Saturday, 19 March 2005
As part of CRGC's environmental stewardship program the club purchased 495 tree seedlings (although 516 were delivered) from the State of Oregon's D.L. Phipps Forest Nursery, in Elkton, Oregon. The trees are a rapidly growing species called "super poplar E/W", which increase in height from 4 to 6 feet per year. The trees will form the north boundary of the shotfall area, and will help contain the shot in the ground around the trees by blocking the shot from travelling further down range. This will help the club more effectively mine the shot every few years. The trees will also help form a sound barrier to reduce the report of the shotguns during trap shooting. In addition, the trees are readily saleable for pulp, and can be selectively harvested and replaced in a planned growth program for the future as they mature.
The trees were planted from just east of the berm of the 100 yard range, along the fence line north of the trap pads, along the fence east and south of the trap line, and along 150 feet of the north side of the river bank where the club previously placed riprap after the 1996 flood. The trees were planted in a small grove east of the 100 yard berm, and in a triple row along the fence lines. A single line of trees was planted along the river.
The planting involved substantially more work than any of us envisioned. It took 2 people 15 man-hours with a tractor and backhoe to dig 495 holes. (It averaged about 1.25 minutes to dig each hole and then move to the next spot.) The last 21 holes along the river bank were dug by hand. The actual planting of the trees took another 9 clock hours and 54 man-hours before we were done.
The following people were involved in the four different tree planting sessions. A new member in 2005 is signified by an asterisk following the member's last name. Please thank them for their work, which will be a benefit to the club for 10 to 20 years. Art Bergseng*, Clyde Burton*, Barry Christiansen*, Mike Crawford, Scott Farmer* and son, Dahle Gubele, Paul Harriot* and son Tommy, Cliff Hill, Dennis Kenagy, Ray Morgan*, Dave Ratto*, Bob Ray*, Andy Robins*, Rick Rutledge*, Dave Seigneur*, and Gareth Williams*. In addition, Hugh Boyle arranged the loan of a trailer with a 300 gallon water tank so that we can keep the trees watered until they take root.