Hunting began a few days ago and the Chippewa Forest has trails that they maintain for hunters to travel on. Don’t think of the trails that lead to scenic vistas or mighty waterfalls as the trails here are strictly functional. Minnesota has relatively flat terrain and in the interior that’s quite noticeable. There’s hardly any elevation gain and I’m always surprised when we find something resembling a hill. Hunter Walking Trails and trail systems that contained a fairly wide path and is mowed in the late summer (mid-August/early September) to encourage grouse and deer movement.
Karl about to buck up some trees
Grouse are the main targets off of these hunting trails although there are folks who bear bait as well off of them. They’re closed to motorized vehicles unless you happen to be a Forest Service employee. For the last two weeks I’ve been working with various people such as Karl of fire, Jerry of recreation, or Corey my supervisor in clearing the trails of downed trees so that they can be mowed.
Corey prepping for some sawing
It started off with Karl and I riding along in the UTV patrolling the trails as we were the only ones available to start clearing. Karl was the sawyer and I, as his swamper, removed the cut pieces from the trails. The Carter Lake Trail System was cleared in a single day. Later that week I cleared one side of the Meadow Lake Trail System with Jerry while Sarah and Karl took care of the Eastern half. This week Corey and I rode separate ATVs to handle the Tower Lake Trail System while Karl and Lee cleared Webster Lake’s on the UTV.
I got to ride this bad boy!
I gotta say that it was a strange realization that I got paid to ride around on an ATV or UTV. The first time I ever rode one was back in Washington in a rustic town named Curlew that my friend Mack grew up in. Lemme tell you, riding around in the mountains can be terrifying while comparatively, riding here in Minnesota can be considered relaxing. Except for the fact that you need to watch out for swamps. There was a near miss or two earlier in the season with stocking surveys.
While we clear the trails of downed trees, two other folks work on mowing. For this part of the process we have the Bobcat and an ASV which both have huge mower attachments. These are shared between all three ranger districts (Blackduck, Deer River, Walker) and well- let’s just say the ASV has seen better days. The Bobcat which is kept at the Supervisor Office in Cass Lake is in great shape though.
Sarah operating the troublesome ASV.
Timber’s been having a hell of a time dealing with damaged trailers and faulty machines (no fault of our own). We’ve got one more week with the mowers so some of the crew are working today even though Fridays are our days off.
A haiku to describe the feeling Zack and I often feel:
Stocking surveys dwell
Mosquitoes and deer flies swarm
Work waits for no one
Despair is an emotion that can easily overtake a person. Stocking surveys are fairly effective at causing despair. It’s not stocking surveys themselves that are so dreadful but the environment in which we conduct these surveys. With mosquitoes still in full force, now joined by deer flies, we continue to tread through swamps and wetlands. We’re in our final push though with less than 25 stands to survey out of the original 110+. With help from the Linda the silviculturist and Corey the timber supervisor, Zack and I might get away with finishing the project at only 13 stands this week which might be too optimistic.
Zack takes a frog selfie
Selfie take two
Although there are the rare moments of sunshine when we stumble upon a dry stand. One day we even found one that reminded Zack of Colorado and me of the West with the sparse undergrowth and an actual view atop the even rarer hill.
The Colorado seeming stand. Directly ahead of Zack was a vista
We’re a crazy breed choosing to forego the use of DEET most days. My hands have heaps of small residual bumps from mosquito bites and the scars left from deer flies ripping off tiny chunks of flesh. Generally our layers and mosquito nets provide adequete protection but once in awhile I give up and douse myself in the neurotoxin, choosing momentary protection over potential long term health effects. Zack does the same. Those are the rough days.
A few of many bites
Running a circle polt
We often work in standing water
Rough days are also days like today where Zack and I both only got a few hours of sleep. I spent what seemed like all night tossing and turning (this hardly happens) and avoided checking the time multiple because that would’ve destroyed me mentally. On the last snooze it was tempting to just shut it off and keep sleeping. It seems like my partner in crime had the same issue in his room. Luckily our groggy morning led into a day taking the YCC crew out to re-mark trees in a sale unit rather than stocking surveys. We’re planning on knocking out the remaining units this week. Thursday is bound to be another stocking survey day before what will seem like an endless amount of data entry. Here’s to timber.
Blueberries out of all berries have a permanent hold on my heart. They are physical embodiment of grand memories with even grander people. Blueberries are a quick break while doing trail work with my best friend Emily while we served on hitches in the White Mountains (NH). They’re hiking around Acadia with some friends from SCA’s NH Corps and getting to enjoy Maine’s renown berries. It’s seeing someone one last time, capping off a day of swimming below a waterfall with an important friend before she moves from Washington to South Carolina for six years of grad school. Now it’s picking with folks from my first federal position and getting to enjoy the beauty that Minnesota offers.
Some fool wore chacos… lessons learned.
First go
Zack the forager
First pickin’
My like for berries, especially wild ones, should have been evident by now. Wherever we do stocking surveys Zack and I run into raspberries plants and oftentimes blueberries in addition. We’ve seen strawberry plants but they’ve long passed their prime and have been bare for weeks. During a survey I once asked Zack if he ever felt like a bear when he picks berries. He replied yes and I was relieved to know I wasn’t the only one who thought that way. There’s a decent chance he could’ve just been humoring me but…
Second time around
On Thursday Sarah from the recreation department did stocking surveys with me while Zack check cruised some timber with our supervisor Corey. Our survey site was located off the Southeast corner of Decker Lake and my, oh my! Berries as far as you could see. Nearest to the road were blueberries and as you traveled further south to the survey, raspberries. It was a perfect picking moment as the mosquitoes weren’t out and the deer flies were hardly a nuisance. However our mission was to complete the stocking survey in order to move on to a new site- of course it goes without saying we did grab a berry or two as we walked.
Generally being a less than observant person, I excited told Wendy at the office of our find that afternoon. My excitement spreading, Wendy decided that she was going to pick berries after work and easily convinced me to go along. Linda was in as well and we all met up at six and set off. Come to find out, the site I was so stoked about was where Wendy, some of the seasonals (Zack, Ben, Art, Karl), and myself had gone to our first and only other time berry picking. This time we were on the South side of the road though.
Wendy fears no mosquitoes
It was a glorious picking as we nearly had our buckets filled in less than two hours whereas the first time around I didn’t even have my bucket a third of the way full in what was probably about the same time frame.
Second pickin’
There wasn’t enough time to go after raspberries with the blueberry bushes loaded with tiny fruit. What was I to do with what would be over 24 cups of blueberries? I talked about canning them on the ride home and Wendy just happened to have a pot and extra jars/lids/bands I could use and was kind enough to drop them off that Friday morning.
Honey!
Never having canned anything before I spent what might’ve been a ridiculous amount of time reading how to can and jam recipes before going with a simple berry, honey, and lemon juice one. The viscous honey eliminated the need for pectin which I was more than happy about. I finally got around to processing the berries and making jam on Saturday which turned into an over six-hour ordeal. With the mosquitoes biting during berry picking I had put quantity over quality end ended up with heaps of leaves and twigs in my bucket that I had to separate from the berries. Making the jam itself and canning it was actually the quick part. We’ll see how the jars keep and travel as I plan to ship them to my folks in Washington. Although the freshly made jam was delicious on just as freshly baked bread.
The last couple of weeks have been busy. Stocking surveys have largely consumed my life at work. These surveys are mandated by law for the forest to complete to check on recovery rates. The Chippewa has always done well in both stocking surveys as well as assisting in the restoration of forests. Over a million and a half trees are planted each year here! 1.5 million. 1,500,000 baby trees in the ground a year. We’ve got a pretty darn good survival rate and the Blackduck Ranger District is the proud owner of the tree cooler that houses the trees before transplanting.
Beaver Dam found during a survey
Based on the fun scale with type 1 being fun in the moment, type 2 being fun after the fact, and type 3 never fun- it seems safe to say that stocking surveys are most definitely a type 3 fun. We keep hoping for a hot and dry streak to kill off some mosquitoes but it’s rained every weekend without fail. Rain often makes an appearance weekday evenings while we sleep. If nothing else the ticks have slowed down in activity. The mosquitoes overall have decreased and in turn have been replaced by a spike in the number of deer flies. It’s the worst when you’re doing a survey where there’s an abundance of both. Your mosquito net hardly stands a chance against the forces of nature.
Butterfly atop raspberry plants
I was mistaken when I previously stated that we only survey naturally regenerated units. We do survey planted units but they are few and far between (and a lot easier to survey than natural units). Fire’s been generous enough to lend their three seasonals to us for a day and were going to help us with more days but the rest of them just received a call today to go West. One of the fire crew members is already in Washington while the other two and a recreational seasonal will fly out to my home state. The fires are furious and the land is dry.
Karl (fire crew) heads to the next point
Zack, Jarrod, and I have been trucking along with stocking surveys as they have an August deadline of when all the data needs to be collected and then entered onto the computer. We’re more than halfway through but it seems like an eternity before we finish the last few dozen units. The ground we trek through has oftentimes been marshy and unpleasant, resulting in many days with soaked boots. Luckily timber supervisor Corey ordered several boot dryers for the bunkhouse which have been lifesavers.
Typical sight
During all of this I’ve been lucky enough to utilize a smidgen of GIS technology to create the maps for the points as well as to locate the units. Turns out the predetermined points within a unit actually follow a formula based on acres to determine how many points are within a unit. Also as map maker I place the points in as random a fashion as possible. None of the GIS is complicated but I’m extremely excited to have been on ArcMap this summer.
An example map of a sale. More detailed maps of each unit were made in addition to the overall map.
Raspberries for days
A well deserved snack
Although the going is tough, the wild berries almost make the task worth it. Like many northern states, Minnesota is home to an abundance of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Wild berries tend to be on the smaller side than their farmed counterparts and that’s especially true of strawberries. I’ve seen some decent blueberries that could almost rival farmed varieties though. I’ve even been introduced to berries I’ve never heard of before like June berries. A quick hand grabs a berry or two as we hike and slips it under the mosquito net, hoping that mosquitoes didn’t follow that hand. There’s not a lot that can panic me more on a survey than a mosquito buzzing in the space between the net and my face.
Through the course of stocking surveys we’ve encountered all sorts of terrain. True most of it is swampy but occasionally we get dry land or strange marshes. Once in awhile Zack and I have even encountered a hill. Elevation’s a rare beast here and it’s always exciting for us two folks from the West. We joke that we’ve Minnesota based jumped when I accidentally dropped two feet into a dip.
Zack leads on during a rainy day
Aspens are overwhelmingly the majority of saplings
A quick recap of how stocking surveys are done- 1) drive as close to site as highways and forest roads allow 2) hike in, try to stay dry (never works) 3)usually start at furthest point and work our way back towards the truck 4)one person runs a 11.8 feet circle plot while the other records 5)note saplings’ height and DBH (diameter at breast height) 6)shoot large trees with a 10-basal area factor prism 7)measure DBH of ‘in’ trees and height (using a clinometer) 8)move on to next point and repeat
11.8 feet out
Measuring DBH
Timber’s aiming to slam the rest of the surveys and finish in about a week, two at the maximum. After that a significant amount of data entry awaits us. Zack’s been entering the data we compile from the field into a program called examsPC but I’ll be left with the FACTS data entry that results from that. It’s far from exciting work but necessary in resource management within a forest.
10 hour days, four days a week. A typical day in the Chippewa National Forest goes from 0600 to 1630 with a 30-minute lunch break somewhere around noon. Mornings are generally a little rough as I’ve yet to get my 2130 bedtime down but the three-day weekends more than make up for it. With Friday-Sunday of every week off I have the potential to explore Minnesota and honestly get a lot of sleeping in. As with past internships I’m without a car so anything further than walking or biking distance is reliant on the other seasonals who are all generous fellas.
Office days are messy days
I’m mostly working with the timber division this summer but I’ll have the opportunity to learn about other crews within the Blackduck Ranger District (RD). Our office, which is shared with Minnesota’s DNR, is located on the west side of town right off Highway 71. A little over two dozen folks work out of the Blackduck RD while less than 800 people inhabit the town.
Washed out culvert delays timber cruising
Timber cruising is the act of collecting field data on the volume and values of trees within a sale unit. I’ll try not to go into too much detail but there are multiple ways to mark a sale. One major plan is to mark trees to be cut and another is to mark trees to leave. Our crew marks sample trees that qualify to be cut within a plot. From plot center we use a cruising prism with a 10 basal area factor (10 square feet/acre) that determines whether or not a tree is “in”. You look through the prism with one eye closed to check each individual tree. Trees are “in” when the offset segment is still connected to the tree as shown below. “In” trees are marked with a dot of spray paint so we don’t have to commit each tree to memory.
Some tools of the trade. The bottle measures 4.3″ in diameter
Marked trees are measured with a diameter tape at breast height (DBH) which is standardized at 4.5 feet above the ground. The diameter tape has two sides- one is regular measurements of inches and feet while the other is in elongated inches(increments are 1/10th of an inch) that allows the tape to be wrapped around the tree at DBH to get its diameter.
Jarrod uses a clinometer
We then measure height by standing 33 feet from the tree and using a clinometer which is a nifty sighting tool. The number we get needs to be divided in half since our clinometer is meant for a distance of 66 feet (66 feet=1 chain) away but in these woods underbrush keeps the sight distance from getting far. Clinometers are used with both eyes open- one eye with the clinometer right up to it and the other to see tree base and top. Once finished recording tree species, height, DBH, and any deformities we move on to the next plot and repeat.
Zack in cruising gear
However due to various factors like the insane amount of mosquitoes (heightened because of the unseasonal storms) and frustrating underbrush like hazel, most of the cruising in the Blackduck RD is done either in the spring or fall/winter. Our supervisor Corey is said to be a machine in the winter and gets through plots like none other. He’s of the belief that cruising in the summer has a lower quality of records since workers tend to rush through measurements in an attempt to escape the bugs, which I whole heartedly support.
Since there’s not a lot cruising going on most of our summer will be focused on stocking surveys. In the forest folks return to sites that have been harvested at one, three, and five-year intervals to record how recovery is going. There are predetermined points within a plot and the number of points is determined by the size of the plot. From plot center someone runs out 11’8″ of tape (=1/100th of an acre) and records all the saplings within that span. Saplings are corded at 0 inch diameter, 0.5 inch diameter, and so on up to 4 inches. Anything beyond 4 inches in diameter is no longer considered a sapling. When finished recording saplings, a prism is used to determine “in” trees and those are noted as well. It’s of utmost importance to record latitude and longitude for future reference in addition to using GPS units. These are plots that have NOT been planted and have regenerated naturally. The amount of greenery in these plots have been astonishing to me.
Carhartts dry faster than you think
On the side we’ve also done a few stake rows which take place in planted sites. With a GPS you head out to a plot looking for specific species and flag 10 of each. Save the location on the GPS for each species about the middle of the 10 flags. Species we’re typically looking for are white pine, jack pine, red pine, white spruce, black spruce, tamarack, among several others. Crews in the future will use the GPS to refer back to the points and check on the conditions of the planted trees.
Stake rows
My uniform consists of boots, Carhartts, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, timber cruising vest, hard hat, and most importantly a mosquito net. We’ve been fortunate enough to have windy days that kept the bugs at bay but the mosquito nets might be the only thing saving my sanity at times. I recently received forest service approved pants and a polo but they feel a lot more office-y than field apparel. The next upcoming weeks we’ll be cranking out stocking surveys as they’re due late August and most of the seasonals depart around mid-August for college. Here’s to good weather, less mosquitoes, and tick free days.
Pacific Northwest meets Minnesota 