Final Report for the Preliminary Analysis of GHS-OWLS Impact Study

Transcription

1 Final Report for the Preliminary Analysis of GHS-OWLS Impact Study Goddard High School s Outdoor Wildlife Site The OWL site is composed of a grassland ecosystem and a pond ecosystem. The OWL site belongs to Goddard High School (GHS). The school is located at 2500 S. 199 th Street W. in Goddard, KS The OWLs site is located south of the school in Sedgwick County. The people who gathered the information are the GHS biology and ecology classes. Most of the data from the study was gathered around 9:00 a.m. in September 2013 (fall). Purpose and setting of impact study site area We did the study to quantify the OWLs site for the purpose of future developments near the site, to extend ecological sustainability, and to learn to manage the effects of development projects on the environment. Our local site of study was adjacent to a large high school parking lot, a middle school parking lot, a local through street that was paved and sport facilities. It was located in a somewhat rural setting near farm fields, pastures, a small industrial park, and suburban housing. Therefore, similar studies could be required in order to provide protection to the areas surrounding transportation projects. Transportation development projects could have adverse impacts on ecologically significant acreage, public owned parks, recreation areas, wildlife or waterfowl refuges, and public and private historical sites. Recently, the initial analysis of a development site with the use of an ecologically significant impact study and a low impact provision has simplified the fulfillment of various regulatory requirements or to ensure that codes are being followed. The managers of the property being protected, may desire the low impact provision, because it can result in an improvement to the resource. Nevertheless, similar outcomes could be achieved by pursuing other options than the ones proposed in this study. History of the site 1991: There was a small house on the corner lot of property located at 2500 S. 199 th St. W., Box 189, with a pasture and horses. There were 78 open acres mainly used for farming : Goddard purchased land for $3000 per acre. The city annexed the property and the county paved roads. The district tested soil and surveyed for drainage and future building construction. 1995: The pond was built as a part of the construction site for the new High School in the spring. The water run-off calculated is suppose the equal the built retention pond that was supposed to dry out but never has. The pond had two major inlets and one outlet. The outlet was a concrete spillway. One of the major drainage inlets to the pond was a ditch along a highway, which flowed under the West entrance to the campus. The second major inlet was a drainage ditch that as a part of our study area, had been left growing in a natural state since its construction. The high school parking lot drained through the pond's watershed : The sidewalks are built. 1997: The school opens and the construction of the balls field begin. 2001: The ditch area that was used to do this study had some native grass seeds dispersed over it. 2004: The OWLS permit was granted. Also the memorial garden landscape began. A sign was to be erected in the northeast corner of the pond area to designate it as a memorial garden. The lack of water delayed some progress of the memorial garden, but installation of water faucets allowed development to begin. Now we must maintain the garden to dignify the memorials.

2 OWL site soil Its quality and the extent to which it is available, help determine the type of ecosystem that naturally occurs in an area. Our O.W.L.S. is located near Wichita, is a large city in the county. Much of the soil outside Wichita s city limits is utilized for the production of agriculture products. Here are the results from the pre-assessment study of the soil. It had a healthy color. Its organic matter was high. The organic residue in the samples indicated adequate quality for growing things. The sample areas showed little evidence of recent erosion and the presence of pores which made it easier for water to travel through it. Earthworms were lacking. The ph, potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus levels were not in the most desirable ranges. On average, the wettest month is May and the driest month is January. The winds tend to blow drier or wetter air into the region from different directions. Since Goddard is located near the center of a large landmass, the winds have a vast distance to travel before bringing moisture from large bodies of water such as the oceans. The OWLS Climate Information The OWL site typically has a semiarid climate with 10 to 30 inches of precipitation a year. Some precipitation falls as snow in the cool to cold winters. Summers are warm to hot during typical years. On average, the warmest month is July and the coldest month is January GHS-OWLS Microclimate Conditions (Climate data was collected for three small specific areas within the OWL site. The results of that data are contained in the table below.) Sample Area UVA Humidity Temperature Sunlight Intensity Mowed Area (at 0 inches or on ground) 86 mw/m -2 8% 57 o F 2,300 Lux Dense Growth (at 40 inches above ground) 191 mw/m -2 6% 56 o F 4,600 Lux In a Tree (at 66 inches above ground) 71 mw/m -2 3% 52 o F 0 Lux Watershed Regions and Drainage The aerial photo below is color coded to show the watershed for the pond and for areas surrounding the GHS-OWL site of study. The area circled in red runs into and through the OWLS pond. The area circled in yellow, GMS, drains south on the large yellow arrow. The areas north and left of the red zone drain south on the pink line. The Amelia E. Elem. School and most of the athletic fields drain on green arrows and merge onto the orange waterway.

3 Location MAPS State of Kansas Sedgwick County Aerial photo of the Area Surrounding the O.W.L. Site

4 Aerial photo of the O.W.L. Site OWLS with grid/study area numbers

5 OWLS Latitudinal-Longitudinal Grid study Coordinates Dimensions Map of the O.W.L.S. area - (NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME)