Reclamation

One of the personal missions I feel regarding my small farm is to rehabilitate to the extent possible the part of the land that was never restored after it was strip mined in the early '60s.    The most serious spot is a berm that has enabled the beavers to periodically flood several acres, and use as a base below it to ruin several more acres of trees by setting up a series of small wallows and dams.     After consulting with the USDA Forest Service, I embarked on a restoration effort that will eventually put the stream-bed that runs through the area in wet weather back to its approximate original path.   My longtime friend Glenn accompanied me on a recent trip, and here is shown learning the backhoe.  We eventually punched a gap in the berm which I hope to expand to make the land productive again.   Beavers be dammed, or un-dammed..