IIT Winter Newsletter: On the Trails - Winter Work

by Jack Taylor

The winter has been temperamental so far, which has brought with it the usual wind and snow that take down trees, but the trails are looking gorgeous in the fresh snow.

The big windstorm that came through before Christmas blew down a number of trees on all of our preserves. As of now everything is cleared and all the trails are open, however I have one important note: At the Northern access of Elaine’s Trail, from the beach, there were several large complex snags. They are currently hung up directly above a 25-yard-long section of the trail. As a result, I have rerouted the trail around the cluster as we monitor the situation through the winter. The previous access has been blocked off for the time being. Take caution when finding your footing on the new access. With the ground still frozen there are uneven spots and slash in parts of the reroute that can’t be fully evened out.

The heat wave, earlier in January, provided an unseasonal window to get after the Japanese Barberry over at Blueberry Hill. The invasive is persistent but with continual mowing and now, weed torching, we are hoping to contain the spread and locally extirpate the plant from under our apple trees and around the gardens. This weed torching will be done again in the early spring to target the new growth and kill the root collar before the growing season.

See you all out there!