As a Metro scientist, Kate Holleran sees nature's biggest challenges and most glorious surprises – and she has the muddy boots to prove it. Read her latest reflections on restoring the land protected by Metro's voter-approved Natural Areas Program.
By Kate Holleran, Metro Scientist
Conserving nature, one acre at a time
We could track the path of the Jeep by the damage it left behind as it drove through the young forest. There were Douglas firs and native shrubs broken or scratched, a boundary sign split in two and tire ruts torn into hillsides. Stakes marking the new plantings had been pulled up and used to form a curse word across the road.
Unauthorized vehicle access onto Metro natural areas is uncommon, but where it does occur, it is destructive and often challenging to control. An obvious property boundary becomes a target instead of a sign of information, and a wet riparian seep becomes a mud bath instead of a bird bath. Off-road vehicles tearing up a hillside or rutting a wet swale create scars that cost us time and money to restore.
Our first step is usually to re-mark our boundaries, just in case it wasn’t clear to the driver that they were entering a natural area. Getting to know our neighbors helps, too. On some adjacent properties, the owners may not even know that someone is crossing their land to cause damage on ours, and in many rural areas our neighbors are just as interested as we are in preventing the erosion, forest fire risk and wildlife disturbance caused by trespassing vehicles. Our constant vigilance (to quote Mad-Eye Moody) and perseverance often prevail, with a huge dose of patience – and sometimes a few curse words of our own thrown in.