Nick Sterritt

Nick Sterritt

Port Townsend High School Student

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

Watershed Clean-up Day:
We pulled noxious weeds and we put them in the back of a truck. We actually filled 5 truck loads that day. There wasn't that much litter and trash, but we picked up all that we could find. The noxious weed crew didn't do all that much besides pulling Herb Robert, hemlock, Canadian Thistle and some invasive ivy. After we finished we had about 5 loads of trash and noxious weeds.

Trail Maintenance:
This was the funniest day because Ben, Corey, Zac and I  pretty much rebuilt a trail. This is the day that I had the least a mount of complaining and procrastination. We went to Notch Pass Trail and we rebuilt about a half mile of the trail, but we couldn't continue because it was getting late and we had to drive another hour and a half to get back. We used some cool tools like a half ax and a half de-rooter.

Forest Service Maintenance:
On this day we hauled heavy lumber to the Quilcene  Ranger Station and then we proceeded to put water proofing on the lumber. We did this because we wanted to repair picnic tables that people had vandalized or that had rotted away. Then we proceeded to take the moss on the parking lot off the Ranger Station and then took care of the Ranger Station by brushing and clearing the hedges and all the access bushes. We also took out Herb Robert.

Replanting  Decommissioned Road:
On this day we  walked about three feet from the van from our last destination at the elk habitat restoration. We got some cool tools like the Montana Sharpshooter shovel and we softened the road by stepping on the Montana Sharpshooter - thus breaking the hard roads and making it easier to plant trees.

Campground Maintenance: 
On this day we cleaned up all the trash and and we swept all the leaves off the tables and cleaned out all of the fireplaces. We found some weird stuff in the camp ground like a muffler. We split into groups so we could get the job done faster.

Elk Habitat Restoration: 
We went to Sequim to set up a couple of trees. The trees were snow berry, hemlock, elder berry and some other shrubs. We used short and long-nosed shovels for digging the holes for which we put the shrubs and trees in. Almost all of the places we put the trees in were bare and nothing was growing there. Every year the elk habitat is dwindling because of new houses in the area.


Skykomish Fish Fling: 
On this day we drove about 2-4 hrs on the way over and 2-4 hrs on the way back. On the way up we noticed that the place we were going to was across an Indian Reservation that is in a flood plain.
We also noticed that there were a lot of salmon piles up along the road and we wondered why they couldn't do it themselves, but we ended up having fun throwing them off a 50-70 ft cliff. It wasn't pleasant seeing them hitting the bottom though. I am glad I brought some vapor-rub for my nose.

Current Issue I Care About: One of the current problems is xenophobia. If we are more open to other cultures it would cancel a lot of political and world problems. It also would also reduce terrorism. It would make people shake hands and accept  their differences.

Holly Garland

Holly Garland

Port Townsend High School Student 

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

  

Issues I Care About

The low status of women in third world countries
Overpopulation
Animal cruelty
Child Abuse

Warming oceans-Climate Change

Water Conservation

Pollution

Desertification

Deforestation

AIDS
Cancer
Water related sickness

I am especially concerned with human issues like over population and sexism because I know that if we solve these problems we are one huge step closer to solving many other problems. I believe that overpopulation is a direct result of sexism and that poverty, AIDS, and water related sicknesses all stem from overpopulation and overcrowding. Pollution, Deforestation, and water over-use would also be effected by a smaller population. One way begin to solve the problem of sexism in third world countries would be to offer free education and health care to women in need.
Watershed Cleanup

On one of my favorite work days, we took part in a Fish Fling at the Skokomish River where we threw salmon carcasses from a hatchery into a mountain river in order to provide the river system with nutrients. When the dead salmon are thrown into the river they provide food for larger animals and are spread around the river and forest, positively effecting the riparian zone: where the river interacts with the land. Not only was this helpful to the river, but it turns out flinging salmon off of a bridge as hard as you can is a lot of fun. Who would have guessed?

While out on one of the work days we learned how river health could be determined by doing a pebble count. We also saw log jams, learned how they provided habitat for animals in the river, and heard about how and why they were constructed. I found it amazing that each log jam cost millions of dollars to construct, but the money was worth it because that log jam will have a great effect on the river.

By cleaning up our water shed we helped prevent pollution in the water that we drink every day.

Maintenance


On one of the days we removed trash from a mountain road. There were hundreds of shot gun shells and smashed bottles that we had to collect, so many that the ground sparkled everywhere you looked. We also found and removed things like a muffler, an old mattress, and skeet. When we left the trail it looked a hundred times better than it had when we arrived. Our trash bags were so heavy that they almost broke with the weight of all the bullets, glass, and pieces of plastic.

Another day we took part in a noxious weed removal. We pulled invasive species like Herb Robert, thistle, and Scotch Broom from a camp site. Herb Robert is recognizable by its stench which made it very unpleasant to pull, in fact Herb Robert smells so bad it is sometimes known as "Stinky Bob". The Scotch Broom was definitely one of the hardest weeds to get out of the ground, it grows up to 4 meter tall and has long, thick roots. By pulling these weeds we helped control the spread of non-native species which often get out of control.


We also did campground maintenance. This included picking up litter and clearing fire pits of melted aluminum cans, wrappers, and broken bottles using tongs and trash bags. By cleaning up these campsites we ensure that the experience campers have will be much better. It amazes me what people leave behind at campsites, the weirdest thing I found that day was a rusty old deer trap on the beach.

We helped water proof wooden planks for the Ranger station. The wood that we painted will be made into new picnic tables for hikers and campers that won't rot and will look much better than the slimy, moss covered tables that they will be replacing.

While at the Ranger station we cleaned up their parking lot which was over grown with trees and moss. We used McClouds and shovels to scrape off all the moss and pruning shears and hand saws to cut back the trees. When we were finished there were an extra two or three parking spaces that they didn't even know were there.

On our last day we did trail maintenance on a mountain trail that hadn't been worked on for years. We dug trenches for water drainage, trimmed back plants, raked, sloped the trail for run off, used McClouds to hack away at overgrowth, and all in all worked very hard to repair a trail that really needed it.

Planting

On the Elk Habitat Restoration day we planted forage, elderberries, alder and other trees in order to create an elk habitat using tree planting tools like the Montana Sharpshooter. We planted in an area that had been burnt and cleared out to provide a place to keep elk away from the highway as well as provide them with some of their favorite foods.

That same day we planted a decommissioned road in order to restore it to its original state and to encourage animals to use it. The ground was packed down and almost solid rocks from being driven on, and even though it took us forever we finally succeeded in planting most of the trees.

We also potted plants that would be used the next year for elk habitat and restoration. We planted willow cuttings, which can be cut from a full grown tree and take root, and wild rose as well as other shrubs and trees. We unloaded topsoil from a truck, planted, tagged, then finished up by sticking them in a greenhouse and saying "Bye 'til next year!"

Leave No Trace


1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave Whet You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Ben Matthews

Ben Matthews

Port Townsend High School Student 

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

Watershed Cleanup

This was our first work day. We split into two groups, one to clean up trash and the other for noxious weed removal. I was with the trash clean up crew, we found trash everywhere under logs far down the side of a hill. There was a mattress that we had to pull up the side of the hill with a rope. There were bags of diapers everywhere they were really hard to get them all into garbage bags because the bags they were in were really weak and full of holes.

Fish Fling

This was a project to re-introduce salmon from the hatchery to places farther up the river. They had brought all of the fish up to bridges near the river and dropped them off for us. We stood on the bridge and threw them down to the river. The reason that we did this was so that the fish could decompose and help out an environment that would not usually get these nutrients. Also on this day we went down to the Skokomish river and looked at log jams that had been set up and how much the river had been cleaned up by the forest service.

Ranger Station Cleanup

For another project we waterproofed a bunch of picnic table boards for the first half of the day and then we cleaned up the parking lot of the ranger station in forks. To do this we used hoes and brush trimmers, we trimmed back the bushes that were growing over the parking spaces and we used the hoes and shovels to scrape back the moss out of parking spaces and gutters. We also picked up trash from the side of the road near the station. I climbed a tree with a hand saw and sawed of branches that were hanging over he lot.

Elk Habitat Restoration


For this project we planted saplings on a decommissioned road and in a elk habitat then moved a ways away from, we also planted grass seeds down a part of the road that had been shut down for a while. Then we came back to the ranger station and planted starts in containers, we ran out of dirt about halfway through and so we had to unload some from the truck onto a tarp on the ground.

Trail Maintenance

This was our last day of work and the one where I actually felt like i was earning my money, we cleared out water drainage ditches that came off the side of the trail. We pushed back weeds that were growing into the side of the trail and cut back brush that was hanging over the side. We did not make it to the top of the trail but we got a good portion of the trail done. We used a lot of different toolsBy the end we had a really good system by having the tools in a certain order and it was really efficient.

Campground Maintenance


This day was kind of an accident because the guy who was supposed to help us put the picnic tables together did not show up for work so we had to come up with something else to do. We went on a few hikes and saw some pretty cool stuff then we did some campground maintenance like picking up trash on two different campgrounds. It was a pretty good day even though we did not do what we had planned to.

Michelle Garland

Michelle Garland

Port Townsend High School Student

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew




Noxious Weed Removal
Noxious weeds are plants that are not native to the area and take over. We picked weeds at most of the sites that we went to, removing various plants including Herb Robert and Scotch Broom. If you live in the Pacific North West you probably will have seen Scotch Broom, it's the big yellow bush that grows next to highways. It is important to control noxious weeds so that they don't take over areas where native plants grow.


Trash Cleanup
Our groups also cleaned garbage up in campsites and on trails and beaches. I was surprised at how much garbage people left at their campsites. There were wrappers, water bottles, and paper on the ground at every site we went to. One of the places we went had broken glass and bullets all over from target practice. It took a long time to pick the little pieces of glass out of the gravel, but it looked a lot better when we were done.

Fish Fling
The purpose of the fish fling was to introduce dead salmon from the fishery into the river. Salmon used to swim up these rivers, but because of the hatchery further down the river they don't get this far now, so it is important to bring the dead fish here. The salmon provide nutrients to other fish and insects in the river and riparian zone, the transition area between a river and land. Raccoons and other animals will carry the fish into the forest, fertilizing the trees. There were three big piles of dead fish that we threw off of the bridge. At first I was grossed out by the fish, but it was actually fun to throw them into the river.


Elk Habitat Restoration
To create a natural habitat for elk we planted elderberries, alder and other trees. We planted in an area that had been burned to create a field for the elk to graze in. The land was very hard to work on, we had to climb over piles of debris and avoid holes in the ground. This will restore a habitat for the elk and keep them away from the highway.

Planting
We also planted native trees and bushes on a decommissioned road to restore the habitat. The road was rocky and packed down from driving on it, it seemed like there were more rocks than dirt, it took us about 20 minutes to plant each tree but we managed to plant them all. If we had just left the road it would eventually go back to the natural state, but it would take much longer. After that we cut willow, and other tree branches and planted them in pots to be planted in the park next year.


Trail Maintenance
To cleanup a trail in the park we had to cut back the plants, dig to widen the trail, rake it flat and dig irrigation ditches. We walked down the trail one at a time each doing a job to speed it up. The trail had been made by volunteers a couple years before, but it was very overgrown. It was hard work and took us all day to clear just over two miles of the trail. Even though the trail was overgrown there were still some hikers on it, and I hope that clearing it brings more people out to enjoy the park.

World Problems I Care About

Environment

• Air/Water Pollution
• Global Warming
• Deforestation 

Violence

• Domestic violence
• Animal Cruelty
• Genocide

Disease

• HIV/AIDS
• Cancer

I think that global warming is one of the most crucial issues of our time. It is related to so many other problems, rising sea levels, habitat loss and pollution. One of these problems is the pine beetle. The pine beetle is an insect that lives in pine trees. In the past, when winters were colder the beetles would die but now that winters aren't as cold they live through the winter, and have killed millions of acres of pine. I remember going to British Columbia one summer and seeing red trees in every direction. My grandpa was especially concerned because he loves to plant trees around his house. I think that if we tried to solve global warming many other issues would also improve.

Cory Smith

Cory Smith

Port Townsend High School Student 

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

—Watershed Cleanup Day—
The first day of our trip we went up on two flat landings, and picked up trash, bullet casings, and pulled noxious weeds off of steep slopes. On that day we pulled out 5 truckloads of garbage, it was also very sunny and we had a blue sky all day. This process is called watershed management. Watershed management is the process of creating and implementing plans, programs, and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions. Water pollution is bad and could effect our health if we don't keep it under control.

—Fish Fling at the Skokomish River—
We first went on a 4 hour drive to a restricted area in the National Forest, on the way up the trail piles of fish were spotted near bridges, they were here to be thrown into the river to provide nutrients for the riparian zone. The riparian zone is the interface between the land, and a source of water such as the river or stream. It is important for wetlands to be revitalized with salmon carcasses. Keeping the riparian zones clean is also very important to the wildlife as well as human beings. Riparian zones dissipate stream energy. The curves of a river, combined with root systems, dissipate stream energy, which results in less soil erosion and a reduction in flood damage.

—Elk Habitat Restoration—
The Stewardship program brought many tools and boxes of tree and shrub cuttings to a burn site in the National Forest. We had both cylinder shaped pots as well as, long rectangular pots holding different types of trees such as oak, and types of shrubs like elderberry and wild rose. We dug holes just big enough to transplant the species of habitual plants. Then we roughed up the roots out of their bundle and put them into burned area. In order to increase the amount of elks roaming. The elk is a large mammal that feeds on grass, and shrubs. There are 6 subspecies of elk around the united states. Also, they're an endangered animals.


—Potting Cuttings—
We had to replace the cuttings we used, so we traveled back to the ranger station and dumped a load of dirt out of the back of a pick-up truck, packed it into plastic pots, then shoved cuttings into them so they would start to grow. The amazing thing about trees and shrubs is that they will grow from just a branch, so you can get many trees out of just one.
however, it's hard to keep all Since most plant cuttings will have no root system of their own, they are likely to die from dehydration if the proper conditions are not met. it takes the plants a while to grow its own roots. When in a pot their roots get cramped up, which causes them to need to transplant for full growth.

—Picnic Table Restoration—
Our second day had to do originally with water proofing picnic table benches, but we ended up only doing a part job on that and spending the rest of the day working on making the ranger station look better. In the beginning of the day we took big 4x12's up onto the covered stage to water proof. This involved painting the top, sides, and ends with a special coating, either stain, paint, wood protectant that provides protection from cracking, warping, or rotting due to moisture.


—Forest Service Station Maintenance—
On the same day that we waterproofed the picnic tables, we helped out the Ranger Station. Our group split up and did different things such as, docking trees away from the road, scraping moss, trimming shrubs back, pulling weeds, and picking up trash. We need to help keep our Service Stations up to snuff because they help our environment out a lot. The Forest Service employs 34,250 employees in 750 locations, there are always job openings available for students and adults alike. The Forest Service oversees 155 national forests and 20 grasslands, they take care of and protect them, by replanting and providing habitat for natural species.

—Replanting Decommissioned Road—
After driving up a decommissioned road, we hiked down a trail and spread grass seeds, dug into hard ground, gravel, and planted different types of grass, shrubs, and trees. Towards the middle of the work session, we thought we struck treasure! However it turned out to be an old crushed culvert. A culvert is an device used to channel water, there are different materials you can use to make one including steel, PVC, and concrete. In our case, the section we saw was made from steel. It could have been a hybrid pipe which has a concrete collar around the pipe to enforce strength.

—Campground Maintenance—
A rainy day didn't drive us off our duty of cleaning up a campground near the highway. We picked up trash, and sorted through fire pits in order to clean up the campground. We found old barbecue grates and other strange trash. Camping is a very common thing in families, they leave their urban lifestyle to visit a beautiful place that is out in the wilderness and in a clean and pristine environment. We have to keep them clean so that people continue to enjoy camping.

—Trail Maintenance—
Our final day of the trip consisted of us hiking up the Notch trail digging out ditches, restoring trails with special tools such as the McCloud and the D-ring. Allowing us to rake up and brush trails. It was the most intense day of work in the program, we worked all day and only got a mile up the 2.5 mile trail. There are many different tools and work plans that you can use in order to maintain trail restoration. The tools that we used that day were named after firemen.

Olivia Gibbons

Olivia Gibbons

Port Townsend High School Student

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

 



Fish Fling at the Skokomish River
We drove for hours to get into a remote area deep in the national forest. To get our destination, we had to pass through two locked gates- it was land closed to the public. Finally we reached a small bridge over the Skokomish River. There were piles of week-old salmon carcasses on either side. We ate lunch, put on plastic gloves to protect ourselves, and grabbed a fish in each hand by the tail. Walking over to the edge of the bridge, we flung the fish over the side. We drove to a second bridge and repeated the process. On the drive home, we talked about what we had done and how the fish would benefit the river as they decomposed, fertilizing the river and feeding animals such as bears, birds, and insects. This benefits the riparian system, which is the green ribbon of life alongside a stream.

Potting Cuttings
After driving to the Quilcene Ranger Station, we brought out plenty of tall, thin black plastic pots and began shoveling dirt from the back of a truck onto the ground. We were given cuttings of bushes and trees such as rose, willow, and elderberry. Everyone took a pot, filled it half full, put in a cutting right side up, and filled the rest of the pot up with dirt. Cuttings were labeled according to type of plant, and finished pots were stacked against the wall of a greenhouse. The cuttings would be planted in the national forests after a year of growing in the greenhouse.

Watershed Cleanup Day
A few miles into the forest past the Quilcene Ranger Station, the 4-H vans that we were riding stopped at a small gravel mine where people had previously held target practice shooting clay pigeons and cardboard targets. We got down on our hands and knees, picking up all kinds of trash. Bullets, bottles, cans, broken glass of all sizes, miscellaneous plastic, parts of clay pigeons, and the two targets that the shooters had left all went into the huge black trash bags. We put them all into the back of a truck and went on to the next location, picking up more garbage, this time at a trail beside a stream. This is a good example of watershed management, or maintaining the quality of water in your watershed. I found some trash in the river, but even picking up trash next to it helps protect the water purity because trash eventually winds up in the river anyway.

Forest Service Station Maintenance
After getting to the Quilcene Ranger Station, we pulled out all sorts of different tools that we used to scrape grass, moss, and built-up dirt from the parking lot. We cut overhanding branches from the trees growing too close to the road, and we pulled branches from the ivy growing in front of the building. We cut blackberry vines from the curbs. When we were finished, the ranger station looked considerably cleaner and we had uncovered more parking spaces from below the dirt. By reclaiming the station, we made it easier for the U.S. Forest Service to do their job protecting and maintaining the land.

Replanting a Decommissioned Road
We hiked into the national forest carrying cuttings in pots and shapes, sizes, and weights of shovels. Once we got to a clearing, we began planting the cuttings in every open spot available. We planted sedge grass in the darker places and willow and elderberry in the middle of the clearing. This is a good example of restoration ecology because we were restoring land that had lost most of its native plant life to its original diversity.

Campground Maintenance
We went to several different campgrounds equipped with trash bags and tongs. We walked from campsite to campsite, using the tongs to pick up all kinds of trash that people had left behind. It was surprising how much trash there was all over the campsites, but mostly in the fire grates.

Picnic Table Restoration
We took wooden planks and painted them with Thompson's Water Seal, a type of varnish that repels water to lengthen the life of the wood. We set them down so that they could dry. They were going to be used to make picnic tables to replace some of the older tables that were not fit to use anymore. The new tables will last many years.


Planting Cuttings for Elk Forage
We took cuttings of plenty of kinds of potted cuttings and planted them in a clearing. Elk browse the plants that grow from these cuttings. Planting these will help them reclaim their territory. Elk need variety in their diet, and this project is helping by reintroducing some of the native plants that they need to be fed.

Kevin Hughes

Kevin Hughes

4-H Stewardship Program Member

Port Townsend High School Student

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

kevinthughes.blogspot.com

Fish Fling at the Skokomish River

We first drove for over three hours past Hoodsport up into the mountains on roads that are restricted to the public. After reaching our first destination, near a 100 foot bridge we noticed two large piles of salmon on either side. We were instructed to throw these salmon off a bridge suspended over a fast flowing river. We were told they were bags of fertilizer that were necessary for the river after they stopped swimming up the river to spawn. Throwing the fish to a sinister end was very fun but also essential to the river. Plant habitats and communities along the river banks are called riparian vegetation. Riparian zones are significant in ecology,environmental management, and civil engineering.

Potting Cutting
After collecting branches with at least two budding shoots we returned to the ranger station. We filled pots with soil and planted the branches in the pots. We then watered the newly planted pots and labeled the plants with the appropriate tag depending on the plant the branch was taken from. Among these plants were willow, elderberry, wild rose. Plant cutting is a form of asexually reproduction, where a piece of a source plant will produce new roots and stem becoming itself a new plant.

Watershed Cleanup Day
This was our first day of work and we were ready for whatever they decided to throw at us. Working in three groups we hauled out five truckloads of trash and noxious weeds. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a lot of fun working and making new friendships. Among the garbage we carried out was dozens of used diapers, a mattress and countless other pieces of junk. Watershed management is implementing plans and programs to enrich watershed functions for plants, animals, and humans within a watershed boundary.

Forest Service Station Maintenance
Unlike the previous weeks where we had awesome weather that day it was raining and miserable, but we put on our rain gear and worked through it. We broke into groups and got started. The group that I was working in was cleaning up the parking lots that were covered with moss. We then started trimming bushes and other plants. After are work there was done we headed out to work on other tasks. The U. S. Forest Service is a agency of the Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service administers the nations forests and was started in 1876.

Replanting a Decommissioned Road
In the past decade many previous logging roads had been decommissioned this was an example of one of them. We started be parking and walking down this road with many barriers such as a giant dirt pile to prevent people from entering. We brought plants and shovels and started away digging and planting in the rock hard ground that had tons of gravel and other debris incorporated in it. The perpose of this task was to help restore the road to a natural state. Restoration ecology is the study and practice of renewing and restoring damaged or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment.

Campground Maintenance
Over the course of our couple month experience we maintenance many campgrounds. Basically what we did at all of them was what was needed picking up trash, cleaning picnic tables, taking the trash out of the fire pits etc. This was tedious work because all the trash people throw or put in a fire pit when they could easily throw it away in a proper location. A campsite is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors.

Picnic Table Restoration
We also spent several short sessions working on picnic table restoration. The first time we panted several large boards with a sealing agent. We also loaded them into a pickup and delivered them to where we were replacing them, with the old gnarly rotted ones. We were supposed to cut the old ones out and replace them, but we didn't have a certified person who could cut them off with a chainsaw. A picnic table is a table with connected benches on either side, usually used for eating meals outside.

Planting Cuttings for Elk Habitat
This process was similar to the decommissioned road that we were planting cuttings but we were doing this in a field where the heard rests and eats the trees that we were planting. These were the same type of cuttings that had previously been harvested and we later re harvested and plated. An elk is a large land mammal found in North America and one of the largest species of deer found anywhere. Elk are similar to cattle that they graze and consume about 20 pounds of food daily.

Yarro Lanphear

 

Yarro Lanphear

Port Townsend High School Student

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

Fish Fling at the Skokomish River.
First thing we did was drive for what seemed like forever into the national forest, I must admit that I was thinking that these people could be kidnapping us to sell on the black market. Ya, I know that was just my wild imagination, but hey I watched Criminal Minds Last night and I was half asleep.

Well to get us to our destination we had to go through locked gates- It was land forbidden to the public( Doesn't that remind you of the Forbidden Kingdom in China?). We reached our remote location - a bridge that was built over an impressive looking ravine, we were told that we would be throwing fish down from the bridge into the river below.

Stepping into boots and donning a pair of latex gloves I faced the pile of dead fish with all its stinky, slimy glory. And it was awesome - words can only attempt to describe how delightful it was (cue evil laugh.) I was to fling those fish with all my strength and hear them hit the bottom with a satisfying, and loud sound. It was good for the environment because dead fish helped return nutrients to the riparian zone (riparian zone is the intersection between a river and the land around it) and it was wonderfully amusing.

Potting Cuttings.
After finishing the Fish Fling we drove back to the Quilcine Ranger Station and were introduced to the art of plant cutting, cuttings are basically a stick you cut off a plant, put in the dirt and it grows into a new plant. The whole group seemed to enjoy the experience, some people filled pots with dirt, some put the cuttings in the pots and the others labeled the cuttings according to types of plants. After we finished we stacked all the pots against the greenhouse ready for environment restoration next spring.

Watershed Cleanup Day.
A few miles past the Quilcine Ranger Station the vans stopped at a spot where we were going to do a clean up (watersheds function is to prevent water pollution and erosion). People had been shooting clay pigeons and cardboard for target shooting practice.We were on our hands and knees picking out all sorts of objects, bullets casings (which are shiny, but are a pain to pick up which is why I wish arrows were more popular than guns), bottles, cans, broken glass (which reminded me of a thousand broken mirrors), quite an amount of various plastics, pieces of clay pigeons, Olivia even found a knife.

Forest Service Station Maintenance.
When we got to the Ranger station we were given different types of tools - most of the group stayed behind to do the picnic table restorations. Zac, Grayson, Freya and I went off to the adventure of a lifetime.... 50 feet away. We few, we merry few, we band of cleaners scraped, shoveled, swept (Gee, that's a lot of S's) that cement until it nearly half-way shined. Legions of black bags brimming with moss, trash and multicolored leaves in brilliant fall shades were hauled out of there. I am glad to say that the Quilcine Ranger Station establishment shall continue their gallant effort to protect and improve our forests.

Replanting Decommissioned Road.
We went to an old service road that had been closed down in the national forest aiming to plant saplings and grasses to break it up, armed with Montana sharpshooters, shovels and desperately wishing for a pick - we marched down the trail prepared to wage war. The plants that had weighed us down were designated their spots and the group dug through what felt like solid rock. After much ado most of the plants were nestled in their rock beds. The boys while digging a hole had discovered what seemed to be a treasure chest - suddenly the hole was a flurry of excitement as most of the males in our group helped in digging up a pirate's bounty. Holly, Mitchell, Olivia and I watched -  intrigued after our share of plants were in their places, apparently the"treasure" was nothing but a decrepit and twisted road culvert, but the boys wanted to dig it out anyways. Needless to say it was interesting.

Campground Maintenance.
What we basically did was pick up garbage left behind by campers, and there was SO MUCH!
People, I know you are on vacation and seem to have the inclination to discard of your trash whereever is convenient... for you. But please and I stress the please, put your garbage where it belongs, a nice dumpster or garbage can instead of leaving it everywhere. Other people use the park and you are ruining the re-experience as well as destroying the environment by using the park as a dump.
Do you really want our planet so covered in trash that human kind has to live in a spaceship light years away and become really obese and brainwashed by evil robots like in Walley?

Planted Cuttings For Elk Forage.
The same day that we replanted the decommissioned road we planted cuttings for elk foraging so that all elk in that area can be happy up there. The man that brought us there said people had used the trees in that area for lumbering and we would be replanting plants that elk enjoyed to eat.

Zac Golding

Zac Golding

Port Townsend High School Student 

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

On the 1st day our crew went up to the Olympic National Forest to pull noxious weeds. We ended up pulling a truck load of noxious weeds in just hours. This was to help surrounding plants that are food to many animals. When the crew that I was in was doing this the other crew was picking up trash to help increase the water quality in the near by watershed.

On my 2nd day our crew went out to Sequim to pick up some tools. After that we drove around 20 minutes to the spot in the Olympic National Forest. When we arrived we planted trees and berries for elk habitat in a clear cut area. We also planted trees on a decommissioned road to help it get back to it's original condition. Later that day we planted tree starts for next years elk habitat.

On my 3rd day we went at least 2 hours away from town to return hundreds of pounds of fish carcasses to a river system. The carcasses came from a fish hatchery because they were done with them. We returned them to the river to help the surrounding environment by introducing beneficial bacteria and nutrients. We got done early so we all went on a walk to see a log jam that was built to help the fish population.

On my 4th day our crew went to Notch Pass to fix up the trail we also had to clean out the drainage ditches. We went up the steep and winding trail over a half mile.We were widening the trail, taking out roots, trimming branches and taking out berry vines.

Issues I Care About

The system
Over Incarceration in America due to strict drug laws (It is their body)


Bad choices
Animal Abuse

Child Abuse

Kidnappers/Molesters


Economic
Poverty

Third World Hunger

Greedy People

Agriculture
Synthetic Fertilizer

Genetical Modified

Harmful Pesticides

I think that the best wealth is health and many people don't even know what is in the food that they're eating. Many people try to eat healthy, but they aren't - even if it looks healthy and sounds healthy. This is because many foods that were once healthy are now stuffed with genetical modified cells and Synthetic Fertilizer (A.K.A CHEMICALS).

Ben Iuro

Ben Iuro

Port Townsend High School Student

4-H Stewardship Program Member

2010 Fall Season Work Crew

Over the past ten or so weeks with 4-H, we've hoisted a mattress uphill, flung fish into the Skokomish River, potted cuttings and raked the crap out of some trails.

Through it all, a principle of "leaving no trace" has been reinforced into our undeniably human psyches.

Watershed Cleanup Day
To greet us on our inaugural watershed cleaning were filthy atrocities. Used diapers, bullet casings, miscellaneous refuse. Eventually, we came upon a mattress, an intact mattress, laying in the underbrush. The brave worker known as Izak the Terrible (He's Russian now) plunged his knife into the springy mass so that Cory might secure it with a rope.

It took a team effort to hoist it up the hillside, but we emerged victorious.

Potting Cuttings
Scoop up the dirt. Pour it in the pot. Snip the plant. Stick it in the soil. Repeat ad nauseum.

Replanting Decommissioned Road
The soil was like cement on an old decommissioned road, flattened by bulldozers and automobiles. We dug through it and planted Willow and Elderberry to discourage those, who seek to use the road despite the objections of the Park Service (and provide food for elk).

Trail Maintenance
Working as a relatively well-oiled machine, we dug in a watershed a half-mile up the trail. I, and a few others were in the front, for the most part, hacking away at the ferns covering the sides of the trail while others with rakes swept up my handiwork. A team of burly lumberjacks dug canals down the hillside.

Campground Maintenance
Cleaning up campsites seems fairly mundane by the job's standards, but it was highlighted by a deer trap tied to a tree. However most of the campsites were relatively immaculate. In fact, most of the refuse was natural, being composed of leaves.

Picnic Table Restoration
We crusaded against the leaves plaguing the picnic tables by water-proofing the boards.

Fish Fling at Skokomish River
After voyaging for an indeterminate amount of time, we plunged into a pile of dead salmon, and of course, the only rational thing to do was to toss those rotted things off of a bridge into the river. Repeat this cycle twice. Then pile into a van and let the sunlight work its magic on the miasmic stench.

Planted Cuttings for Elk Forage

((CANCELED DUE TO BAD ANATOMY))