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Soil had been scraped from this hillside many years ago to use as fill in the construction of the bridge over the Embarrass River that borders the property. The excavation had exposed significant areas of groundwater seepage that were incorporated into the plan. The bulk of the hillside is well-drained and had scattered small early successional woody plants such as red cedar and ash. The vegetation was typical of old fields and dominated by Eurasian grasses. The plan included converting the upper two-thirds of the hillside into a hill prairie and planting the seepage areas with plugs typical of fens. The lower portion of the slope and the flat area at the base of the slope will be reforested with a variety of native hardwoods and understory species. Woody plant management and herbicide site preparation occurred during the 2021 growing season while the trees were planted in late fall of 2021. A graminoid mix was dormant sown over the hillside to establish native cover. Work in 2022 will include installation of wetland plugs in the seepage areas, additional control of broadleaf weedy species and dormant sowing of a native forb mix late in the year.
