After finishing up work at an old progeny site Monday, which mostly just involved removing tree tags, I got to go back to cruising thinned stands this week. This is one of the biggest sites I’ve worked on alone so far, containing four separate stands and nearly 60 plots! The four stands have different densities of trees per acre as well, so I really got to put my Basal Area Factor estimation skills to the test each time I entered a new stand.
By this point I’m fairly used to using all my equipment and trekking on steep slopes to swampy creek beds, and I’m excited to see what new challenges are to come.
Next week, the rest of the intern crew will be here. To prepare, I helped clean up the shop a little bit, as well as applying some finishing touches to the intern crew gear bins. I’m looking forward to meeting some new faces and learning more about forest management here at Starker. It seems next week will be chock full of tours, certifications and chances to learn about fire management. How exciting!