In Mandan Park I was surprised to see the spread of invasive honeysuckle.
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Yesterday I went hiking in the woods. I wanted to document the dominant species that grow naturally in Nebraska, currently. I hiked in Mandan Park, which is adjacent to Fontenelle Forest, and Hummel Park, northeast of the city. I recorded trees over 8 inches in diameter as I walked. Hackberry dominated the hillsides. Occasionally I walked through stands dominated by Red Oak, Shagbark Hickory, Linden or Black Walnut. In these old growth forests there were several Linden trees that had sprouted up around an old parent stump. One clump of Lindens had new sprouts growing in the meddle of the clump of old second generation trees showing them to be at least the third generation of trees growing from the same root system.
At 77 I am surprised how excited I am to be receiving feedback on updating the Nebraska tree species ratings. For several years I have been trying to get the NE Forest Service to do the update. Since the publication of the 10th Edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal the pressure has mounted. When I finally decided to take on the project on November 20th, I asked Jeff Grewe, president of the Nebraska Association Association if he would form a committee and appoint me as chair. Jiff did it! My wife says that when I start a project I can get very focused. As predicted, I could not wait for the NAA to send out my request for interested people. So I sent the request for people who wanted help with the update of the tree species list to the email addresses that were already on my computer. Even though it was Thanksgiving day I received three replies. Two were offers to be involved. One asked If there would be separate ratings for western Nebraska? To which I replied "That is why I as