Rich also uses the GIS system to review the composition of the forests and evaluate timber harvest plans in the area, suggesting habitat improvements that could allow the wildlife to flourish. They may conduct prescribed burns or tree plantings or oversee a contractor who is shearing bush or constructing a wetland impoundment. One day, they might be out building a parking lot for a wildlife area, clearing a walking trail, or building an access road. On another day, they may be clearing buildings from newly acquired land. After that, they may use explosives to blow up a beaver dam, and the next day they may have to deal with a bear trap or visit a landowner to help him improve his property for wildlife.
Purple loosestrife is a European plant that was introduced to North America as a gardening plant.
The plant grew in large quantities, crowding out the natural plants in low, wet areas. To eliminate the purple loosestrife, Rich digs up purple loosestrife plants from the wild and puts them in pots. European beetles who eat purple loosestrife are then placed on the plants and the plants are covered with a net until the beetles multiply, then the plants are re-planted in the wetlands. The net is pulled off and the beetles move into the surrounding purple loosestrife, killing it. All rights reserved.