Railroad Blues

Another long work week has passed, this time it just so happened that we worked alongside the railroad tracks.

Our main site this week was at Station Road near the Brecksville Train Stop along the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway. The goal was to remove as much of the non-native invasive species from the site near the parking lots, in forested areas on either side of the railway tracks and also along the towpath.

Each day the train cars passed by our site several times and we got to listen to the horn up close and personal each time.

Noise aside our team was able to complete over 10 acres of work and remove hundreds of non-native plants such as autumn olive, bush honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, privet and multiflora rose.

This week we also spent time scouting sites and coming up with management and treatment strategies for those sites.

Highlight of the week: Our chainsaws arrived so we were able to finally cut down some of the larger woody shrubs that a handsaw could not cut through.

Hope everyone is staying hydrated during these hot days and that you are all enjoying your projects.

CVNP SCA Native Plants Team