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Parks board trims Miller’s Bay restoration area, authorizes volunteers to salvage plantings
Summary
After a presentation by Urban Ecology Oshkosh, the Parks Board agreed to reduce the Miller’s Bay restoration footprint to two salvageable patches, authorize immediate plant rescue and continue discussions about relocating or expanding native plantings; the board voted to proceed with a reduced site and further planning.
Urban Ecology Oshkosh volunteers described problems and options for the Miller’s Bay shoreline restoration site during the June 9 Advisory Parks Board meeting and the board voted to reduce the maintained area and continue working with the volunteer group on future planning.
Shannon Davis Sloust, co‑manager for the Miller’s Bay site and a volunteer with Urban Ecology Oshkosh, summarized the planting history. Friends of Menominee Park Shoreland installed the initial prairie and shoreline plantings beginning in 2011; volunteers later added plugs and moved some taller plant species to the pump‑house location. Sloust said the site has been overtaken in many places by aggressive and invasive species and contains seedlings and volunteer trees that need prompt control. "We found areas in both of the plantings that should be salvaged," she said, noting volunteers could move desirable plants into those salvage areas.
Sloust outlined options: targeted mowing, herbicide treatment, smothering with cardboard and soil followed by mulch or erosion matting, or moving the demonstration to a different park. Urban Ecology Oshkosh proposed a near‑term rescue (plant salvage) and a subsequent program of mowing and smothering to create a clean planting bed for reseeding or replants in September–October. Volunteers will handle rescue work and Urban Ecology said it currently has no dedicated budget.
Board members raised long‑running concerns about the site, including recurring complaints about tall plant height and the ability of volunteer groups to sustain maintenance. One board member said Ames Point (north site) is heavily used for community events and fishing tournaments and suggested relocating the demonstration to a different park if sustaining the existing site proved impractical. Parks staff and board members discussed shrinking the Ames Point planting footprint to the two salvageable areas identified by volunteers and continuing to explore alternate demonstration sites and shoreline projects.
After board discussion Parks Board members moved to "reduce the site to the two salvageable areas shown and continue with the organization to maintain it and go forward with future planning." The board recorded a voice vote and the motion carried.
Parks staff said they would work with Urban Ecology Oshkosh to salvage and protect desirable plants, coordinate mowing and smothering efforts for the overtaken areas, and return with further site‑selection analysis if relocation is pursued. The board did not approve a formal maintenance agreement at the meeting; staff said a maintenance agreement or additional site approvals would be the next step if volunteers later propose a different permanent location.
