Welcome Michael! And More...

The Athens Team is proud to add Michael Young as our newest corps member. Michael, a local of the Athens area, has volunteered at Wayne National Forest removing non-native invasive species with his youth organization and heard of the open position from agency contact and plant guru, Nick Galentin. Michael joined the team in the field the first of August and has done an outstanding job learning about all aspects of FIREMON. We are all appreciative of the extra hand and good humor Michael brings to the team!

As all good things must come to an end, so has our time in the forest of Athens. Upon remeasuring 45 plots and installing 1 new plot, work for now is complete in the Athens District. The team will be traveling south to collect data on FIREMON plots in the Ironton District alongside the Ironton SCA Team. The workload, 117 plots between the two teams, will certainly keep all of us busy for the remainder of the season.

Highlights this month included a screening of “The Forest Returns” with Environmental Studies Outreach Coordinator at Ohio University and Sierra Club member, Lorraine McCosker. It was engaging to learn more about the history of Wayne National Forest and the varying views regarding its management policies. We are very grateful to Lorraine for inviting us into her home, and we look forward to seeing her again in the near future.

All team members also enjoyed the live outdoor drama, “Tecumseh” in Chillicothe, Ohio. The show portrays the epic life story of the legendary Shawnee leader as he struggles to defend his sacred homelands in the Ohio country during the late 1700’s. The historic portrayal was certainly enhanced by the outdoor setting under a nearly full moon.

We are very grateful to WNF Public Relations Officer, Gary Chancey, for taking the time to snap some great photos of the teams in action. All photos below are courtesy of Gary and Wayne National Forest with more photos coming soon.

Coming up in September, the 12th Annual Paw Paw Festival… and more plots!