The sound of chain saws humming mixed with the crunch of snow as 25 AmeriCorps volunteers cut down trees in the City of Frederick Municipal Forest.
Working in a snow-covered landscape last week, volunteers noted which trees to cut down and set to work. The Maryland Forest Service tagged the trees to save.
"The Forest Service selected good quality trees, and the junkier trees are cut down," said Bryan Seipp, with the Potomac Conservancy.
The volunteers cut their way through 60 acres of trees along Hamburg Road. The trees to be saved were oaks and cherry trees, Seipp said. They need sunlight to thrive, and other trees were blocking the light.
The conservancy's goal is to restore the tall oaks and cherry trees that once dominated local forests in order to help improve the Potomac River watershed.
"From our perspective we're interested in seeing the forest remain sustainable," Seipp said. "We fully support management done in sustainable ways."
Young trees that crowd together allow for disease, he said. The Potomac Conservancy is working with the Maryland Forest Service to improve the health of forests in the Potomac watershed. The remaining trees have a halo of light to help them grow.
"We have to use volunteer help," Seipp said. The AmeriCorps volunteers needed experience with chain saws. "They're getting training for work on the Gulf Coast."
The volunteers will spend the next several months doing relief work on the Gulf Coast rebuilding houses and serving meals.
Jordan Orvold, 23, of Eau Claire, Wis., and Spencer Vetter, 19, of Vancouver, Wash., were cutting trees a few hundred yards from Hamburg Road. The chain saw experience would come in handy on the Gulf Coast, they said, but they are also getting certified as wildland firefighters.
Last summer AmeriCorps volunteers took part in fighting three or four Western wildfires, Orvold said. Most of those working in the watershed last week will likely be called out to a wildfire this summer, he said.
They worked on safety procedures with the chain saws, wearing helmets and clothing meant to snag the chain saw in case of a kickback. They also learned how to avoid kickbacks.
Orvold, an art student, and Vetter, a high school graduate, both said they signed on with AmeriCorps as a way to travel and do some good at the same time.
"We have a pretty comfortable life and you come to these places where people still need homes, and it hits on you real quick," Orvold said.The Frederick News-Post
