Volunteers removing trash from the LeSabre pool.
Photo by Zahra Husrieh

Habitat restoration projects at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary nearly always involve removing invasive plants. The volunteer work day on May 3 was no exception, but this time we spent more time removing excessive downed trees and trash at the LeSabre vernal pool.

Usually this time of year, the pool would be full of water, but the ongoing drought meant that there was no standing water, just some mud. This allowed us to remove trash from one of the edges of the pool. Armed with shovels, volunteers extracted parts of two bicycles, box springs and a large assortment of bottles, metal scraps, plastic and more that filled 13 trash bags. This was our fourth or fifth round of trash removal at this site. Why is there so much trash at the LeSabre pool? It was used a dump by the Lucketts community, probably during the 1960s and 70s, based on the trash we’ve found.

Larger pieces of trash were piled up for later removal.
Photo by SA Ferguson

By clearing out the pool now, we will be ready for the next phase of the vernal pool restoration that will take place in late summer when the pool is completely dry. Erosion from the steepest bank has deposited a significant amount of sediment into the pool.  We will excavate the sediment along the edge of the pool and stabilize the bank with native plantings.

As a pilot project in December 2023, we dug out sediment in a very small area, and it was a success. It was filled with water earlier, and for a longer period, than the surrounding area and was a big hit with the salamanders, who deposited more egg masses there than anywhere else in the vernal pool.

The LeSabre pool is one of two vernal pools at JK Black Oak that we are working on  restoring this year. These restoration projects are funded by a grant from Microsoft in collaboration with the Society for Ecological Restoration.

To protect the environmentally sensitive habitat and rare species, JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary is not open for general public access.

The post Back to the LeSabre Vernal Pool for the May Work Day appeared first on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.