11-13-14 Field Note

11-13-14 Field Note

November 13, 2014

Jeff Clarke's Field Note shows bridge demolition, a muskrat, fall showers, and mushrooms.

Mushrooms, bridge demolition, fall showers, muskrats, knapweed flowers

This bridge, located in the Clubhouse Floodplain, was installed so participants of Bitterroot Sporting Clays could access shooting stations on the other side of the pond’s inlet channel. Fir logs supported the bridge, but over the last decade, they rotted. Despite the poor structural integrity of the bridge, many people continued to cross it. Last week I decided to demolish the bridge.

I used the old beams and supports to dam the pond and create a temporary walkway. When water levels rise, the ephemeral channel will sever traffic along this path.

I saw muskrats in the Clubhouse Pond for the first time in several months.

In the past few weeks, the Ranch received over an inch and a half of precipitation. The river and pond levels rose as a result. Two weeks ago, our planted aquatic vegetation sat on the pond's banks.