I agree with #1 thru #3 #4 looks like Populus balsamifera (Balsam Poplar) to me. #5 I agree, Tilia americana #6 Most likely Pyrus calleryana - Callery Pear, which is known to many erroneously as "Bradford Pear" because that's the oldest, best selling cultivar. Agree with #7 and #8 #9 Eleagnus umbellata - Autumn Olive #6 and #9 are aggressive exotic invasives which you should consider trying to eradicate, not transplanting. Also, I'd say it's tempting to transplant wild growing trees and shrubs and it can be done with care, but more often than not it ends in failure. Many wild established trees and shrubs, even when still young, resent the root disturbance and don't adjust well and end up dying or taking several years to recover. Some species are exceptions though and it doesn't always end that way, but like I said often times it does. Out of the trees and shrubs you listed, I'd think the smaller Blueberries have the best chance at being transplanted and would behave the best in the landscape.

Beautiful flowers, but for me, even more beautiful foliage! Siam, I can tell you love foliage also. Loved it! Thanks for making my coffee experience an adventure. Anna

One question I would ask Ann is how the property was maintained in the past 10 - 20 years. This would give some information about what recent practices have left the woods as they currently are. If you like the way they are, you could just keep doing the same. To my mind it's more complicated than that. Yes, I like the woods the way they are (and I don't know much about what's been done in the past years except I think relatively nothing). However, even though I 'like' the woods now, I do not know if their current condition and if doing nothing is best for the long term health of the woods. I truly feel that we are the stewards of this land, not the owners, and I asked this question to try to find out how best to care for the land and return it as much as possible to its native state. One thing that is obvious to me from the discussion above is that I need to learn more. You all use terms that I am not sure of, and differentiate between bottom land woodlands andother woodlands, and talk about disturbance ecology...I need to learn more. I assume you call my area bottom land because its along the river? For what its worth, someone mentioned an overabundance of maples - that is not the problem here. Maples don't grow on our side of the river, too alkaline. Box elders do, and we do have some box elders, but my impression (which may be wrong) is that those are native. There are not a lot of them. Do any of you have suggestions for good informative books that would help me learn about forest ecology? Or is this such a huge topic that I would need to go back to school :) ? We do get erosion of the bank. We also get flooding pertty much every spring (and sometimes, such as this year, during the summer too). If the flooding is only spring thaw flooding, it doesn't seem to affect the plants too much. However if it is a summer flood, essentially all of the undergrowth is killed. It will be back next year, but for now there is not that beautiful green understory that the pictures above show. This discussion is interesting to me. As I say, I need to learn more, but you are giving me ideas of WHAT I need to learn. Ann

I would recommended a mix of native grasses and wildflowers that can tolerate both inundation and drought. I would recommend that you use a netted straw blanket, to hold the seed and soil in place until it can get established. In your case, I may use a permanent to semi-permanent soil stabilization matrix... or I would use a hydroseed with sticky mulch. Its a specialty application, its not real expensive but you do need to find someone who knows what they are doing, because if its not installed correctly it won't work and would be a waste of money. I'm not sure who the local sales rep. is for Ero-tex in your area, but you can go to their web site, fill out a form and request an onsite consultation. Their sales rep should be able to hook you up with a local contractor who knows what they are doing. I don't work for this company, but I've used their expertise and find them to be very knowledgeable. Here is a link that might be useful: Ero-tex