June 4, 2019
Each summer we have the opportunity to give a field tour to University of Missouri forestry students as part of their “Introduction to Silviculture and Management” course. This field-based course, taught by Dr. Benjamin Knapp, is designed to give students real life examples of how silviculture principles are applied throughout the state of Missouri.
This year we took students to MOFEP Sites 3 (even-aged compartment) and 4 (uneven-aged compartment) located in Current River Conservation Area. These two sites gave students the opportunity to see a range of harvest methods, which were applied during the 1996 and 2011 harvests.
To get to our first stop, the two 16-passenger vans carefully navigated the remnant harvest trail and arrived at the intersection of two clearcut stands of different ages. For many tours we simply visit a clearcut and view it from afar but not this class, they got to dive right in! Students navigated through a dense, regenerating 8-year old clearcut stand and made their way into the bordering 23-year old clearcut. There was a sigh of relief from the students as they entered the less dense 23-year old clearcut where they could stand up straight instead of crouched below branches. There we talked about the processes which occurred as the clearcut stands matured, the species of trees we were seeing, and which individuals appeared to be winning the fight for canopy space. And in true MOFEP fashion we also discussed how other parts of the ecosystem, such as birds, herpetofauna, small mammals, and plants were responding to these different forest structures.
Our journey then took us to Site 4 to view a 1996 group opening. Our discussion quickly transitioned from trees to the juvenile copperhead which was coiled next to a tree where students were standing. We were all thankful that the students were vigilant of their surroundings, a very important component of field work. As for me, this was a great opportunity to talk about snakes, my favorite topic!
To end our day, we were able to continue the tradition of taking students to Blue Spring Natural Area. Blue Spring, named aptly for its brilliant blue color, is located along the Current River and is the 6th largest spring in Missouri. The long underwater cave which feeds this spring even goes under a nearby MOFEP site. We are looking forward to future student tours!
Shelby Timm
MOFEP Coordinator