FOR 480 Week of January 14-18, 2008

Allan Coldiron

ATTN: Forestry Students

Home Sweet Home

The senior class of forestry students met with the owners of Cleft Rock retreat camp, Dr. Fields and his wife on Tuesday January 15^th, 2008 to discuss the ins and outs of their property. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of Dr. Fields and his wife. The older couple has had sole ownership of the property since 1994, where they had started a retreat camp. Even though the bitter cold made walking around the property uncomfortable, the warm open arms of the owners made it worthwhile, especially the delicious chocolate cake that Mrs. Fields had baked for us. I believe the Fields’ appreciation of our activity will be the highlight of this project and will help keep up our spirits as the semester progresses.

Picture 1: Matt Strong and David Parrott ready to go after meeting with the landowners Dr. Fields and his wife.

The property itself is nestled in Rockcastle County, outside of Mt. Vernon Kentucky. The slopes are very steep which will make all field work tiring and difficult. After the initial meeting with Dr. Fields we learned a lot about his goals and the history of the property. We then set out to receive a crash course in winter tree identification with University of Kentucky Herbarium Curator Rob Paratley. After completion of his lecture we then measured off tracts that would not be included once forest data collection begins. These tracks of land included lodging facilities, play ground, and privately owned houses that make up the majority of the retreat camp. The tracts were measured using GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) systems.

Picture 2: Preparing to hit the woods with Rob Paratley for a crash course in winter tree identification. As you can see by our attire it is cold outside. Pictures from left Ryan McNertney, Adrian Hudson, and Taylor Tardy.

With this being the first visit to the property, we accomplished our main goals of meeting with Dr. Fields and completing Mr. Paratley’s class on winter tree identification. The majority of the outside class work will begin in the following weeks once data collection has begun. In my opinion the first week was a big success with meeting the owners that remind me a lot of my grandparents. But, with looking over the property I realize that our work has just begun and this will be a long, tiring, and challenging project. Facing the elements of Kentucky weather will not make this semester any easier on us.

Picture 3: University of Kentucky’s Rob Paratley is showing us winter tree identification, and David Parrott with his Superman imitation.

For the weeks to come we have to stay focused on our main goal, that is to build a management plan fit for Dr. Field’s goals of his property. All of us have to keep moving, stay warm and dry, keep an open mind, and not drop the ball. Luckily everything went smoothly this week, but I anticipate that mistakes will be made in the future. As we are a team, we have to look out for each other to help prevent mistakes and correct them quickly. Looking beyond this week I know this will be a fun project filled with lots of memories, after all this is our last course in Forestry before we graduate. Why shouldn’t it be fun and worth remembering?

Picture 4: “Quiz tree guys, what do you think this is?”

Picture 5: “Somebody hold his nose, I cant stand his snoring anymore!”