From The Field – Feb 2019
Tiffany Creek
Work on Tiffany Creek—where it runs through the Boyceville middle/high school campus—was completed on January 9th. We spent seven workdays at that site, and I thank all of the volunteers who helped. What I had estimated to be a 3-4 day project removing box elders and other unwanted trees from the immediate stream corridor turned into a major undertaking when the Boyceville school board asked us to remove almost all of the mature maple and ash trees from the park just north of the creek. The trunks on some of those trees measured in excess of 40” and bringing some of them to the ground safely was no easy task. Fortunately a sawmill operator is taking the long straight trunk sections from many of these trees and the locals will claim much of what’s left as firewood.
Plum Creek
Work has now begun on Plum Creek where there is over 4,500 feet of stream to be cleared of box elder, buckthorn, honeysuckle and some willow trees to be cleared over the course of this winter and into next year as well. Nineteen volunteers turned out for the initial workday, and I hope we can retain that level of interest as the brushing season progresses. There are almost 270 individuals who have asked to be included on the list of workday announcements via Mailchimp. Thirty to forty people have showed up for the workdays so far and I hope to see others of you yet this winter. If you’re not already getting workday announcements and would like to, please contact me at randyca999@gmail.com and I will add your name to the list. If you show up to work, you can work at your own pace and come and go as you please. I provide donuts and/or cookies for those who hang around until we take our lunch break of hotdogs roasted over one of the worksite bonfires. I generally try to schedule workdays on Saturdays but occasionally one is scheduled for a Sunday due to weather or volunteer request. In the case of Plum Creek, I expect that there will be some mid-week workdays as well to accommodate workers from Covia (fornerly Fairmount Santrol) and give them an opportunity to help with the project.
It’s a fair commute to Plum Creek and chapter member Trish Hannah has volunteered to organize a carpooling effort, pairing up volunteers who wish to ride share. —Randy Arnold
