Swamps, Forts and Turtle Relocation

Update for the week of 04-25-2011 to 04-29-2011

The week started off with a visit to Columbia, SC to work with the Congaree SCA Native Plant Team. A day was spent working at Congaree National Park along the Congaree River. Our team got to meet the local mosquito community and they were very friendly. Both teams worked together to cut and treat Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet) while some members of the Congaree team used chainsaws to cut down Melia qzedarach (Chinaberry).

In between invasive plant removal at Cowpens National Battlefield, team members helped relocate some native box turtles in areas that were going to be swept through by the gyro track. Who doesn’t love baby turtles?

After a hard days work, our team treated the Congaree team to a dinner of baked corn, salad, butternut squash soup, Mason’s homemade soup courtesy of his family, baked lasagna and ice cream.
The team departed Cowpens and arrived back at Cowpens National Battlefield ready to work. We focused on gathering data for the final report and also cut down some Morus rubra (mulberry) and pulling Verbascum sp. Scrophulariaceae (Mullein).

The final two days of the week were spent traveling to Charleston, SC where we got to meet SCA interns working as interpretive guides at Ft. Moultrie and Ft. Sumter National Monuments. The team visited both sites and even got to see the 5 flags being raised at Ft. Sumter in the morning. We’d like to thank the NPS Staff in Charleston and the SCA Interpretive Interns for letting us stay with them and showing us around.

The team topped off the weekend with a tasting of the local seafood of Charleston and also receiving a tour of downtown Charleston from our agency partner with Palmetto Conservation Foundation.
Overall it was a great week spent seeing old SCA friends and making new ones.

Check back for the final update and final report, we hope everyone is having a great time in the field.

Congratulations to those who’ve successfully finished their seasons too! Woot!