what has THE D-7 Crew done lately? (July-Sept 2008)

JULY

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.

Maintenance of public use facilities:
Mowed and cleaned up campground at Basin Creek (TCGL).

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Mowed 4 miles of road edges/horse trail on Mitchell River GL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed purchase, repairs, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Mowed 3 acres of openings on TCGL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended district regulation proposal meeting with Enf. & Fish Divisions.

Waterfowl banding:
Captured 135 wood ducks and banded 123 with new bands.

Mourning Dove Banding:
Captured 42 doves and banded 38 with new bands.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of highway vehicles.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Crewmember collected GPS data from wildfire on Buffalo Cove GL.

AUGUST

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Mowed 3 miles of road edges/horse trail on Mitchell River GL.
Mowed 8 miles of road edges on Thurmond Chatham GL.
Opened and closed gates/ inspected roads for public access on
Thurmond Chatham, Mitchell River, and Buffalo Cove game lands.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed purchase, repairs, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Firebreaks:
Installed ¼ mile of fire lane on Mitchell River GL.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Mowed 17 acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed 11 acres, disked 3 acres, and mowed 5 acres of openings on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

Waterfowl banding:
Captured 119 wood ducks and banded 103 with new bands at 10 locations in six counties in District Seven.

Mourning Dove banding:
Captured 19 doves and banded 15 with new bands.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of highway vehicles.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Inspected 81 acre tract in Yadkin County for game lands potential. Obtained records for potential land trade at Basin Creek hunter campground.

SEPTEMBER

Development of clearings:
Cleared .75 acre opening on Mitchell River GL.

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleared vegetation and debris from ½ mile of road on TCGL.
Sprayed 2 miles of roadside vegetation on Buffalo Cove GL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew repaired breakdowns on 4630 tractor, Mule UTV, Dozer, and seed drill, as well as other routine maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Planted 21 acres of openings on Thurmond Chatham GL.
Fertilized 28 acres of openings on TCGL with 8400 lbs fertilizer.
Mowed 44 acres and Sprayed 17 acres of openings on TCGL.
Planted 3 acres and fertilized 3 acres with 900 lbs of fertilizer on MRGL.
Planted 2 acres of openings on Buffalo Cove GL.
Burned 3 acres, mowed 5 acres of dove field plantings on Perkins GL.

Nest structures:
Constructed 15 wood duck, 3 bluebird nest boxes.

Tree and shrub plantings:
Daylighted 13 persimmon, 5 cherry, and 2 dogwood trees on MRGL.
Daylighted 8 saw-tooth oak trees on TCGL.
Removed damaged growth, vegetation, and debris from 8 apple trees on TCGL.

Vegetation control:
Cleared vegetation with chainsaws in 1/4 acre sprout opening on TCGL.
Spot sprayed invasive plants in 2 acres within burned areas on TCGL.
Took photos at designated photo plots in burned areas on TCGL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

Waterfowl banding:
Recovered wood duck trapping materials from trap site.

CWD investigations:
Collected sample tissues from four deer for CWD surveillance.
Met with D-7 WM personnel to plan for CWD surveillance efforts.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Crew performed scheduled maintenance and repair of highway vehicles.
Recovered 20 ton trailer from breakdown and had repaired at vendor.

what has THE D-7 Crew done lately? (Apr-Jun 2008)

APRIL

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled depot garbage and recyclables to collection site.

Dam and Dike Maintenance:
Removed trees and other vegetation from one pond dam on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleaned 10 culverts on TCGL.
Placed 63 tons of aggregates for road stabilization on TCGL.
Replaced two culverts on TCGL access roads.
Closed gates to access roads on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed repairs, inventory, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Planted six miles of firelanes and openings totaling 8 acres on MRGL.
Spread one ton of fertilizer on firelanes and openings on MRGL.

Tree and Shrub Plantings:
Released one persimmon tree on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Conducted 3 burns totaling 137 acres on MRGL.
Conducted five burns totaling 137 acres on TCGL.
Assisted Marion crew in conducting 58 acre burn on Linville River tract.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of breakdowns on highway vehicles.

MAY

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled depot garbage and recyclables to collection site.

Boundary Maintenance:
Posted ½ mile of boundary on ALCOA GL in Davie County.

Maintenance of public use facilities:
Mowed and cleaned up monument area at Hunting Creek waterfowl refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Closed gates on BCGL, TCGL, and MRGL after turkey season.
Graded new parking area and ½ mile of road on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed repairs, inventory, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Planted 7 acres of openings on Perkins GL.
Planted 2 acres of openings on TCGL.
Spread granular herbicide on 12 acres of openings on Perkins GL.
Spread 2 ¼ tons of fertilizer on openings on Perkins GL.
Sprayed and planted 7 acres on buffalo cove GL.

Vegetation Control:
Conducted burns of 12.5 acres of Kudzu on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew member attended agency safety committee meeting in Raleigh.

Waterfowl banding:
Established and began baiting sites for wood duck trapping.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of highway vehicles.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Picked up “huntsmaster” trailer from Butner depot.

JUNE

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled depot garbage and recyclables to collection site.

Boundary development:
Inspected five miles of boundary to determine survey needs on new “Saddle Mountain” tract of Mitchell River GL.

Maintenance of public use facilities:
Mowed and cleaned up monument area at Hunting Creek waterfowl refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Had 207 tons of gravel spread on access road on Mitchell River GL.
Had 201 tons of Gravel stockpiled on TCGL for future road maintenance.
Sprayed two miles of road edges on TCGL roads.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed purchase, repairs, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Planted 14 acres of openings on Perkins GL.
Mowed 12 acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed 7 acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed herbicide on 5 acres of openings on Perkins GL.

Vegetation Control:
Sprayed 9 acres of Kudzu on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regional meeting in Marion.

Waterfowl banding:
Established and began baiting sites for wood duck trapping.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of highway vehicles.

Land acquisition activities (Mountain):
Assisted with tour of Pond Mountain tract with NHTF board members.

Burning kudzu on Perkins Game Lands

Yesterday, with the help of Justin and Brian from the Morganton crew along with our regional forester Dean, we performed a prescribed fire on the Perkins game land in order to try to eradicate kudzu patches.


The patches need to be burned off, then we will allow the kudzu to begin growing again, and then we will go back and apply a special herbicide to kill the new sprouts. Obviously, we took care of the burning!



The burns went well, however we did have an unusual hazard on the fireline. Perkins is owned by Duke Power and there used to be homes on this tract of land. Fortunately for Jim and Brian, they were able to stop the Kubota before ending up in this septic tank!
Thanks to Justin, Brian, and Dean for all their help.

what has THE D-7 Crew done lately? (Jan-March 2008)

JANUARY
Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.

Boundary Maintenance:
Chopped, posted, and painted 2 miles of boundary on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleaned 25 culverts on TCGL.
Closed gates on access roads on BCGL.
Cleared debris and graded 1.5 miles of road on TCGL.
Spread 120 tons of gravel on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed repairs, inventory, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Firebreaks:
Installed 0.5 mile firelane on MRGL.

Nest Structures:
Constructed and installed 2 wood duck boxes at Hunting Creek Swamp.
Checked and cleaned 30 wood duck boxes at Hunting Creek Swamp.
Checked and cleaned 5 wood duck boxes on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Prepared plans and equipment for upcoming burning.
Conducted 3 burns totaling 32 acres on TCGL.
Conducted 2 burns totaling 76 acres on MRGL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended District 7 public hearing.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Crewmembers attended wildland fire course in Morganton.
Crew worked towards safety standard compliance.


FEBRUARY
Development of Clearings:
Constructed 1 acre opening on MRGL.

Bridge Maintenance:
Picked up bridge materials from vendor in Albemarle.

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled depot garbage and recyclables to collection site.

Dam and Dike Maintenance:
Removed trees and other vegetation from 3 pond dams on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleaned 104 culverts on TCGL.
Closed gates on access roads on MRGL and TCGL.
Cleared storm debris from TCGL roads.
Placed 28 tons of aggregates for road stabilization on TCGL.
Spread 132 tons of gravel and graded 2 miles of road on TTGL.
Spread 45 tons of gravel on MRGL.
Installed 2 replacement gates on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed repairs, inventory, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Nest Structures:
Constructed and installed 2 wood duck boxes at Hunting Creek Swamp.
Checked and cleaned 33 wood duck boxes at Hunting Creek Swamp.
Checked and cleaned 1 wood duck boxes on TCGL.

Tree and Shrub Plantings:
Released 20 persimmon trees on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Prepared plans and equipment for upcoming burning.
Conducted burn totaling 44 acres on MRGL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended pesticide recertification class.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Two crewmembers performed random drug testing in Mt. Airy.
Crewmember attended EDC meeting in Raleigh.


MARCH
Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled depot garbage and recyclables to collection site.

Dam and Dike Maintenance:
Removed trees and other vegetation from one pond dam on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleaned 10 culverts on TCGL.
Placed 63 tons of aggregates for road stabilization on TCGL.
Replaced two culverts on TCGL access roads.
Closed gates to access roads on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Crew performed repairs, inventory, and maintenance on various non-highway equipment.

Herbaceous Plantings:
Planted six miles of firelanes and openings totaling 8 acres on MRGL.
Spread one ton of fertilizer on firelanes and openings on MRGL.

Tree and Shrub Plantings:
Released one persimmon tree on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Conducted 3 burns totaling 137 acres on MRGL.
Conducted five burns totaling 137 acres on TCGL.
Assisted Marion crew in conducting 58 acre burn on Linville River tract.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance and repair of breakdowns on highway vehicles.

The Bamboo Patch

Thanks to the recent lifting of the burning ban we were able to get out and do some much needed burning of a bamboo patch to try to reclaim a significant portion of one of our fields on the Thurmond Chatham Game Lands.

Jim started the day by starting a small "test fire" so we could evaluate conditions.

After determining that the conditions were favorable and that the field would burn, we proceeded with lighting the field around the bamboo patch to give us a good amount of "black" around the bamboo patch.

* Note the bamboo in the background.

Once the majority of the field was black, we began dripping fire closer to the bamboo itself and once it got started it burned very well.



Bamboo tends to burn quite impressively. It makes very loud popping and cracking noises as it burns. A quick watch and listen (make sure speakers are on) to this small video will give you an idea!

After the fire burnt through the majority of the patch we began "mop up". This is where we extinguish any hotspots and/or open flame so as to not allow for flare ups or spot overs (getting out of the intended burn area) after we leave the area.


The bamboo burnt quite hot in the very middle of the patch and eliminated almost every single stalk of the bamboo. The outer edges still had some standing plants but due to the heat of the fire most of them were likely killed. Sometime in the near future we will likely push these remaining stalks over to get them on the ground and burn them to completely reclaim the field.


More pictures and videos of the bamboo patch burning can be found HERE.