Field Notes 2024: Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area

Oak Orchard is a 2,554-acre Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Genesee and Orleans Counties and is part of a 19,000-acre complex of state and federal lands that also includes Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and Tonawanda WMA. Oak Orchard WMA is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), with the primary purpose of providing wildlife habitat and wildlife-dependent recreation. Many people enjoy this area for hiking, watching wildlife, hunting, trapping and freshwater fishing. It is largely composed of wetland habitats, with 127 acres of natural wetlands and 1,096 acres of impounded or man-made wetlands, which are crucial breeding grounds for wetland-dependent birds and stopovers for migratory birds. The natural wetlands, and those in the surrounding area, were formed when Oak Orchard Creek was partially blocked thousands of years ago by glacial drift from the receding glaciers and is also called Oak Orchard Swamp or Alabama Swamp. Upland habitats including grassland fields, forests and shrublands also make up Oak Orchard and are hospitable to beavers, coyotes, muskrats, snapping turtles, milk snakes, blue-spotted salamanders and some additional species of conservation concern.

The NYS DEC has projects in Oak Orchard focused on invasive species control, marsh management, waterfowl habitat and grassland restoration. WNY PRISM has been part of invasive species management efforts on site since 2022 and has helped to remove and treat large infestations of common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.). In July 2024, WNY PRISM staff had the opportunity to walk through previously treated sections of Oak Orchard with NYS DEC Region 8 Wildlife Manager, Michael Palermo, and were excited to see that native plants such as aspen and dogwood were growing in areas that had previously been overrun with invasive shrubs and trees. A nearby field once thick with invasive autumn olive trees, is now far more open and has been planted with arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) and silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) to further restore the habitat. The field still contained some lingering autumn olive, and the nearby forest still had dense patches of invasive trees and shrubs, so the plan set forth for the 2024 WNY PRISM Crew was to chip away at the midstory canopy and field of invasives to encourage the growth of a young forest.

The WNY PRISM Crew returned later in the season and spent four days working with the NYS DEC to implement this plan. As the NYS DEC folks used brush cutters, chain saws and loppers in the forest to bring down the buckthorn, honeysuckle and autumn olive, the WNY PRISM Crew followed behind to apply herbicide to the cut stumps. In the field, saws and loppers were sufficient to take down the small shrubby autumn olive plants, whose stumps were also treated with herbicide. At the end of the four days, 3.93 acres were treated, and the area looked much more open with great potential for native plant establishment. When native plants grow in or are planted, they will greatly benefit the habitat and provide food and shelter that the invasive plants fail to do.

While working to remove the target invasive species, the Crew found a small patch of slender false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), an early detection priority species in the region. This invasive grass has been manually removed at the nearby Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, but was not previously reported at Oak Orchard WMA. While this was a sad discovery, the Crew was able to implement early detection rapid response efforts and dug up the plants to prevent further spread.

Despite the discovery of slender false brome, which was unfortunate but also lucky to catch early, the crew left Oak Orchard WMA feeling satisfied with the visible change they were able to create in the landscape over the four days. With the newly opened spaces, it is easy to envision how native species may be able to reestablish here and create a more biodiverse landscape in the coming years, adding to the already crucial habitats found in Oak Orchard WMA.  

By Hannah Rola, Field Crew Leader, and Jessica Castellan, Invasive Species Management Assistant