Kyle, Amanda, and friends- conservation efforts in Smoky Mts. Nat'l Park

Kyle, Amanda, and friends- conservation efforts in Smoky Mts. Nat'l Park

Twelve Ohio State University Students traveled to The Smoky Mountains National Park to volunteer for the National Park Service in conjunction with the American Hiking Society. We worked closely with National Park Service Park Rangers to treat hemlock trees for the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that is currently killing hemlock trees in the Eastern United States. We learned how to determine the quantity of chemical treatment to apply to the trees by measuring the diameter at breast height (DBH) of each individual tree. We spent most of our time trekking through steep mountain slopes off trail to reach the most vulnerable old growth hemlock trees. We removed and chemically treated multi-flora rose, an invasive plant from Asia, from certain areas within the park. Throughout the course of the entire week, we saved 671 hemlock trees, removed thousands of multi-flora rose, and cleaned three historical houses. Our work benefited not only the National Park Service and the Smoky Mountain Park Rangers, but the thousands of nature lovers that visit the park each year and the surrounding Smoky Mountain National Park community. Finally, I can say with certainty that each of us will look back on this trip with fond memories of friends, learning, and service and that none of us could imagine spending our spring break any other way! We would like to take this opportunity to thank Jet Boil for recognizing our project and deeming it worthy of a donation. Your products were a real big hit in our auction and we could not have made this trip possible without your generosity!