Buckthorn Removal in Freeman Park

In 2021, the City of Shorewood received a $50,000 MnDNR grant (with a $20,000 city match) to remove buckthorn from wooded areas in Freeman Park by June 30, 2024.

• The City met with residents on October 17, 2023 to inform residents of project details and receive feedback on the project. (buckthorn meeting materials available in (November 27 agenda packet)(PDF). Following the community meeting, the City solicited for and received quotes for the removal of buckthorn in Freeman Park. 
• City staff recommended to award Prairie Restorations, Inc., a company that strives to establish diverse native plant community restorations that provide benefits to pollinators, wildlife, water quality, and people for the buckthorn project during the November 13, 2023, City Council meeting (agenda materials)(PDF). 
• At the November 27, 2023 City Council meeting, City Council voted to award the project to Prairie Restorations, Inc. (minutes)(PDF). During the meeting, questions were raised by residents and council.
• Prairie Restorations, Inc. began buckthorn removal work in January 2024. Removal methods included utilizing a forestry mower for areas 1 and 3 and manual removal for area 2 (map)(PDF).
• Park cleanup events were held on April 13 and May 11, 2024. Volunteers and city staff removed debris from treated areas. Dead and down trees and branches were stacked near trails for city crews to chip.
• Following cleanup efforts, small trees were planted in the buckthorn removal areas to aid in reforesting the area, and a replacement seed mix was planted in the removal areas to inhibit the return of buckthorn and suppress other invasive species.
• In September, 2024, city staff removed all debris from the forested area. Removal of this material will aid in future buckthorn removal.
• Also, in September 2024, city staff rented a forestry mower to test removing new growth buckthorn in the previously removed areas. Results were positive and staff is looking into the procurement of a bruch mower purchase in the future.
• In June 2024, U of M researchers identified 60-100 plants to cut and strip up to five times during the summers of 2024 and 2025 to document regrowth and survival rates. This work is taking place in the far western portion of Freeman Park, where buckthorn has not yet been removed, in order to study a management approach that aims to exhaust the plant rather than the established practice of treating stumps and regrowth with herbicide.  

The cost of the buckthorn removal project was funded through a MnDNR grant ($50,000) and a city match ($20,000). The city match of $17,000 was funded through Shorewood Park's Maintenance operations budget. The remainder of the $20,000 city match ($3,000) was accounted for with city staff time.