This project involves construction of a greenhouse structure for the purpose of double cropping propagated native aquatic vegetation for transplantation in Banner Creek Reservoir. The objective of this project is to establish native aquatic vegetation along three miles of shoreline at Banner Creek Reservoir using a greenhouse structure to produce two production cycles of propagated plants each year from 2024 through 2026.
This project is not realistic without the support and effort of volunteers during many parts of the project thus a secondary objective is to work cooperatively with local fishing clubs, high schools, boy scouts, businesses and non-governmental organizations to collect parent plant material, propagate, rear, and transplant native aquatic vegetation.

Methods

Plants will be propagated, reared, and transplanted following information provided by the US Army Corps of Engineeers’ Propagation and Establishment of Native Aquatic Plants for Vegetative Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems (Dick et al. 2013).

Aquatic plant stems, roots, rhizomes, or tubers will be collected from local, established populations and propagated in the controlled setting of a greenhouse. A list of possible native aquatic plants is available and can be sent upon request. Within the greenhouse there will be seven tanks of differing depths to accommodate a variety of plant species. Two 4’x8’x8” trays will be set up for rearing emergent aquatic plants, and three 3’x8’x2’ tanks and two 3’x18’x3’ raceways will hold submerged and floating leaf aquatic plants. Altogether, this combination can produce up to 1484 total plants each production cycle or nearly 3000 plants per year.

Plants will be transplanted into Banner Creek Reservoir during June and August of each year through the duration of the project. Plants will be planted in shallow (<3’) areas of the impoundment. Due to the quantity of plants produced and attempts to keep budget manageable, not all will be transplanted into herbivore exclosures however, it is assumed that the number of plants transplanted will be more than will be preyed upon. If survivability of plants is drastically different between exclosures and those planted outside, additional exclosures will be constructed for the remaining plantings. Exclosures will be constructed from PVC vinyl coated welded wire fencing and set in tandems of two 10’x10’ squares and one 6’ diameter circle. Total area of exclosure tandems is 231.7 ft2. The project budget includes funds to purchase materials to construct ten exclosure tandems. All remaining plants will be planted in 5’x100’ swaths at suitable depths. These plantings would begin in 2024 and continue through 2025 and 2026. Due to a delayed start in 2024, only one cycle of plants will be produced resulting in 960 ft of shoreline and 5,817 ft2 of lake bottom vegetated. In both 2025 and 2026, those numbers will be 2,400 ft of shoreline or 12,000 ft2 of lake bottom vegetated. At the conclusion of the project (September 2026) we will have planted aquatic plants along 5,760 ft of shorelines and covered 29,817 ft2 of lake bottom. Vegetation establishment projects in other states have observed vegetation spread anywhere from 2x-750x of the initial planted area after about five years. It is hoped to observe a threefold expansion of vegetation at Banner Creek in a similar timeframe. This would equate to 89,451 ft2 of vegetated area or 17,280 ft of shoreline with submerged or emergent plant presence equaling over a third of the impoundment’s shoreline vegetated.
Goals and intended outcomes of this project are to produce 2,484 aquatic plants and 2,260 ft of vegetated shoreline each year resulting in 6,780 feet of shoreline vegetated by the end of the project. While at the mercy of nature, we are hoping to observe a threefold expansion of aquatic vegetation after a period of five years which would equate to half of Banner Creek Reservoir’s shoreline. Any benefits or population increases would likely occur over a longer period.

Monitoring of these goals will begin in 2023 with a thorough assessment of aquatic vegetation in the impoundment by conducting a visual inspection of the water surface, shoreline, and observable lake bottom while operating a boat along the shoreline of the impoundment. If water clarity limits observation of the lake bottom, a two-sided rake will be dragged along the bottom from the shoreline ten yards toward the center of the impoundment every 300’ along the shoreline. When vegetation is observed, location will be recorded along with species composition and current area. This will form a basis for evaluating spread of future plantings while also providing a chance to scout for areas that can be used for transplant establishment.

While transplanting aquatic plants each year, GPS coordinates of the transplant areas will be taken to record the initial planted area. Species planted in each area will also be recorded. In September of each year, each site will be revisited, and snorkel surveys will be conducted to assess species survival and determine the edges of aquatic vegetation which will again be marked with GPS coordinates and later uploaded into QGIS to evaluate growth or shrinkage of established plant colonies. Any species that have poor survivability will not be produced or planted in subsequent transplants. This monitoring will continue until 2031 (five years after last planting) to quantify spread of plant colonies.

Fish communities have been monitored annually using statewide or nationwide standard methods since at least 2010. These methods will continue to be used to evaluate if fish populations exhibit any differences with the establishment of aquatic vegetation.

Deliverables

This project will be capable of producing 1484 native aquatic plants each production cycle or nearly 3000 plants per year. These plants would begin being transplanted in 2024 and continue through 2025 and 2026. Due to a delayed start in 2024, only one cycle of plants will be produced resulting in 960 ft of shoreline and 5,817 ft2 of lake bottom vegetated. In both 2025 and 2026, those numbers will be 2,400 ft of shoreline or 12,000 ft2 of lake bottom vegetated. At the conclusion of the project (September 2026) we will have planted aquatic plants along 5,760 ft of shorelines and covered 29,817 ft2 of lake bottom. Vegetation establishment projects in other states have observed vegetation spread anywhere from 2x-750x of the initial planted area after about five years. It is hoped to observe a threefold expansion of vegetation at Banner Creek in a similar timeframe. This would equate to 89,451 ft2 of vegetated area or 17,280 ft of shoreline with submerged or emergent plant presence equaling over a third of the impoundment’s shoreline vegetated.

Monitoring Plan

Goals and intended outcomes of this project are to produce 2,484 aquatic plants and 2,260 ft of vegetated shoreline each year resulting in 6,780 feet of shoreline vegetated by the end of the project. While at the mercy of nature, we are hoping to observe a threefold expansion of aquatic vegetation after a period of five years which would equate to half of Banner Creek Reservoir’s shoreline. Any benefits or population increases would likely occur over a longer period.

Monitoring of these goals will begin in 2023 with a thorough assessment of aquatic vegetation in the impoundment by conducting a visual inspection of the water surface, shoreline, and observable lake bottom while operating a boat along the shoreline of the impoundment. If water clarity limits observation of the lake bottom, a two-sided rake will be dragged along the bottom from the shoreline ten yards toward the center of the impoundment every 300’ along the shoreline. When vegetation is observed, location will be recorded along with species composition and current area. This will form a basis for evaluating spread of future plantings while also providing a chance to scout for areas that can be used for transplant establishment.

While transplanting aquatic plants each year, GPS coordinates of the transplant areas will be taken to record the initial planted area. Species planted in each area will also be recorded. In September of each year, each site will be revisited, and snorkel surveys will be conducted to assess species survival and determine the edges of aquatic vegetation which will again be marked with GPS coordinates and later uploaded into QGIS to evaluate growth or shrinkage of established plant colonies. Any species that have poor survivability will not be produced or planted in subsequent transplants. This monitoring will continue until 2031 (five years after last planting) to quantify spread of plant colonies.

Fish communities have been monitored annually using statewide or nationwide standard methods since at least 2010. These methods will continue to be used to evaluate if fish populations exhibit any differences with the establishment of aquatic vegetation.

Outreach Plan

In preparation of this grant proposal, numerous outdoor clubs, angler groups, and student organizations were contacted to solicit support. Those that replied were enthusiastic about the opportunity to help and were eager to volunteer. This project offers numerous opportunities for public involvement in the project:

• Construction of greenhouse (Spring 2024)
  • Dirtwork/preparation of the site
  • Trenching water line from main to site
  • Trenching of electrical line to building site
  • Pouring of concrete pad
  • Erection of greenhouse
  • Installation of electrical service
• Identification and collection of source plants (2023 and beyond)
  • Identify sources of parent plant materials
  • Aide in field collection of parent plant material
• Propagation (2024 and beyond)
  • Mixing and preparation of soil mixture
  • Planting of parent cuttings, rooted plants, rhizomes, or tubers in prepared nursery pots
• Preparation (2024)
  • Cutting welded wire fencing and rebar to construct exclosures
  • Transportation of exclosure materials to impoundment
  • Construction of plant enclosures at transplant sites
• Transplantation (2024 and beyond)
  • Loading of transplants on trailers for transport
  • Assistance with transporting plants to impoundment
  • Planting of transplants

Those areas for public involvement will not only make the project possible but also instill a sense of ownership in each of the participants. However, there are more users of Banner Creek Reservoir than we have volunteer opportunities for so education and outreach activities will also be conducted. These will include submitting articles to the local newspaper, interviews on local radio, speaking with high school classes at the three nearby schools, and speaking at meetings of local organizations and clubs. In all these outreach venues much of the same information that has been provided in this proposal will be included but weighing more heavily on the roles and benefits of native aquatic vegetation in an impoundment. Additionally, photographs of aquatic plant species will be collected and a digital guide to aquatic plant management in Kansas will be developed and published on the agency’s website (www.ksoutdoors.com). Once established, educational signage will be developed and posted in an area where an established plant colony can be seen from the shore.

This project will also provide the opportunity to refine plant propagation, rearing, and transplant techniques specific to Kansas. Using the knowledge gained from these refinements, presentations and informational material could be made for KDWP staff and partner agencies such as USDA NRCS, Kansas State University Extension, and Ducks Unlimited as well as local high schools wishing to utilize school greenhouses for similar projects. Along those lines, this project offers research opportunities to evaluate survival of different plant species when transplanted, survival between those planted within and outside of exclosures, benefits to fish populations, and improvements in water quality. These findings could then be included in programs and materials and presented at regional and national conferences and published in scientific literature.