Restoring Woodlands and Grasslands at Seip Earthworks

Seip Earthworks, where woodlands and grasslands are being restored with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. Photo by Tom Engberg, National Park Service.

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park announced two restoration projects paid for with $150,000 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They are part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address the effects of climate change: in fiscal year 2023, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act were to give the National Park Service $52 million for ecosystem resilience, restoration and environmental planning projects across the country.

Project 1: Woodlands

The woodlands of Seip Earthworks, where crews are removing invasive bush honeysuckle. Photo by Anna Gottke, National Park Service.

The first project restores 33 acres of forest at Mound City Group and Seip Earthworks by removing invasive honeysuckle and other shrubs along the earthworks. With the honeysuckle gone, native trees and wildflowers can thrive in the understory and wildlife gains habitat. The work also reopens views of, and access to, the Scioto River and Paint Creek. These riverside woods and the forested slopes of the region give visitors a chance to experience forest in a landscape used mostly for farming. The Conservation Corps of Iowa, which hires young people and young adults for habitat restoration, is doing the work with the park.

Visitors may see crews removing bush honeysuckle along the wooded edge of Paint Creek. Work areas are marked and trails stay open, but visitors should watch for tripping hazards and take care around crews using chain saws.

Project 2: Grasslands

An interpretive trail through part of the grassland to be restored at Seip Earthworks. Photo by Anna Gottke, National Park Service.

The second project restores 80 acres of grassland at Seip Earthworks by planting a mix of warm-season grasses and forbs on unforested land. The grassland will give birds, pollinators and other wildlife varied habitat, and protect important archeological resources from erosion and looting. Visitors will be able to walk nature trails, see the earthworks and watch wildlife. The project adds to the park's 300 acres of restored grassland and improves ecological processes that benefit both natural and human communities in Appalachia.

Getting there takes time. Two seasons of row crops come first, and applying pesticide and planting soybeans will disturb wildlife for a while, before a diverse native grassland takes hold for years to come. From April 2024 through 2027, mown trails are rerouted around the project areas. Visitors should follow the marked paths and stay out of the fields; Paint Creek can still be reached on a new path around the work.

Sources

• National Park Service, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: "Connecting Communities to Cultural Landscapes: A Pathway to Success."