There is an old site called American Flat<\/p>\n
That was once an old building infested with rats.<\/p>\n
BLM tore it down just a few years ago<\/p>\n
And now it’s an empty cheatgrass-covered plateau.<\/p>\n
We’ve been there a few times already this year<\/p>\n
To pull out the thistles that always appear.<\/p>\n
It was the very first field trip we took as a team<\/p>\n
When the snow was\u00a0so white it still let off a gleam.<\/p>\n
In spring, we cut tops off some new willow shoots<\/p>\n
To be buried in bags hoping they would grow roots.<\/p>\n
And hooray! That they did!\u00a0To new roots they were bound<\/p>\n
And my co-interns planted them right in the ground.<\/p>\n
For a while we forgot about this little site<\/p>\n
While distracted by fruits, weeds, rare species,\u00a0new sights…<\/p>\n
Just last week, though, we opened our GIS\u00a0map<\/p>\n
And unearthed pounds of seed we had stored in burlap.<\/p>\n
We calculated seed mixes for each polygon<\/p>\n
And even though a few species were already gone,<\/p>\n
We brought what we had to measure, mix, and pour<\/p>\n
And then picked up the nifty hand seeders we wore.<\/p>\n
They dispersed through a field dominated by weeds<\/p>\n
But the first mix we used was just super light seeds.<\/p>\n
Those wee particles just got caught and got stuck<\/p>\n
But we had an idea! The seed bag\u00a0must be struck!<\/p>\n
As one intern turned the seed wheel with a wrist<\/p>\n
Another walked beside, punching\u00a0it with a fist.<\/p>\n
Alas, not all of our mixes required this tactic,<\/p>\n
But after two days we all needed chiropractic.<\/p>\n
We’d set out native seed, a few hundred pounds,<\/p>\n
Then we headed on home on the road back to town.<\/p>\n
That was all we could do for those small plants-to-be<\/p>\n
Now all we could do was sit tight, wait and see.<\/p>\n
Maybe next year, or later, they’ll sprout and they’ll grow,<\/p>\n
The restoration process is nothing if not slow.<\/p>\n
But we have high hopes for our small weedy plot,<\/p>\n
And someday it could be a quite different spot.<\/p>\n
Cattail, rabbitbrush,\u00a0bitterbrush, squirreltail<\/p>\n
They’ll\u00a0make good habitat for the hare and the quail.<\/p>\n
It might not be quick and it might not be neat,<\/p>\n
But with just enough time, all the weeds can be beat.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is an old site called American Flat That was once an old building infested with rats. BLM tore it down just a few years ago And now it’s an empty cheatgrass-covered plateau. We’ve been there a few times already … Continue reading