When we have work parties and start clearing areas covered in heavy bittersweet and other invasives, you never know what you are going to uncover.
Today was no different.
We had a full crew of nine volunteers, all experienced with invasive mitigation at Koulas and other sites. This was not a casual brush-cutting day. This was a trained group with proper equipment, working methodically and safely. Even with snow on the ground, we made astonishing headway.
The focus area was the stone wall between the right field and the lower wetlands.
Discovery number one: there is an old gate opening in the stone wall, roughly twenty feet wide. Completely hidden under vines and brush.
Discovery number two: the stone wall itself is in great shape. Solid. Intact. Just buried under decades of bittersweet, multiflora rose, and other invasives.
We cut and dropped as much as we safely could, given the snowpack. The so-called Devil Tree turned out to be two gigantic dead trees. One is severely decayed and will need to be dropped. The second is also beyond recovery. Some material will stay on site for habitat, but with the sheer mass of rose, bittersweet, and even poison ivy in that area, the priority is getting invasives under control first. Once stabilized, replanting with native species makes far more sense than letting invasives continue to dominate.
Just beyond the old gate, if you pass through and look left, there is a massive stone sitting along the old road footprint. It is impressive. With clearing, this could become a beautiful vantage point overlooking the wetlands and wildlife corridor. Because it sits on an existing historic road alignment, this is restoration work, not new disturbance. Clearing dead wood and invasive growth here improves both visibility and long-term site health.
Bonus find: next to that rock is a very nice cedar almost completely smothered in vines. We “windowed” it by cutting the major vines and giving it light. I would call its survival 50/50 now. Before today it was zero. Sometimes that is the best you can do. Give a native tree a fighting chance.
Saved a few trees.
Uncovered a historic gate.
Revealed a massive stone feature.
Took real steps toward controlling invasives in a sensitive area.
A good day at Koulas.
The picture shows the rock. It is indeed huge!