Bald Knob Work Day

A group of five intrepid Master Naturalists helped DCR stewards, Jimmy and Dave, remove barbed wire and fence posts near Hwy 220 at the Pig River crossing, in the morning. They then helped remove Japanese honeysuckle along East Court Street, in the afternoon.  The last two outings have focused on the “new” field on the south side of East Court Street.  The total area in the Preserve is now 116 acres. 

While much more remains to be done, you can see the progress if you know where to look.  Much of the old fencing has been removed on East Court and some fencing has been refurbished to fence out the neighboring cattle. Franklin County is a “fence out” jurisdiction. 

In the near future, DCR and BRFAL will be removing more invasive plants on both sides of the street and DCR is planning to develop a roadside sight barrier, without fencing, that includes only native plants. That will undoubtedly include a lot of red cedar and, in the very long-run, some hardwoods if we can plant some from seed and keep the deer from eating them. 

The participants in the endeavors included Peter Brinkerhoff, Geoff Orth, Paul Pautler, Bob Rasmussen, and Rick Watson.