Mission

The mission of Three Rivers Park District Forestry Management is to restore, enhance, and manage the Park District's native woodlands and develop appropriate landscapes for interpretive and developed recreation areas by planning, implementing, and maintaining reforestation and landscape plantings throughout the park system.

Plant Propagation - District Nursery Operations

Forestry operates a 50-acre plant materials nursery at Crow-Hassan Park Reserve, which produces herbaceous and woody plants native to Hennepin County and its immediate surrounding locations. Three Rivers Park District's nursery compound includes a maintenance shop; headhouse; greenhouses; plant acclimation houses; 16" diameter 300-foot deep well and permanent irrigation systems; equipment storage facility; refrigerated plant storage facility; shade beds; seed beds; seedling beds; growing beds; and liner beds. All plants are propagated from sexual reproduction to maintain genetic diversity. The annual production is 14,000 trees (6' - 8') and shrubs (2' - 4') harvested bareroot, 70,000 tree and shrub seedlings; 500 large trees (10'+) harvested balled and burlapped (BB) or tree spade; and 5,000 herbaceous forbs.

Reforestation Efforts

• Artificial seeding. Approximately 150 cubic yards of native tree and shrub seed are collected and sown on 20 acres of bare ground annually.
• Natural succession efforts. Annually, about 40 acres of parkland dominated by exotic grasses is converted to bare mineral soil through a combination of herbicide application, burning, plowing, and discing. These bare fields are allowed to succeed naturally from nearby seed sources.
• Large bareroot plantings. 4,000 large trees are installed and maintained on sites where rapid reforestation is desirable.
• Seedling plantings. Annually, 50,000 tree and shrub seedlings are installed with mechanical planters on approximately 20 acres.

Landscaping Programs

• Forestry provides landscaping services in accordance with Board Approved Policy. Please visit Three Rivers Park District Active Use Areas Landscape Planning and Management Policy (coming soon).
• Install and maintain 10,000 large bareroot trees and shrubs and 500 large shade trees annually in active use areas to enhance associated amenities.

Tree Disease and Insect Control Programs

• Oak wilt disease. Forestry operates an aggressive program using aerial and ground survey methods and installing root graft control barriers with a vibratory plow unit.
• Dutch Elm disease. Three Rivers Park District does not attempt to control the overland spread of DED via elm bark beetles produced on its property. However, diseased trees adjacent to other property owners within municipalities operating active DED control programs are removed promptly. Inconspicuous elms in woodland settings are not removed. Approximately 25 significant elms are injected with Arbotect 20-S on a three-year rotation in an effort to save a few of the magnificent specimen elms.
• Gypsy moth monitoring is conducted in conjunction with USDA Agricultural Plant Health Inspection Service and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
• Other disease and insect control programs are implemented in accordance with Three Rivers Park District Pesticide and Fertilizer Use Policy.

For more information on plant disease, see the University of Minnesota Plant Disease Clinic.

Shade Tree Maintenance Programs

• Newly planted shade trees are monitored and maintained for an average period of three years. Treatments may involve supplemental watering, fertilization, trunk wrapping, competing vegetation control, and deer protection.
• Hazard Tree Removals (see Three Rivers Park District Shade Tree Management Guidelines).
• Small to medium sized trees are trimmed by a three-person Three Rivers Park District Forestry Crew.
• Large trees are trimmed by private contractors utilizing rope and saddle workers.

Pesticide Management Program

Three Rivers Park District operates a restrictive pesticide management program enforced by Forestry staff. See Three Rivers Park District Pesticide and Fertilizer Policy.

Plant Protection from Animal Predatation

• Efforts are made to keep white-tailed deer populations low through controlled hunts in areas where the majority of seedling reforestation efforts occur.
• High tensile electric deer fences are utilized in selected areas to protect seedling and large bareroot planting projects.
• Applications of the repellent Deer Away are utilized to protect landscape plantings where deer fences are not feasible.
• Meadow vole population outbreaks have not been controlled and continue to manifest variable tree losses ranging from minimal damage to severe damage. Suggestions for their control are appreciated.
• Damage to plants from squirrels, gophers, and other rodents is minimal.

Exotic Plant Control Programs

Efforts are extended to suppress or eradicate exotic plant pests as budgets and staffing allow. Primary focus has been against the more aggressive species such as European buckthorn, black locust, and Siberian pea shrub. Three Rivers Park District is being seriously invaded by other exotic pests such as earthworms, little-leaf linden, Russian olive, Tartarian honeysuckle, garlic mustard, and amur maple.

Leaf Mulch Program

This is a tree/shrub maintenance program deserving special attention. In the fall, leaves collected from neighboring municipalities are spread around recently planted trees to provide a plant mulch. The municipalities are responsible for operating a collection program for their citizens resulting in "clean" leaves being delivered to a Three Rivers Park District planting site. The leaves are spread at depths of 4 to 6 inches. Results are that the planting site requires little or no supplemental watering; weed invasion and subsequent vegetation competition effects are minimized; mineral availability increases; organic matter increases; and tree survival and growth are enhanced.

Forests Forever

Forestry operates a tree planting program designed to provide opportunities for the public to contribute to Three Rivers Park District's reforestation program. Gift givers can choose from a simple tree planting ($25), a recognition tree with planting ceremony ($250), or contribute to the Forests Forever Reforestation Planting Fund ($1,000 and above). Forest Forever honorees will receive a card and a certificate suitable for framing. They also will be placed on the permanent Forests Forever log.

University of Minnesota Extension Service

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