Current Conditions of Camp Sacajawea Group 2 Matthew Dicks Daniel Kaminski Clarissa Spicer Antoinette Spitz.

Current Conditions ofCurrent Conditions ofCamp SacajaweaCamp Sacajawea

Group 2Matthew Dicks

Daniel Kaminski

Clarissa Spicer

Antoinette Spitz

IntroductionIntroductionCamp Sacajawea is

owned and operated by the Moingona Girl Scout Council of Iowa

Located on over 400 acres of land bordering the Des Moines River to the west

Trails/facilities used by 20,000 people per year

girlscouts-lonestar.org

Data on recreation, oak regeneration, and wildlife was collected from 56 plots across 148 acres of woodland

Each team collected sets of data from 8 plots Interpretation of combined results give us an idea of

possible management actions

Camp Sacajawea

TravelByGPS.com

RecreationRecreation

castlegarrvpark.com

geocities.comglacierguides.com

birdphotography.com

Recreation Carrying CapacityRecreation Carrying Capacity

High use by Girl ScoutsEvaluated for four activities

General hiking Primitive camping Birdwatching and wildlife observation Horseback riding

Determine optimum carrying capacity for each activity

Distribution of Recreation Distribution of Recreation Values Across 56 PlotsValues Across 56 Plots

0123

4567

89

10

3 9.8 16.5

Generalhiking(peopleper mile)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

10 19.8 36.5

Primitivecamping(acres percampsite)

Distribution of Recreation Distribution of Recreation Values Across 56 PlotsValues Across 56 Plots

0

5

10

15

20

25

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

Birdwatching &wildlifeobservation(people peracre)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2.0 4.6 7.3

Horsebackriding

Possible Management ActionsPossible Management Actions

Current conditions indicate that Camp Sacajawea is most suitable for general hiking

Maintain and develop hiking trails to encourage use

Increase suitability for other activities by using value criteria as guidelines

geocities.com

Oak and Other Desirable Tree Oak and Other Desirable Tree RegenerationRegeneration

• 56 systematic 1/20th acre plots

• 7 rows with 8 plots per row

• 1st plot in each row was placed 2 chains north of southern forest boundary

• Each plot was 5 chains north of the previous plot

corbis.com

Adequacy of RegenerationAdequacy of Regeneration

• Adequacy of regeneration for both oak and other desirable species is poor

• Average of 570 oak seedlings per acre

• Average of 3300 other desirable species per acre

• Need 5000 seedlings per acre for both corbis.com

Results of Combined Regeneration Inventory From 1/1000 Acre Plots

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Oaks per acre

Other species per acre

Total per acre

Spe

cies

Seedlings/Acre

Oak Stump SproutingOak Stump Sprouting

• A plot percent of 59 requires no stump sprouts for adequate regeneration

• Camp Sacajawea’s plot percent is 8.3 & will require more than 250 stump sprouts per acre

• Camp Sacajawea is very inadequate for oak regeneration corbis.com

Undesirable Management Undesirable Management MethodsMethods

• Clearcut – seedlings will not be competitive enough in their small numbers

• Group selection – openings will not be large enough to reduce shade effects and will result in less oak regeneration than clearcuts

corbis.com

Possible Management ActionsPossible Management Actions

• Shelterwood – most desirable

• Maintain forest appearance for Girl Scout use

• Remove understory with some soil disturbance

• Good acorn producing year

• Remove some large trees

• May need nursery plantings corbis.com

WildlifeWildlife

pictures.fws.gov

pictures.fws.gov pictures.fws.gov

Wildlife Habitat Unit ValuesWildlife Habitat Unit Values

Tells you how good the habitat is for a specific species

Range from 1.33-10 pointsMany things taken into consideration

Tree size Canopy closure Food plant diversity Cover Water

Class Avg. & Std. Error of Class Avg. & Std. Error of HUVHUV

Avg HUV for squirrel

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

plot number

Avg

HUV Avg

Avg

Avg HUV white-tailed deer & turkey

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

plot number

Avg

HUV

Avg

Std error of mean for White-tailed deer & turkey

00.20.40.60.8

11.21.41.6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

plot number

Std

erro

r

Std error

Std error of mean for squirrel

00.20.40.60.8

11.21.41.6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

plot number

Std

erro

r

Std error

Possible Management ActionsPossible Management Actions

Maintain a variety of cavity producing trees Maintain several mast producing trees per

acre Build brush pile to create brood raising

habitat for turkey Keep water quality at healthy levels Manage for dense cover types as well as

opened areas for optimal deer habitat

ConclusionConclusion

Current management plan is to take no action Camp Sacajawea needs hands-on

management approach Highest priority is maintaining appearance

and suitability for visitors Increasing suitability of recreation and wildlife

habitat, and adequacy of oak regeneration, are possible long-term goals

Further ConsiderationsFurther Considerations

Our purpose in this presentation was to highlight the current conditions of Camp Sacajawea

We will present our recommendations for the camp on Thursday, December 11, 2003

Our priority will be to combine feasible management actions that will optimize benefits for both human and ecological communities