The Elkhorn Butterfly Meadow

Elkhorn Butterfly Meadow, Columbia

Natural Places Committee, Howard County Sierra Club
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November 14, 2017: The BG&E crews have mown the meadow. 

Elkhorn meadow after mowing

crushed tree

Some of the trees were crushed or knocked down, but not severed. 

bamboo   

Once cut, it's easy to see the extent of the bamboo patch.

brambles

Large clumps of brambles were flattened but not cut. 

storm drain    

The storm drain depression was not mowed.

brambles near wall

The area next to the wall of the mulch storage bay was not mowed.

  

October 15, 2017: At the WIN meeting on Friday, October 13, 2017, Elaine Pardoe gave us some history and Bill Rees gave us some predictions about meadows underneath power lines.

The BG&E right-of-way underneath and next to the power lines has to be maintained to allow access to the towers and to prevent any chance of power outages. Customarily, the maintenance is repeated mowing. A citizens group called CLEER, led by Elaine Pardoe, objected to the clear-cutting on the right of way between Lake Elkhorn and Oakland Mills Road. They met with representatives from BG&E to find an alternative. Starting in 2009, the right-of-way has been managed through Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) instead. This technique relies on mowing only when needed, and spot-application of herbicides to eliminate the most undesirable vegetation. The Best Management Practices for IVM are currently being revised (and will be published soon by the American National Standards Institute), with the intent of applying the techniques to other open spaces, not just utility right-of-ways. 

 
Integrated Vegetation Management replaces a clear-cut with an ecosystem, one that should require less and less management over time. This is preferred by the electric utility and conservationists alike, but implementing the technique over the 530 miles of power lines is an ongoing process. Today, about 5800 acres of right of way are mowed, and more than 1200 are managed through IVM. The conversion from the old method to the new one is more successful with the support of the local community. The Patapsco Valley State Park supports the conversion on parkland right-of-ways. CLEER was disbanded, but the right-of-way north of Oakland Mills Road is supported by the Sierra Club's Natural Places Committee. 
 
The Elkhorn Butterfly Meadow differs from other locations managed by IVM because no herbicides are used here. (The request was made around 2014 by members of the Howard County Bird Club and gardeners in the nearby Elkhorn Community Gardens.) According to Bill Rees, the next mowing will take place in November, and should eliminate even the large trees and shrubs that have appeared in the meadow.

To stay informed about the activities of the Natural Places Committee, join our list-serv by emailing howardcounty@mdsierra.org.

September 16, 2017: The native plant pollinator garden was dedicated on September 16, 2017 at the Elkhorn Community Gardens. The gardens consist of two raised beds. The plants are Virginia sweetspire, New England aster, anise hyssop, coneflowers, white wood aster, and violets. 

August 19, 2017: Two raised beds have been built and filled with native plants at the Elkhorn Community Gardens. The plants will support native pollinators in the nearby Elkhorn Butterfly Meadow.

 native plant beds
Thanks to everyone who helped with the installation. 

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Project Description:

The Elkhorn Butterfly Meadow is located east of Oakland Mills Road, next to the Columbia Association's Community Gardens. The meadow is under the power lines and is managed by BG&E. At the request of local environmentalists, BG&E agreed to mow the meadow just once each year, late in the fall. Otherwise the meadow is left undisturbed to support birds, insects, and other wildlife. The goal of our committee is to protect and enhance the ecological value of this meadow for pollinators and other wildlife.

Location:

A satellite view of the area can be seen at: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1903203,-76.8287024,177m/data=!3m1!1e3. On the annotated version below,  the community gardens appear as a patchwork to the left and right of the access road. 
satellite image of meadow
Mown paths are visible (on the meadow's perimeter and through the middle), and the electrical towers appear as pyramids. The butterfly meadow managed by BG&E is marked by cross-hatching. The common space for the community gardens is marked by stippling. 

Goals:

The Butterfly Meadow would be more hospitable to native wildlife if it contained more native plants. However, BG&E limits access to the area because of liability concerns. It would probably not be feasible in any case to try to cultivate native plants in this area. Browsing by wildlife and competition from non-native invasive species would limit the success of native plants. Instead, the Natural Places Committee has formed a partnership with the Community Garden to cultivate native plants in the common areas around the garden plots. Besides providing host plants for native insect species, the goal is to educate the public about the value of native pollinators.

Plan of Action:

The Elkhorn Community Gardens are managed by the Columbia Gardeners Association, which has offered two locations for native plant gardens in the common space. The first is a 8x4' section of the border that is located between the driveway and the fenced garden plots to the east of the driveway; two raised beds were built and filled with native plants on August 19, 2019.

The second location is near the mulch collection bins at the end of the property farthest from Oakland Mills Road. Plans have not been finalized for cultivating native plants in this area.

Participants are Welcome!

Volunteers are needed to donate native plants and maintain the native plant garden. Please contact us at howardcounty@mdsierra.org.

The Natural Places Committee maintains an email list for updates and scheduling. To join the list, send your name and email address to howardcounty@mdsierra.org.