Chainsawing

At the GTM Research Reserve (where I volunteer) their latest project is the Freshwater Marsh Restoration. There used to be a huge freshwater marsh at the Reserve, but in the last 4 years it has been dry. Jacksonville and surrounding areas have been in a drought for three years now. That along in conjunction with the Florida Wildlife and Fisheries building a dam just north of where the marsh used to be, has lead to its demise. Since the marsh has dried out, pine trees have been shooting up everywhere. Pine trees are not usually considered an "invasive species", but in this case they are. The pine trees take up practically all the water that flows through the marsh leaving not much extra water to go around. Therefore, with the Freshwater Marsh Restoration, we are going through eradicating the pine trees. Then once conditions are right, we will do a prescribed burn to get rid of the brush and cut down trees. Ultimately, we hope for the freshwater marsh to one day be bursting with wildlife like it once did.

I learned how to chainsaw yesterday and took out 7-8 pine trees. I started small and ended with a pretty large one! I felt quite powerful.

Again, the pictures are cloudy. This is the group of us from yesterday minus Gary.

I had a lot of fun and have the farmer's tan to go along. I will be working on fixing the tan today considering it is so beautiful outside! Most of all, thank you to Brad for working hard and letting me play!!