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SOUTHWESTWAY PARK
Southwestway Park Background
Information from Indy Parks:
(Excerpts from the Land Stewardship
Plan of Indy Parks and Recreation)
Location
Southwestway Park is located
approximately ten miles south of downtown Indianapolis within
Decatur Township. Southport Road bounds the park to the North, with
Mann Road to the West, the White River to the East and Morgan and
Johnson Counties to the south. For a MapQuest location, query
address 7550 Mann Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46221, US
The Park
Southwestway Park is a 587-acre
regional park that includes natural and cultural landscapes. The
park is the second largest park in the Indy Parks and Recreation
system. The park amenities include a trail system used for hiking,
running and horseback riding. Additionally, there are soccer fields,
ball diamonds and an 18-hole golf course (Winding River Golf Course)
used for recreational sports. Future recreational facilities to be
developed on the recently acquired Mann property to the north will
include a swimming pool, recreation and nature center, and
additional athletic fields. Another recent acquisition to the south
is Cottonwood Lakes. This oxbow floodplain property will be designed
and restored for passive recreation.
Surrounding Land Use
Southwestway Park’s surrounding land
use primarily consists of agriculture, sand and gravel mining,
camping/fishing ponds, and recent residential development.
The Southport wastewater treatment facility is located northeast of
the park on Southport Road. IDEM issued the renewal of the NPDES
permit in 2001 to discharge 125 million gallons per day of treated
sanitary wastewater into the West Fork of the White River, which is
upstream from the park property. Due to municipal and industrial
waste contamination within the White River IDEM has issued a fish
consumption advisory. Boating is allowed on the river but it is
unsafe for full body contact activities such as wading and swimming.
A 100-foot wide power line easement runs north and south across the
park. Located east of Mann Hill, this easement area is highly
disturbed due to clearing for power line right-of-way. However,
future plans for native prairie plantings beneath the power lines
are underway between Indianapolis Power and Light and Indy Parks and
Recreation.
Prehistoric and Historic Indian
Use
There are over seven prehistoric
sites inside the park according to archaeological field reports.
Several sites produced diagnostic artifacts from the Archaic period.
Brown (1882) notes two Delaware Indian villages in Marion County
upon the arrival of the first White Settlers. The largest was
located on a high bluff west of White River at the Marion/Johnson
County line. The Madison Rangers destroyed this village, the home of
the Delaware chief Big Fire, during the War of 1812. The Rangers,
seeking revenge for the killing of 24 settlers in the Scott County
Pigeon Roost Massacre, mistakenly attacked the Delaware village and
massacred the inhabitants.
Historical Use
Quakers originally inhabited the
area around Southwestway Park and founded the town of Spring Valley
in 1848, near Spring Valley Hill, which later became known as Mann
Hill. Before it was abandoned in 1884, Spring Valley contained five
businesses, a post office, a school, and residences. The land
surrounding and encompassing the present-day Southwestway Park was
farmed and pastured for many decades until it was purchased for use
as a regional park. It should also be noted that Mann Hill was
extensively used for off-road recreation until it was acquired in
1972.
Natural History
Southwestway Park contains some of
the most outstanding geological features in central Indiana. Mann
Hill and the adjacent river valley are part of a delta complex that
were formed during the last glacial period. More specifically, Mann
Hill can de described as a kame. A kame is a hill or mound of
outwash deposited on or at the edge of a glacier (Camp 1999). As the
ice melted, these materials were deposited onto the ground. The
materials are stratified, or layered, by the flowing action of the
melting ice. The melting or stagnant ice formed kames. Camp (1999)
references the kames in this area of Indiana as being “as large and
impressive as any kames anywhere.” Some of these other kames have
been developed whereas Mann Hill has not been. Mann Hill can clearly
be seen as can another kame near Glenn’s Valley Nature Park.
The soil types of Southwestway Park are also the result of past
glaciation. The soils are comprised of loess over loamy glacial till
with predominately Brookston, Crosby, Genesee, Fox, and Miami soil
series. Fox series are found on the wooded slopes of Mann Hill and
the majority of the adjacent open land. Miami series are found on
the open area grading off to the west and Brookston and Crosby are
found in the gently sloping northwest corner. Genesse and Sloan are
found on the floodplain along the White River. The Miami and Fox
series are generally more prone to erosion than any other types of
soil. Therefore, some forested areas consisting of this type of soil
are prone to soil erosion.
During pre-European settlement, approximately 99 percent of Marion
County was covered with closed canopy forest (Barr 1999). The
forested area included flatwoods, mesic forest, upland forest and
ephemeral swamps, including bogs and fens (Hedge 1997). Historical
surveys can be cited that say by 1876 60% of the forest cover was
cleared (Barr 1997). The Center for Earth & Environmental Science
reported in 1997, using SPOT imagery technology, that no more than
13 % of Marion County was covered with medium to dense forest
canopy. Another analysis completed by Indy Parks using 1999 and 1941
aerial photography estimated that only about 1.3 % (1,214 acres) of
Marion County was covered with old-second growth forest. No old
growth forest remains in Marion County. Essentially all of Marion
County has been clear-cut since settlement began. Maps 11 and 12
display the forested areas mapped in and around Southwestway Park by
the techniques listed above.
The city or state owns about 37% of the remaining old-second growth
forest in the county. The remaining forest is made up of privately
owned river corridor and heavily fragmented “postage stamp”
flatwoods. Many of these flatwoods are poorly drained and not well
suited for agriculture or development. 1n 1997, Purdue agricultural
statistics estimated that 11 percent (29,034) of Marion County was
farmed. Almost 10,000 acres were taken out of farm use and developed
between 1992 and 1997.
Natural Area of Southwestway Park
Indy Parks uses a wide range of
resources and tools to identify and categorize natural areas by
natural community types. GIS, remote sensing, infrared photography,
vegetative surveys, floristic inventories, and historical
photographs were all used to help divide Southwestway Park into
distinctive sections. Natural community types in Southewestway Park
include mesic-dry upland forest, mesic floodplain forest, wet-mesic
floodplain forest, wet floodplain forest, medium gradient large
river (White River) and several wetland communities including sedge
meadow, circumneutral seep, and marsh. This wetland complex can also
be referred to as a graminoid fen. Each type of natural area can be
further divided into conditional classifications based on age and
level of “disturbance.” Disturbance includes human endeavors such as
logging, farming, and the releasing of invasive-exotic species that
have successfully established populations.
Floodplain Forest
The floodplain forest area is
characterized by a frequent and prolonged flooding from the adjacent
White River. This area lies on the East Side of a levy, which runs
north and south within Southwestway Park. The diversity of trees in
this area is lowered due to periodic flooding, causing the overstory
to become more open. The understory consists of large dense stands
of stinging nettle (Laportea canadensis) and Japanese hops (Humulus
japonicus), a highly invasive-exotic species. The understory
vegetation close to the levy is not heavily infested with stinging
nettle and is mostly covered with Virginia wild Rye (Elymus
virginicus), cutleaved coneflower (Rudbeckia lacinata) and common
greebriar (Smilax rotundifolia). Dominant tree species in this area
are silver maple (Acer saccharinum), cottonwood (Populas deltoides),
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), red maple (Acer rubrum), box elder
(Acer negundo), Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.), and hackberry (Celtis
occidentalis).
The wet-mesic floodplain forest is composed of Common Hackberry and
Box Elder in the overstory while Virginia Wild Rye and Stinging
Nettle are the dominant species in the understory.
The mesic floodplain forest consists of dominant species such as
Sugar Maple, Silver Maple and Ash species, respectively. The
understory species include Wild Ginger, Grape Fern, Sweet Cicely,
Virginia Wild Rye, and Amur Honeysuckle.
Mesic Upland Forest
This area includes the mesic upland
forest dominated by black walnut (Juglans nigra). Mann Hill and a
wooded riparian ravine leading to White River make up this area.
This area is located on Fox complex soil, which is normally found in
6-15 % slopes and consists of gravelly, sandy soil. Fox complex is
generally found on outwash plains and terraces, drainage ways, steep
breaks, hummocky kames and eskers. This soil also erodes easily as
the vegetation is removed. Historical photos from the 1970s show
some of the serious erosion along Mann Hill before it became a park.
A large effort was undertaken in the mid 1970’s after this property
was received by Indy Parks to repair the heavily damaged slopes.
This area includes an old pasture area, which is now densely covered
with woody vegetation. It starts from the parking lot area and ends
at the beginning of trail 5, encompassing all the woody vegetation
along the West Side of the easement. The existing vegetation
consists of hardwood species such as Siberian elm (Ulmus rubra),
American elm (Ulmus americana), common hackberry (Celtis occientalis),
sugar maple (Acer saccharinum), white ash (Fraxinus americana),
hawthorn (Crataegus sp.), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), and
black walnut. The woody vegetation consists of an understory of Amur
honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and rough-leaved dogwood (Cornus
rugosa). The dominant groundcover is clustered black-snakeroot (Sanicula
odorata), Virginia creeper (Parthenococus quinquifolia), with only a
small amount of greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia), Solomon’s-seal (Polygonatum
biflorum) and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).
Along the eastern slope of Mann Hill are a number of circumneutral
seeps that flow into the floodplain areas and the White River.
Species that been observed in these seeps include scouring rush
(equisetum), black ash, marsh marigolds, and common wood reed.
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Graminoid Fen
The graminoid fen is a 3-acre
natural community highly valued for its function and diversity. This
area is characterized by mineral rich, alkaline ground water flowing
to the surface and spreading in a diffused manner. Graminoid fens,
by definition, consist of the early successional plant community
dominated by sedge meadow. This wetland, formed as a result of the
glacial origins of the terrain, has a large mounded area covered
mostly with Fox Soil. This sloping wetland allows the aquifer formed
in the sand and gravel to continually seep cold, mineral rich water
to the surface. The seep is located at the interface between the
bluff (containing Fox soil) and the drainage way at the base of the
slope (containing Sloan soil).
The plant community in this area can be roughly divided into sedge
meadow, shaded seep, degraded sedge meadow and phalaris marsh. The
sedge meadow is the least degraded part of the fen and occupies the
northern third of the seepage slope. It is dominated by tussock
sedge (Carex stricta). Other plants in this community include swamp
aster (Aster puniceus), pink turtlehead (Chelone obliqua), bonest
(Eupatorium perfoliatum), cowband (Oxypolis rigidior), lizard’s tail
(Saururus cernuus) and swamp goldenrod (Solidago patula). The shaded
seep is less degraded, and consists of a black ash (Fraxinus nigra)
and green ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica) overstory with an herbaceous
understory of golden ragwort (Senicio arureus), marsh marigold (Caltha
palustris) and side flowering aster (Aster lateriflorus). Invasive
exotic species such as broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) and
reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) dominate the southern
two-thirds of the seepage area, forming a degraded sedge meadow. The
final division of the seep, the Phalaris Marsh is equally degraded
and is dominated by invasive reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea).
Before European settlement, these communities were often maintained
and kept open by native Americans through burning. Fires prevented
the invasion of woody plants such as willow, honeysuckle and
dogwoods and maintain the diversity of herbaceous understory. Some
part of the seepage area remains open due to its location in the
easement for the high-tension wires owned by Indianapolis Power and
Light.
Due to the presence of the high-tension overhead wires, this area
cannot be managed by prescribed burning. Therefore, continued
mechanical and chemical removal of the invasive species is the only
way to control them. Restoration of the degraded parts in the seep
would require expertise from engineers and groundwater analysts. The
populations of cattail and reed canary grass should be managed since
they have taken over the entire fen. Graminoid fens offer diversity
of various flora and fauna, if they are managed properly. They
provide habitat for different kinds of birds, reptiles, and insects.
This area could also be a source of education for park visitors who
are enthusiastic about high quality natural areas and wildlife.
Successional Fields
Succession has traditionally been
defined as the slow, regular changes that a natural community
undergoes after a disturbance. These disturbances can be natural
(such as wind damage or flooding) or induced by human activity (such
as deforestation). Changing seed sources, climate fluctuations,
population fluctuations of herbivores and their predators, and
disease all affect succession (Pickett 1995).
Some of the previous agricultural land became a sucessional area
when the City of Indianapolis purchased the land in 1984. The
vegetation is composed of floodplain species such as box elder (Acer
negundo), sycamore (Platnus occidentalis), cottonwood (Populas
deltoides), and silver maple (Acer rubrum). The understory is mostly
dominated by tall goldenrod and covered with other woody species
such as trumpet creeper, poison ivy, greenbrier, milkweed,
raspberry, trefoil and Queen Anne’s-lace. The only management
strategy for this area would be to keep observing for invasion from
exotic species, especially honeysuckles that could spread.
Service Learning at Southwestway
Park
The primary focus of the Land
Stewardship Office in Southwestway Park will be the removal of
invasive exotic plant species with the promotion of natural plant
communities and habitats. The Land Stewardship Office has completed
an invasive exotic species document, which provides photographs and
descriptions of the many plant species found in Marion County that
should be considered for control.
Blocking Unwanted Trails
Materials used: Amur Honeysuckle,
European White Mulberry, Siberian Elm
Cut woody materials will be used to block “renegade” trails that
cause excessive erosion. There is an extensive network of trails
located throughout Southwestway Park. Some of these trails are along
a particularly steep valley along White River and Mann Hill. These
glacial features attract mountain bikers, horseback riders, and
hikers from throughout the area. However, the soils that make up
these features are unconsolidated sand and gravel which erodes
easily. A small incision caused by a trail combined with a heavy
rain can create a large gully overnight.
The photos contained in this document are evidence of the erosion
potential of the soils that make up Mann Hill. Indy Parks has
already made considerable efforts and investments to correct past
trail damage. Even though this past damage was primarily done by
motorized vehicles, current use by trail users are also causing
erosion and unnecessary damage to natural plant communities.
While mountain biking is not currently a sanctioned activity within
the park users have not been deterred by Indy Parks. Combined with
equestrian users and hikers the trail system is already heavily
utilized and the number of users will continue to grow.
The Office of Land Stewardship has already identified several
sections of trail that were not sustainable and causing serious
erosion. With the help of volunteers from IUPUI-CEES service
learning program, some of these sections have been blocked off with
brush and re-seeded with native species. Other sections along Mann
Hill and riparian ravine also need to be closed.
Trails are also an issue in the floodplain sections of the park.
Portions of the trail system are located in areas that are saturated
for much of the year. These sections become wider and wider as users
try to avoid standing water and ruts in the center of the trails.
This has become a serious issue at Town Run Trail Park. New trails
are also cut in this section of the park every year. Motorized
vehicle enthusiasts create many of these new trails using the park
illegally.
Indy Parks is faced with a daunting challenge meeting the needs of
trail users while protecting easily damaged plant communities and
geological features. A certain degree of impairment to these
features is inevitable when an area is used for active recreation.
Reforestation Plots
This four-acre reforestation area
lies in the central part of the park, adjacent to the fen. Indy
Parks carried out this project in partnership the US Fish and
Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife program. In 1994, the Land
Stewardship Section, with the help of volunteers from Decatur High
School planted most of this area with tree seedlings from the
Vallonia State Tree Nursery.
A second planting was conducted because the earlier installation was
not completely successful partially due to predation and weedy
competition. The second planting took place in 1998 as part of an
Eagle Scout project. The Center for Earth and Environmental Science
provided a lot of the volunteers needed to complete the project.
Some of the native species planted in this area were swamp oak (Quercus
bicolor), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), bur oak (Quercus
macrocarpa ), green ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica) and pin oak (Quercus
palustris). Tree shelters/tubes had been installed in the 1998
planting to help prevent predation. It turned out the shelters
caused a lot of damage that led to seedling mortality.
This area represents a young growth successional forest. Tall
goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and saplings from dogwood, sycamore,
box elder and silver maple dominate the understory vegetation. Other
understory plants include common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca),
queen-anne’s-lace (Daucus carota), and Virginia water-leaf.
Installed
Plant Species, October 22, 2004
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