattoon Engineering Technician Eric Schmechel Urban Conservationist Laura Carstens Planning Services Manager Jean Nachtman Finance Director

P lan PrepARED For: City of Dubuque 50 W. 13th Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001 563.589.4100

Prepared By: Applied Ecological Ayres Associates Inc Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road 101 E Badger Road Prior Lake MN 55372 Madison, WI 53713 952.447.1919 608.255.0800 AES Project #16-0320 Ayres Project #27-1058.10

Kim Alan Chapman, PhD Jacob Blue, PLA Doug Mensing, MS Caitlin Blue, MLA Genesis Mickel, MS Susan Lehnhardt, BS, BA Cecily Cunz, AICP

Citation Applied Ecological Services and Ayres Associates. 2017. Eagle Point Park Environmental Restoration Management Plan. Report for the City of Dubuque, IA.

iv Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Executive Summary

Eagle Point Park is a unique and important amenity A vision statement and planning principles for Eagle for the City of Dubuque. While the Park is most known Point Park were developed with the City to meet the for its cultural history, spectacular views, and modern aspirations and goals of the community.T his established uses (playgrounds, picnicking, photography, etc.), it also the foundation on which recommendations were made represents a significant area of natural habitats within to restore and manage native plant communities the City. and improve human access, use, and enjoyment of The City of Dubuque recognizes the unique nature and the Park. To achieve the City’s goals for the Park, it value of Eagle Point Park, the expanded educational was decided that ecological restoration should take and recreational opportunities it could provide, and the an enhancement approach, building on the existing multiple benefits of ecological stewardship, especially native plant communities at the site. This incremental making the site more resilient over the long term, approach will increase native plant and animal diversity, which is an important sustainability goal. This plan improve ecosystem functions, invite safe and enjoyable supports the restoration of native plant communities visits, and reduce long-term maintenance costs of the at Eagle Point Park; work that will improve the health Park. Major restoration and management activities will of the site’s ecosystems and enhance its ecological include: functions, such as water purification, groundwater • Removal of invasive trees, shrubs, and herbaceous recharge, and pollinator support. Restoring a greater species; variety of native plant species in the Park’s forests, • Thinning of young, aggressive native trees from the savannas, and grasslands will positively affect migrating understory; and breeding birds; insects such as butterflies, bees and • Increase the diversity of native trees, shrubs, and other pollinators; small mammals; and other wildlife. herbaceous plants; In order to complete this Environmental Restoration • Install stormwater best practices to better manage and Management Plan, the consulting team: runoff; and • Gathered and reviewed existing site data from • Stabilize eroding ravines. numerous reports, maps and data sets; An ecological monitoring program was developed for • Conducted field assessments focusing on the site’s Eagle Point Park. Monitoring is recommended to measure vegetation and erosion features; and progress and practice adaptive management—a • Solicited information and ideas from the City of feedback loop where field observations are compared Dubuque regarding their goals for the project. to the expected outcomes of restoration, and the next The upper/central portion of Eagle Point Park is year’s restoration work is modified as needed to keep dominated by manicured parkland (mostly turf the restoration work on track towards the project vision. beneath mature oak trees). The park’s perimeter During perpetual management after establishment, can be characterized generally as sloping downward activities generally follow a routine schedule. This (moderately steep to vertical) and covered with plan also presents project priorities, implementation forest vegetation. Invasive plants (trees, shrubs, and phasing, and opinion of probable cost. herbaceous plants) were scattered throughout much of By implementing the Eagle Point Park Environmental the park. Restoration and Management Plan, the City and A wildlife survey was not conducted as part of this surrounding communities will over time see an already- project, but incidental observations indicated the cherished public property become a healthier and more presence of wildlife species that would be expected in engaging place for people and nature. a small urban natural area. However, the abundance and diversity of wildlife in the Park has the potential to increase as ecological restoration and management moves forward.

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2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Environmental Restoration Plan

1o Intr duction 1.3 Benefits of Ecological Restoration 1.1 Reasons for an Environmental The City of Dubuque recognizes the importance and Restoration Plan value of Eagle Point Park – for both its active park use as well as its natural resource values on the bluffs of the This Eagle Point Park Environmental Restoration Mississippi River. The Park offers a refuge for wildlife, Management Plan (ERMP) was developed to guide the as well as City residents and visitors, and it provides City’s efforts to restore the Park’s ecological integrity, educational and recreational opportunities that benefit improve native plant diversity, enhance wildlife the entire community. Restoration of native plant habitat, address erosion features, improve stormwater communities improves the health of ecosystems and management, maintain the park’s natural and passive enhances ecological functions. This in turn supports settings, and control long-term maintenance costs. the delivery of ecosystem services, mentioned above. Specific issues considered, researched, and discussed Restoration of a diversity of native plant species in with the City during the development of this ERMP the Park’s forests, woodlands, and prairies will also include: problematic invasive plant species, desirable enhance populations of breeding birds, insects and native plant species and wildlife habitats, erosion other invertebrates, amphibians, mammals and other features and causes, stormwater management wildlife. opportunities, short- and long-term restoration and maintenance costs, and human access, use, and public 1.4 Restoration and Management Approach safety within the park. The focus of ecological restoration is to create healthy This ERMP describes the existing ecological condition and sustainable ecosystems, often in the context of a of the Park and recommends site-specific natural developed or disturbed landscape. The composition, resource management goals and actions to be carried structure, and function of restored ecosystems are out over the next decade. The management goals and similar to that of native ecosystems. As a result, a actions are aimed at enhancing the site’s biodiversity, moderate level of management is necessary to maintain improving human access for enjoying the site, and these ecosystems in perpetuity. Restored ecosystems placing the Park on a trajectory that will help sustain are recognizable by a diversity of native plant and animal its ecological and community values into the future. A species and an increase in functionality and resilience. glossary of technical terms and acronyms is provided in Eagle Point Park’s regional context, its position on the Appendix A. bluffs of the Mississippi River, the pre-1800 vegetation, 1.2 What is Ecological Restoration? and current conditions and functions were all considered during the development of this ERMP. This plan is Simply defined, ecological restoration is the art and designed to restore and enhance plant communities science of improving the natural environment by native to the region and project area. However, changes stabilizing and enhancing its diversity, resiliency, and in the larger landscape and in local conditions often natural functions. Using a scientific understanding of prevent the full re-creation of natural conditions from the make-up and form of ecologically healthy plant 150 years ago. Those historical conditions provide communities and ecosystems, restoration ecologists insight into what natural conditions are possible at the describe current conditions and lay out a program of site, and no more. More importantly, the goals for the activity to alter conditions for the better. This is to the project area will dictate the level of effort expended benefit of plant and animal species that need high and the eventual condition of the ecosystems. Not all quality or large habitats. Moreover, people benefit of the Park will be restored to exceptional native plant from the improved functioning of ecosystems, spinning communities, but all will be restored and managed off “ecosystem services” in the form of air and water to meet City goals. As more healthy and sustainable regulation and purification, stormwater management, ecosystems are restored here, ecological functioning, groundwater recharge, erosion control, pollination, pest wildlife populations, and human enjoyment will be control, soil building, wildlife and tree regeneration, enhanced. climate moderation, scenery, and chances to learn about and experience a healthy natural world.

January 20, 2017 3 Restoration and management plans need to be 2 SITE ASSESSMENT METHODS flexible. Restoration programs experience variability 2.1 Existing Data Review in implementation due to the timing of funding, adjustments due to the response of the ecosystems to To assess the Park’s regional context as well as its existing restoration work, and changing management needs. At ecological conditions, opportunities, and constraints, times programs need to respond to new scientific data AES reviewed previous studies and other existing data and insights. For these reasons, this ERMP should be including, but not limited to: viewed as a starting point in a process of restoring the Natural Resource Data From City biodiversity and natural processes of the Park. It should • 2015 Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) guide major restoration and management efforts and grant application forE agle Point Park Environmental projects. As more detailed data are gathered, it is Restoration Project (City of Dubuque 2015) expected that restoration and management activities will be refined. The most successful restoration • Urban Forest Evaluation (Dubuque Leisure Services programs use regular monitoring and reporting as Department et al 2011) feedback on the program’s effectiveness. Monitoring • Sustainability Progress Report 2012 (University of also generates information to justify changes in the Iowa et al. 2012) restoration and management program. Adaptive Cultural Resource Data From City management (a cycle of implementation, monitoring, evaluation, adjustment, and implementation) is central • Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey of Eagle to the best restoration programs and should begin with Point Park (Wapsi Valley Archaeology 2016) the restoration work and continue indefinitely as part Vegetation, Soils, Geology – Other Data of the stewardship of the project area. Mutual benefit • •Natural and Cultural History of the Mines of Spain can be gained by engaging “citizen scientists” and also (Iowa Natural History Association and Geological universities and schools to assist with observations, Society of Iowa 1991) data collection, and analysis, whereby the site becomes a “living lab” for research and study as well as public • Mines of Spain Vegetation Study (Blewett et al. education and engagement. 1983) • Catfish Creek State Preserve (Iowa DNR no date) • Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) “Landform Regions of Iowa” (Iowa DNR 2016a) • Ecoregions of Iowa and Missouri (Chapman et al. 2002) • Custom Soil Resource Report (USDA/NRCS 2016) • General Land Office (GLO) original land survey notes (State Historical Society of Iowa 2016) Rare Species – Other Data • Iowa DNR Natural Heritage Information System (NHIS) rare features data and bat guidelines (Iowa DNR 2016b) • Known Northern Long-eared Bat Hibernacula and Roost Trees in Iowa (USFWS 2016a) • Securing a Future for Fish and Wildlife: A Conservation Legacy forI owans (Iowa DNR 2015) • Final 4(d) Rule for the Northern Long-Eared Bat (USFWS 2016b) • Northern Long-Eared Bat Final 4(d) Rule, White- Nose Syndrome Zone Around WNS/Pd Positive Counties/Districts (USFWS & PA Game Comm. 2016)

4 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA AES also compiled and reviewed existing City geographic 2.3 Ecosystem Model for Restoration and information system (GIS) and other digital mapping Management data including: Based on a review of existing data, augmented with • Eagle Point Park boundary, infrastructure, utilities, field assessment findings, AES developed an ecosystem amenities model for Eagle Point Park. The purpose of an ecosystem • Dubuque County parcel data and City limits model is to guide restoration and management plans • Elevation data from LiDAR such that the resulting environmental conditions are appropriate for the Park and resilient over the long • USDA/NRCS SSURGO digital soils data term despite environmental change. • National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) The model has three components: vegetation, animals, • Aerial photography (historical and current) and disturbance and future change. Vegetation is • Cultural resource mapping for the park (confidential central to the model and the component restoration data) and management affects directly. Animals will respond • Original Vegetation of Iowa (General Land Office to the vegetation and to activities targeting individual mapping) species, such as special habitat structures. Less direct in the ecosystem model are disturbance and the response • Geologic mapping of the Park’s ecosystem to future environmental • Hydrography data change. The City will intentionally use disturbances to 2.2 Field and Desktop Assessment Methods alter vegetation and animal populations over time, with On July 19, 2016, AES ecologists, accompanied by City the goal of increasing the diversity, functionality and of Dubuque Parks Department staff, conducted a field resilience of the Park’s ecosystems. review of the park. All major use areas were visited, AES validated the Park’s ecosystem model by comparing and additional areas of interest were assessed and it to AES’s past work in the region (including in the Catfish documented. On August 5, 2016, AES ecologists returned Creek Watershed and at an Iowa Natural Heritage to the Park with City staff to collect more detailed data Foundation easement) and visiting and assessing regarding existing vegetation communities, erosion nearby natural areas, including the Mines of Spain. features, and stormwater management opportunities. 2.4 Cultural Features and Avoidance Rating Field maps, data forms, and digital photography were A field assessment of cultural resources was completed used to document existing conditions and incidental by Wapsi Valley Archaeology and incorporated into wildlife observations. Attention was focused on the GIS project in order to understand the spatial the species composition and habitat structure of relationship between cultural resources and the existing plant communities, indications of past and potential restoration and stormwater best practice current disturbances, evidence of soil erosion and projects. AES and Ayres Associates developed an sedimentation, indications of wildlife use, and the avoidance rating system for cultural resources in the needs and opportunities for ecological restoration, Park. This rating system provides important guidance enhancement, and management. to help ensure the appropriate application of ecological Vegetation data were collected in plots that were restoration and improvements throughout the Park placed to represent the plant communities of the Park; while protecting the most sensitive cultural resources. the abundance of plant species in plots was noted. The general distribution of weedy and invasive plant species was recorded in relation to plant communities. Runoff flow paths and areas of soil erosion were mapped in the field based on visual indicators (slope, sediment, bare soil). Local watersheds were mapped in the Geographic Information System (GIS) project file using elevation data.

January 20, 2017 5 3 ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS & sites provide abundant cool, moist and wooded habitats ASSESSMENT rich in diverse communities of plants and animals. Seeps and springs are common features along valley sides 3.1 Location, Size and Context where strata of varying permeability are exposed and Eagle Point Park is located in Section 7 and the southwest signify subterranean drainage systems. Ice caves and corner of Section 6, Township 89N, Range 3E, Dubuque cold-air (algific) slopes are unique to this area. Unusual County, Iowa (Exhibit 1). The 108-acre park is located in microclimates associated with these features support a a mixed residential and commercial portion of the City particularly rare and sensitive biological habitat inI owa. of Dubuque. An active railroad track, the Mississippi The steep rocky slopes are unsuited for agriculture and River, and Lock & Dam #11 are located to the east of remain heavily forested. Remnant prairies occur on the site, residential development to the west, and south and west facing slopes. Ecologists believe these commercial and residential development to the south. prairies were more extensive before the suppression of Public Conservation and Recreation Lands extend along naturally occurring fires followingE uropean settlement. the Mississippi River upstream and downstream from According to a custom Web Soil Survey report prepared the Park. The Mississippi River flyway also follows the for the site (USDA/NRCS 2016), the central, summit river and is an important annual migration corridor of the park is dominated by Fayette silt loam (ranging for dozens of bird species and tens of thousands of within 5 to 25 percent slopes). This loess-derived soil individual birds. The Mines of Spain State Recreation is classified as well drained and rated to have a runoff Area is located approximately four miles down river class of “medium” on slopes <18 percent and “high” on from the Park, and the Effigy Mounds – Yellow River steeper slopes (suggesting moderate runoff infiltration Forest Bird Conservation Area is located about 10 miles potential). On moderate slopes, when vegetation is upriver (Iowa DNR 2015). removed or this soil is disturbed by excessive runoff, While Dubuque is located in a landscape having the soil’s fine particles are susceptible to erosion. The extensive natural areas, Eagle Point Park stands out remainder of the park, including its steeper slopes because it represents a large and important natural around the perimeter, is mapped as Nordness-Rock area within the City limits, providing wildlife habitat and outcrop complex (18-60 percent slopes). This soil opportunities for recreation and outdoor education. unit is typified by either silt loam over silty clay loam Exhibit 1 illustrates the site’s regional ecological context, and bedrock, or by exposed bedrock outcrops. The surrounding land uses, and City- and County-owned runoff class of this soil unit is “very high” due to the public lands. imperviousness of the underlying bedrock. 3.2 Geology, Soils and Historical Vegetation The site is located in an historically fire-influenced region. Fires were often ignited intentionally by Native The Park’s topographic setting is unique – a high bluff Americans for many purposes and consequently are overlooking the Mississippi River to the north and documented to have occurred annually to every few east, with an historical river channel valley to the west years in the region’s larger open landscapes (Stewart and south (Exhibit 2). Illinois and Wisconsin are both 2002 and Pyne 1982). The extensive fires often reached visible from the park. According to ecoregion mapping and ignited most of the dry south- and west-facing conducted for Iowa and Missouri (Chapman et al 2002), slopes, such as those found in the Park. Plant species the Park is located within the Paleozoic Plateau/Coulee requiring moderate to full sunlight (e.g., prairies and Section of the Driftless Area. The Driftless Area was savannas) inhabited the ecosystems that burned untouched by glaciers during the last Ice Age, hence frequently. Areas in the Park that were moister, such these landforms originate from before that time (ending as ravines and north- and east-facing slopes, were approximately 10,000 years ago) and are hundreds of less prone to burning. Steep topography and water thousands of years old and quite weathered. The Iowa bodies also protected areas from fire. These moist and DNR (2016a) describes this region as follows. protected areas were characterized by woodlands and The Paleozoic Plateau (Prairie to Hardwood Transition) forests of nearly continuous tree canopies. Section 5.2 is the most distinctive ofI owa’s landforms because of its of this report provides further discussion of the site’s abundant rock outcroppings, karst topography, a near historical vegetation. absence of glacial deposits, many deep narrow valleys, cool-water streams, and heavily wooded uplands. Numerous gorges and ravines cause abrupt local changes in the direction of slopes and exposures.T hese

6 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 3.3 Site History, Cultural Resources, and oak, another name for chinquapin oak (Quercus Contemporary Uses muehlenbergii), with stems up to 16 inches in diameter. This is an oak of dry rocky settings and is not commonly Summary of General Land Office Survey Records found today in the Park. The surveyor noted a wagon The early nineteenth century environmental conditions road and the dwellings and fields of Mr. Ham and Mr. along the Mississippi River blufflands can be inferred McCraney, encountered on or near this section line.T he from maps produced by the federal government as smeltingfurnace of Mr. McKnight was located not far to township and section boundaries were laid out to the northwest of the Park, suggesting some local cutting document suitable farmlands and timber resources. of timber resources to supply this operation. The area Field journals and maps are housed in the State was served by a Territorial Road west of the Park. Archives of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. The following summarizes the journal entries extracted Site History and Cultural Resources from this information for the Eagle Point Park vicinity Eagle Point Park is scheduled to be submitted for listing (State Historical Society of Iowa 2016). by the National Registry of Historic Sites by February In the mid to late 1830s, at the time of the local General 2017. The following summary was derived from a Land Office survey, the landscape ofD ubuque Township detailed Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey of was described by the surveyor of record: Eagle Point Park conducted on behalf of the City in 2016 (Wapsi Valley Archaeology 2016) and the City of The southeasterly part of this Township is a rich mining Dubuque website (City of Dubuque 2016). district, & no doubt other portions of the same may prove equally as rich when as thoroughly examined. Eagle Point Park’s summit setting is the type of The Township is generally uneven & some parts hilly landscape used by prehistoric Native Americans for & broken, the soil 1st & 2nd rate prairie except the burial mounds. Evidence of burial mounds has been northern & westerly parts where are scattering White, found in the surrounding region, but archaeological Black, & Bur oaks. It is doubtful whether the diggins [a investigation of Eagle Point Park has yielded no extant term used at that time for small mining operations] are evidence of any burial mounds within the Park itself. all noted, as part of the same may have escaped my Mathias Ham settled in what was to becomeE agle Point observation. in 1833 and purchased over 25,000 acres immediately A closer look at the journal entries along the section west of the Mississippi River. By 1837, much of that lines near Eagle Point Park and the landscape beyond acreage had been platted as the Town of Eagle Point, underscore the prevailing open prairie and variable which was incorporated into Dubuque in 1840. Ham’s savanna conditions at the time, with reference to original cottage was later expanded in 1857 into a large “groves” (islands of oak trees in a sea of prairie), “uneven Italian Villa-style residence, which still exists just south prairie with some scattering oaks”, “thinly timbered of the park and has been added to the National Register land”, and occasionally land more “thickly timbered of Historic Places. The estate surrounding the Ham with white, black, buck, & bur oak, with undergrowth House is thought to have had a number of outbuildings of oak (low grub-form oak produced by fire) & grass”. which are no longer present on the site. It is thought These latter areas were generally west of the Park. that Mathias Ham was at least partially responsible for Hazel is also noted as a shrub component of timbered lead mining on the site of Eagle Point Park. To date no areas. White oak is the predominant oak species noted known evidence suggests that lead was ever found on in most journal entries, with mention of stumps and the site, though physical evidence of lead mining is still suckered individuals indicating past land clearing. The present in some areas of the park. already settled condition of the land was also evident Eagle Point Park was established in 1908. Streetcars by occasional fields, fence lines, and wagon roads began serving the park in 1912. Most of the existing park encountered on section lines. AdjacentM ississippi River facilities were built in the 1930s under the direction of bottomlands and bayous are characterized variably as then Park Superintendent Alfred Caldwell with the help open to timbered, with reference to “wet prairie” and of a Works Progress Administration grant. Caldwell was “low timbered islands subject to inundation”, featuring a well-known and respected landscape architect heavily elm (some reaching 24 inches in diameter), cottonwood, influenced by the prairie-style architecture of Frank black walnut, bur oak, white ash, basswood, butternut, Lloyd Wright, and the buildings at Eagle Point Park are maple, hackberry, and willow, with timbered islands in reflective of that style. The structures were primarily some cases being “mostly cut off”. Near the southern built from locally quarried dolomite and limestone end of the Park, along the rugged east-west boundary sourced from the steep bluffs throughout the adjacent line between sections 7 and 18, the surveyor recorded Mississippi River Valley. large white oak and a significant number of “yellow” January 20, 2017 7 The 1930s aerial photograph of the park (Exhibit 3) Contemporary Uses shows major park facilities (e.g., roadways, buildings, Eagle Point Park currently is a popular urban park Trolley Line Trail) and a quarry southeast of the Park. enjoyed by City residents and visitors of Dubuque. Park This aerial photograph also shows that only limited features, including several historic buildings, picnic portions of the park contained a closed tree canopy at pavilions, recreational facilities, and rock garden (see that time, supporting the theory that the Park used to inset map). Popular uses include picnicking, use of be more sparsely wooded. the park’s playgrounds, photography, and gathering on the bluff to observe Fourth of July fireworks over the Mississippi River. Exhibit 4 shows a 2015 aerial photograph of the Park, which is considerably more wooded than in the 1930s photograph. The Park is owned and managed by the City of Dubuque, with the City’s Parks Department responsible for its operation and maintenance. The City has a Parks Department facility just south of the site. A “Friends of Eagle Point Park” group does not currently exist. Such a group could be established to improve volunteer opportunities and to assist the City with park maintenance, restoration, monitoring, and community outreach. Postcard: Entrance to Eagle Point Park (roundabout with streetcar) (Encyclopedia Dubuque 2016)

LOCK & DAM RD

s RIVERFRONT PAVILION s s x SHIRAS MEMORIAL nm EAGLE’S VIEW PAVILION PAVILION EAGLE POINT DR !_s s MEMORIAL LN nm BAND SHELL KRAMER CIRCLE DR ANNEX nm nm nm EAST ROOM !_ s KRAMER CIRCLE DR INDIAN ROOMnm PROMENADE RHOMBERG AVE BRIDGE OPEN AIR PAVILION

nmnm s VERANDA ROOMS !_ s!_ s nm nm nm TRI-STATE VIEW PAVILION TERRACE ROOM nm nm nm s x s nm nm

nm s nm x LEGEND nm TROLLEY LINE TRAIL nmnm PAVILION ( s indicates accessible pavilion) nm PLAY AREA s x FISH POND !_s SHIRAS AVE nm HORSESHOE PITS

TENNIS COURT nm LOG CABIN PAVILION s_ ACCESSIBLE RESTROOMS

s x ACCESSIBLE PICNIC AREA F City of Dubuque park features map for Eagle Point Park

8 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 3.4 Water and Hydrology 3.5 Land Cover and Vegetation The only true water feature in the park is a small Exhibit 6 shows the site’s existing land cover and constructed fish pond in the rock garden in the northern vegetation. The Park’s summit is fully developed with portion of the park. The pond is drained each winter. roadways, parking lots, buildings, recreational facilities, There is a small depression in the Park’s east-central and maintained turf and landscaping. Additional forest; however, it is believed to contain water only impervious surfaces are found on the paved access intermittently. The primary water resource issue in the roads leading to the summit from the west and north, Park is runoff management due to its large effect on and the paved Trolley Line Trail near the western park slopes and ravines. edge. A few natural surface footpaths exist, but most of Situated atop a bluff E ( xhibit 2), runoff from the Park perimeter and slopes are inaccessible or not precipitation and snowmelt flows away in all directions often used by people. from the Park’s central summit. Areas of concentrated Existing data and AES’s 2016 field assessment were used flow have deepened ravines, which were historically to map land cover types (Exhibit 6) and facilitate plans more gentle drainageways; some have become for restoration and management. Table 1 summarizes unstable and are actively eroding. Exhibit 5 illustrates the Park’s land cover types, and a description of each the Park’s stormwater management issues, including type follows. Appendix B presents a matrix of plant impervious surfaces, existing stormwater management species observed in natural and semi-natural land cover infrastructure (e.g., inlets and culverts), drainageway types. flow paths, and local watershed boundaries.

Table 1 - Existing Land Cover Types

Land Cover Type Acres Percent of Site Mesic Forest 11.93 11% Dry-Mesic Forest 30.78 29% Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) 12.56 12% Bluff Woodland 3.75 3% Woodland with Turf 28.97 27% Wide roadway and parking areas – impervious Turf 4.52 4% surfaces that generate considerable runoff, which is Landscaped 1.37 1% shunted into drainageways, causing erosion Play Area 0.39 0% Water 0.04 0% Impervious Cover 12.65 12% Building 0.82 1% Total 107.78 100%

Eroding ravine in central portion of Eagle Point Park January 20, 2017 9 Mesic Forest Eagle Point Park’s Mesic Forest consists of a mature closed-canopy forest that occupies Nordness-Rock outcrop complex soils on steep northeast and east- facing bluffs above the Mississippi River. A small patch of Mesic Forest exists in a valley located in the east- central portion of the Park (see photo). This area may represent a temporarily flooded, forested wetland, and if so, it may provide vernal pool habitat, important to some amphibians. The Mesic Forest canopy has been more or less continuous over the past 75 years or more, based on 1930s aerial imagery (Exhibit 3). Bluff-top slopes have Mesic Forest in depression in the east-central portion been cleared in some locations to open views of the of site, possibly temporarily flooded in spring and offering habitat not found elsewhere in the Park Mississippi River and of the Wisconsin bluffs to the east, including at the popular overlooks. An extensive portion Dry-Mesic Forest and Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) of the bluff face is sheer exposed rock and unable to support dense vegetation. Most of the Park’s southeast-, south-, and west-facing slopes were dominated by Dry-Mesic Forest. These Today the Park’s Mesic Forest canopy is dominated forests developed on dry Nordness-Rock outcrop soils by white oak (Quercus alba) and basswood (Tilia and adjacent well-drained Fayette silt loams. Shortly americana), with red oak (Quercus rubra), black maple after European settlement, in the absence of fire due (Acer nigrum), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), shagbark to its suppression, these slopes filled in with woody hickory (Carya ovata), and black oak (Quercus velutina). growth. Aerial imagery from the 1930s (Exhibit 3) shows These latter trees were likely present in lower numbers southeast-facing slopes as largely open and dominated at the time of the GLO survey. by herbaceous cover, presumably due to past Today, the understory is denser than 75 years ago disturbances including burning, logging, grazing, and and before, with saplings, shrubs, and vines, including clearing for crops or pasture. Early park maintenance several non-native invasive species. The invasive plants activities may also have maintained open conditions. are white mulberry (Morus alba), Asian honeysuckles Similar open areas and broken tree canopies used to (Lonicera morrowii, L. x bella, and L. tatarica), multiflora exist on some of the Park’s west-facing slopes as well. rose (Rosa multiflora), common buckthorn (Rhamnus These areas that were more open in the 1930s have cathartica), Oriental bittersweet Celastrus( orbiculatus), been classified as Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) due to the and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). The native forest succession occurring in them over more recent Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and decades (Exhibit 6). poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also grow prolifically Today, a few 150-200 year old white and red oaks in the understory. Dense shade here suppresses growth are widely scattered in a younger tree canopy that of native grasses, sedges, and forbs, exposing soil that casts heavy shade and contributes to a low-diversity is vulnerable to erosion. The steep bluff face could not understory, largely dominated by woody vines and be accessed safely to document herbaceous understory tree seedlings. Other ecological stressors in Dry-Mesic species. However, species growing at the top of the bluff Forest include: abundant invasive species such as Asian indicate the presence of a diverse native flora of both honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet and garlic mustard mesic and dry-mesic forest and savanna. Pale leafcup (Alliaria petiolata); erosion caused by unmitigated (Polymnia canadensis) was observed in this area; this runoff from impervious surfaces and compacted mowed species is locally abundant in calcareous habitats and lawns; and the use of non-biological materials such is a close associate with chinquapin oak (Quercus as broken cement to stabilize eroding ravines. A few muhlenbergii) in dry rocky woodlands, including the small concentrations of invasive Japanese knotweed Mississippi River blufflands. Other understory species (Polygonum cuspidatum) were observed along the east include zig-zag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), yellow side of the Trolley Line Trail, just south of the hairpin jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), purple joe pye weed turn and information kiosk. A stand of invasive tree of (Eupatorium purpureum), golden alexanders (Zizia heaven (Ailanthus altissima) was observed near the aurea), bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix), and wild bottom of the Trolley Line Trail. columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

10 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Another stressor on the Park’s Dry-Mesic Forests is the practice of blowing the Park’s abundant oak leaf litter into the forest edges. The resulting wide and deep leaf piles smother groundlayer vegetation and reduce native plant diversity harbored in these important transition zones. Where forest and woodland are adjacent to more open and sunny plant communities, the understory has higher ambient light levels than more heavily-shaded, closed-canopied forest. Higher ambient light levels can stimulate the germination, growth, and reproduction of a number of native grasses, sedges, ferns, and wildflowers not found in the shady forest. Until the Moderate quality Dry-Mesic Forest Park’s larger forest systems are restored to a better ecosystem health, these narrow forest edges maintain an important part of the Park’s biological diversity, and also are a source for seed and other propagules that could aid restoration efforts elsewhere. One young stand of Dry-Mesic Forest, just west of the tennis courts in the northwest Park, occupies well-drained Fayette silt loam soils on steep slopes. The 1930s aerial imagery (Exhibit 3) shows this area consisting of entirely herbaceous vegetation, possibly a pasture.. By the 1990s the canopy had closed up and today is composed of invasive black locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia), likely planted in the 1950s or 1960s Dry-Mesic Forest with dense groundlayer of black to deter erosion. Other canopy trees include American maple seedlings elm (Ulmus americana), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), and a few very large cottonwood (Populus deltoides). The understory is dense with saplings, shrubs, and vines, including several non-native invasive species (multiflora rose, common buckthorn, Oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry). The native Virginia creeper and poison ivy also grow prolifically. Dense shade suppresses the growth of a continuous herbaceous layer, leaving soils bare and vulnerable to erosion. The highly invasive garlic mustard and creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) are widespread in the understory. Common disturbance-tolerant native species are also present, Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) on west-facing slope with dense vine cover such as enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana), white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), wood avens (Geum canadense), clearweed (Pilea pumila), clustered black snakeroot (Sanicula gregaria), and stickseed (Hackelia virginiana). Remnants of the former, less shady conditions are still visible, as indicated by the occasional bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix), common wood reed (Cinna arundinacea), short-headed bracted sedge (Carex cephalophora), lady fern (Athyrium filix- femina), elm-leaved goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia), late figwort (Scrophularia marilandica), and Jack-in-the- pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). Leaves falling on turf areas are collected and deposited along forest edges, smothering herbaceous vegetation in the forest-to-open transition zone January 20, 2017 11 Bluff Woodland common buckthorn and Asian honeysuckle. However, Bluff Woodland exists on the xeric (dry) Nordness- several small patches of limestone bluff prairie persist in Rock outcrop soils and bluffs of the Park’s south- and the BluffWoodland. These still sustain dozens of prairie southwest-facing blufflands. The 1930s aerial imagery species, including blazing star (Liatris cylindracea), lead (Exhibit 3) shows an extensive, largely open area plant (Amorpha canescens), purple prairie clover (Dalea along the bluffline, with large trees and woody growth purpureum), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), primarily lower on the slopes. Again, past disturbances and porcupine grass (Stipa spartea). These prairie from burning, logging and clearing for agriculture, and patches represent the Park’s least disturbed native early park maintenance practices likely maintained the plant communities, due to the extreme environmental open conditions until relatively recently. Since then, conditions and limited use by people. however, the dry conditions promoted by the thin soils During a September field assessment, AES ecologists have slowed the growth of trees and shrubs, such as confirmed the presence of approximately a dozen great common buckthorn and the native red cedar (Juniperus plains ladies tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), an virginiana). Iowa special concern plant species. Special Concern Today, in the absence of disturbance, the Bluff means any species about which problems of status Woodland is dominated by trees and shrubs, including or distribution are suspected, but not documented. stunted bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa), paper birch Special concern plant species are not protected by law, (Betula papyrifera), native (but invasive) red cedar, and as are Endangered and Threatened species.

Bluff Woodland overtaken by invasive common buckthorn

Bluff Woodland containing a patch of limestone bluff prairie, which survived due to poor soils, dry conditions, and infrequent human visits

The uncommon and fragile In the limestone bluff prairies several native prairie grasses grow: side- orchid, Great Plains ladies tresses, oats grama, little bluestem, big bluestem, Indian grass, and porcupine grows in the Bluff Woodland and grass is easily damaged by foot traffic 12 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Woodland with Turf river bank grape (Vitis riparia), poison ivy, and Virginia The bluff summit along the Park‘s central spine is creeper. Several invasive woody and herbaceous species characterized as Woodland with Turf. This area contains also find a home here, including common buckthorn, many of its oldest, most majestic oaks, growing on Oriental bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, and thistles well-drained Fayette silt loam soils. In the 1930s aerial (Cirsium spp). City staff believe that some of the Park’s photograph (Exhibit 3) this area is dominated by large- Woodland with Turf is under-utilized by people and crowned trees, which create a broken canopy that could be transitioned to more natural landscapes. allows a moderate amount of light to reach the ground. Turf Eagle Point Park is defined largely by this broken While the vast majority of the developed Park is canopy of mature oaks. Other native trees and planted wooded, several small patches of maintained turf exist specimens include conifer species such as Norway without a tree canopy. These areas receive full or nearly spruce (Picea abies) and shade-producing deciduous full sun, which provides an opportunity to introduce trees such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and sun-requiring plants. invasive white poplar (Populus alba). The understory is maintained as mowed lawn. The mowed area extends Landscaped downhill to the steep upper ravine slopes and bluff The Park contains several formal and informal landscape edges, where the risk of erosive runoff increases. The areas. The largest is the rock garden, located in the sunny perimeters of the mowed lawn at the forest northern Park. Many of the Park buildings have some edge favors native brambles and vines, such as bristly landscaping, and other more naturalized, informal cat briar (Smilax hispida), common blackberry (Rubus plantings also were observed. allegheniensis), black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis),

Woodland with Turf is the dominant cover type in the developed portion of the Park and is maintained with frequent mowing during the growing season A gap in the woodland canopy exposes mowed turf and oak leaf removal in the fall exposed to full sun

Maintained turf and rock structures at the rock Naturalized landscape planting, including some garden native plants January 20, 2017 13 Play Area Impervious Cover Several small play areas exist in the developed portion The Park’s impervious cover consists primarily of roads of the Park. These areas contain play equipment with and parking areas. According to City staff, some of the slides, swings and other structures. Park’s parking areas are under-utilized and could be converted to some form of vegetation, especially at Water locations where excessive runoff from impervious cover The sole open water in the Park is the constructed fish is causing erosion downslope. An outdoor storage pond in the rock garden. This artificial pond contains area and landscaping debris dumping area, located koi (Asian fish), which are overwintered inside park in the southwestern portion of the Park is mapped as facilities when the pond is drained. A small stand of impervious cover due to the compacted, bare soils emergent wetland vegetation exists at the edge of the there. A patch of invasive Japanese hop (Humulus rock-rimmed pond japonicus) was observed near this dump/storage area. Building The many buildings in the Park include the Terrace Room, Veranda Rooms, Indian Room, Bridge Complex, East Room, Annex, Band Shell, Open Air Pavilion, Riverfront Pavilion, Eagle’s View Pavilion, Shiras Memorial Pavilion, Tri-State Pavilion, and Log Cabin Pavilion. Roof runoff from these buildings did not appear to be causing conspicuous erosion problems at the Park because most runoff flows to turf on relatively level ground. Nevertheless, where building rooftops drain to a ravine, the situation could be improved by managing runoff near the building using rain gardens, which can be designed to not clash with the formal aesthetics of the building. One of several play structures in the Park

Fish pond water feature in rock garden Landscape debris and storage area

Historic Caldwell building Historic Log Cabin Pavilion 14 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 3.6 Wildlife Exhibit 7. These can be thought of as core habitats for the more sensitive wildlife species, depending on the Incidental and Nearby Observations animal group. Insects, small mammals, reptiles and Wildlife surveys were not conducted at Eagle Point Park. amphibians are more likely to find core habitat for Incidental wildlife observations during AES’s fieldwork breeding here, while larger mammals and many species and discussions with City staff indicate the following of sensitive birds may not. species used the park Species of Greatest Conservation Need Table 2 - Incidental Wildlife Observations at Eagle Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) is a Point Park wildlife classification for regional conservation purposes; Mammals Birds Amphibians & many of these species are classified as specialists, and Reptiles they are commonly found in higher quality or large White-tailed Bald eagle Western rat core habitats. SGCN include state-listed species and deer snake non-listed species that are regionally rare or in decline, Fox Turkey vulture often as a result of habitat loss. While most are not yet endangered, they may become so in the future Gray squirrel American robin unless people become aware and manage for them. Chipmunk House wren The Sustainable Dubuque plan supports conservation White- of biodiversity. This would be accomplished through breasted wildlife habitat restoration atE agle Point Park. nuthatch The Iowa DNR publication, Securing a Future for Fish and Wild turkey Wildlife: A Conservation Legacy for Iowans (Iowa DNR 2015) presents a statewide analysis of SGCN, including Eagle Point Park is a migratory stopover for birds using their major habitat types. Table 3 lists statewide the Mississippi Flyway, a continental migration corridor. SGCN species by habitat class. Not surprisingly, SGCN Forty-seven species of birds have been recorded at of grasslands and wetlands exceed those of other Eagle Point Park (Iowa Ornithologists’ Union 2016), and habitats due to the disappearance of native grassland at the nearby Mines of Spain 213 species of birds have and even pasture and hay meadow from much of Iowa. been reported (Friends of the Mines of Spain 2016a). Forest birds likewise are experiencing disproportionate While the Park is likely used by a variety of bird species, decline, as are creatures of rivers and streams. the invasive shrubs and trees that have colonized portions of the park reduce the habitat value of the Eagle Point Park supports habitat that SGCN species plant communities here. The nearby Mines of Spain may occupy. The Park’s natural areas are dominated is reportedly used by a moderate diversity of wildlife by forest. The steep, forested, northeast-facing slopes species not detected during AES’s surveys, including appear to have characteristics of maderate cliffs, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians (Friends of the which are defined by the Minnesota DNR (Minnesota Mines of Spain 2016b). Some of these species may DNR 2005) as, “cool, moist, moss-dominated plant use Eagle Point Park, but a wildlife inventory would be communities on shaded northwest- to northeast-facing necessary to determine which ones. cliffs in karst landscapes… The community supports northern plants… and Pleistocene land snails.” In the Based on AES’s incidental observations and familiarity context of SGCN, the Park’s Woodland with Turf would with the region, there appears to be a moderate variety be considered “Forest” due to the almost continuous and abundance of wildlife using Eagle Point Park. canopy cover. The Park’s Bluff Woodland harboring However, many are considered “generalists.” Generalists small patches of limestone bluff prairie would be are wildlife that persist and even thrive in a variety of considered “Shrubland.” Other SGCN habitats of environments, including cities, suburbs, farmland, and Wetlands, Agricultural Lands, and Aquatic Habitats are degraded natural areas. Generalists do not have narrow essentially absent from the site. habitat and dietary needs provided by high quality or large natural areas, which allows them to build up Although current forest is the dominant habitat at the large populations. By contrast, “specialists” are wildlife Park, other habitats exist today or could be restored species that have specific environmental needs, such as with management. The Iowa DNR (2015) provides SGCN particular habitat, dietary, or breeding requirements. lists for “Open Woodlands and Savannas,” “Maderate Specialists are less common than generalists, more often Cliffs and Algific Talus Slopes,” and “Goat and Bluff found in larger and higher quality habitats, and are more Prairies.” Although only small areas of the Park harbor sensitive to environmental change. Large, continuous such habitats, these SGCN could serve as indicators of wildlife habitats in and around the Park are shown in the success of restoration. For example, duringE A S’s January 20, 2017 15 August 2016 field review, a 3-4 foot long adult western A primary strategy to conserve SGCN is to, “Protect rat snake (Elaphe obsolete, see photo) was seen. This and enhance existing habitats that benefit SGCN.” SGCN is one of our native arboreal constrictors that Implementing the recommendations in this ERMP is suns and prowls on tree limbs and rock outcrops where expected to significantly improve the park’s natural it feeds on birds, bird eggs, and small mammals (Phillips habitats and in turn attract and support more of the et al. 1999). region’s terrestrial SGCN.

Table 3: Summary of Habitat Preferences of SGCN Statewide by Habitat Class (Iowa DNR 2015) trial ds ammals ussels ir nails ish erres otal Amphibians Reptiles B Butterflies Crayfish & Dragonflies Damselflies F M M T S T Terrestrial Habitat Classes 28 55 149 56 2 8 2 35 0 5 340 Forests 7 10 29 11 - - - 12 - 5 74 Shrubland 1 3 14 - - - - 2 - - 20 Grasslands 8 21 34 26 1 - - 11 - - 101 Wetlands 8 13 47 13 1 8 2 6 - - 98 Agricultural Lands 4 8 25 6 - - - 4 - - 47

Aquatic Habitat Classes 23 47 88 5 9 46 126 10 54 0 408 River 4 13 34 - 3 - 48 5 34 - 150 Stream 5 10 29 5 5 17 38 5 14 - 128 Lake, Reservoir, Impoundment 6 8 23 - - 6 18 - 2 - 63 Backwater/Oxbow 2 7 - - - 1 16 - - - 26 Pond 6 9 2 - 1 13 6 - 4 - 41

Total 51 102 237 61 11 54 128 45 54 5 748 Note: Individual species are assigned to more than one habitat type if appropriate, so the total number of species exceeds the total number of SGCN

Rat snake, an SGCN in decline, hunting in Eagle Point Park’s Bluff Woodland

16 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 3.7 Rare Natural Features & Ecological Sites 4 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AES requested an “Environmental Review for Natural 4.1 Cultural Resources Resources” from the Iowa DNR’s Sovereign Lands • Cultural resources are found primarily on the & Environmental Review Coordinator. The request summit of the Park. included a general description of Eagle Point Park and a statement of the City’s intent to plan and implement • Eagle Point Park National Register of Historic Places ecological and stormwater enhancements. No records Historic District nomination is in progress. of rare species or significant natural communities • Cultural resources could constrain the location and were identified by the Iowa DNR search; however, type of restoration and stormwater best practices the need to protect Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis work in a few areas on the summit. septentrionalis) was mentioned. This federally 4.2 Water and Hydrology threatened species has the potential to use the Park. • A single aquatic habitat is the artificial fish pond in The Iowa DNR’s response is provided as Appendix C. northern park. As of May 2016, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Concentrated runoff from roads, parking, roofs, and (USFWS) did not have any records of NLEB roost trees turf is causing mild to severe erosion. or hibernacula in Dubuque County (USFWS 2016a). White-nose syndrome, a fungus that kills hibernating • Best approach to control or eliminate erosion is to bats in North America, has been spreading rapidly reduce the surface area of impervious cover and across the U.S. Eagle Point Park is within the white- turf, to capture and slow runoff before it reaches nose syndrome zone (USFWS et al. 2016). USFWS NLEB the Park’s slopes, and to repair ravines on case-by- guidelines recommend against tree removal during the case basis, as follows: pup rearing season (June 1 through July 31) within the ÊÊ Some will self-heal simply by reducing the white-nose syndrome zone (USFWS 2016b). runoff reaching them; In addition to USFWS guidelines, the Iowa DNR’s ÊÊ Some near human activity areas are dangerous referenced bat guidelines (Iowa DNR no date) identify or unsightly and should be repaired; suitable summer habitat for Indiana bat (and NLEB) ÊÊ One ravine harms a downhill landowner and as having the following within a one-half or one mile should be addressed. radius of a location: 4.3 Vegetation 1. Forest cover of 10 percent or greater within one- • Woodland with Turf on summit, Mesic and Dry- half mile. Mesic Forests on slopes, and Bluff Woodland 2. Permanent water within one-half mile. (former BluffPrairie & Savanna) are important plant 3. The potential roost trees ranked as moderate or communities in the Park. high for peeling or loose bark within one mile. • Invasive plants harm the Park’s plant communities Use of Eagle Point Park by NLEB cannot be ruled out. and wildlife by displacing native plants in The Park meets criteria 1 and 2, and likely contains groundcover; reducing pollinator nectar and pollen; trees that meet criteria 3. The guidelines recommend reducing fruit and seed foods; preventing native that tree-cutting in suitable habitat should not occur tree regeneration in forest, and contributing to soil from April 1 through September 30, with the shorter erosion on slopes. pup-rearing season being critical. This federal guidance • Leaf disposal smothers plant life, especially at forest suggests that tree clearing at Eagle Point Park, even edges. for ecological restoration, should be restricted to early • Lack of regular disturbance over several decades October through March. This is the typical period has significantly reduced the area of former Bluff for tree removal in ecological restoration projects. Prairie & Savanna. The presence or absence of NLEB in the Park can be determined following USFWS summer survey guidance • Turf, roads, parking areas, and buildings have (USFWS 2016c). reduced the size of contiguous natural areas, shrinking wildlife habitat. The abandoned mine shaft opening on the Park’s northeast cliff face has the potential to be a bat • The Park supports at least one uncommon plant hibernaculum. Bat use of this mine shaft should be (Great Plains ladies tresses). investigated. If a hibernaculum is present, the Park could be an important foraging area in the fall and spring before and after emergence of hibernating bats.

January 20, 2017 17 4.4 Wildlife The ecosystem model developed for Eagle Point Park • The most abundant species in the Park appear to considers the distant past, conditions in the recent be generalists. past and current time, and predicted future scenarios considering disturbance regimes and other factors that • The Park supports, or has the potential with influence the Park’s plants and animals. This informs restoration to support, core habitat for Mesic the general restoration approach and the long-term Forest, Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland, and Bluff management needed to replace natural disturbances Prairie/Savanna. that formerly maintained the biodiversity of the Park, • The Park supports at least one SGCN (black rat stabilized the soils and slopes, and allowed for plants snake) and animals to gradually change as the environment changed—ensuring resilience despite future changes. 5 ECOSYSTEM MODEL FOR 5.2 Conditions of the Distant Past (before 1800) RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT The early settlers of European descent, arriving in northeast Iowa and the Eagle Point Park area in the 5.1 Ecosystem Model early 1830s, came into a landscape inhabited and Ecosystem models are useful planning tools, which modified by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. consider past conditions, influences over time, projected Those original indigenous inhabitants, integrated into future conditions, and the implications for ecological the workings of the ecosystems, continually modified restoration and management.E lements of an ecosystem their environment by deliberately using fire, building model include plant species composition and structure, dwellings and ceremonial structures such as mounds, associated wildlife, natural disturbance regimes, plant mining and farming, and transporting from distant successional pathways, responses to human use, and locations plants for food, medicine, and ceremonies. predicted future conditions given different restoration In short, the indigenous people were an active force in and management activities as well as environmental shaping what we today term original, native, historical, changes, such as increasing temperature and rainfall. or pre-settlement vegetation. Most of these conditions are represented by, or The early Archaic culture peoples (circa 6,000 years reflective of, the site’s plant communities. BCE) included the tribe known as Meskwaki (Sac and Without regular disturbances, plant communities lose Fox) as well as those who occupied the area closer in species and become less resilient (i.e., less able to change time to western settlement. They lived in a complex as environmental conditions change). Conserving bluff landscape, a mosaic of prairie and savanna, with biodiversity depends on retaining plant species and thus more persistent and denser forests in ravines, on north- making plant communities more resilient. By restoring facing slopes, and on the alluvial floodplain soils. native ecosystems and establishing a sustainable The General Land Office (GLO) notes from the 1830s management regime (including disturbances such as to 1860s on vegetation and bearing trees also reveal prescribed fire), program goals can be achieved. a much more open landscape than today, recording Wildlife species also respond to plant community prairies, glades (i.e., prairies on bedrock), grassy biodiversity, persisting or disappearing as plant sloughs, rivers, brushy areas and forests. The Native communities change. Numbers of pollinators, for Americans used fire to clear woodlands and brush, example, rise and fall with the amount of flowering that open up land for cultivation, create habitat for game happens. Where few plants flower from April through species and berry- and nut-producing plants, and clear October, few pollinators find sufficient nectar and pollen sight-lines for self-defense and security. The coarse- to sustain populations. Even with disturbances that sustain them, ecosystems can change if overwhelming change happens, such as the loss of species due to a northward shift in species ranges (e.g., see Chen et al. 2011). On the other hand, when new plants migrate into a plant community that is losing species, resilience may be improved. Fortunately, the Park has a variety of plant communities, which may allow plant species to move within Park boundaries, instead of depending on migration from distant natural areas, such as theM ines of Spain. Frederic Remington’s painting, “The Grass Fire” (Wikipedia Commons) 18 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA scale pre-settlement vegetation map shows Dubuque 5.3 Recent Historical and Present Conditions to be “heavily timbered.” The actual GLO notes, (1800-2016) however, state that most treed areas were described Since the early 1800s, European settlement and fire with phrases such as “thinly timbered” or “uneven suppression eliminated the critical disturbance of prairie with some scattering of oaks.” This suggests regular burning. By the late 1800s, forests in the Park a more open landscape than forest. In the 1838 GLO had increased dramatically with an equal decrease in survey, the most sizable trees available in the vicinity of prairie and savanna. Tillable prairies were immediately section corners (used as bearing trees to mark section converted to crops and others on steeper slopes became lines and corners) included white ash, maple, elm, bur pastures. Prairie that was not cropped or grazed was oak, hackberry, and willow—trees that grew in a range colonized by early successional trees and shrubs, such of sunlight, from forest to prairie and grassy marsh. as red cedar, cherries, hackberry, sumac and dogwood. A site’s vegetation pattern at any moment is dictated Prairies with oak grubs and shrubs grew, over 20-30 by its geomorphology, the greater landscape context, years, to oak forest, which lacked a prairie groundcover and disturbance, both human (farming, tree-cutting, because of the dense shad. If livestock were allowed grazing, construction and natural (wildfire, windthrow, to graze, many prairie plants persisted among the wildlife grazing). The type and depth of bedrock, the tree and shrubs. Overall, however, the landscape was aridity or moisture of soils, and a site’s topography also transformed to a forest ecosystem with sun-requiring come into play. Vegetation is profoundly influenced prairie and savanna plants retreating to the driest or by topography—the steepness and aspect of slopes regularly—though not severely—disturbed places. (aspect is the direction a slope faces). With the establishment of Eagle Point Park in 1908, the The Park lies in the Driftless Area, a region defined by summit’s former prairies and savannas, then pastures extremely limited evidence of direct glaciation, the and meadows, were brought into park maintenance ages and composition of bedrock, and certain flora and landscaping work. At some point soon after, the and fauna. Within this geomorphological framework, pastures and meadows were converted to turf in which today’s forested landscape still echoes the pre-1830 maturing trees persisted but understory saplings, vegetation patterns. Before 1800, extensive prairies shrubs, and native groundcover was eliminated.E xhibit covered blufftops and summits where wind had picked 3 shows the 1930s aerial photograph where more open up then deposited fine-textured loess from glacial river tree canopies and clearings than today are evident. valleys to the west. Depending on the frequency and timing of fires over many years, some prairies would have scattered trees and brush; today such areas would be called savanna. In frequently burned areas bur and other oaks would continuously sprout from roots, known to the white settlers as “oak grubs,” and if fire did not return for a decade or more, rapid colonizers such as red cedar, pin cherry, and choke cherry would establish. To the GLO survey crews such areas would appear as brush—neither forest nor prairie nor even scattered trees. For example, one early vegetation map of the Dubuque region classes the vegetation as “hardwoods, prairie, or brush,” suggesting a complicated mixture of plant communities. On slopes facing south, west and southwest, drier conditions and thin soil allowed the long-term persistence of grassy plant communities termed bluff or goat prairies. Scattered small bedrock exposures throughout the region also harbored prairie, which came to be called glades. These prairie locations still remain, sometimes supporting herbaceous plant species that are rare in the state if not the nation. As they do today, the dense forest areas would have occupied Postcard: Rustic Driveway of Eagle Point Park, with a slopes facing north to east, protected from intense fires relatively open understory through which one could by steep topography and moister conditions. Exhibit 8 see for hundreds of feet, much different than the shows a conceptual rendering of the Park’s pre-1800 closed-in forests of today (Encyclopedia Dubuque vegetation. 2016) January 20, 2017 19 The following excerpt was taken from the on-line dry, southerly to westerly exposures. These would resource Encyclopedia Dubuque (2016). be species of prairies and savannas – both native The development of the forestry stage of Eagle Point and invasive species. Park has been credited to P. L. Phelps, a forestry expert from Rockford, Illinois, and former supervisor With Intervention of national forests in the Pacific Northwest. Under • Species diversity will be higher than today in all his direction, dead timber, trees stunting the growth plant communities. of other trees, and trees blocking road construction • Nectar and pollen resources will be more abundant were removed. The park is noted for its diverse native than today due to the provision of continuous trees. These include red oak, black oak, white oak, burr oak, white birch, black cherry, pin cherry, choke blooming from April to October, providing nectar cherry, hawthorne crab apple, cotton wood, gray and pollen during the entire growing season. poplar, linden, white elms, red elms, juneberry, aspen, • Sensitive and specialist wildlife species will find willow, plum and sycamore. Trees planted in the park more acres of habitat. include pines, spruce, juniper and sugar maples. Native • Migratory habitat for passerine birds will be of high shrubbery include gray dogwood, red dogwood, red sumac, staghorn sumac, bittersweet, sheepberry, and quality. roses. • Erosion and associated infrastructure damages will Other changes at Eagle Point Park include the be reduced, and therefore more affordable, despite establishment and spread of invasive shrubs, especially precipitation trends. common buckthorn and Asian honeysuckles. Brought • Plant communities will be more open in canopy and by horticulturists and gardeners as hedgerow and understory, especially if predicted drought patterns decorative shrubs, these fire-intolerant species have occur. invaded the site’s forests and woodlands, competed with Restoration Potential native shrubs and saplings, inhibited oak regeneration, and extirpated many ground layer species by casting Fortunately, the Park is largely vegetated with plant dense shade. Other aggressive plants have also invaded communities that already contain a significant native the Park, changing species composition, structure, and element. This considerably reduces the effort required ecological functions. Exhibit 6 illustrates the Park’s to achieve the restoration and management goals of existing conditions. this ERMP. Rather than beginning a restoration with cropland or parking lot, most of the Park’s restoration 5.4 Anticipated Future Conditions (2050 Without will involve “enhancement”. Existing plant communities and With Intervention) will be enhanced, with seeding and planting needed in What will Eagle Point Park look like in 2050? We explore small areas, or using low-cost and low-diversity native two possible scenarios. seed mixes as a cover crop. The Park’s plant communities targeted for restoration follow. Without Intervention Mesic Forest. The restoration potential of the Park’s Without ecological restoration and management at the Mesic Forest is very high due to the oak-dominated Park, and assuming current climate trends continue, the canopy and the diverse native understory flora, following changes would be expected over the coming together with a presumed seedbank which may decades. be intact. Steep bluff slopes, however, make access • Invasive and shade-tolerant woody plants will difficult to safely and efficiently carry out management increase in dominance in all plant communities activities, and steep, bare slopes may have lost their in both the tree canopy and understory, reducing seedbank, requiring more aggressive restoration overall plant species diversity through shading and efforts to bring back a diverse native groundcover. root competition. Dry-Mesic Forest and Dry-Mesic Forest (Young). The • Sensitive & specialist wildlife species will decrease. restoration potential here is moderate due to the past • Forests may be less suitable for migratory passerine disturbance history, a shade-suppressed and low- birds. diversity understory, and the presence of invasive • Erosion will worsen given sparse groundcover, species. West of the tennis courts the challenge is trends of increasing precipitation, resulting in especially great because of the dense growth of greater damages to Park infrastructure. invasive black locust, the lack of stabilizing ground • If future climate predictions are realized, the cover, and existing severe erosion. There is virtually site will experience more droughts, possibly no fuel for a surface fire—no flammable grass or oak encouraging drought-resistant plants, especially on leaf litter. This will severely limit the ability to use 20 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA prescribed burning as a management tool until the proposed land cover map) for Eagle Point Park assuming canopy is opened slightly, the understory thinned, and ecological restoration and management interventions. grasses begin to grow. Black locust readily colonizes prairies and savannas, so its removal is highly recommended, despite the fact that this will open the 6 VISION , PRINCIPLES & GOALS canopy and encourage the growth of invasive shrubs 6.1 Background and ground layer plants. For this reason, restoration Eagle Point has for centuries been a Mississippi River of the area west of the tennis courts will require a landmark. Its cultural history dates back millennia to carefully-considered plan. mound-building Indians, French miners and traders, Bluff Woodland. This area has high restoration steamboat pilots, and renowned architects. It has potential due to the existing native plant diversity been a showcase for Prairie-style park architecture and and presumed native seedbank. The great challenge quiet respite for hundreds of thousands of Dubuque’s here is to safely and carefully remove woody plants— townspeople over the decades. Dubuque has decided the thin soils are highly susceptible to compaction, that the Park’s natural resources should become just as damaging plant roots, and the vegetation is easily noteworthy as its cultural and architectural resources. broken off and trampled, reducing its cover and potentially reducing the size of plant populations.T he 6.2 Vision Statement lady’s tresses orchid warrants particular care because Vision statements are created to convey lofty, aspiring it is easily broken off during the growing season. goals for a specific endeavor. The following vision Opening the area up may also attract visitors who statement was developed for environmental restoration could damage the soil and vegetation. Consequently and management at Eagle Point Park. the restoration and management of this area should Eagle Point Park is Dubuque’s premier park for engaging be carried out with foot traffic control measures and with the rich natural and cultural history of Iowa’s a public education campaign. Mississippi River bluffs. Local residents and visitors Woodland with Turf. Select portions of Woodland from far away come to the Park to learn about the with Turf are proposed to be converted to Woodland site’s heritage, to appreciate its unique architecture with Natives.T he restoration potential here is unclear and spectacular views, to enjoy active and passive due to the frequent mowing. The oak canopy is recreation, and to escape the city by immersing intact, which is a huge benefit to restoration. Here themselves in natural landscapes. and there AES ecologists detected tiny native plants 6.3 Planning Principles which, if released from mowing, could expand and Planning principles are truisms, established for a specific develop into a diverse native ground cover.T his could project and useful in the development of project goals. be helped along by planting a native cover crop of The following planning principles have been established grasses and sedges to compete with the weedy and for environmental restoration and management at invasive plants which are certainly in the seedbank Eagle Point Park. and will be released when mowing is stopped. Conversion to a native ground layer would have Overall several advantages: greater runoff infiltration; • Identify and protect the park’s sensitive natural slowing surface runoff into bordering natural areas, resources especially the steep ravines; and providing habitat • Understand historical and current conditions for pollinators and other wildlife. Naturalized areas to describe a future ecological path for natural also would become locations to collect oak leaves in resources the fall, where they could be burned during regular • Design within the limits of existing soil, hydrology, prairie and savanna prescribed burning. This would and vegetation conditions reduce the effort to manage leaf fall on mowed turf. • Create attractive and resilient plant communities Turf. Several relatively small areas ofT urf are proposed that can be managed economically to be converted to Prairie. While this represents a true conversion as opposed to “enhancement”, this • Tell the ecological story of the park to inspire people is a common practice with a high degree of success through its restoration when implemented and managed appropriately. • Bring people into the park’s ecosystems while Based on the site’s natural and cultural history, its protecting biodiversity and ecosystem resilience specific environmental conditions, and the goals for the • Set up a monitoring program, using indicators, to Park, Exhibit 9 illustrates a future vision (in the form of a document trends in natural resources and determine the success of restoration and management efforts January 20, 2017 21 Soil & Hydrology 6.4 Project Goals • Preserve stable soils and natural hydrology Based on the preceding Vision and Principles, the • Identify and design solutions to eroding soils and following goals were identified for this ERMP. natural hydrology 1. The summit’s former open character of wind- • Use bioengineering and a natural ecosystems swept limestone bluff prairies, and oak savannas approach before hardscape and gray infrastructure and woodland will be restored to a diverse array of • For impervious cover, use a treatment train, native pollinator-friendly plants and stable soils. beginning with reducing runoff at its source 2. On steep slopes the forest shade will be dappled • Design soil and hydrology solutions in the most and support a variety of native herbs, shrubs, and cost-effective way possible trees. 3. Tall, dense invasive plants all are under control. Vegetation 4. Signs of severe erosion from bygone days are • Identify and restore the rare ecological land cover replaced by gently-sloping ground in ravines; this types to prevent their disappearance is despite parking lots and rooftops on the summit • For common land cover types, generally maintain and the region’s rising rainfall. existing forest, savanna, and grassland 5. The park’s natural resources will be on a self- • Promote a natural variety of native flowering plants sustaining, resilient path to the future, despite across the growing season environmental change. • Control the invasive or aggressive native plants that 6. The diverse plant life will support hundreds of reduce biodiversity and ecological resilience species of birds, small animals, butterflies, and • Establish a vegetation structure that requires the pollinators. least effort to maintain 7. People will understand and appreciate the park’s ecosystems, which enhance the property of park Wildlife neighbors while preserving the park’s cultural • Identify and protect habitat for all wildlife heritage. • Create the largest, most round as possible, habitats 8. The City easily maintains the natural resources for forest, savanna, and grassland species using techniques that cost less than maintaining • Identify and design to reduce wildlife-damaging turf and other manicured landscapes; infrastructure edge effects from adjacent properties repairs are minor because soil is stable. In ten years, • Install special habitat features (nest boxes, etc.) restoration and management pays for itself in lower maintenance and repair costs. • Identify and seek to make connections to similar habitat on nearby conservation lands Human Use • Identify and protect cultural resources • Define management units and access points to make management easier • Identify natural areas for minimal use, and locations that can accommodate higher use • Monitor trail and off-trail use to detect problems early • Conduct an annual walkabout to prepare the annual work plan for natural resources • Recruit organizations, experts and volunteers to help maintain and monitor natural resources

22 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 7 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AND 7.2 Invasive Vegetation MANAGEMENT Invasive plant species often become established and thrive in disturbed habitats, often dominating and 7.1 Restoration and Management Stages and outcompeting native plants. Invasive plants typically Approach possess the following characteristics: Ecological restoration and management occurs in two • Tolerant of a variety of habitat/environmental stages. conditions (e.g., soils, hydrology) 1. Restoration and Short-Term Management. This • Grow and reproduce rapidly, often with good seed initial stage is the most intensive and costly. dispersion strategies Significant effort is often necessary to reestablish native vegetation and plant community structure in • Compete aggressively for resources (e.g., nutrients, a short period of time. Actions include tasks such water, sunlight) as selective woody brush removal, spraying invasive • Lack natural enemies or pests in their new species with herbicide, native seeding and planting, ecosystem and using bio-control techniques when available. Invasive plants can lead to low plant diversity, lower After invasive plants are removed and native seed wildlife habitat quality, and a lower resilience in the face and plants are installed, short-term management of disturbances and environmental change. Therefore, is critical. The period of time required to complete the control of invasive plants often is a major issue, this restoration and short-term management stage foundational to and an early phase of most ecological varies depending on the condition of the ecological restoration and management programs. system, its response to restoration efforts, as well During Park activities, including implementation of as the size of the site and intensity and scope of ecological restoration and management, there are the restoration work. Typically this initial stage opportunities to inadvertently introduce invasive requires about three years for a given management species or spread them across a site. Appendix D unit, after which the perpetual management stage provides guidelines developed by the Minnesota DNR begins. to avoid such introduction or spread of invasive species. 2. Perpetual Management. After achieving initial 7.3 Proposed Native Plant Communities restoration goals within a management unit, the restoration process shifts to a reduced- The proposed native plant communities are those intervention, lower-cost perpetual management largely self-sustaining ecological combinations of stage. The perpetual management stage is critical species that are expected to develop at the site as a for maintaining the value of the investment, result of implementing this ERMP. We recommend that perpetuating healthy plant communities, and the majority of the site’s existing plant communities be maximizing the ecological and aesthetic benefits enhanced, and only limited areas undergo conversion of the native plant communities. This perpetual to a truly new vegetation community. The relationship management provides long-term control of invasive between existing and proposed plant communities is species, remedial seeding/planting as necessary, shown in Table 4. and maintains necessary disturbance regimes (e.g., For example, existing Mesic Forests will remain as fire) within the management units. such, but will be enhanced by removal of invasive To carry out these two stages, work tasks are typically species, selective thinning of aggressive native trees listed and scheduled over a multi-year period for and shrubs, and with limited plantings to diversify the each management unit (or sub-unit). Once work canopy, understory, and ground layer vegetation and begins in a management unit, it is important that all improve wildlife habitat (including for pollinators). tasks be completed in sequence, or the restoration More aggressive replacement of vegetation will occur goals for that unit may not be achieved. in select areas of Woodland with Turf, where turf grass will be replaced by native, short-statured, prairie and savanna grasses and wildflowers. Complete conversion of vegetation will only occur in Turf areas where there are no trees; these will be converted to a short-statured Prairie in order to not conflict with the aesthetics of the nearby developed and turf areas. Where native vegetation abuts pavement, a mowed strip will separate it from the pavement. Exhibit 9 illustrates the proposed native plant communities for the Park. January 20, 2017 23 Section 11 discusses in detail the restoration and species should be used, not cultivars and horticultural management tasks needed to establish Eagle Point varieties. Substitutions for specified seed and plant Park’s proposed native plant communities. The materials may be necessary in response to availability following photographs illustrate the proposed healthy and pricing of native plant materials. Every effort native plant communities as well as some unhealthy should be made to substitute unavailable species with plant communities. those that match the ecological purpose of unavailable If possible, native plant materials used in ecological species. Appendix E provides recommended native restorations should have a source-origin within 200 plant and seed mixes for the Park’s natural areas and miles of the project area, and only native, wild-type turf areas to be naturalized.

Table 4 - Changes from Existing to Proposed Plant Communities

Existing Plant Acres Proposed Plant Acres Major Changes Community Community Mesic Forest 11.93 Enhanced Mesic 11.93 Invasive plants removed, understory thinned, Forest erosion reduced Dry-Mesic Forest 30.78 Dry Mesic Forest/ 42.23 Invasive plants removed, understory thinned, Woodland erosion reduced Dry-Mesic Forest 12.56 Dry Mesic Forest/ - (Acres included above - more effort required to (Young) Woodland improve quality) Bluff Woodland 3.75 Bluff Prairie/Savanna 4.85 Invasive and most woody plants removed Woodland with 28.97 Woodland with 14.87 Turf converted to native herbaceous vegetation Turf Natives Turf 4.52 Prairie 2.98 Impervious Cover 12.7 Project Amount of Impervious cover reduced for native Specific vegetation plantings and stormwater best practices

Healthy Mesic Forest

Unhealthy Forest/Woodland, represented by low native species diversity, dense invasive shrubs, and other weedy vegetation

Healthy Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland 24 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Unhealthy Savanna, represented by mature oaks Healthy Savanna (Woodland with Natives) with maintained turf understory

Unhealthy Bluff Prairie & Savanna, mostly due to buckthorn invasion (photo taken at the Park)

Healthy Bluff Prairie & Savanna Paved trail through restored Prairie, (photo taken at the Park) showing mowed strips January 20, 2017 25 8 CULTURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION 9 STORMWATER BEST PRACTICES The Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey of Eagle 9.1 Best Practices for Eagle Point Park Point Park (Wapsi 2016) and discussions with City staff Eagle Point Park has experienced erosion due to allowed the consultant team to develop the following inadequately managed stormwater runoff. However, avoidance ratings for protecting the Park’s cultural along with ecological restoration, the many opportunities resources when implementing the ERMP (Table 5). to better manage runoff will also present attractive and Avoidance ratings appear inE xhibit 10. educational opportunities in the Park. The Iowa Storm Table 5 - Cultural Resources Avoidance Ratings for Water Management Manual (ISWMM, Iowa DNR 2009) Eagle Point Park lists various non-structural and structural strategies for managing runoff. Structural strategies involve Avoidance Rating Recommendation education and changes in management practices, while structural refers to constructed, engineered and High (confirmed surface No soil disturbance vegetated systems. Based on our field observations features) and discussions with City staff, EA S developed a suite of Moderate (confirmed Careful/limited soil recommended best practices for improving stormwater or potential subgrade disturbance management at Eagle Point Park (Exhibit 11). features) Soil Quality Restoration (SQR) Low (Caldwell-designed Context-sensitive While often overlooked, soil health is an important landscape) alteration (soil and component of landscapes. Much of Eagle Point Park vegetation) consists of maintained turf. Conventional park uses None (features unlikely) No restrictions and management practices result in compacted soils with reduced organic matter and beneficial microbes. Staff of Wapsi Valley Archaeology recommend that the As stated in the ISWMM (Iowa DNR 2009), “The goal High-rated areas may require special treatment, but that of soil quality management and restoration (and other wherever cultural resources occur, any vegetation or soil infiltration-based stormwater management practices) disturbance for restoration and management should be is for urban landscapes to mimic the hydrologic done after thoughtful consideration. Following these functionality of the native pre-settlement landscapes, recommendations represents a prudent approach to at least for the more commonly occurring small storm avoid impacts to the Park’s cultural resources while events. This is achieved through the protection or implementing ecological restoration and management creation of soil profiles having at least 40% pore space, activities and construction and maintenance of 2% (3-5% preferred) organic matter content, and a stormwater best practices. Applicable federal, state, healthy population of soil microbes and other species of and local laws should be followed at all times to ensure soil dwellers.” Through techniques such as soil aeration compliance with cultural resources regulations. and thin-spreading compost, soil health is improved, promoting a significant increase in infiltration. SQRis a low-cost practice that reduces runoff near its source, potentially reducing the need (and cost) of other stormwater best practices. Convert to Native Vegetation Converting compacted turf areas to aesthetically- appropriate native vegetation is an effective strategy for source reduction of runoff, especially when applied to large and/or strategic areas that generate significant runoff. This conversion can significantly increase infiltration of runoff into the soil, reducing the volume and rate of runoff reaching downslope receptors, such as eroding ravines. Infiltration can be further enhanced with soil aeration (conducted during vegetation conversion), especially in areas of compacted soil. Under-utilized turf or paved areas in the Park could be converted to native vegetation – or to other best practices, such as rain gardens or bioswales. Exhibit

26 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 9 illustrates areas that can be converted to native possibly refined when designing vegetated stormwater vegetation (Woodland with Natives, Prairie), andE xhibit best practices. 11 shows additional conversion opportunities (Convert Permeable Surfaces to Native Vegetation, Infiltration Area), primarily along the loop road on the summit and in some parking lots. Permeable pavers or other pervious surfaces are another infiltration technique, with the added benefit Runoff Diverters of providing driving and parking surfaces. Permeable One method to minimize “directly connected surfacing could be applied in many of the Infiltration impervious areas” (a strategy in the Iowa Storm Water Areas discussed above. Exhibit 11 shows a potential use Management Manual) is to install low barriers (e.g., of a permeable surface near the north end of the Park, speed bumps) that divert runoff into areas where a best along the north access drive. stormwater practice can be constructed.T wo such areas Stabilize Headcuts have been identified at the Park: Project Area J near the bald eagle statue, and Project Area L in the Log Cabin Several eroding ravines were identified at the Park, Pavilion parking lot. Runoff diverters in these locations most of which are experiencing headcut erosion. A would direct runoff to “islands” in existing pavement headcut forms when, over time, high flow rates cut into where rain gardens or other infiltration systems could the bottom of a drainageway. This is called an incised be installed (see inset maps). drainageway. The downcutting creates a steep or vertical drop below where runoff enters the drainageway, which RunoffRunoff Diverter Diverter then leads to more erosion and even the formation of Runoff Diverter a deep hole, called a plunge pool. Headcuts tend to J InfiltrationInfiltration Area Area Infiltration Area migrate up a drainageway unless a natural obstruction J Runoff Diverter RunoffRunoff Flow Path Flow Path Runoff Diverter prevents uphill migration, or unless people intervene Runoff Flow Path J ElevationElevationInfiltration Contour Area Contour(2-ft interval) to reduce runoff or stabilize the erosion. Headcuts and J (2-ftInfiltration interval) Area Elevation Contour (2-ft interval) their downstream ravines should be assessed on a case- OtherRunoff Convert Flow to Path Native Vegetation OtherRunoff FlowConvert Path to by-case basis to determine the stabilization that may Other Convert to Native Vegetation BuildingNativeElevation ContourVegetation (2-ft interval) Elevation Contour (2-ft interval)be warranted. Ideally this should be pursued only after Building BuildingOther Convert to Native Vegetation Impervious Surface reducing the volume and rate of runoff arriving from an Other Convert to Native Vegetation Impervious Surface upslope source. Upslope runoff management may allow ImperviousBuilding Surface Building passive “self-healing” of some headcuts and ravines L Impervious Surface and avoid additional intervention. However, even with L Impervious Surface improved runoff management upslope, some ravine L headcuts will likely require stabilization for safety, L infrastructure protection, or aesthetic reasons.

Two locations within the Park identified as Retrofit Existing Basins opportunities for runoff diverters Several small stormwater management basins exist in the Park. Some of these appeared to be functioning Infiltration Areas as designed, but some were clogged or constructed Another method to promote even greater infiltration with limited attention to ecological functioning. While of runoff than native vegetation is to use rain gardens simple and affordable maintenance and repair would and infiltration basins. These infiltration systems be a prudent first step in these basins, retrofitting them are most effective in areas that can easily receive to increase performance may also be cost-effective. gravity-flow runoff; they should be properly sized and Retrofitting may include a combination of re-grading the designed to adequately treat the runoff they receive. basin shape, adding soil amendments, and re-designing Due to the Park’s silt loam soils (which are not highly the outlet structure to better control the rate of water permeable) and shallow bedrock, soil amendments of leaving the basin. sand and compost may be warranted; underdrains to 9.2 Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices keep the receiving area dry may also be advantageous. Stormwater management issues are often best Vegetated infiltration systems also provide some addressed by combining best practices. Based on the filtration and evapotranspiration functions, even when severity, safety concerns, infrastructure threats, and actual infiltration to the soil is limited. Appendix E visibility of the Park’s stormwater issues, Exhibit 12 provides an example native seed mix for a rain garden shows a preliminary prioritization of projects. Project or similar bioinfiltration area, but site-specific factors areas and applicable best practice(s) are summarized in must be considered and seed lists and live plant lists Table 6. January 20, 2017 27 10 MONITORING, ADAPTIVE enhancement program, including implementation of MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING stormwater best practices. As discussed previously, this “adaptive management” sets in motion a cycle 10.1 Ecological Monitoring and Adaptive of evaluation, adjustment and refinement to make Management maintenance activities most effective. It is important Monitoring of vegetation, wildlife, and areas prone that adaptive management begins when restoration to erosion provides information to evaluate and and enhancement projects begin. It requires upfront justify proposed changes to the restoration and planning and baseline data collection. Monitoring should be simple and relatively easy to implement, although plant or animal identification skills are usually Table 6 - Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices required. Ecological monitoring provides an objective at Eagle Point Park measurement of project-specific performance Project Applicable Best Practice(s) Priority standards. It feeds data into the adaptive management Area plan for the site. Monitoring and reporting should A SQR, Convert to Native High be done more frequently at the onset of project Vegetation, Infiltration Area, implementation, after which frequency can be reduced Stabilize Headcut, Retrofit over time to an intermittent level. A detailed, site- Existing Basin specific Ecological Monitoring Program for Eagle Point B SQR, Convert to Native High Park is provided in Appendix F. Vegetation, Infiltration Area, 10.2 Specialized Training Stabilize Headcut, Retrofit While useful data can be collected by amateurs, Existing Basin monitoring protocols often require a moderate level C SQR, Convert to Native High of expertise to implement accurately and consistently. Vegetation, Infiltration Area, Implementing the Ecological Monitoring Program for Stabilize Headcut, Retrofit Eagle Point Park (Appendix F) requires expertise in plant, Existing Basin bird, and butterfly identification, as well as a working D SQR, Convert to Native Medium understanding of erosion issues at the site. The City Vegetation, Infiltration Area, may wish to partner with educational institutions, state Stabilize Headcut, Retrofit agencies, the Dubuque County Conservation District, Existing Basin Iowa Ornithologists Union, or other partners to assist E SQR, Retrofit Existing Basin Low with monitoring and reporting. Consulting ecologists can also be used to provide these services. F SQR, Infiltration Area, Stabilize Low Regarding implementation of field restoration and Headcut management activities, specialized training oversight, G SQR, Convert to Native Low and guidance often involves licensing or certification Vegetation where required by local, state or federal law. Personnel H SQR, Convert to Native High involved in ecological restoration and management, Vegetation, Retrofit Existing especially prescribed burning, herbicide application, Basin (if routed to I) brush control, seed collection, erosion control, I SQR, Convert to Native Low and ecological monitoring should receive training Vegetation, Retrofit Existing commensurate with the activity in which they would Basin be involved. Special training should be provided and J SQR, Runoff Diverter, Infiltration Low caution exercised when working in Park areas identified Area to contain or potentially contain cultural resources. If cultural resources are identified at the Park, proper K SQR, Permeable Surfaces, Low procedures should be followed, consistent with the Convert to Native Vegetation State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Training is L SQR, Runoff Diverter, Infiltration Low especially important for those activities that may have Area risk and safety implications to people, property, and M Infiltration Area Low sensitive cultural resources. N SQR, Infiltration Area Low O SQR, Infiltration Area Low SQR = Soil quality restoration 28 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 11 RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT subsequent invasion and growth of buckthorn TASKS and honeysuckle, but thinning the understory and occasional canopy gaps will allow filtered 11.1 Prescribed Burning (Park-Wide) sunlight to reach the ground and promote Prescribed burning is an important and cost-effective native plant and pollinator-habitat diversity. ecological restoration and management tool – and • Woody plant clearing should be done when the one that is appropriate for more than just prairie. ground is frozen to minimize soil disturbance. The Park’s Dry-Mesic Forest and Bluff Woodland are Remove large cut trees from forest where fire-dependent systems that will benefit from careful removals are dense. In less densely cut areas, planning and proper execution of prescribed burns.E ven trim branches so the trunk lies near the ground the Park’s Mesic Forest would benefit from infrequent surface to promote decay and provide habitat. low-intensity surface fires; however, burning these • Cut material can be stacked and burned in areas is more challenging due to steep slopes and less City-approved locations, transported off-site important in the short-term. The Park’s abundant oak for biomass-to-energy burning, or used as leaf litter dropped annually in most of its forests and firewood. Care should be taken to not spread woodlands will carry a low-intensity surface fire. These buckthorn berries, seeds, and parts of invasive surface fires help remove excess leaf litter and duff, plants during removal. Handling and transport control invasive plants not adapted to fire, and develop of cut wood should follow all state and federal and sustain a diverse assemblage of native plants, which recommendations to minimize the potential together provide high quality wildlife habitat. transfer of pests such as Emerald Ash Borer, To address the problem of leaf litter disposal, which Gypsy Moth, etc. currently smothers portions of the forest ground layer, • Retain and protect existing desirable native leaf litter from turf areas should be blown into areas woody and herbaceous vegetation; this may of turf converted to native vegetation (Woodland with require avoiding the use of forestry mowers and Natives) or into the Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland where other general removal machinery. The slopes in the resulting leaf layer will not be more than three to much of the Park will probably prevent the use four inches deep. The areas where leaves are blown of mechanized woody plant removal. can be burned annually as part of prescribed burning, mimicking the frequent surface fires that occurred here • Treat invasive woody vegetation seedlings and in the past. re-sprouts with foliar herbicide in the growing season following cutting. 11.2 Enhanced Mesic Forest, Dry-Mesic Forest/ B) Control Invasive Herbaceous Plants Woodland • Use a combination of spot herbiciding, spot Enhancement of the site’s existing forests can be mowing, and prescribed burning to remove accomplished by removing invasive vegetation, invasive herbaceous vegetation. Potential selectively thinning dense or aggressive native woody species of concern are primarily garlic mustard, species in the understory, and installing native plantings. Japanese knotweed, creeping Charlie, bull If limited resources require that some areas are treated thistle, and Japanese hop. first, invasive vegetation management should focus on the highest quality areas or areas with the rarest nature • Retain and protect existing desirable native features; this is because early invasions are more easily woody and herbaceous vegetation by controlled than dense infestations. Forest enhancement appropriate timing, chemical selection, and management activities include: application method, and prescribed burning timing and methods. Selective herbicides, A) Remove Invasive Woody Species either broad-leaved or grass-specific depending • Where present, cut and stump-treat with a on circumstances, may be appropriate to contact herbicide all invasive non-native woody minimize collateral damage to desirable plants. vegetation, primarily black locust, common • A minimum of two (and likely three) herbicide buckthorn, Asian honeysuckles, oriental treatments will be required to control most bittersweet, white poplar, white mulberry, of these species and achieve performance Japanese barberry, and multiflora rose. standards (see below). • Conduct selective thinning of remaining • As these invasive plants have created a seedbank aggressive woody vegetation (mostly young which could produce seedlings for several years, black maple seedlings) in the understory. increasing the coverage of competing native Forest canopy should be maintained to reduce January 20, 2017 29 vegetation is the most effective way in the long healthier ecological community. term to reduce invasive plant germination. • Direct seeding (e.g., acorns) may be effective in C) Optional– Install Native Seed & Herbaceous Plants certain areas, but most woody plantings should • Following initial removal of invasive species, be bare root or saplings. and if the native seedbank does not respond • The goal for forest and woodland canopy is sufficiently in variety or coverage, seed with local greater than 80 percent tree canopy cover ecotype native plants. At a minimum, a native overall, which will resist colonization by most grassy cover crop is recommended to create invasive plants. At the same time, to prevent competition with invasive seedlings to give the excessive shading, woody understory cover existing native plants time to expand. Virginia by shrubs and saplings should be less than 25 wild-rye (Elymus virginicus), bottlebrush grass percent overall (Elymus hystrix), and hairy brome (Bromus E) Ecological Monitoring & Management pubescens) can be used as a low-cost native • Monitor the forest’s response to enhancement grass mix that should establish cover rapidly activities and adjust management activities and allow follow-up spraying with a broadleaf- accordingly. Special attention should be specific herbicide, if necessary. Areas seeded given to the Park’s eroding ravines, which are with rye can later be overseeded with other located within the site’s forests. Monitoring shade-tolerant forb species to increase diversity the restoration and management activities at and habitat quality. The Forest/Woodland the site will help define the best management Seed Mix in Appendix E provides species and schedule and techniques. seeding rate recommendations. In addition, volunteers can collect native seed of shade- • Being fire-dependent ecosystems, the Park’s tolerant grasses and forbs growing on the site forests and woodlands will be most cost- and hand sow them in sparse or low diversity effectively managed with well planned and areas. Over time, as the ground layer develops, executed prescribed burns. The Park’s forests it will help stabilize soils, prevent new invasion and woodlands should be burned every two by invasive and weedy plants, and restore the to four years, depending on their response to forest’s ecological composition, structure, and restoration and management. A longer rotation function. may be possible after initial restoration work is done. Prior to any burning, secure necessary • Seeding is less expensive than installing permissions, issue community notifications, (“plugging”) live plant plugs, but seeding and take appropriate precautions to protect requires more time for establishment. Many desired vegetation and infrastructure. forest species have poor seed germination and are best installed as live plants; however, the Enhanced Mesic Forest and Dry-Mesic Forest/ Forest/Woodland Seed Mix species listed in Woodland Performance Standards Appendix E generally spread well from seed. Performance standards are measurable objectives used Enhancement plugging can be conducted in to ensure that project goals are being met. Standards select areas if additional species diversity is are applied after initial restoration work is completed desired. and during the establishment period. • The goal for native ground cover vegetation is The performance standards for enhancement of the more than 75 percent overall. Park’s forest are: D) Optional – Install Native Woody Plants 1. Removal of invasive woody species (including • Install ecologically appropriate and local ecotype aggressive native thinning). Immediately following native trees and shrubs. Appendix D provides initial removal: 100 percent of stems ≥½” diameter species lists for native tree and shrub species have been removed and herbicide-treated; for appropriate for the Park. These species should stems <½” diameter, <5 percent cover (assuming preferentially be planted in light gaps in the tree leaf-off conditions) within any 100 sq ft area. canopy to promote rapid growth. Protection 2. Follow-up foliar spray (resprouts and seedlings of from deer browsing may be necessary. Native all invasive woody species). Immediately following woody plantings will help stabilize and diversify initial foliar spray: 95 percent of all resprouts and the forest, provide vegetative screening for seedlings have been herbicide-treated within any sensitive wildlife, and initiate a trajectory 100 sq ft area. towards a more natural forest structure and 3. Herbicide spot spray invasive herbaceous species. 30 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Two weeks after each spot spray treatment: 90 C) Install Native Seed and Optional Herbaceous Plants percent of all target vegetation has been herbicide- • Once turf species are removed satisfactorily, treated and 95 percent of treated plants are dead/ seed with local ecotype native seed. Appendix dying within any 100 sq ft area. E provides separate seed mixes for “Woodland 4. Initial management of invasives. For the initial with Natives” and “Prairie.” 5-year establishment period, 1) all invasive woody • Seeding is less expensive than installing live species shall not exceed 1 percent aerial cover for plant plugs, but seeding requires more time any given 100 sq ft area, and 2) all treated areas for establishment, and some prairie and of invasive herbaceous species shall be reduced in savanna species are slow to develop. Therefore cover by 75 percent. some species are best installed as live plants. 11.3 Woodland with Natives, Prairie If additional species diversity is desired, Some of the Park’s existing turf areas will be converted enhancement plugging can be conducted in to Woodland with Natives or to Prairie. This conversion select areas, such as along roads and paths, of herbaceous vegetation from turf grass to prairie/ and near buildings, signage, and other park savanna grasses, sedges, and wildflowers will entail amenities. multiple herbicide treatments to kill the existing turf D) Ecological Monitoring & Management grasses prior to installation of native seed. • Monitor response to restoration activities and A) Remove Invasive Woody Species adjust management accordingly. Restoring • Where present, cut and stump treat all invasive prairie and savanna species from seed will take non-native woody vegetation, primarily about three years, during which time patience common buckthorn, white poplar, and white and ongoing management will be required. mulberry. Monitoring of the effects of restoration and management will help define and refine the • Woody plant clearing should be done when the best management schedule and techniques. ground is frozen to minimize soil disturbance. Cut material can be stacked and burned in • Typical long-term management of these areas City-approved locations, transported off-site will include herbicide spot spraying where for biomass-to-energy burning, or used as response is poor, but prescribed burning is firewood. Care should be taken to not spread recommended as the primary management buckthorn berries, seeds, and parts of invasive tool. The Park’s Woodland with Native and plants during removal. Handling and transport Prairie should be burned every two years. Prior of cut wood should follow all state and federal to any burning, secure necessary permissions, recommendations to minimize the potential issue community notifications, and take transfer of pests such as Emerald Ash Borer, appropriate precautions to protect desired Gypsy Moth, etc. vegetation and infrastructure. • Retain and protect existing desirable native Woodland with Natives and Prairie Performance woody and herbaceous vegetation; slopes are Standards gentler in these areas, which are primarily on The performance standards for these areas are: the summit, so mowing machinery may be 1. Broadcast herbicide spray. Prior to installing native used during the establishment period to control seed and at least 4 weeks after last herbicide weedy and invasive plants. treatment, germinating turf and other undesired • Treat invasive woody vegetation seedlings and vegetation shall represent <5 percent within any re-sprouts with foliar herbicide in the growing 100 sq ft area. season following cutting. 2. Herbicide spot spray invasive herbaceous species. B) Remove Turf Grass and other Weeds Two weeks after each spot spray treatment: 90 • Use broadcast herbicide to kill existing lawn and percent of all target vegetation has been herbicide- other undesired vegetation (including, but not treated and 95 percent of treated plants are dead/ limited to creeping Charlie). A minimum of two dying within any 100 sq ft area. (and likely three) herbicide treatments will be 3. Native cover and richness. Three growing seasons required to control the turf species and achieve after seeding, native species shall represent ≥75 performance standards. percent cover. Native species richness shall be ≥15 • Retain and protect existing desirable vegetation, species, with those well distributed throughout the especially the Park’s mature oak trees. planted Prairie. January 20, 2017 31 11.4 Bluff Prairie/Savanna timing and methods. Selective herbicides, Enhancement of the site’s existing Bluff Woodland either broad-leaved or grass-specific depending and restoring it to a prairie/savanna system can on circumstances, may be appropriate to be accomplished by removing invasive vegetation, minimize collateral damage to desirable plants. selective thinning of dense or aggressive woody species, C) Optional – Install Native Seed & Herbaceous Plants and installing native plants. Use caution to not harm • As one of the Park’s most intact native plant the uncommon vegetation that has been identified communities, it is likely that a native seedbank here. The thin soil over shallow bedrock also warrants has been retained in the Bluff Prairie/Savanna. careful execution of restoration and management work After removal of invasive and aggressive to prevent compaction and soil erosion. Additional species, the area should be monitored for protection of this sensitive natural area will be necessary native seedbank response for at least one as it will attract people to view the City from this point. growing season. If portions of the restored area An interpretive trail with attractive fencing should be do not have a native seedbank, seed sparsely located at the edge of the restoration area. The fencing vegetated areas with local ecotype native seed. could be split rail using recycled red cedars removed Appendix E provides a seed mix for the Bluff from the area.. Bluff Prairie/Savanna restoration and Prairie/Savanna. management activities include: • Seeding is less expensive than installing live A) Remove Invasive Woody Species plant plugs, but seeding requires more time • Cut and stump treat with contact herbicide all for establishment. Some prairie and savanna invasive non-native woody vegetation, primarily species are slow to develop, and are best common buckthorn, Asian honeysuckles, and installed as live plants. Enhancement plugging oriental bittersweet. can be conducted in select areas if additional • Conduct selective thinning of remaining species diversity is desired. aggressive woody vegetation, mostly young • The goal for native vegetation in areas with soil Eastern red cedar trees, to achieve a maximum is at least 75 percent ground cover overall. of 20 percent canopy cover. D) Ecological Monitoring & Management • Woody plant clearing should be done when the • Monitor the area’s response to enhancement ground is frozen to minimize soil disturbance. activities and adjust management activities All cut material should be removed from the accordingly. Special attention should be given Bluff Prairie/Savanna. Care should be taken to to monitoring the uncommon vegetation in not spread buckthorn berries, seeds, and parts this area. Monitoring the restoration and of invasive plants during removal. Handling and management activities at the site will help transport of cut wood should follow all state define and refine the best management and federal recommendations to minimize the schedule and techniques. potential transfer of pests such as Emerald Ash • Bluff Prairie/Savanna is a fire-dependent Borer, Gypsy Moth, etc. ecosystem; however, due to the sparse • Retain and protect existing desirable native vegetation, low fuel loading, and shallow soil, woody and herbaceous vegetation. prescribed burns will likely not move completely • Treat invasive woody vegetation seedlings and through this area. Promoting competition re-sprouts with foliar herbicide in the growing against woody plants by encouraging native season following cutting, taking extreme care vegetation is the best long term way to keep to avoid contact with native vegetation. the Bluff Prairie/Savanna open. Prior to any B) Control Invasive Herbaceous Plants burning, secure necessary permissions, issue community notifications, and take appropriate • Use a combination of spot herbiciding, spot precautions to protect desired vegetation and mowing, and prescribed burning to remove infrastructure. invasive herbaceous vegetation. Potential species of concern are primarily dandelion and bull thistle. • Retain and protect existing desirable native woody and herbaceous vegetation by appropriate timing, chemical selection, application method, and prescribed burning

32 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Bluff Prairie/Savanna Performance Standards 12.2 Restoration and Short-Term Management The performance standards for enhancement of the Phasing (Years 1-3) Park’s Bluff Prairie/Savanna are: For illustration purposes, Table 7 shows a typical 1. Removal of invasive woody species (including restoration and short-term management program aggressive native thinning). Immediately following for the initial three-year establishment of a given initial removal: 100 percent of stems ≥½” diam. restoration project. However, restoration within a have been removed and herbicide-treated; for particular management unit will require a more detailed stems <½” diameter, <5 percent cover (assuming scope and will likely follow a slightly different schedule. leaf-off conditions) within any 100 sq ft area. 12.3 Restoration and Management Phasing & 2. Follow-up foliar spray (resprouts and seedlings of Costing (Years 1-10) all invasive woody species). Immediately following Table 8 illustrates the recommended restoration and initial foliar spray: 95 percent of all resprouts and short-term management schedule and opinion of prob- seedlings have been herbicide-treated within any able cost (OPC) for initial restoration and enhancement 100 sq ft area. of Eagle Point Park, perpetual management through 3. Herbicide spot spray invasive herbaceous species. 2026, SQR in turf areas, and ecological monitoring of Two weeks after each spot spray treatment: 90 vegetation and wildlife. Costs are representative of percent of all target vegetation has been herbicide- qualified, private ecological contractors. Changes in treated and 95 percent of treated plants are dead/ approach, the response of plant communities, funding dying within any 100 sq ft area. cycles, partnership goals, and emerging opportunities 4. Initial management of invasives. For the initial may justify modification of this scope and schedule. As 5-year establishment period, 1) all invasive woody always, adaptive management should be used to pro- species shall not exceed 1 percent aerial cover for vide the best, most cost-effective results. any given 100 sq ft area, and 2) all treated areas Planning and implementing ecological restoration of invasive herbaceous species shall be reduced in and management requires an understanding of cover by 95 percent. cost. Many assumptions are embedded in the OPC presented in the preceding table. These costs should therefore be viewed as preliminary estimates. Costs 12 RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT are representative of private, specialized ecological PHASING AND COSTS contractors and consultants performing restoration and enhancement work. Volunteers, partnerships with 12.1 Management Units other organizations, donation of materials, and use Management units are used to organize ecological of City staff time can reduce these costs. Regardless restoration and management.B ased on the Park’s plant of the implementation approach, close supervision of communities and ecological goals, four management all steps (including material acquisition, installation, units were delineated for the site (Exhibit 13). and management) is prudent to ensure work is done Management unit boundaries were delineated along properly and restoration and enhancement goals are existing roads, topographic breaks, areas of similar achieved. management needs (e.g., where prescribed fire is used), and proposed uses. The need to provide refuge for invertebrates during and after prescribed fires was also considered. Turf areas (where SQR is recommended) are not included in Exhibit 13’s ecological management units. Management units have been numbered MU-1 through MU-4 strictly for identification purposes; they do not represent priorities or a chronological order for implementation. Dividing these management units into subunits may be warranted, depending on funding, scheduling, and other variables. Each management unit contains a variety of land cover types and warrants different restoration and management tasks. Restoration and short-term management tasks generally include site preparation, brushing and thinning (in wooded communities), weed control, native seeding and planting, and ecological monitoring and reporting. January 20, 2017 33 Table 7: Generalized Schedule for Restoration and Short-Term Management of a Given Project Area

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 ter ter ter in in in ummer ummer ummer all all all

Task Description/Subtask Spring S F W Spring S F W Spring S F W Site Preparation (all zones) Broadcast herbicide, till, spot herbicide, and/or mow Brushing & Thinning Cut & stump treat invasive woody (upland zones) plants Remove or selectively thin aggressive native woody plants Weed Control (all zones) Prescribed burn (prep burn either late Summer, Fall or Spring) Spot herbicide and/or spot mow Foliar herbicide non-native woody re- growth Seeding & Planting Install native seed (All zones, where weed Install live woody plants when dormant control adequate, if weed Install live herbaceous plants control achieved sooner plantings can be installed sooner) Ecological Monitoring & Assess/document site, and prepare Reporting (all zones) year-end summary report

34 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA otals T $9,376 $4,800 $17,008 $42,301 $11,445 $58,556 $34,138 $11,538 $13,350 $128,117 1 PC $853 O $800 $1,546 $3,847 $3,600 $6,200 $21,600 $37,200 $5,690 $7,000 $42,000 $1,049 $1,214 $1,041 $5,324 $3,400 $20,400 $4,000 $24,000 $4,600 $27,600 $2,400 $14,400 Design, $10,014 $110,146 $11,649 Engineering & Permitting & Permitting 28,448 $5,600 $1,600 $800 $1,600 $9,600 $4,000 $9,600 $1,200 $1,200 18,000 Year and Construction OPC and Construction Year 60,079 20,026 20,026 $18,400 $2,300 $2,300

$2,098 16,000 $2,000 $2,000 $10,646 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 $3,641 $2,427 13,600 $1,700 $1,700 2017 $5,114 $1,705 $1,705 $9,277 $3,092 $3,092 26,918 $7,691 $3,845 $6,243 $2,081 $2,081 31,939 $10,646 $5,244 $3,147 $6,068 $81,528 $23,294 $11,647 $24,800 $3,100 $3,100 $35,000 es cr 1.14 1.93 1.04 6.26 1.40 1.52 A 12.82 10.01 19.41 oject Area or Type oject Area Pr den ar G ain asin Turf (including all steep slopes): Convert slopes): Convert (including all steep Turf Prairie to Woodland with Turf: Convert to to Convert with Turf: Woodland with Natives Woodland Existing Forests: Enhance Forests: Existing Bluff Woodland and Forests: Convert to Convert Forests: Woodland and Bluff Prairie/Savanna Bluff Stormwater Area C: Infiltration Area, C: Infiltration Area Stormwater Basin Existing Headcut, Retrofit Stabilize Stormwater Area N: Rain Garden Area Stormwater Stormwater Area M: Rain Garden Area Stormwater Turf H & I: Convert Areas Stormwater Prairie to H & I: Convert Areas Stormwater with Woodland to with Turf Woodland Natives Enhance Forests: Existing Stormwater Area K: Permeable Pavers K: Permeable Area Stormwater H & I: Re-route Areas Stormwater Basin Retrofit I), to Basin (Area Runoff Woodland with Turf and Turf: Convert to to Convert and Turf: with Turf Woodland Prairie & with Natives Woodland Stormwater Area A: Infiltration Area, A: Infiltration Area Stormwater Basin Existing Headcut, Retrofit Stabilize Area, B: Infiltration Area Stormwater Basin Existing Headcut, Retrofit Stabilize Area, D: Infiltration Area Stormwater Basin Existing Headcut, Retrofit Stabilize Enhance Forests/Woodlands: Existing Stormwater Area J: Runoff Diverters, J: Runoff Diverters, Area Stormwater R Existing E: Retrofit Area Stormwater B

o. 1 2 3 2 1 5 4 2 3 4 5 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 oject N MU Pr es 16 27 13 cr A MU-1 MU-3 MU-2 anagement anagement Table 8: Restoration and Management Phasing & Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) Cost Phasing & Opinion of Probable and Management 8: Restoration Table able 8 Continued on page 36 on page able 8 Continued M Unit (MU) T January 20, 2017 35 otals T $37,734 $47,964 $65,551 $90,000 $205,812 1 - PC O $3,431 $4,361 $5,960 $2,400 $2,400 $14,400 $14,400 $2,000 $12,000 Design, $39,498 $368,456 $18,712 $115,089 $1,035,436 Engineering & Permitting & Permitting $52,948

$8,000 $1,000 $1,000 $9,600 $1,200 $1,200 $70,426 $25,300 $32,700 $16,300 $9,600 $1,200 $1,200 Year and Construction OPC and Construction Year $23,700 13,700 $23,700 $13,700 $23,700 13,700 $23,700 $58,671 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 $41,714 $11,918 $5,959 $70,934 2017 $20,582 $6,861 $6,861 $26,162 $8,721 $8,721 $13,000 $13,000 $3,000 $13,000 $3,000 $13,000 $3,000 $13,000 $3,000 $13,000 153,452 $37,400 37,400 $37,400 $10,700 $10,700 $10,700 $10,700 10,700 $10,700 $10,700 es - - cr 3.81 5.45 A 11.92 17.15 93.86 $329,276 $179,692 $26,241 $111,838 $65,626 2 o be 10% of construction cost for more simple projects and 20% of construction cost for more complicated projects. complicated for more cost construction and 20% of simple projects for more cost o be 10% of construction - oject Area or Type oject Area Pr den ar G ain Bluff Woodland and Forests: Convert to Convert Forests: Woodland and Bluff Prairie/Savanna Bluff Woodland with Turf and Turf, addressing addressing and Turf, with Turf Woodland Woodland to G: Convert Area Stormwater Prairie & with Natives Existing Forests/Woodlands: Enhance Forests/Woodlands: Existing Ecological Monitoring of Veg. & Wildlife of Veg. Monitoring Ecological Stormwater Area O: Rain Garden Area Stormwater L: Runoff Diverters, Area Stormwater Stormwater Area F: Infiltration Area, F: Infiltration Area Stormwater Headcut Stabilize R (SQR) Soil Quality Restoration

o. - - 1 2 3 5 6 4 oject N MU Pr es - -- 21 17 94 cr A otals s T otals MU MU-4 T utside of = primarily a stormwater project = primarily a stormwater een font and anagement anagement r r Design, engineering, and permitting OPC is assumed t assumed SQR maintenance cost) (reduced subsequent years; three of the first course the over 11) phased in units (see Figure outside management of all areas SQR OPC assumes initial treatment O Entire Park Entire City-Priority City-Priority G

Table 8 (Cont. from page 35): Restoration and Management Phasing & Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) Cost Phasing & Opinion of Probable and Management 35): Restoration page from 8 (Cont. Table projects, and includes design, engineering, and permitting. stormwater and ecological of management establishment and construction initial OPC addresses 1 2 year. each on 1/7 of SQR areas occur rotationally to priority City-identified project G M Unit (MU) 36 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 13 PUBLIC OUTREACH & Interpretation Strategies INTERPRETATION • Interpretive signage or interactive kiosks, addressing: Given its location within the City limits, Eagle Point Park provides an important opportunity to capitalize ÊÊ Regional natural history: Mississippi River on public outreach and interpretation. Many strategies Valley, glacial history of the Driftless Area, can simultaneously address both of these goals. Some bedrock geology, and watersheds; strategies that have been used effectively in similar ÊÊ Site history: Progression from a wild landscape parks and natural areas follow. to cherished park to enhanced natural area; Outreach Strategies ÊÊ Cultural history: Native Americans, early white ethnic groups, agricultural communities; • Partnerships. The City’s location and goals for the Park present many opportunities for partnering. ÊÊ Native ecosystems: Specifically those being Some suggestions follow. restored to the site—forest, woodland, savanna, and prairie; ÊÊ Develop a Friends of Eagle Point Park group ÊÊ Ecological restoration and management ÊÊ Dubuque County Conservation District practices; ÊÊ University of Dubuque, other nearby colleges, ÊÊ Wildlife and their habitats; and and local schools (use the Park as a living laboratory, for research, and repeat monitoring) ÊÊ Naturalized stormwater treatment train. ÊÊ Iowa Ornithologists’ Union • Tree and plant identification signs ÊÊ Iowa Native Plant Society • Raptor and other bird silhouettes and information at observation points ÊÊ The Xerxes Society (butterflies) • Environmental day camp ÊÊ The Wild Ones (native plant communities) • Geocaching • Bioblitz. Many communities have collected valuable data by sponsoring a bioblitz. A bioblitz is typically a 24-hour period when professionals and volunteers document all living species within a given area, such as a public park. A bioblitz helps to gather important baseline and ongoing monitoring data on plants and animals in a specific area, while also engaging people in discovery of the natural world and scientific research in the company of experts. Holding a bioblitz at Eagle Point Park could be an effective way of engaging the community and collecting valuable baseline data for comparison with post-restoration data. • Art. Select artists to install temporary or permanent works of art celebrating the natural and cultural history of the Park. Outdoor art (e.g., sculptures) could be installed in highly visible locations, and other art (e.g., paintings, photography) could be displayed inside the Park’s protected structures. Refer to the City’s Arts and Culture Master Plan for additional strategies. • Internet. The City could expand its Eagle Point Park web page to include more, and regularly-updated, content (e.g., “What to see at Eagle Point this week”).

January 20, 2017 37 14 PARTNERING & FUNDING • Small Grants Program Funds Available. The Iowa OPPORTUNITIES DNR, funded by donations from the Fish & Wildlife Protection Fund (Chickadee Checkoff) and Natural 14.1 Partnering Resource License Plate funds, has small grants Park restoration and management provide opportun- available for projects directly relating to wildlife ities to engage with a variety of partners. Several diversity conservation, education, or research.T otal potential partners are identified in the previous annual grant monies available are $10,000 with section, and some of these may open opportunities for $2,500 being the maximum amount available per additional technical or financial assistance with project project funding request. A small grants brochure implementation and perpetual management. can be found at: 14.2 Funding http://www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/ The City has a $79,000 capital improvement budget for Wildlife Stewardship/small_grants.pdf?amp; stormwater improvements at Eagle Point Park, as well tabid=1592. as remaining Resource Enhancement and Protection National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (REAP) funds ($150,000). • Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant. This Securing financial resources – both for initial restoration partnership grant focuses on water quality issues in efforts and perpetual management – is critical to the priority watersheds, such as erosion due to unstable long-term success of any restoration plan. To augment streambanks, pollution from stormwater runoff, the City’s existing financial resources, the following and degraded shorelines caused by development. entities or programs may provide funds to help the City Given that Eagle Point Park lacks streambanks and implement this ERMP. shorelines, and its stormwater runoff issues are Iowa DNR localized, this grant may be difficult to secure for the Park. More information is available at: http:// • Resource Enhancement and Protection E(R AP) www.nfwf.org/fivestar/Pages/home.aspx – City Parks and Open Spaces. In 2015, the City of Dubuque secured a $200,000 REAP grant for • Pulling Together Initiative. Modest grants to help Eagle Point Park. The City may wish to re-apply for local communities effectively manage invasive another $200,000 in Fall 2017. vegetation.M ore information is available at: http:// www.nfwf.org/pti/Pages/home.aspx • Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). This is a federal program administered by the state. This • Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund. fund requires a 1:1 match, which could be met using Public-Private Initiatives the City of Dubuque’s existing funds ($229,000). • Private Recognition.T he City of Dubuque may want Therefore, the City may wish to pursue a $175,000 to explore opportunities for private individuals or LWCF grant in Spring 2017. entities (e.g., corporations) to fund restoration The Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Diversity program has two work in exchange for recognition (e.g., naming separate non-game wildlife grant programs: 1) Habitat rights, plaques). Management Grants, and 2) Small Grants. Please • Foundation Grants. The City of Dubuque may want read below for information about each program and to develop a brief fund-raising concept around the instructions for submitting applications. overall rejuvenation of the cultural and natural • Habitat Management Grants Program. The Iowa resources of Eagle Point Park and approach Iowa- DNR’s Wildlife Diversity Program is making small based foundations for specific elements of that grants available for habitat management projects concept. directly related to wildlife diversity conservation. Projects should be closely related to the goals of Iowa’s Wildlife Action Plan. This is a small program. Total grant monies available are $15,000 each year, with $7,500 being the maximum amount available per proposal request. No match is required for these funds. More information and management grant application instructions can be found at: http://www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/ Wildlife Stewardship/mgt_grants.pdf?amp; tabid=1592. 38 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA 15 CONCLusion T his Environmental Restoration Management Plan, Eagle Point Park is a highly-valued asset and natural carried out by qualified restoration specialists and resource for the City of Dubuque. It currently is a evaluated annually through ecological monitoring and highly used recreational venue for the community, as adaptive management, will help to ensure that the City well as a provider of important ecosystem services. will create and pass on to future generations healthy Its history of land alteration, subsequent erosion from ecosystems and wildlife populations for the enjoyment uncontrolled runoff, and colonizing invasive species of all and the benefit of nature. This experience with have compromised its functions and values. The the restoration of an urban natural area may be helpful ecological restoration and management tasks described to move restoration of other urban green species ahead in this ERMP will help achieve the conservation goals and, over time, elevate all the green spaces of the City to desired by the City. greater ecological functionality, community enjoyment, and the vitality of nature. Next steps in the process of restoring Eagle Point Park would be: • Confirm the City’s priority projects that will be undertaken in Phase 2 of this REAP-funded project; this should include baseline ecological monitoring (collected as early as possible in a restoration project), priority ecological restoration, and priority stormwater best practices; • Prepare LWCF grant application; • Prepare REAP grant application; • Refine the details of priority projects to the extent necessary to solicit bids; • Form a bid package development team of the City and any project partners; • Identify a City project coordinator in charge of producing, releasing, awarding, and managing the bid and subsequent task execution; • Determine the phases of construction, including tasks to be performed by City staff, other partners, low-cost labor, and volunteers; • Develop and release bid package(s) based on the tasks, acres, and performance standards in the ERMP; prime vendors should be sought with demonstrable and extensive experience in ecological restoration and stormwater best practice construction; • Award the contract(s) and oversee the work; • After the first year of restoration work, collect subsequent monitoring data for comparison with baseline data; • Conduct an annual walk-about to inspect and evaluate the restoration work; • Write a first year restoration monitoring report at the end of 2018, and compare vegetation and wildlife data to baseline data collected in 2017; the report should document all problems, propose solution, and schedule tasks for the 2019 growing season; and • Hold a celebration of progress and initial success.

January 20, 2017 39 16 REFERENCES & RESOURCES Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). CONSULTED 2009. Iowa Storm Water Management Manual. http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental- Protection/Water-Quality/NPDES-Storm-Water/ Blewett, T.J., J.W. Lehmann, and S.K. Winters. 1983. Storm-Water-Manual (Accessed October 2016). Mines of Spain Vegetation Study – Dubuque Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). County, Iowa – Phase II: Community Analysis. Final No date. Indiana bat guidelines (brochure). In Report submitted to the State ofI owa Conservation cooperation with US Fish and Wildlife Service, Rock Commission in partial fulfillment of Project No. Island Field Office, Moline, IL. MOS-3. Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). No Chapman, S.S., Omernik, J.M., Griffith, G.E., Schroeder, date. State Preserves Guide. Des Moines, IA. W.A., Nigh, T.A., and Wilton, T.F., 2002, Ecoregions Iowa Natural History Association and Geological Society of Iowa and Missouri (color poster with map, of Iowa. 1991. Natural and Cultural History of the descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs): Mines of Spain – Dubuque County, Iowa. Iowa Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey (map scale Natural History Association Guidebook 7 and 1:1,800,000). Geological Society of Iowa Guidebook 53. Chen, I-C., J.K. Hill, R. Ohlemüller, D.B. Roy and C.D. Iowa Ornithologists’ Union. 2016. AdHoc Datasets. Thomas. 2011. Rapid range shifts of species http://www.iowabirds.org/birds/DataSets.aspx associated with high levels of climate warming. (Accessed October 2016). Science 333:1024-1026. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2005. City of Dubuque. 2016. Eagle Point Park History. http:// Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of www.cityofdubuque.org/1149/Eagle-Point-Park- Minnesota: The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province. History (Accessed September 2016). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota City of Dubuque. 2015. 2015 Resource Enhancement County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and and Protection (REAP) grant application for the Nongame Research Program. Eagle Point Park Environmental Restoration Project. St. Paul, MN. Dubuque Leisure Services Department, Confluence Penton, Inc. 2016. Grounds Maintenance for Golf & and Midwest Arbor Image. 2011. Urban Forest Green Industry Professional. http://www.grounds- Evaluation 2011 – Dubuque, IA. mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_leaves_ Encyclopedia Dubuque. 2016. www. turn_litter/ (Accessed September 2016). encyclopediadubuque.org (Accessed September Phillips, Christopher A., Ronald A. Brandon, Edward 2016). O. Moll. 1999. Field Guide to Amphibians and Fort Ward Park and Museum Area Management Plan. Reptiles of Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey, 2014. Section H:B est Practices – Landscape Cultural Champaign, IL. Practices. PyneS.J. 1982. Fire in America: A cultural history Friends of the Mines of Spain. 2016a. Bird Checklist of wildland and rural fire. Princeton: Princeton for the Mines of Spain. http://minesofspain.org/ University Press. Princeton, NJ. birdchecklist.pdf (Accessed September 2016). State Historical Society of Iowa. 2016. Records request Friends of the Mines of Spain. 2016b. Wildlife at for transcribed General Land Office (GLO) surveyor’s the Mines of Spain. http://minesofspain.org/ field notes and township maps completed during WildlifeatMOS.pdf (Accessed September 2016). the period 1836–1848 for selected portions of Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). T89N R2E and T89N R3E in Dubuque County, Iowa. 2016a. Landform regions of Iowa (web page). Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Government http://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Wildlife- Records Archive, Des Moines, IA. Stewardship/Iowa-Wildlife-Action-Plan/Landform- Stewart, O.C. 2002. Forgotten Fires – Native Americans Regions-of-Iowa (Accessed August 2016). and the transient wilderness. University of Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). Oklahoma Press: Norman, OK. 2016b. Natural Heritage Information System (NHIS) data. Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). 2015. Securing a Future for Fish and Wildlife: A Conservation Legacy forI owans. 40 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Telegraph Herald and Times Journal. 1934. “Many Trees in Dubuque Centuries Old; Some of Them are Older Than City” (September 16, 1934, p. 3). http://news. google.com/newspapers?id=CdZBAAAAIBAJ&sjid= 4qkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2121,3357794&dq=eagle+poi nt+park+dubuque&hl=en University of Iowa School of Urban and Regional Planning and Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities. 2012. Sustainability Progress Report 2012. USDA/NRCS (U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service). 2016. Custom Soil Resource Report for Dubuque County, Minnesota – Eagle Point Park. Web Soil Survey, report generated August 30, 2016. http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda. gov/app/HomePage.htm (accessed September 2016). USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Urban Areas. Management Measure 9: Pollution Prevention. USFWS (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). 2016a. Known Northern Long-eared Bat Hibernacula and Roost Trees in Iowa (updated May 3, 2016). Rock Island Ecological Services Field Office,M oline, IL. USFWS. 2016b. Final 4(d) Rule for the Northern Long-Eared Bat. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. USFWS. 2016c. Range-wide Indiana bat summer survey guidelines. https://www.fws.gov/Midwest/ endangered/mammals/inba/surveys/pdf/2016Ind ianaBatSummerSurveyGuidelines11April2016.pdf. (Accessed 2016). USFWS and Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2016. Northern Long-Eared Bat Final 4(d) Rule, White- Nose Syndrome Zone Around WNS/Pd Positive Counties/Districts. Map Created August 31, 2016. Wapsi Valley Archaeology. 2016. Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey of Eagle Point Park, City of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Archaeology Report No. 847. Animosa, IA.

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January 20, 2017 Exhibits

Exhibit 1: Regional Context Exhibit 2: Topography & Soils Exhibit 3: 1930s Aerial Photograph Exhibit 4: 2015 Aerial Photograph Exhibit 5: Stormwater Issues Exhibit 6: Existing Land Cover Exhibit 7: Core Habitats Exhibit 8: Pre-1900 Vegetation Exhibit 9: Proposed Land Cover Exhibit 10: Cultural Resources Avoidance Exhibit 11: Recommended Stormwater Best Practices Exhibit 12: Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices Exhibit 13: Ecological Management Units

ERMP | Eagle Point Park | Dubuque, IA 44 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA BALLTOWN ¤£151

Mississippi River ¤£151

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Iowa Public Conserv. & Rec. Land SHERRILL

City of Dubuque Parcel WISCONSIN Dubuque County Parcel

RICKARDSVILLECity Limits State

Land Cover SAGEVILLE Forest DURANGO VU366 ¤£61 Herbaceous & Shrub/Scrub SAGEVILLE SITE ¤£151 Hay/Pasture IOWA Cultivated Crops

Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands VU35 VU11 Woody Wetlands ¤£61 ASBURY ¤£61 52 Open Water ¤£

¤£151 VU35 Developed, Open Space DUBUQUE ¤£52 Barren Land 61 EAST DUBUQUE, IL GRAF ¤£ Developed ILLINOIS ¤£151

CENTRALIA

PEOSTA ¤£52 ¤£20 W i s c o n s i n VU963 M i n n e s o t a ¨¦§94 ¨¦§90

¤£151 ¨¦§29 I o w a I O W A ¨¦§680 ¨¦§80 SITE Dubuque Regional ¨¦§74 61 35 ¤£ ¨¦§ I l l i n o i s

N e b r a s k a M i s s o u r i K a n s a s ¨¦§72

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - NLCD land cover Restoration Management Plan - Street Map USA AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 1 File Name: EaglePt_regional context_2016-11-21

Regional Context

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Miles 0 1 2 4 ±

478G

478G

163F 478G

478G

163F 163C

Eagle Point Park (108 ac) 478G Soil Survey Map Units 163D 163C - Fayette silt loam, 5-9% slopes

163D - Fayette silt loam, 9-14% slopes 163F 163F - Fayette silt loam, 18-25% slopes

478G - Nordness-Rock outcrop complex, 18-60% slopes

5030 - Pits, quarries

981B - Worthen silt loam, 2-5% slopes

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval) 163F

5030

163C

5030 981B 5030

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - USDA/NRCS Web Soil Survey Restoration Management Plan - LiDAR contours & hillshade AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 2 File Name: EaglePt_topo soils_2016-11-21

Topography and Soils

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - Iowa DNR

Restoration Management Plan AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 File Name: EaglePt_1930s Aerial Photo_2016-11-21 Exhibit 3

1930s Aerial Photograph

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - NAIP aerial photo (2015)

Restoration Management Plan AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 File Name: EaglePt_2015 Aerial Photo_2016-11-21 Exhibit 4

2015 Aerial Photograph

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac) ") Stormwater Issue ")!.")

Drainageway Flow Path ")

") Local Watershed Boundary ") ")")

!. ") Storm Manhole ")!. ")") ") ") !. ") ") Storm Inlet ") ")") Storm Pipe ") ")!.") ") ") ")") ")") ") ") ") Elevation Contour (2-ft interval) !. ") ")") !. ") ") Building ") !.") Impervious Surface

") ") ")") ") ")

")

") ") !. ") ")!.")!. !. ") ") ") ") ") ")

!. ") !. ") ")") ")!. !. ")") ") !. ") ") !. ") ")

") ")!.!. !. ") !.") ") ") ") ") ") !. !. ") !. ") ") ") ") !. !. !. ") !.

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 5 File Name: EaglePt_sw issues_2016-11-21

Stormwater Issues

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval)

Existing Land Cover

Mesic Forest (11.93 ac)

Dry-Mesic Forest (30.78 ac)

Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) (12.56 ac)

Bluff Woodland (3.75 ac)

Woodland with Turf (28.97 ac)

Turf (4.52 ac)

Landscaped (1.37 ac)

Play Area (0.39 ac)

Water (0.04 ac)

Impervious Cover (12.65 ac)

Building (0.82 ac)

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 6 File Name: EaglePt_exist lc_2016-11-21

Existing Land Cover

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Core Habitats

Mesic Forest Core

Dry-Mesic Forest Core

Bluff Woodland Core

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 7 File Name: EaglePt_core habitats_2016-11-21

Core Habitats

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 250 500 1,000 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Pre-1800 Vegetation

Forest

Savanna & Woodland

Prairie & Savanna

Bluff Prairie

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours

Restoration Management Plan AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 File Name: EaglePt_pre1800_2016-11-21 Exhibit 8

Pre-1800 Vegetation

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval)

Proposed Land Cover

Enhanced Mesic Forest (11.93 ac)

Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland (42.23 ac)

Woodland with Natives (14.87 ac)

Bluff Prairie/Savanna (4.85 ac)

Prairie (2.89 ac)

Woodland with Turf (12.71 ac)

Turf (3.07 ac)

Landscaped (1.37 ac)

Play Area (0.39 ac)

Water (0.04 ac)

Impervious Cover (12.59 ac)

Building (0.82 ac)

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 9 File Name: EaglePt_prop lc_2016-11-21

Proposed Land Cover

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Cultural Resource Avoidance Rating

High (confirmed surface features)

Moderate (confirmed or potential subgrade features)

Low (Caldwell-designed landscape)

None (features unlikely)

Building/Structure

Roads & Parking

Trails & Sidewalks

Park Amenity

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - Ayres Associates Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 Exhibit 10 File Name: EaglePt_cultural_2016-11-21

Cultural Resources Avoidance

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Drainageway Flow Path

Local Watershed Boundary

Stormwater Best Practices

Soil Quality Restoration

Convert to Native Vegetation

Runoff Diverter

Infiltration Area

Permeable Surfaces

Stabilize Headcut

Retrofit Existing Basin

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval)

Building

Impervious Surface

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-22 Exhibit 11 File Name: EaglePt_sw bps_2016-11-22

Recommended Stormwater Best Practices

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

K

M H

Eagle Point Park (108 ac) I

Drainageway Flow Path

Local Watershed Boundary

Stormwater Priority

High N J Medium A

Low B Stormwater Best Practices G Soil Quality Restoration C

Convert to Native Vegetation

Runoff Diverter

Infiltration Area

Permeable Surfaces D Stabilize Headcut F Retrofit Existing Basin

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval) E L Other Convert to Native Vegetation O Building

Impervious Surface

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Restoration Management Plan - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-22 Exhibit 12 File Name: EaglePt_sw priorities_2016-11-22

Prioritization of Stormwater Best Practices

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

MU-2

MU-1

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Management Units

MU-1 (16 ac)

MU-2 (13 ac)

MU-3 (27 ac)

MU-4 (21 ac)

NA (31 ac)

MU-3

MU-4

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - Environmental - City of Dubuque - NAIP aerial photo (2015)

Restoration Management Plan AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-21 File Name: EaglePt_mgmt units_2016-11-21 Exhibit 13

Ecological Management Units

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Appendix A: Glossary and Acronyms

Glossary

Adaptive Structured decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing Management uncertainty over time by a cycle of implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. Bioblitz Typically a 24-hour period when professionals and volunteers document all living species within a given area, such as a public park. Biodiversity The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem, including plants and animals. Climate Moderation Less extreme fluctuations in temperature. Driftless Area This geomorphic region of the American Midwest was not affected directly by the last (Wisconsinan) glaciation, resulting in very old, weathered landscapes including deeply carved river valleys. Ecological Restoration Improving the natural environment by stabilizing and enhancing biodiversity, resilience, and ecosystem services. Ecological Stewardship Refers to responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices. Generalist Wildlife Animal species that can live in many different types of environments and have a varied Species diet and broad habitat requirements. Groundwater Hydrologic process where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge Recharge is the primary method that water enters an aquifer. Habitat Fragmentation Habitat fragmentation is the process by which habitat loss results in the division of large, continuous habitats into smaller, more isolated remnants. Indicator Species An organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition. Indicator species can signal a change in the biological condition of a particular ecosystem, and may be used as a proxy to diagnose the health ofan ecosystem. Invasive Species Aggressive species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. It is most commonly used for elevation contour mapping. Mesic Characterized by a moderate amount of soil moisture Migration Corridor Area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development or logging). Native Plants Plants indigenous to a given area in geologic time. This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area. Non-invasive Species Species that are not likely to cause economic or environmental harm.

January 20, 2017 A1 Sensitive Natural Type of designation for an area that needs special protection because of its landscape, Areas wildlife or historical value. Specialist Wildlife Animal species that have specific environmental needs related to habitat, diet or Species another environmental factor, without which they cannot sustain their populations. Tree Regeneration The act of renewing tree cover by establishing young trees naturally or artificially.

Acronyms

GIS Geographic Information System Iowa DNR Iowa Department of Natural Resources NHIS Natural Heritage Information System NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service SHPO State Historic Preservation Office SGCN Species of Greatest Conservation Need SQR Soil Quality Restoration USDA United States Department of Agriculture

A2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Appendix B: Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (Including cover class)

January 20, 2017 B1 - Page intentionally left blank -

B2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Appendix B. Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (including cover class)

Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest Bluff Woodland with Turf Species (by Stratum) Common Name Area 1 Area 2 Area 1 Area 2 (Young) Woodland Area 1 Area 2 Canopy Stratum Acer negundo BOX ELDER 1 1 2 2 Acer nigrum BLACK MAPLE 3 Acer saccharinum SILVER MAPLE 1 Betula papyrifera PAPER BIRCH 2 Carya ovata SHAGBARK HICKORY 1 1 CATALPA SPECIOSA HARDY CATALPA 3 1 Celtis occidentalis HACKBERRY 3 3 2 3 Fraxinus americana WHITE ASH 3 Juglans nigra BLACK WALNUT 1 2 Juniperus virginiana crebra RED CEDAR 2 MORUS ALBA WHITE MULBERRY 1 PICEA ABIES NORWAY SPRUCE 1 Pinus strobus WHITE PINE 1 2 POPULUS ALBA WHITE POPLAR 1 1 Populus deltoides EASTERN COTTONWOOD 1 1 Prunus serotina WILD BLACK CHERRY 2 2 2 Quercus alba WHITE OAK 2 4 2 3 2 Quercus bicolor SWAMP WHITE OAK 1 Quercus macrocarpa BUR OAK 3 Quercus rubra RED OAK 2 3 Quercus velutina BLACK OAK 1 1 2 ROBINIA PSEUDOACACIA BLACK LOCUST 2 4 Tilia americana AMERICAN LINDEN 2 4 Ulmus americana AMERICAN ELM 2 3 2

Shrub/Vine/Sapling Stratum Amorpha canescens LEAD PLANT 1 Amphicarpaea bracteata UPLAND HOG PEANUT 2 4 1 BERBERIS THUNBERGII JAPANESE BARBERRY 1 CATALPA SPECIOSA HARDY CATALPA 2 CELASTRUS ORBICULATUS ORIENTAL BITTERSWEET 4 2 2 Cercis canadensis REDBUD 1 Cornus racemosa GRAY DOGWOOD 1 HUMULUS JAPONICUS JAPANESE HOP 1 LONICERA TATARICA/MORROWII/X BELLA EXOTIC HONEYSUCKLES 2 1 1 Menispermum canadense MOONSEED 1 3 MORUS ALBA WHITE MULBERRY 2

Cover Classes: 1 uncommon (<10%); 2 common (10 – 30%); 3 sub-dominant (30 – 50%); 4 dominant (>50%) RED FONT = invasive species of concern 1 Appendix B. Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (including cover class)

Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest Bluff Woodland with Turf Species (by Stratum) Common Name Area 1 Area 2 Area 1 Area 2 (Young) Woodland Area 1 Area 2 Parthenocissus quinquefolia VIRGINIA CREEPER 4 4 4 3 RHAMNUS CATHARTICA COMMON BUCKTHORN 2 3 1 Rhus typhina STAGHORN SUMAC 1 Ribes missouriense WILD GOOSEBERRY 1 ROSA MULTIFLORA MULTIFLORA ROSE 1 Rubus allegheniensis COMMON BLACKBERRY 1 Rubus occidentalis BLACK RASPBERRY 2 Smilax hispida BRISTLY CAT BRIER 2 4 2 2 Toxicodendron radicans POISON IVY 3 2 3 2 2 Viburnum trilobum HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY 1 VINCA MINOR PERIWINKLE 2 Vitis riparia RIVERBANK GRAPE 3 1 2

Herbaceous Stratum Acer nigrum BLACK MAPLE 4 1 ALLIARIA PETIOLATA GARLIC MUSTARD 4 Andropogon gerardii BIG BLUESTEM GRASS 2 Anemone cylindrica THIMBLEWEED 1 Anemone quinquefolia WOOD ANEMONE 1 Antennaria neglecta CAT'S FOOT (PUSSYTOES) 1 Aquilegia canadensis WILD COLUMBINE 1 Arisaema triphyllum JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT 1 Athyrium filix-femina michauxii LADY FERN 1 Botrychium virginianum RATTLESNAKE FERN 1 Bouteloua curtipendula SIDE-OATS GRAMA 3 BROMUS INERMIS HUNGARIAN BROME 1 Campanula americana TALL BELLFLOWER 2 2 2 Carex blanda COMMON WOOD SEDGE 2 1 Carex cephalophora SHORT-HEADED BRACTED SEDGE 1 Carex rosea CURLY-STYLED WOOD SEDGE 1 Carex sparganioides LOOSE-HEADED BRACTED SEDGE 2 1 Carex sp. SEDGE 1 Cinna arundinacea COMMON WOOD REED 1 Circaea lutetiana canadensis ENCHANTER'S NIGHTSHADE 3 3 CIRSIUM VULGARE BULL THISTLE 2 1 Cryptotaenia canadensis HONEWORT 1 2 Dalea purpurea PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER 1 Echinochloa crusgalli BARNYARD GRASS 4

Cover Classes: 1 uncommon (<10%); 2 common (10 – 30%); 3 sub-dominant (30 – 50%); 4 dominant (>50%) RED FONT = invasive species of concern 2 Appendix B. Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (including cover class)

Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest Bluff Woodland with Turf Species (by Stratum) Common Name Area 1 Area 2 Area 1 Area 2 (Young) Woodland Area 1 Area 2 Elymus hystrix BOTTLEBRUSH GRASS 1 1 Erigeron canadensis HORSEWEED 2 Erigeron pulchellus ROBIN'S PLANTAIN 1 Eupatorium purpureum PURPLE JOE PYE WEED 3 Eupatorium rugosum WHITE SNAKEROOT 2 3 FESTUCA ELATIOR TALL FESCUE 2 Fraxinus pennsylvanica GREEN ASH 1 Galium triflorum SWEET-SCENTED BEDSTRAW 2 2 Geum canadense WOOD AVENS 3 3 GLECHOMA HEDERACEA CREEPING CHARLIE 4 4 Hackelia virginiana STICKSEED 2 3 2 Helianthus strumosus PALE-LEAVED SUNFLOWER 2 Hypericum sp. ST. JOHN'S WORT 1 Impatiens capensis ORANGE JEWELWEED 2 Impatiens pallida YELLOW JEWELWEED 2 3 Kuhnia eupatorioides FALSE BONESET 1 Leersia oryzoides RICE CUT GRASS 1 Leersia virginica WHITE GRASS 3 1 Lespedeza capitata ROUND-HEADED BUSH CLOVER 1 Liatris cylindracea CYLINDRICAL BLAZING STAR 1 Linum sp. FLAX 1 Lobelia inflata INDIAN TOBACCO 1 MIRABILIS JALAPA FOUR O'CLOCK 1 Monarda fistulosa WILD BERGAMOT 1 Osmorhiza claytonii HAIRY SWEET CICELY 1 Oxalis stricta COMMON WOOD SORREL 1 PHALARIS ARUNDINACEA REED CANARY GRASS 1 Phryma leptostachya LOPSEED 2 Pilea pumila CLEARWEED 2 4 POA COMPRESSA CANADA BLUE GRASS 2 POA PRATENSIS KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS 2 POLYGONUM CUSPIDATUM JAPANESE KNOTWEED 1 1 Polygonum hydropiperoides MILD WATER PEPEPR 1 Polygonum virginianum WOODLAND KNOTWEED 1 Polymnia canadensis PALE LEAFCUP 1 Pycnanthemum virginianum COMMON MOUNTAIN MINT 1 RUMEX CRISPUS CURLY DOCK 1 Sanicula gregaria CLUSTERED BLACK SNAKEROOT 2 2

Cover Classes: 1 uncommon (<10%); 2 common (10 – 30%); 3 sub-dominant (30 – 50%); 4 dominant (>50%) RED FONT = invasive species of concern 3 Appendix B. Eagle Point Park - Flora by Land Cover Type and Stratum (including cover class)

Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest Bluff Woodland with Turf Species (by Stratum) Common Name Area 1 Area 2 Area 1 Area 2 (Young) Woodland Area 1 Area 2 Schizachyrium scoparium LITTLE BLUESTEM GRASS 3 Scrophularia marilandica LATE FIGWORT 2 Scutellaria parvula SMALL SKULLCAP 1 Smilacina racemosa FEATHERY FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL 1 Smilacina stellata STARRY FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL 1 Smilax ecirrhata UPRIGHT CARRION FLOWER 1 Solidago canadensis CANADA GOLDENROD 2 Solidago flexicaulis BROAD-LEAVED GOLDENROD 4 Solidago nemoralis OLD-FIELD GOLDENROD 1 Solidago ulmifolia ELM-LEAVED GOLDENROD 2 2 Spiranthes magnicamporum GREAT PLAINS LADIES TRESSES 1 Stipa spartea PORCUPINE GRASS 2 Symphyotrichum urophyllum ARROW-LEAVED ASTER 2 Symphyotrichum ericoides HEATH ASTER 1 Symphyotrichum lateriflorum SIDE FLOWERING ASTER 2 Symphyotrichum oolentangiense SKY-BLUE ASTER 1 1 Symphyotrichum sericeum SILKY ASTER 1 TARAXACUM OFFICINALE COMMON DANDELION 1 Teucrium canadense GERMANDER 2 TRAGOPOGON DUBIUS SAND GOAT'S BEARD 1 TRIFOLIUM REPENS WHITE CLOVER 3 Ulmus americana AMERICAN ELM 1 URTICA DIOICA STINGING NETTLE 1 Verbena urticifolia HAIRY WHITE VERVAIN 1 Viola pubescens YELLOW VIOLET 2 Viola sororia COMMON BLUE VIOLET 2 3 Zizia aurea GOLDEN ALEXANDERS 1

Cover Classes: 1 uncommon (<10%); 2 common (10 – 30%); 3 sub-dominant (30 – 50%); 4 dominant (>50%) RED FONT = invasive species of concern 4 Appendix C. Iowa DNR “Environmental Review for Natural Resources” Response Note: The Iowa DNR review was conducted on Eagle Point Park in Dubuque County, not in Clinton County as indicated in the DNR response.

January 20, 2017 C1 - Page intentionally left blank -

C2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Doug Mensing

From: Moore, Seth [DNR] [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 9:21 AM To: Doug Mensing; Kim Chapman Cc: Sipe, Stacey [DNR]; Lundh, Kristen Subject: Environmental Review for Natural Resources 13266

Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Completed

Dear Mr. Mensing

Proposed Improvements Eagle Point Park Clinton County Section 7, Township 89N, Range 3E

Thank you for inviting Department comment on the impact of this project. The Department has searched for records of rare species and significant natural communities in the project area and found no site-specific records that would be impacted by this project. However, these records and data are not the result of thorough field surveys. If listed species or rare communities are found during the planning or construction phases, additional studies and/or mitigation may be required. If the construction plans change, the Department should be contacted for another review.

The Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis), a federally threatened species, has the potential to inhabit this area of the state and may occur in the area of this project. Northern long-eared bats spend winter hibernating in caves and mines, called hibernacula. During the summer, northern long-eared bats roost singly or in colonies underneath bark, in cavities or in crevices of both live trees and snags (dead trees) and may roost in structures such as old buildings, culverts, and bridges.

The enclosed guidelines provide information about the habitat requirements and survey methods for Indiana bat summer habitat. These guidelines may also be used for the northern long-eared bat. If it appears that you will disturb potential Indiana bat and/or northern long-eared bat summer habitat, and seasonal tree removal guidelines cannot be met, we suggest that you contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service regarding this project. The Rock Island Field Office may be reached at (309) 757-5800 or 1511 47th Ave, Moline IL 61265-7022.

This letter is a record of review for protected species, rare natural communities, state lands and waters in the project area, including review by personnel representing state parks, preserves, recreation areas, fisheries and wildlife but does not include comment from the Environmental Services Division of this Department. This letter does not constitute a permit. Other permits may be required from the Department or other state or federal agencies before work begins on this project.

Please reference the following DNR Environmental Review/Sovereign Land Program tracking number assigned to this project in all future correspondence related to this project: 13266.

If you have questions about this letter or require further information, please contact me at (515) 725-8464.

SETH MOORE Sovereign Lands & Environmental Review Coordinator Iowa Department of Natural Resources 515.725.8464| [email protected] 502 E. 9th Street | Des Moines, IA 50319-0034

1 WWW.IOWADNR.GOV

Leading Iowans in Caring for Our Natural Resources.

2 Appendix D. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Identification and Description of Practices to Avoid the Introduction or Movement of Invasive Species

It is the MnDNR’s policy to limit the introduction of organisms prior to arriving and leaving site. invasive species onto MnDNR managed lands and 11. On sites that are known to be infested with species waters, limit their rate of geographical spread, and such as garlic mustard, spotted knapweed, leafy reduce their impact on high value resources. spurge, etc (species with small seed that can collect The movement of equipment, organisms, and organic on cloth material) wash clothing after work is and inorganic material are potential pathways for the complete. introduction or spread of invasive species. Each of 12. Carry boot brush in or on all vehicles and clean these pathways should be considered and addressed to boots and clothing (in a controlled area) when reduce risk associated with invasive species movement. leaving any site. General Procedures for Intentional Movement of 13. Use brush to clean gear and equipment such as Equipment chainsaws to remove loose soil and plant materials. 1. Before arriving at a work site, inspect for and 14. Avoid parking in patches of invasive species. When remove all visible plants, seeds, mud, soil, and unavoidable, clean vehicle of all visible evidence of animals from equipment. soil and vegetation when leaving site. 2. Before leaving a work site, inspect for and remove 15. Brush off (hand remove) plants, seeds, mud, soil all visible plants, seeds, mud, soil and animals from and animals from vehicles, including wheel wells, equipment. tracks, hums, blades, grills, etc. 3. After working on infested waters or waters known 16. Power spray equipment after hand removal if to harbor pathogens of concern, clean and dry necessary to remove aquatic plant remnants equipment prior to using in locations not known to (particularly curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian be infested with species or pathogens present at watermilfoil, flowering rush, and purple loosestrife) the last location visited. and earthworms. Specific Procedures: Vehicles and Heavy Equipment General Procedures for Intentional Movement of 1. When possible maintain separate equipment to use Organisms, Organic and Inorganic Material (including on uninfested sites. water, fish, plants, mulch, soil, gravel, rock) 2. If working on multiple sites, work in uninfested sites 1. Do not plant or introduce prohibited or regulated before infested sites and clean equipment after use. invasive species or other listed invasive species. 3. When working within a site with invasive species 2. Do not transport water from infested waters, work in uninfested areas before infested areas and except by permit. When you must use water from clean equipment after use. an infested waters, do not drain this water or water that has come in contact with organisms from the 4. Avoid entering site under wet conditions to infested waters, where it can run into another minimize rutting and other soil disturbances. basin, river, or drain system that does not go to a 5. Minimize area of soil disturbance with equipment. treatment facility. 6. Minimize number of access points to site. 3. Use only mulch, soil, gravel, etc. that is invasive 7. When creating roads and trails minimize area of species-free or has a very low likelihood of having vegetation and soil disturbance. invasive species. 8. Survey site before management treatment and 4. Do not transplant organisms or plant material from treat or avoid moving equipment through existing any waters with known populations of invasive patches of invasive species. aquatic invertebrates 9. Conduct post management treatment monitoring 5. Do not move soil, dredge material, or raw wood and treat any responding invasive species. projects that may harbor invasive species from 10. Inspect all gear and remove vegetation, soil, and infested sites. January 20, 2017 D1 Specific Procedures: Re-vegetation (Aquatic and Site Planning and Management Terrestrial Plants) Construction activities that disturb the soil surface 1. Do not plant or introduce prohibited or regulated can expose dormant invasive species seed banks and invasive species or other listed invasive species. create a growth medium that favors invasive plants. 2. Inspect transplanted vegetation for signs of invasive Landscaping can also introduce invasive plant species, species that may be attached to the vegetation and as can maintenance activities such as mowing, grading, remove (i.e., other plant material and animals, etc.) and stormwater pond maintenance. 3. Re-vegetate with native species. Exercise site-level management to minimize the introduction, spread, and impact of invasive species. 4. Preserve existing native vegetation. Peel topsoil that Site-level management shall include planning, contains natives away from the work zone, stockpile implementation and evaluation procedures that reduce and then replace it at the end of construction. This the risk of introduction, spread, and impact of invasive can help re-establish native species quickly. species. Procedures include identification of invasive 5. If stockpiled invasive free topsoil isn’t adequate for species, monitoring for invasive species, developing post-construction landscaping, and black dirt, sand strategies and actions to minimize spread and impact, or gravel must be purchased, purchase invasive implementing management actions, and evaluating species (i.e., worm) free material. success. 6. Purchase certifiedeed-free w mulch. References 7. Inspect outside of storage containers and materials for visible presence of invasive species. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Operational Order #113, Invasive Species, May 31, 8. If possible use seeding material, plants, fill, straw, 2007. gravel, and mulch that are certified as uninfested. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Invasive 9. Monitor areas where materials are added for Species Operational Handbook,M ay 31, 2007. evidence of invasive species germination. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Standard 10. When possible minimize the use of outside Protocols for Invasive Species Prevention on materials. Terrestrial Sites (Draft) Procedures to Minimize the Risk of Increasing the Dominance of Invasive Species on Site 1. Survey site before burning and treat or avoid moving through patches of invasive species before burn is conducted. 2. Avoid entering site under wet conditions to minimize rutting and other soil disturbances. 3. Conduct post-treatment monitoring and treat any invasive species (such as resprouts and germination).

D2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Appendix E. Native Species Lists and Seed Mixes for Ecological Restoration and Enhancement of Eagle Point Park These native woody plants are indigenous to the As a precaution, wild genetic stock within a 200-mile site and the surrounding ecological region. They are radius of the project area is preferred over cultivars and adapted to local conditions of soils, climate, diseases more distant genetic strains. Some research suggests and competition. While some of these species may not that wild strains benefit wildlife to a greater extent than have existed historically at the site, they are suitable for cultivated strains of the same species. Some research landscape plantings with the goal of visual screening, also suggests that local genetic strains of certain species ecological buffering, and wildlife habitat enhancement. are better able to survive local soil, climate, disease Certain species are recommended because they have and competitive conditions than more distant genetic a high wildlife value as food (e.g., oak, serviceberry, strains. Additionally a few species are not indigenous to aspen) or as nesting sites (conifers). These and other the area but are innocuous in landscape plantings, and species are also attractive or have natural history fulfill particular landscape design needs. interest because they are used by people or have interesting physical properties.

Upland Native Trees (for Multiple land cover types)

Common Name Scientific Name Notes Black Maple Acer nigrum Ohio Buckeye Aesculus glabra River Birch Betula nigra Paper Birch Betula papyrifera Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata Hackberry Celtis occidentalis Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos Kentucky Coffee-tree Gymnocladus dioicus Use male species if desired Black Walnut Juglans nigra Eastern Red Cedar Juniperus virginiana Evergreen Eastern White Pine Pinus strobus Evergreen Eastern Cottonwood Populus deltoides Use male species if desired Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides Black Cherry Prunus serotina White Oak Quercus alba Swamp White Oak Quercus bicolor Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa Chinkapin Oak Quercus muhlenbergii Red Oak Quercus rubra Black Oak Quercus velutina Black Willow Salix nigra Wet areas Eastern White Cedar Thuja occidentalis Evergreen Basswood Tilia americana

January 20, 2017 E1 Upland Native Understory Trees, Shrubs and Vines(for Multiple land cover types)

Common Name Scientific Name Form Notes Low Serviceberry Amelanchier humilis Shrub Smooth Serviceberry Amelanchier laevis Short Tree Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa Shrub American Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Short Tree Pagoda Dogwood Cornus alternifolia Shrub Gray Dogwood Cornus racemosa Shrub Red-twig Dogwood Cornus sericea Shrub American Hazelnut Corylus americana Shrub Fireberry Hawthorn Crataegus chrysocarpa Short Tree Bush Honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera Shrub Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana Shrub Prairie Crab Apple Malus ioensis Shrub Ironwood Ostrya virginiana Short Tree Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius Shrub Wild Plum Prunus americana Shrub Chokecherry Prunus virginiana Shrub Smooth Sumac Rhus glabra Shrub Smooth Rose Rosa blanda Shrub Pussy willow Salix discolor Shrub Wet areas Prairie Willow Salix humilis Shrub American Black Elderberry Sambucus nigra ssp canadensis Shrub Nannyberry Viburnum lentago Shrub Highbush Cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum Shrub (trilobum) Riverbank Grape Vitis riparia Vine

E2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Forest/Woodland Seed Mix (enhancement overseeding)

Common Name Scientific Name oz/ac Notes Wood Anemone Anemone quinquefolia 1 Canada Columbine Aquilegia canadensis 3 Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum 3 Hairy Woodland Brome Bromus pubescens 4 Graminoid Tall Bellflower Campanula americana 1 Long-beaked Sedge Carex sprengellii 2 Graminoid Pointed-leaved Tick-trefoil Desmodium glutinosum 1 Bottlebrush Grass Elymus hystrix 3 Graminoid Virginia Wild Rye Elymus virginicus 48 Graminoid Purple Joe-pye Weed Eupatorium purpureum 0.5 Large-leaved Aster Eurybia macrophylla 1 Woodland Sunflower Helianthus strumosus 1 Common False Solomon’s Smilacina racemosa 3 Seal Zig zag goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis 1 Elm-leaved Goldenrod Solidago ulmifolia 1 Arrow-leaved Aster Symphyotrichum urophyllum 0.5 Early Meadow-rue Thalictrum dioicum 1 Golden Alexanders Zizea aurea 1 Total 76

January 20, 2017 E3 Bluff Prairie/Savanna Seed Mix (enhancement overseeding, where limited native seedbank response)

Common Name Scientific Name oz/ac Notes Lead Plant Amorpha canescens 2 Low-growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub Thimbleweed Anemone cylindrica 1 Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis 2 Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa 2 Used by Monarch butterfly Whorled Milkweed Asclepias verticillata 1 Canadian Milk Vetch Astragalus canadensis 4 Nitrogen-fixing Side-oats Grama Bouteloua curtipendula 8 Graminoid Hairy Grama Bouteloua hirsuta 4 Graminoid Partridge Pea Cassia fasciculata 4 Nitrogen-fixing Prairie Coreopsis Coreopsis palmata 2 Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea 2 Nitrogen-fixing Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis 8 Graminoid Flowering Spurge Euphorbia corollata 1 Early Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides 4 Prairie Alumroot Heuchera richardsonii 0.1 Round-headed Bush Clover Lespedeza capitata 1 Nitrogen-fixing Cylindrical Blazing Star Liatris cylindracea 1 Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa 2 Prairie Satin Grass Muhlenbergia cuspidata 2 Common graminoid of open bluffs Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta 4 Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium 8 Graminoid Starry False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina stellata 0.5 Gray Goldenrod Solidago nemoralis 1 Porcupine Grass Stipa spartea 4 Graminoid Sky-blue Aster Symphyotrichum oolentangiense 2 Silky Aster Symphyotrichum sericeum 1 Ohio spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis 2 Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta 2 Total 75.6

E4 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Woodland with Natives Seed Mix (groundlayer, relatively short, some shade tolerance)

Common Name Scientific Name oz/ac Notes Lead Plant Amorpha canescens 2 Low-growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub Thimbleweed Anemone cylindrica 2 Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis 2 Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa 2 Used by Monarch butterfly Canadian Milk Vetch Astragalus canadensis 4 Nitrogen-fixing Side-oats Grama Bouteloua curtipendula 32 Graminoid Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis 8 Graminoid Hairy Woodland Brome Bromus pubescens 4 Graminoid Bicknell’s Sedge Carex bicknellii 4 Graminoid Plains Oval Sedge Carex brevior 4 Graminoid Partridge Pea Cassia fasciculata 8 Nitrogen-fixing Prairie Coreopsis Coreopsis palmata 2 Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea 4 Nitrogen-fixing Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis 8 Graminoid Bottlebrush Grass Elymus hystrix 8 Graminoid Virginia Wild Rye Elymus virginicus 8 Graminoid Early Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides 4 Prairie Alumroot Heuchera richardsonii 0.1 Round-headed Bush Clover Lespedeza capitata 2 Nitrogen-fixing Cylindrical Blazing Star Liatris cylindracea 2 Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa 2 Common Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis 2 Common Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum 0.5 Upright Prairie Coneflower Ratibida columnifera 2 Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta 8 Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium 32 Graminoid Starry False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina stellata 0.5 Gray Goldenrod Solidago nemoralis 4 Drummond’s Aster Symphyotrichum drummondii 2 Smooth Blue Aster Symphyotrichum laeve 2 Side-flowering Aster Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 2 Sky-blue Aster Symphyotrichum oolentangiense 2 Silky Aster Symphyotrichum sericeum 2 Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis 4 Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta 4 Heart-leaved Alexanders Zizia aptera 4 Total 183.1 Note: Cover crop not included; species and rate will depend on site conditions and timing of seeding.

January 20, 2017 E5 Prairie Seed Mix (relatively short, some shade tolerance)

Common Name Scientific Name oz/ac Notes Lead Plant Amorpha canescens 2 Low-growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub Thimbleweed Anemone cylindrica 2 Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa 2 Used by Monarch butterfly Canadian Milk Vetch Astragalus canadensis 4 Nitrogen-fixing Side-oats Grama Bouteloua curtipendula 32 Graminoid Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis 16 Graminoid Bicknell’s Sedge Carex bicknellii 4 Graminoid Plains Oval Sedge Carex brevior 4 Graminoid Partridge Pea Cassia fasciculata 8 Nitrogen-fixing Prairie Coreopsis Coreopsis palmata 2 Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea 4 Nitrogen-fixing Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis 8 Graminoid Early Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides 4 Prairie Alumroot Heuchera richardsonii 0.1 Round-headed Bush Clover Lespedeza capitata 2 Nitrogen-fixing Cylindrical Blazing Star Liatris cylindracea 2 Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa 2 Common Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis 2 Common Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum 0.5 Upright Prairie Coneflower Ratibida columnifera 2 Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta 8 Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium 32 Graminoid Starry False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina stellata 0.5 Gray Goldenrod Solidago nemoralis 4 Drummond’s Aster Symphyotrichum drummondii 2 Smooth Blue Aster Symphyotrichum laeve 2 Side-flowering Aster Symphyotrichum lateriflorum 1 Sky-blue Aster Symphyotrichum oolentangiense 1 Silky Aster Symphyotrichum sericeum 2 Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis 4 Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta 4 Heart-leaved Alexanders Zizia aptera 4 Total 167.1 Note: Cover crop not included; species and rate will depend on site conditions and timing of seeding.

E6 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Example Rain Garden/Bioinfiltration Native Seed Mix

Common Name Scientific Name oz/ac Notes Canada Anemone Anemone canadensis 0.5 Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata 2 Fringed Brome Bromus ciliatus 16 Graminoid Awl-fruited Sedge Carex stipata 6 Graminoid Fox Sedge Carex vulpinoidea 4 Graminoid Grass-Leaved Goldenrod Euthamia graminifolia 0.5 Fowl Manna Grass Glyceria striata 2 Graminoid Autumn Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale 1 Great Blazing Star Liatris pycnostachya 0.5 Great Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica 0.25 Fowl Bluegrass Poa palustris 4 Graminoid Virginia Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum 1.5 Blue Vervain Verbena hastata 4 Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea 4 Total 46.25 Note: Site-specific factors should be considered to refine seed lists (and/or live plant lists) for vegetated stormwater best practices.

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E8 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA Appendix F. Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program

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2 Eagle Point Park | ERMP | Dubuque, IA

EAGLE POINT PARK ECOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAM

November 30, 2016

EAGLE POINT PARK ECOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction ...... 3

2 Monitoring Program Goals...... 3

3 Monitoring Program Design ...... 4 3.1 Site Walkabout ...... 4 3.2 Biological Data Collection ...... 4 3.2.1 Vegetation ...... 4 3.2.2 Birds ...... 5 3.2.3 Butterflies ...... 6

4 Monitoring Protocols ...... 6 4.1 Field Equipment & Supplies Checklist ...... 6 4.2 Site Walkabout ...... 6 4.3 Biological Data Collection ...... 7 4.3.1 Vegetation ...... 7 4.3.2 Birds ...... 8 4.3.3 Butterflies ...... 9

5 Survey Schedule ...... 10

6 Data Management, Analysis & Reporting ...... 10 6.1 Data Management ...... 10 6.2 Data Analysis ...... 10 6.2.1 Metrics for Trend Detection...... 10 6.2.2 Special Groups for Trend Detection ...... 10 6.3 Reporting & Decision-Making ...... 14

7 Monitoring Opportunities for Future Consideration ...... 15

8 Summary ...... 16

9 References ...... 16

TABLES TABLE 1. VEGETATION MONITORING PLOT LOCATIONS ...... 4 TABLE 2. FIELD EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES CHECKLIST ...... 6 TABLE 3. SUGGESTED SURVEY SCHEDULE SUMMARY ...... 10 TABLE 4. METRICS FOR DETECTION OF TRENDS FOR BIRDS ...... 11 TABLE 5. SELECT INVASIVE AND EXOTIC SPECIES IN IOWA (INCLUDING THOSE OBSERVED AT EAGLE POINT PARK) ...... 12 TABLE 6. IOWA'S BREEDING BIRDS OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED ...... 13 TABLE 7. IOWA'S BUTTERFLIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED ...... 14

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) i

FIGURES FIGURE 1. SCHEMATIC OF VEGETATION LARGE PLOT DESIGN

EXHIBITS EXHIBIT 1. ECOLOGICAL MONITORING LOCATIONS

APPENDICES APPENDIX A. ECOLOGICAL MONITORING FIELD DATA FORMS

Citation: Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 2016. Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program. Report for the City of Dubuque, IA.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) ii

1 INTRODUCTION In 2016, the City of Dubuque initiated development of an Environmental Restoration Management Plan (ERMP) for Eagle Point Park – one of the City’s park treasures. The plan will guide ecological restoration and management activities at the Park for the coming decade. In addition to plant community restoration and enhancement, the ERMP also addresses runoff erosion issues experienced at the Park and recommends stormwater best practices. This Ecological Monitoring Program is designed to support the work laid out in the ERMP. This document outlines a program to evaluate the progress of restoration and management at Eagle Point Park, ensuring work is efficient and effective and that the City’s goals are achieved. One of the goals of this Ecological Monitoring Program is to establish a data baseline and draw general conclusions about the condition of the restorations at annual (and later, more intermittent) intervals. Monitoring findings may inform and influence restoration and short-term management actions taken at the site (especially with regard to erosion issues), but these findings will also play an important role in identifying longer-term trends (5+ years) in the Park’s plant and animal communities. Based on monitoring observations, the methods outlined in the ERMP can be altered if warranted to improve the outcomes of restoration and management.

2 MONITORING PROGRAM GOALS Goals for this Ecological Monitoring Program are:

1. Collect meaningful baseline data pertaining to the Park’s vegetation, birds, butterflies, and erosion areas; 2. Use baseline and subsequent monitoring data to assess the progress of ecological restoration and management and to facilitate adaptive management at the site; 3. Draw general conclusions about the condition of the restorations; 4. Control the costs of ecological restoration and management by not investing unnecessarily in tasks that appear to not be effective. In order to implement this Ecological Monitoring Program accurately and consistently, the City will need to identify people with moderate levels of expertise in plant, bird, and butterfly identification, as well as a working understanding of erosion issues at the Park. This can lead to meaningful, long-term partnerships with institutions and individuals, as well as represent a form of public outreach. The City may wish to partner with educational institutions, state agencies, the Dubuque County Conservation District, Iowa Ornithologists Union, Xerxes Society, or other partners to assist with monitoring and reporting. Consulting ecologists can also be used to provide these services.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 3

3 MONITORING PROGRAM DESIGN 3.1 Site Walkabout Walkabouts provide a comprehensive overview of the entire site, which is important for overall condition assessment and problem identification. No formal field preparation is required prior to conducting the walkabouts. However, due to Eagle Point Park’s existing erosion issues, monitoring staff must have a working understanding of the causes of the Park’s erosion as well as the design and intent of site- appropriate solutions. The walkabout protocol is provided in Section 4.2.

3.2 Biological Data Collection The focus of this monitoring program is the systematic collection of biological data. While the walkabouts provide an overview of the site (including assessment of erosion issues), more detailed and standardized data are required for measuring biological populations in order to assess changes and trends. Vegetation is important in monitoring because vegetation is the foundation of most habitats, and establishment of native plant communities is the primary goal of most ecological restoration and management programs. Invasive plant populations are a significant threat to healthy, diverse ecosystems, while other plant species may indicate high quality habitat. Therefore, close attention to vegetation is critical to effective ecological monitoring. Wildlife is important to monitoring because it responds to available habitat (both quantity and quality). Understanding species richness and the presence or absence of particular animals can illuminate the ecological health of a landscape. While vegetation is stationary and relatively easy to survey, animals can be more difficult to study. For this reason, birds and butterflies are the two categories of wildlife selected for monitoring. These groups of wildlife are easily detected and monitored, and are known to be particularly good bio-indicators of habitat quality.

3.2.1 Vegetation The use of plots, which are to be resampled in successive years, is standard in biological monitoring programs (McGlinn et al. 2010). The plots (designated as A through G, Exhibit 1) are distributed across five of the site’s major existing habitat types, with one plot in “Bluff Woodland”, “Turf”, and “Younger Dry- Mesic Forest” and two plots in “Woodland with Turf” and “Dry-Mesic Forest” (Table 1)Mesic Forest is not included in monitoring due to the logistical problem of safe access down the steep slope.

Table 1. Vegetation Monitoring Plot Locations Plot ID Existing Land Cover Proposed Land Cover A Woodland with Turf Woodland with Natives B Dry-Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland C Bluff Woodland Bluff Prairie/Savanna D Dry-Mesic Forest Dry-Mesic Forest/Woodland E Woodland with Turf Woodland with Natives F Turf Prairie G Younger Dry-Mesic Forest Dry Mesic Forest/Woodland

Plot locations were selected to represent existing and proposed (post-restoration) land cover onsite in order to adequately capture vegetative change over time. Land covers with little to no natural habitat

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 4

were excluded from monitoring. These include Landscaped, Play Area, Water, Impervious Cover, and Building. Exact plot locations may change depending on accessibility or other presently unknown factors.

Each plot is a large, delineated, 100 m2 square (10m x 10m), with a 1 m2 small plot at each corner (Figure 1). Plots are oriented so that plot edges run north-south and east-west. Each small corner plot is identified by the plot letter (e.g., A) followed by a 1, 2, 3, or 4, with 1 representing the northeast corner, and subsequent numbers assigned clockwise (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Schematic of vegetation large plot design

A4 A1

Plot A

A3 A2

Permanent marking of the plots is important for comparison of data collected on different monitoring events. Ideally, permanent marking should entail installation of a durable and visible (or otherwise detectable) stake at each corner of each large plot. However, if this is not desired, a single documented corner stake can be established (or an existing permanent feature, such as an identifiable tree, be identified) and the plot re-created with a compass for each monitoring event. Stakes intended to be visually located should be installed such that 2m remains out of the ground. If necessary, at-grade metal stakes can be used and re-located with a metal detector and/or a global positioning system (GPS). Flagging, painting, or other visual aid should be used so stakes can be protected during site activities and located during monitoring. The northeast corner of each plot should be surveyed using a sub-meter GPS in the event that vandalism or other disturbance eliminates the plot markers and requires plot re- establishment. Detailed vegetation monitoring protocols are provided in Section 4.3.1.

3.2.2 Birds Birds are relatively abundant, can often be identified reliably by non-experts, and can serve as important indicators of habitat quality. Bird surveys will be conducted within a 50 meter radius around the northeast corner stake of each of the seven vegetation plots (designated as point-counts A through G). As with the vegetation monitoring plots, this monitoring design will provide data for each of the Park’s six proposed habitat types. Detailed bird monitoring protocols are provided in Section 4.3.2.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 5

3.2.3 Butterflies As a source of food for numerous faunal groups and pollinators of plants, insects are a vital component of overall ecosystem health. However, their size and mobility make insect populations difficult to monitor. Nevertheless, butterflies are a relatively easy group of insects to monitor. Butterflies, in general, are regarded as a group of animals sensitive to environmental change, making them a useful indicator of habitat quality.

Butterfly surveys will be conducted at 100m long transects located at each of the seven vegetation monitoring plots (designated as Transects A through G, Exhibit 1). Detailed butterfly monitoring protocols are provided in Section 4.3.3.

4 MONITORING PROTOCOLS

4.1 Field Equipment & Supplies Checklist Table 2 is a list of field equipment and supplies required or recommended for field monitoring of vegetation and wildlife. Some items are needed for specific surveys.

Table 2. Field Equipment & Supplies Checklist Equipment Supplies Personal Gear Camera/cell phone camera Data sheets (see appendices) Hat (sun/warmth) Binoculars Field log paper/notebook Light/heavy gloves Compass Pens/pencils Raingear Clipboard Field maps Hiking boots Knapsack Field guides Sunscreen 1m x 1m frame or hoop Camera batteries Sunglasses GPS unit First aid kit Insect repellent Bird call apps Water bottle Bird alpha codes

4.2 Site Walkabout Twice each year (early summer, early fall), a site-wide walkabout will be conducted by a qualified restoration ecologist. The walkabout will cover each management unit defined in the ERMP, with special attention given to areas that have experienced recent restoration or management activity. The initial site walkabout will include gathering baseline vegetation, wildlife, and erosion data prior to the initiation of restoration or enhancement activities. Special attention should be paid to documenting (including photography of) invasive species populations and erosion features. Site-documented erosion includes sheet erosion, headcut erosion, and erosion within the ravines themselves. New discoveries of erosion should also be documented, mapped, and photographed for future monitoring. Some site photographs will be taken from fixed photo-reference points (see below) to document landscape change over time. A comprehensive species list of the Park’s vegetation and wildlife can be initiated during the initial site walkabout. After restoration and management activities have commenced, the ecologist will document the progress of invasive species control, unsustainable herbivory, regeneration of important plant species, native vegetation establishment using the performance criteria provided in the ERMP, and other concerns associated with the restoration and management program. Erosion features should be inspected and

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 6

photo-documented during each monitoring event. The running species list begun during the first site walkabout should be added to during subsequent monitoring.

4.3 Biological Data Collection Ideally, bird, butterfly, and vegetation monitoring can be conducted in succession at each plot where they are scheduled, with one visit per plot. Since birds are easily disturbed, bird monitoring in an area should be conducted first, followed by butterfly monitoring, then vegetation. If temperatures are below 65° F in the morning, birds and vegetation may be surveyed first; then butterfly monitoring can begin after temperatures rise.

4.3.1 Vegetation Vegetation monitoring will be conducted by a qualified botanist. Technical taxonomic manuals and layperson-friendly field guides are available to identify vegetation. AES recommends “Newcomb's Wildflower Guide” (Newcomb 1989) for herbaceous plants and “Grasses: An Identification Guide” for grasses (Brown 1992). Large Plots (100m2). Trees and large shrubs will be surveyed in large Plots A through G (Exhibit 1). All woody vegetation with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥1in will be included. One field data form will be completed to record tree and shrub species. This includes all trees and large shrubs rooted within the plot and rooted outside the plot with canopies hanging over the plot. Use the Vegetation - Tree and Large Shrub Canopy Cover data form (Appendix A). For each tree or shrub species, record the scientific name and estimate the total percent canopy cover (i.e., aerial cover or light interception) for each species inside the large plot. Overlapping canopies may result in a total canopy cover in a plot of more than 100%. Also estimate the percent of bare soil (e.g., due to disturbance or erosion) and fine fuel (e.g., oak leaves, grasses, sedges). Small Plots (1m2). Small plots at each large plot corner (e.g., A1, A2, A3, A4) will be used to estimate the percent cover of herbaceous vegetation and small shrubs (i.e., <1in dbh) rooted within the small plot. A 1m x 1m sampling frame or hoop will be placed over the vegetation, taking care not to bend the vegetation into or out of the plot. Record the scientific name of each plant species and estimate the percent of the 1m2 plot covered by each species. See Appendix A, Vegetation – Herbaceous Stratum Cover. Overlapping plants may result in a total areal cover of more than 100% in a plot. Photodocumentation. Take photos annually at fixed locations, on or about the same date and time each year if possible. Place a digital camera on top of the southwest corner stake of each large plot, facing the northeast plot corner. Take two photos: a) a landscape shot with the camera lens parallel to the ground, and b) an oblique shot, with the lens pointing into the center of the small corner plot (A3 in Figure 1). Taking repeat photographs over subsequent visits and years will establish a consistent visual record to help document changes in vegetation structure, composition, density, and aesthetics as restoration progresses. Time of Year. There is no single best time of year to conduct vegetation monitoring, but AES recommends it be conducted in July or August when vegetation is substantially developed but identification of spring plants may still be possible. A trained person can identify most plant species at this time. A survey in July would synchronize with butterfly surveys, as discussed in 4.3.3.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 7

4.3.2 Birds Bird monitoring will be conducted or supervised by a qualified birder with comprehensive knowledge of eastern Iowa bird species. Numerous field guides, from technical to layperson-friendly, are applicable to identify the site’s bird species. AES recommends the “Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America” (Peterson 2010). Additionally, a number of Smartphone applications are available to assist with field identification of birds, including the “Sibley eGuide to Birds” and “iBird Pro.” These applications include song recordings for most species. Plots. The bird survey plots correspond to the seven vegetation monitoring plots. Each bird survey area is defined by a 50m radius from its center, which will be located at or near the northwest corner of each plot (Exhibit 1). The survey center may be moved in order to best situate the 100m plot within the habitat type being surveyed. For example, if locating the plot center at a vegetation plot corner in Dry-Mesic Forest causes the 100m plot to fall mostly into Woodland with Turf habitat, the plot center may be shifted deeper into the forest, away from the vegetation plot. Document any such adjustments to allow for consistent protocols during subsequent monitoring events. Point-Count Surveys. Bird surveys will use a point-count method. The surveyor will arrive at a point and wait five minutes for birds to habituate to the surveyor’s presence. While waiting, he or she can begin filling in the general point and weather information on the data sheet. On the first visit to a point, the surveyor will sketch and label the habitat cover type in the circle on the Bird Point Count Data Form (Appendix A). Note the dimensions of the habitat, including distances from the sampling point. Note significant features in the 100m radius area, such as roads, structures, etc. The surveyor will document on the data form all bird species seen or heard within the 100m radius of the point during a 15-minute survey period. Record one line of data for each species (individual or group at one general location) using the appropriate American Ornithologist’s Union 4-character alpha code for common name (AOU 2012, http://www.birdpop.org/DownloadDocuments/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf). Note the number of individuals of a species for each observation. For the first 3 minutes, record the number of birds observed in the 0-3 min. column. For the next 2 minutes, record the number of birds observed in the 3-5 min. column. For the next 5 minutes record the number of birds in the 5-10 min. column. Then finally, record the 10-15 minute interval in the 15 min, column. Record a number in the column, not a tally mark. Only include birds observed within the habitat type being surveyed. Birds within the 50m plot, but in a different habitat, should be recorded as incidental. Individual birds should be counted only once. Do not record the same individual or groups of individuals if still observed or heard during the next time interval. On the data form, also note bird behavior (see data form codes), direction from point, and distance from point (meters). The Notes column is for recording identifying features of a bird for later identification/ confirmation or for clarification or explanation of data. Incidental observations of interesting birds of note may be recorded during other field activities, but should be noted as “incidental” to the survey. Weather. Surveys should be conducted during weather and time of day that promotes bird activity. Bird surveys will be conducted between dawn and 10:00am or until a noticeable drop in bird activity. Steady rain, poor visibility or steady, strong winds over 25mph are not acceptable. Brief periods of rain, light drizzle and gusts up to 30mph are acceptable if birds remain active. Since human movement through the area may disturb the birds, the bird point-count should be completed prior to vegetation and butterfly data collection, and ideally at times when Park use is low.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 8

Time of Year. Bird monitoring will be conducted in June, during the early summer breeding season. Spring and fall migration surveys could be conducted, but would not be as informative because the presence of passing migrants (likely abundant at the Park) does not accurately reflect habitat quality as much as breeding birds do.

4.3.3 Butterflies Butterfly identification often requires patience and diligence, but can be learned by lay people with guidance from those more knowledgeable. For a butterfly field guide, AES recommends “Butterflies through Binoculars: the East” (Glassberg 1999). Transects. Although butterflies (and their floral resources) prefer warm, sunny locations and are less likely to be found in closed-canopy forests, surveys will occur at all monitoring plots (A-G). Forested areas are likely to be subject to some restoration or enhancement activities, such as buckthorn removal, that in time may allow more solar insulation into the understory. The butterfly transects will be referenced as Transects A through G, corresponding with the vegetation monitoring plots A through G. As with birds, incidental sightings of interesting butterflies of note seen during other field activities should be documented as “incidental.” Transect Surveys. Each transect will be 100m long - the length of the diameter of the bird survey points. These will be oriented North-South when possible. The transect should be located entirely in the habitat type being covered. For example, a transect in an area proposed to be “Bluff Prairie/Savanna” should be entirely located within that habitat. Transect orientation may be adjusted as needed to stay within the habitat (e.g., zig-zagging or veering from due north). The small habitat patches in Plots A and F will necessitate this variance, as illustrated in Exhibit 1. Document any such variations from the standard protocol. Transects should be 5m in width (i.e., about 8 ft on either side of surveyor). Beyond 5m, it may become difficult to identify butterflies to species, even with binoculars. Walk the transect slowly, and when a butterfly is encountered, the observer should stop to document the species or genus with the aid of binoculars when necessary. (If an expert is conducting the survey, they may use a net to capture the individual. Netting should not be tried without experience as these insects are easily damaged or killed.) Since walking along the transect will disturb birds, it is important that the bird point count is completed prior to beginning a butterfly transect. Weather. Butterfly surveys should be conducted only on days that are at least 65°F under clear, sunny skies. Warmer temperatures will result in more butterfly observations, with temperatures between 75- 85°F being ideal. Cloudy skies are acceptable if temperatures are over 75°F. Avoid surveying for butterflies during times of temperatures over 95°F and/or drought conditions, as they will tend to hide in shade rather than fly. Avoid conducting surveys during wet or rainy conditions and when sustained winds are over 10mph. Check weather forecast in advance. Time of Year. Different species of butterflies have different flight periods from June through August. For example, a survey in June will capture a few different species than would be seen in August. Conducting surveys in July, coordinated with vegetation monitoring, may be the best time of year to catch the flight time for most species, but an optional June survey could be conducted while performing breeding bird surveys.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 9

5 SURVEY SCHEDULE Surveys should be combined to the extent practical to maximize data gathering efficiency. Under the survey schedule proposed below in Table 3, three trips per year are suggested. A fourth may be added if spring migration bird surveys are desired. If budget and project scope allow, a second butterfly survey could occur during the June visit.

Table 3. Suggested Survey Schedule Summary Survey April June July September Walkabout X X Vegetation X Birds X (optional) X X (optional) Butterflies X (optional) X

6 DATA MANAGEMENT, ANALYSIS & REPORTING

6.1 Data Management After each monitoring event, field data forms will be labeled sequentially, scanned and archived as hard copy (e.g., 3-ring binder) and in digital format (e.g., pdf). Pertinent data from the forms will be entered into a spreadsheet and each subsequent year of data will be added to the spreadsheet.

6.2 Data Analysis This Ecological Monitoring Program will generate data to perform analysis of trends. The cumulatively updated spreadsheet is the basis for comparing monitoring events, statistically analyzing differences among plots, and visualizing trends in graphs of changing species richness and abundance.

6.2.1 Metrics for Trend Detection Metrics are commonly used measures of ecological conditions and can be used to detect trends as a result of restoration and management work. Common metrics used to assess habitat quality and measure changes in biological populations, which are recommended here, include:

 Plant species aerial cover (percent of ground covered by different plant species)  Animal species abundance (the number of individuals observed per species group);  Plant and animal species richness (the number of species present); These metrics are usually reported by habitat type. Prior to restoration and management, the “existing” land cover type (Table 1) should be documented (along with the Plot ID) on data sheets; the “proposed” land cover type (along with the Plot ID) should be documented after restoration and management has been initiated.

6.2.2 Special Groups for Trend Detection In addition to monitoring and analyzing all vegetation, all birds, and all butterflies encountered in surveys, the following special groups will be monitored and analyzed: native versus non-native vegetation, Butterfly Species of Greatest Conservation Need, and Breeding Bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Other indicators and groupings may be added as well. See Table 4 for an example of the detection of trends matrix that could be used for birds. Vegetation and butterfly spreadsheets would be similar.

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Table 4. Metrics for Detection of Trends for Birds Habitat Grouping Metric Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Plot A: All Birds Total Abundance Woodland with Speciesabundance Richness Turf  Woodland SGCN Birds Total Abundance with Natives Species Richness Plot B: Dry-Mesic All Birds Total Abundance Forest  Dry- Species Richness Mesic Total Abundance Forest/Woodland SGCN Birds Species Richness Plot C: All Birds Total Abundance Bluff Woodland  Species Richness Bluff SGCN Birds Total Abundance Prairie/Savanna Species Richness Forest/Woodland Plot D: All Birds Total Abundance Dry -Mesic Forest Species Richness  Dry-Mesic SGCN Birds Total Abundance Forest/Woodland Species Richness Plot E: All Birds Total Abundance Woodland with Species Richness Turf  Woodland SGCN Birds Total Abundance with Natives Species Richness Plot F: All Birds Total Abundance Turf  Prairie Species Richness SGCN Birds Total Abundance Species Richness Plot G: Younger All Birds Total Abundance Dry-Mesic Forest Species Richness  Dry-Mesic Total Abundance Forest /Woodland SGCN Birds Species Richness

Native vs. Non-native Vegetation. Iowa has over 30 species of vegetation considered to be Introduced, Noxious, and Invasive Plants. This list of species is largely relevant to agriculture industry, where they are considered problems in agricultural fields. Most are herbaceous species that would be found growing in open, disturbed habitats such as agricultural crop fields, pasture or grasslands, or forest edges. Some invasive species are common forest shrubs. The list has been modified to include only species with a likelihood of occurring at Eagle Point Park, and that are considered a problem for native species diversity. When performing vegetation monitoring, species in this list should be recorded and analyzed as a group to detect trends and possibly target them for treatment.

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Table 5. Select Invasive and Exotic Species in Iowa (including those observed at Eagle Point Park) Common Name Scientific Name Tree of heaven Ailanthus altissima Garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata Common burdock Arctium minus Japanese barberry Berberis thunbergii Oriental bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus Canada thistle Cirsium arvense Bull thistle Cirsium vulgare Teasel Dipsacus sativus Creeping Charlie Glechoma hederacea Japanese hop Humulus japonicus Invasive honeysuckles Lonicera spp. White mulberry Morus alba Reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum White poplar Populus alba Common buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica Black locust Robinia pseudo-acacia Multiflora rose Rosa multiflora Wild mustard Sinapis arvensis Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

Sources: https://www.invasive.org/species/list.cfm?id=70 http://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Forest-Health/Invasive-Plants

Breeding Birds of Greatest Conservation Need. The onsite presence of Breeding Birds of Greatest Conservation Need is a good indicator of the condition of bird breeding habitat. Bird SGCN species typically are neither rare nor common, but just common enough to be attracted to habitat if conditions are right. The more bird SGCN species present, by inference the better the habitat condition. They are used as proxies for ecosystem health and can make monitoring easier because fewer species are being investigated. For this monitoring program, the occurrence of these species on the site would suggest moderate to high-quality habitat conditions. Note that many of these species will not occur onsite due to lack of habitat. For example, due to the absence of aquatic habitat, waterbirds and wading birds, such as Trumpeter swan and King rail, are not expected. Refer to Table 6 for the target list of breeding birds listed as SGCN. All observed birds that are SGCN species should be arranged by habitat where encountered and analyzed as a group. Butterflies of Greatest Conservation Need. Forty percent of Iowa’s 123 species of butterflies are considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Most SGCN species are neither very common nor very rare, but just uncommon enough to make their detection onsite a noteworthy indicator of good habitat quality. However, some species of butterflies listed as SGCN will not be found onsite either because they are believed extirpated from Iowa or their habitat (e.g., extensive tallgrass prairie, bog, fen) is not present onsite. Refer to Table 7 for the target list of SGCN butterflies. All identified butterfly species should be cross-checked against this list and analyzed as a group.

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Table 6. Iowa's Breeding Birds of Greatest Conservation Need Common Name Scientific Name Common Name Scientific Name

1 Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator 40 Long-eared Owl Asio otus 2 American Wigeon Anas americana 41 Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus 3 Blue-winged Teal Anas discors 42 Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor 4 Northern Pintail Anas acuta 43 Chuck-will’s-widow Caprimulgus carolinensis 5 Canvasback Aythya valisineria 44 Eastern Whip-poor-will Caprimulgus vociferus 6 Redhead Aythya americana 45 Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica 7 Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris 46 Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon Red-headed Melanerpes 8 Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis 47 Woodpecker erythrocephalus 9 Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus 48 Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus 10 Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus 49 American Kestrel Falco sparverius Tympanuchus 11 Sharp-tailed Grouse 50 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus phasianellus 12 Greater Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus cupido 51 Eastern Wood-pewee Contopus virens 13 Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena 52 Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens 14 Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis 53 Say’s Phoebe Sayornis saya Pelecanus 15 American White Pelican 54 Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus erythrorhynchos 16 American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus 55 Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus 17 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax 56 Bell's Vireo Vireo bellii 18 White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi 57 Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris 19 Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus 58 Purple Martin Progne subis 20 Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus 59 Bank Swallow Riparia riparia 21 Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus 60 Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis 22 Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus 61 Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii 23 Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni 62 Veery Catharus fuscescens 24 King Rail Rallus elegans 63 Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina 25 Common Gallinule Gallinula chloropus 64 Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum 26 Piping Plover Charadrius melodus 65 Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorus Golden-winged 27 Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda 66 Vermivora chrysoptera Warbler 28 Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata 67 Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea 29 American Woodcock Scolopax minor 68 Kentucky Warbler Geothlypis formosus 30 Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor 69 Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 31 Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan 70 Cerulean Warbler Setophaga cerulea 32 Least Tern Sterna antillarum 71 Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla Ammodramus 33 Black Tern Chlidonias niger 72 Grasshopper Sparrow savannarum 34 Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri 73 Henslow's Sparrow Ammodramus henslowii 35 Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus 74 Dickcissel Spiza americana Coccyzus 36 Black-billed Cuckoo 75 Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus erythropthalmus 37 Barn Owl Tyto alba 76 Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna 38 Eastern Screech-owl Otus asio 77 Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta 39 Burrowing Owl Speotyto cunicularia 78 Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula Source: The Iowa Wildlife Action Plan (2015) http://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Wildlife-Stewardship/Iowa- Wildlife-Action-Plan

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Table 7. Iowa's Butterflies of Greatest Conservation Need Common Name Scientific Name Common Name Scientific Name

Staphylus 1 Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 27 Hayhurst’s Scallopwing hayhurstii 2 Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus 28 Dreamy Duskywing Erynnis icelus 3 Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus 29 Sleepy Duskywing Erynnis brizo 4 Olympia Marble Euchloe olympia 30 Juvenal’s Duskywing Erynnis juvenalis 5 Harvester Feniseca tarquinius 31 Mottled Duskywing Erynnis martialis 6 Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides 32 Columbine Duskywing Erynnis lucilius Oarisma 7 Acadian Hairstreak Satyrium acadica 33 Poweshiek Skipperling poweshiek 8 Edward’s Hairstreak Satyrium edwardsii 34 Ottoe Skipper Hesperia ottoe 9 Hickory Hairstreak Satyrium caryaevorum 35 Leonard’s Skipper Hesperia leonardus 10 Striped Hairstreak Satyrium liparops 36 Dakota Skipper Hesperia dacotae 11 White M. Hairstreak Parrhasius m-album 37 Crossline Skipper Polites origines 12 Henry’s Elfin Callophrys henrici 38 Long Dash Polites mystic Wallengrenia 13 Reakirt’s Blue Echinargus (Hemiargus)isola 39 Northern Broken-dash egeremet 14 Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus 40 Little Glassywing Pompeius verna 15 Melissa Blue Plebejus (Lycaeides) melissa 41 Arogos Skipper Atrytone arogos 16 Aphrodite Fritillary Speyeria aphrodite 42 Byssus Skipper Problema byssus 17 Regal Fritillary Speyeria idalia 43 Mulberry Wing Poanes massasoit 18 Silver-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene 44 Broad-winged Skipper Poanes viator 19 Gorgone Checkerspot Chlosyne gorgone 45 Dion Skipper Euphyes dion 20 Baltimore Checkerspot Euphydryas phaeton 46 Black Dash Euphyes conspicua ‘Ozark’ Baltimore 21 Euphydryas phaeton ozarkae 47 Two-spotted Skipper Euphyes bimacula Checkerspot Atrytonopsis 22 Compton Tortoiseshell Nymphalis vaualbum (l-album) 48 Dusted Skipper hianna 23 Common Ringlet Coenonympha tullia 49 Pepper and Salt Skipper Amblyscirtes hegon Common Roadside- 24 Eyed Brown Satyrodes eurydice 50 Amblyscirtes vialis skipper 25 Monarch Danaus plexippus 51 Swarthy Skipper Nastra lherminier 26 Southern Cloudywing Thorybes bathyllus

Source: The Iowa Wildlife Action Plan (2015) http://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Wildlife-Stewardship/Iowa- Wildlife-Action-Plan

6.3 Reporting & Decision-Making A baseline monitoring report should be prepared after collecting the first year’s data. A monitoring report provides a summary of “baseline” conditions prior to significant ecological restoration on the site. Analysis of baseline data will illustrate the biological richness of the site by habitat (or other category). After the first year’s monitoring is completed, the monitoring program should be assessed and modifications made as needed. For example, the bird indicator species may need to be revised. Monitoring data can be used to detect trends in natural resource condition, in comparison to a baseline. A simple visual inspection, or more rigorous regression analysis, can determine whether a trend is positive, negative or neutral (no significant change). Negative trends may indicate that the restoration and management approach should be changed. Negative trends include:

 Declining native plant species richness or diversity,

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 Declining cover of native plant species,  Increasing cover of non-native and invasive plant species,  Failure to attract SGCN bird species,  No increase in butterfly richness or diversity. Sometimes negative trends are caused by natural phenomena, such as drought or wet years. Sometimes a catastrophe, such as tornado or disease, affects plant and animal species, producing a temporary negative trend. Due to this natural variability, five years of monitoring are recommended before trends can be considered real. Trend data can be used to decide whether to change a restoration or management technique; however, such changes should not be made lightly. The cause of many apparent trends may simply be natural variability, for instance. Rather, trend data often merely give notice that something should be looked at more carefully and watched over time. Investigating negative trends is a normal part of implementing a restoration program and within the adaptive management cycle.

7 MONITORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION  Bioblitz. A bioblitz is a tool for inventorying the flora and fauna present at a site. A bioblitz is typically a 24-hour period when professionals and volunteers document all living species within a given area, such as a public park. Bioblitzes can be conducted as a one-time survey and provide a snapshot of plants and animals present. This is valuable as a “baseline” inventory of species and can provide a foundation for a monitoring program. Bioblitzes can be repeated, too, but they lack the rigor of a standardized ecological monitoring program. Bioblitzes also provide an opportunity for engaging people in discovery of the natural world and scientific research in the company of experts. Holding a bioblitz at Eagle Pont Park could be an effective way of engaging the community and collecting valuable baseline data for comparison with post-restoration data. In a typical bioblitz, participants generate species lists by biological group (e.g., plants, butterflies, frogs, birds, mammals). Data are collected largely by non-experts using informal field methods; however, professionals and other experts can train and oversee amateurs, or conduct independent surveys.

 Raptor Migration. This site has several clear views of the Mississippi River Valley. Since the river valley is an important migratory flyway, this Park is well suited for monitoring raptor migration. This would not inform the restoration work at the Park, but would increase its visibility. The Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA, http://www.hmana.org/) maintains a number of sites across the continent where official counts are taken every year during one or both of the raptor migration seasons (spring and/or fall). Currently, the nearest HMANA site appears to be Eagle Valley in Glen Haven, WI (about 40 miles up the Mississippi River), where they conduct spring and fall counts. To strengthen its reputation as an important destination for birding and nature enthusiasts, the City may consider contacting HMANA about initiating official raptor migration counts at Eagle Point Park.

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8 SUMMARY Implementing this Ecological Monitoring Program at Eagle Point Park will provide important baseline data, guide future restoration and management efforts, engage partners and the community, and protect the investments being made to improve the site’s natural resources.

9 REFERENCES

American Ornithologist’s Union. 2012. Four-letter (English Name) and Six-letter (Scientific Name) Alpha Codes for 2083 Bird Species (and 97 Non-Species Taxa) in accordance with the 53rd AOU Supplement (2012). http://www.birdpop.org/DownloadDocuments/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf (Accessed February 2014). Brown, L. 1992. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Chapman, K. 2001. Conserving regional biodiversity: role of reserves, rural lands, and suburbs in the prairie-forest transition, Minnesota, USA. PhD thesis submitted to the faculty of the graduate school of the University of Minnesota. Glassberg, Jeffrey. 1999. Butterflies through Binoculars: The East. Oxford University Press, USA. McGlinn, D., P. Earls and M. Palmer. 2010. A 12-year study on the scaling of vascular plant composition in an Oklahoma tall grass prairie. Ecology (91): 1872. Newcomb, L. 1989. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company. Peterson, Roger. 2010. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Sixth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Eagle Point Park - Ecological Monitoring Program (16-0320) 16

G

F

Eagle Point Park (108 ac)

Vegetation Monitoring Plot (10mx10m)

Bird Survey Center Point

Bird Survey Boundary (50m radius) E Butterfly Transect (100m)

Elevation Contour (2-ft interval)

Existing Land Cover A Mesic Forest (11.93 ac)

Dry-Mesic Forest (30.78 ac) D

Dry-Mesic Forest (Young) (12.56 ac)

Bluff Woodland (3.75 ac)

Woodland with Turf (28.97 ac)

Turf (4.52 ac)

Landscaped (1.37 ac) B

Play Area (0.39 ac)

Water (0.04 ac)

Impervious Cover (12.65 ac)

Building (0.82 ac) C

Data Sources: Eagle Point Park - City of Dubuque - LiDAR contours Ecological Monitoring Program - NAIP aerial photo (2015) AES Project Number: 16-0320 Date: 2016-11-22 Exhibit 1 File Name: EaglePt_monitoring_2016-11-22

Ecological Monitoring Locations

Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 21938 Mushtown Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 952-447-1919 www.appliedeco.com

Feet 0 200 400 800 ±

Appendix A. Ecological Monitoring Field Data Forms

VEGETATION – TREE AND LARGE SHRUB CANOPY COVER (100m2) (percent areal cover of all woody vegetation ≥1in dbh)

Project Location: Eagle Point Park

Date:______Samplers:______

Large Plot ID Species A B C D E F G

bare soil/erosion fine fuel/litter

VEGETATION – HERBACEOUS STRATUM COVER (1m2) (Percent areal cover of all herbaceous vegetation and woody vegetation <1in dbh)

Project Location: Eagle Point Park

Large Plot IDs: A through E Date: ______Samplers: ______

Small Plot ID Species A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 C1 C2 C3 C4 D1 D2 D3 D4 E1 E2 E3 E4

bare soil/erosion fine fuel/litter

VEGETATION – HERBACEOUS STRATUM COVER (1m2) (Percent aerial cover of all herbaceous vegetation and woody vegetation <1in dbh)

Project Location: Eagle Point Park

Large Plot IDs: F through G Date: ______Samplers: ______

Small Plot ID Species F1 F2 F3 F4 G1 G2 G3 G4

bare soil/erosion fine fuel/litter

BIRD POINT COUNT DATA FORM

Eagle Point Park Project Name Sample Point ID X coordinate, Y coordinate (optional)

Date Start Time (24 hr format) Stop Time

Observer Wind Speed Wind Dir. Sky Temp Dominant (>50%) AES Habitat Type

N Other Habitats______

Wind Sky AES Habitat Type 0 = none 0 = <10% clouds Developed 1 = 1-3mph 1 = partly cloudy Cropland 2 = 4-7 mph 2 = mostly cloudy Barren Land 3 = 8-12 mph 3 = overcast Grassland 4 = 13-18 mph 4 = rain Upland Shrub-Scrub 5 = 19-24mph 5 = fog Upland Broadleaf Forest 6 > 24 mph Upland Coniferous Forest W E Behavior Upland Mixed Forest H = Heard, not seen Wetland Forested P = Perched or on ground Wetland Shrub-Scrub F = Flying (flapping) Wetland Emergent S = Soaring (updraft) Open Water G = Gliding K = Kiting MI = Multi-bird Interaction (describe) O = other (describe) Notes: Circle radius = 50m S

Dir. Alpha Behav. from Dist. from 0-3 3-5 5-10 10-15 Code Code Point Point (m) min min min min Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

BUTTERFLY SURVEY DATA FORM (100m transect)

Project Name: Eagle Point Park Transect: ______

Date: ______Surveyor: ______

Species 1 2 3 4