Plants – Land Between the Lakes

06 Feb 2017

Land Between the Lakes Ten Year Monitoring and Evaluation Report

Community, Planning, Plants, Stewardship, Wildlifeecosystems, evaluation, forest, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, management, monitoring, soils, species, tennessee, watershed, wildlife

It’s been eleven fiscal years since developing the Land Between the Lakes Area Plan. Our specialist have completed a ten year evaluation report assessing our progress. The report indicates strengths and weaknesses of Area Plan implementation. Now we need to hear from you. Your feedback on this report will help shape collaboration in the near future. Specifically, we want to know: Whether the report captures Area Plan implementation since December 2004 How to use the results in the report to improve collaboration on management of Land Between the Lakes You can read the ten year report by clicking on this…

31 Oct 2016

By LBL_Admin

Open lands-Helping Wildlife Survive

Field Guide, Fire, Hunting, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Recreation, Restoration, Stewardship, Wildlifefire, Forest Service, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, openlands, partners, prescribed burning, species, tennessee, wildlife

Dear friends, As part of our Land and Resource Management Plan, we designated approximately 10,600 acres as open lands. This acreage specifically supports insects, game animals, grassland type birds, and mammals through open lands management. Managing open lands involves keeping desired vegetation in an early stage of growth. We do this by cultivating and planting our wildlife plantings and cropland areas. We maintain grassland type habitat primarily by mowing, disking, prescribed fire and herbicide applications. These open land types provide food and shelter for hundreds of species at Land Between the Lakes. Since the turn of the 21st Century, natural…

06 May 2016

By LBL_Admin

Tree Planting at the Elk and Bison Prairie

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Restoration, Stewardshipbison, elk, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, natural resources, planting, prairie, tennessee, trees

Submitted by Yvonne Helton, Silviculturist We recently planted approximately 1500 shortleaf pine and 70 Bur Oak seedlings within the perimeter of the Elk & Bison Prairie. We chose areas where pine mortality occurred and staff burned off debris piles. So why did we plant Shortleaf Pine? We value fire tolerant traits such as its ability to re-sprout and natural resistance to fire scar rot. Shortleaf Pine also produces frequent cone crops. These attributes suit the Elk & Bison Prairie perfectly. Shortleaf Pine may also create a more diverse habitat. We observed declines of Virginia Pine in the Elk & Bison…

05 Nov 2015

By LBL_Admin

Why do Leaves Change Colors?

#FridayEd, Community, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Plantsautumn, color, fall, fall colors, Kentucky, land between the lakes, leaf watching, leaves, scenic driving, tennessee, trees

Submitted by Dennis Wilson, Forester at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area Colors The easiest way to explain why leaves change colors has to do with the time of year. The longer and cooler nights trigger the changing colors and falling leaves. None of the other environmental influences – such as temperature, rainfall, food supply – are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature's autumn palette. A color palette needs pigments, and there…

10 Sep 2015

By LBL_Admin

Indian Grass at the Elk & Bison Prairie

Elk & Bison Prairie, Environmental Education, Field Guide, PlantsElk & Bison Prairie, grass, Kentucky, land between the lakes, native plants, tennessee

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes If you have driven around the Elk and Bison Prairie in recent days, you may have noticed an abundance of grass seed heads within native grass areas. This year seems to have favored Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) in many fields. You can identify it by its golden hue and large feather-like seed head. It is a widespread native plant that is often a major component in tallgrass prairie habitats. It can grow up to 8 feet tall or more, but we typically see it closer to 5 feet or so. The…

30 Mar 2015

By LBL_Admin

Daffodils Are Blooming!

Community, Customer Service, Field Guide, Plantsdaffodil, Kentucky, land between the lakes, planting, tennessee, volunteers, wildflower

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications Department Apprentice. The daffodils have started blooming at Land Between The Lakes! In 2007 daffodils had to be moved for the US68/KY80 highway construction project. This past November volunteers replanted many of them in Land Between The Lakes. With the coming of spring the benefits of their work can be seen. Over the next few weeks see them blooming along 68/80 near the west and east welcome signs by the bridges. Thank you to all who came out to replant these beautiful flowers! Visit Land Between The Lakes and see the daffodils and a variety of…

17 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

What is it? Yucca

#FridayEd, Field Guide, Plantsfibers, landscaping, Native American, North South trail, trail, wildlife biologist, Yucca

Submitted by Jan Bush, Communications Department Manager at Land Between The Lakes Nate Brelsford, our Twitter friend @theUltinate, sent us a photo asking about a plant he spotted along the North/South Trail. I suspected it was a Yucca plant having recently moved from New Mexico. For more of the story, we went to our Wildlife Biologist Elizabeth Raikes. Elizabeth tells us that the Yucca plant is also known as “Beargrass” and officially labeled “Yucca filamentosa.” Yuccas thrive across the Southwest yet can be found sparingly elsewhere in United States. I remember first encountering Yuccas as a kid riding horses across…

06 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

Asters Are Blooming!

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Plantsaster, bison, blooming, elk, flower, pollinators, prairie

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes The asters are blooming, the asters are blooming!! When you stop by the Elk & Bison Prairie to see the majestic animals, take some time to look at nature's smaller wonders. These little Aromatic Asters (Aster oblongifolius) are providing late season sustenance to lots of little flying insects. Go pollinators! Description and Adaptation Aromatic aster is a native perennial wildflower that grows from 1–3 feet tall. The aster’s rigid stems branch out from the base and give off a balsam-like scent when crushed. The flowers are composite with purple…

19 Sep 2014

By LBL_Admin

Harvest Time at the Homeplace

#FridayEd, History, Homeplace, Plantsanimal, blacksmithing, cooking, corn, fall, farm, garden, harvest, home educator, home school, homeplace, programs, tobacco, woodworking

Fall Harvest Programs at the Homeplace In fall our garden, orchard, and forest provide food for keeping through the winter. Daily programs on the farm feature harvesting activities such as working with tobacco, shucking and shelling corn, and woodstove cooking from the fall harvest. “Tobacco firing” will also be on-going throughout the fall. Come on out and lend a hand with the harvest, or take a look and see what we've got in our barns. Every Day on the Farm Feedin' Time on the Farm | 3:30-4:30pm Join us daily as we take care of our animal family. Feeding time…

01 Aug 2014

By LBL_Admin

The Elk & Bison Prairie Story

#FridayEd, Elk & Bison Prairie, History, Plants, Restoration, Stewardship, Wildlife#FridayEducation, bison, education, elk, elk and bison prairie, friday

As adapted from a 1996 Elk & Bison Prairie brochure Many generations of animals and people inhabited this region long before the forming of Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area in 1963. The Elk & Bison Prairie captures the world as it appeared to 18th century hunters. At the time, more than 300 years ago, vast herds of bison and elk blanketed the landscape, creating broad paths in the land as they migrated. Today, we travel many of those same paths—Interstate 24, for example, follows the path of an ancient bison trail. When native peoples used this land as…

Category: Plants