Actions Taken

Spreadsheets of actions taken 2008, to date: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

This section records actions taken to implement the recommendations of the Natural Area Advisory Committee [NAAC] (see Management Plans). Through 2007, the most detailed, though incomplete, listing of actions was the MS Word log started by Tom Walker while NAAC Chair and continued by him as Administrative Assistant. The major events recorded in this log are listed in the chronology below.

In 2008, the format for recording actions taken was changed to an Excel spreadsheet and its maintenance became a responsibility shared by the NAAC Chair, the Chair's Administrative Assistant, and the NATL Graduate TA.

Events important to NATL's principal upland ecosystems have been extracted from the log and spreadsheets and organized in these three documents, which are updated annually.
Management of NATL's upland pine, 1993 to date
NATL's Old-Field Plots, 1995 to date
NATL's Hammock Ecosystem, 1994 to date

Yearly summaries of actions taken may be found in the Annual Reports prepared each year for NATL stakeholders and the Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee.

Major improvements to NATL are pictured and described in the Principal Improvements Image Gallery.

Chronology (1996-2007)

Jump to 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.


January 1995
Cleared portions of the successional area prepared for use: tall grass mowed; piles of dumped dirt and debris bulldozed; larger debris hauled away; entire area scraped and leveled with bulldozer.

March 1995
To deter vagrants from entering, long-open gate into NATL from SW 34th Street closed and locked.

May 1995
Approximate boundaries of the successional plots and the exact boundaries of a pond-to-hammock corridor located and marked with pink-flagged stakes.

Inventory of the vascular plants of the NATL begun with a Cooperative Florule Project, organized by Jack Putz. Crews of botanists recorded what plants they could find and identify in 13 plots within NATL. Seven of the plots corresponded to the subdivisions of the successional area and the upland pine and hammock areas were divided into three plots each.

University of Florida Master Plan changed to agree with the originally proposed boundaries of NATL except for changes required by the siting of the Florida Museum of Natural History exhibits building.

August 1995
Large hole at north end of SW 34th Street fence repaired, to deter those who enter from 34th Street and leave litter in the NATL.

September 1995
University of Florida Chapter of Geomatics Students Association agreed to establish a rectilinear grid with intersections, at 100 m intervals, marked with permanent stakes.

October 1995
Board fence erected by IFAS Facilities Operations on east boundary of NATL from the Surge Area to the retention pond. Gap left for pedestrians and a double gate installed to conrol vehicular entry.

University of Florida sign reading ‘Natural Area Teaching Lab’ erected just north of pedestrian gap in board fence.

Johnsongrass and elephantgrass in successional area mowed.

Geomatics Students Association began survey to establish permanent grid in NATL.

Copies of pamphlet describing Natural Area Teaching Laboratory (NATL) distributed to more than 200 UF administrators, committee members, and faculty. NATL home page established on WWW and publicly announced.

November 1995
Plants and Grounds installed litter receptacle at east entrance to NATL.

UF home page established a hyperlink to NATL home page.

December 1995
NATL Trash Pickup sponsored by Entomology and Nematology Student Organization removed 124 30-gallon bags of trash and numerous objects too large to bag.

Wetlands Club presented comprehensive plan for improving retention pond to Natural Area Advisory Committee.

Signs that read: ‘University of Florida Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. Enter only at designated entrances’ were put up at SW 34th Street gate and at path from Bennigan’s.

January 1996
Gateway on SW 34th Street redone to eliminate large gap between locked gate and gate post, thus precluding easy entry.

Fire lanes disked by Agronomy Department personnel.

Student Geomatics Association concluded survey of 100-meter grid.

March 1996
Barbara Hatchitt and Tim Sagul of the St. Johns River Water Management District met with representatives of the Wetlands Club and the Advisory Committee to review the Club’s plans for recontouring of the NATL retention basin. They liked the plans and suggested how to proceed.

April 1996
Under the direction of Sam Jones and with the aid of the Austin Cary fire equipment and crew, the high pine east of the DPI compound (about 8 acres) were successfully burned.

Proposal submitted by Eco-Cognizant, Inc. (Maria Minno, Project Director) to Florida Advisory Council for Environmental Education to fund information stations and a nature trail and guidebook for NATL. [not funded]

May 1996
Map prepared that shows the permanent grid surveyed by Geomatics Student Association and established a system for naming 50 × 50 m areas within NATL.

Wetlands Club created a brochure describing their Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (SEEP) for improving NATL’s retention pond.

Successional area mowed.

June 1996
Elephantgrass and Johnsongrass in successional area sprayed with Roundup herbicide.

Small sinkhole that had opened about 20 feet south of retention pond filled with sand.

July 1996
Laurel oaks that survived the April prescribed burn girdled in the area north of gridline 4.

August 1996
St. Johns Water Management District approved recontouring of NATL retention basin as proposed in SEEP.

Aug–Oct 1996
Regrowth of elephantgrass and Johnsongrass spot sprayed with Roundup

September 1996
Clearing of rights-of-way for south and east boundaries fences begun.

October 1996
Data conduits buried about 1 m deep, starting at the Performing Arts Center, going south along gridline F to a manhole near stake F5, then eastward to NATL's gate for vehicles.

January 1997
Reference photographs of NATL taken and archived by Florida Museum of Natural History. At each grid stake in NATL’s 50-meter grid, photographs were taken in each of the four cardinal directions.

University Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee approved construction of a fence along the south and east boundaries of NATL.

University Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee approved recontouring NATL's retention pond as part of the Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (SEEP), conceived by the Wetlands Club.

February 1997
Successional plot D disked to start its 10-year succession.

Environment Management in Agriculture Club sponsored a trash pick up that attracted more than 20 persons and removed debris from successional plot D and from along NATL's south boundary at Regency Oaks Apartments.

March 1997
Fence installed along south and east boundaries of NATL.

Pledges for recontouring NATL's retention basin reached $65,000, enough to go ahead with the SEEP project. Contributors were College of Agriculture ($25,000), College of Engineering ($15,000), Office of Provost ($10,000), St. Johns River Water Management District ($10,000) and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ($5,000).

Matt Horton, a Landscape Architecture student, presented a plan for a berm along 34th Street, as commissioned by the Natural Area Advisory Committee. The berm is designed to reduce the noise and visual impact of six lanes of traffic on the west edge of a major portion of NATL’s upland pine.

April 1997
UF’s Physical Plant Division hired the engineering firm of Blum, Schumacher & Associates to design and supervise the recontouring of NATL’s retention basin.

May 1997
Entomology and Nematology Student Organization sponsored work parties to set out 800 slips of wiregrass and forbs that Jack Putz had produced from stocks from the upland pine in Withlacoochee State Forest.

June 1997
Volunteers from the Department of Entomology and Nematology completed the girdling of laurel oaks in the upland pine east of the DPI compound and north of the main trail.

August 1997
Parts of successional plots A and C mowed to help reveal Johnsongrass that had been missed in earlier applications of Roundup.

June–October 1997
Remaining elephantgrass mowed and the regrowth sprayed with Roundup, thereby eliminating elephantgrass from NATL except for some in plot A near the retention pond. Spot spraying of Johnsongrass and cogangrass continued.

October 1997
Natural Area Advisory Committee gave initial approval to these changes in NATL’s land use: (1) excluded some areas of upland pine from restoration to demonstrate the effects of continued fire prevention, (2) increased the area designated as upland pine in the high-use portion of NATL, (3) reduced the width of the peninsula of hammock planned to extend from the main body of the hammock to SEEP. [See maps for original plan and revised plan.] [Committee must approve the changes a second time before they are final.]

January 1998
Fire lanes around upland pine tilled in preparation for prescribed burns.

12 March 1998
High-use upland pine burned. No smoke problem.

14–26 May 1998
NATL's retention basin re-contoured as part of the Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (SEEP)

3 June 1998
Temporary kiosk erected at east gate; displays posted.

17 July 1998
Clearing of Plot C completed.

8 Sept 1998
Permanent kiosk erected at east gate

22 Oct 1998
Clearing of route for 34th Street berm completed.

24 Oct 1998
Trash and debris along south fence line picked up by the Environmental Management in Agriculture Club and other volunteers.

Jan–May 1999
Geomatics Student Association surveyed 50-meter grid in high-use area.

16 Mar 1999
Prescribed burn completed in low-use upland pine from south border north to Gasline Trail.

6 Apr 1999
Road sign on Hull Road changed from Surge Area Drive to Natural Area Drive.

17 Apr 1999
Wetlands Club dedicated its Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project and held a community tree planting of native wetlands plants in SEEP.

1 May 1999
Paynes Prairie Chapter of Native Plant Society, with help from volunteers, planted native-plant hedge east DPI fence (mostly wax myrtle, yaupon holly, and coral honeysuckle).

25 Aug 1999
Six-foot alligator found nesting in northwest corner of SEEP.

19 Sep 1999
Piles of logs resulting from clearing of successional plot C burned.

20 Oct 1999
34th Street berm completed.

11 Jan 2000
Workers from Physical Plant Division cleared all piles of building debris from behind Performing Arts Center in Plots A and B. They also leveled area in the mistaken belief that they might convert that part of NATL into a temporary limerock-covered parking lot.

4 Feb 2000
Controlled burn of NATL's high-use upland pine.

16 Feb 2000
Physical Plant Division prepared Main Trail for 10-wheelers to haul dirt for Plot C.  Put limerock in 2 spots and cut large overhanging limbs off trees and hauled them away.

17 Feb 2000
Dirt from Housing 2000 site hauled to southern third of Plot A. (Dirt to be used to replace clay excavated for berm and to cover clay in the rest of the eastern two-thirds of Plot C.)

12 Apr 2000
IFAS bulldozer finished spreading the available Housing 2000 dirt over Plot C, shifted the western 2/5 of the Main Trail slightly south to its original location, and removed stumps from DPI Trail and 34th Street Trail.

25 Apr 2000
Five NAAC members met at NATL and then with Al Stanley to develop concepts for a master plan for the Cultural Complex and the high-use portion of NATL.

30 Apr 2000
DO NOT CROSS signs put on fence along 34th Street. “Authorized vehicles only” signs put on vehicular gates. “Authorized personnel only” signs put on Division Trail at trailheads into low-use area.

4 May 2000
DO NOT CROSS signs installed elsewhere on the boundary fence of the low-use area.

4 May 2000
PPD filled small sink at SW edge of SEEP.

4 May 2000
Dirt from dormitory construction project dumped on west end of Gasline Trail for later use along Regency Oaks fence.

11 May 2000
200 NATL pamphlets taken to Regency Oaks and 100 to Archer Woods for distribution to residents.

20 May 2000
PPD did most of the dirt work required along Regency Oaks fence line, shoring up the fence and raising the level of the road.

25 May 2000
SEEP essentially dry from record drought. UPD removed 6-ft. mother alligator and her six 1-ft babies to Lake Alice.

11-14 June 2000
Rains refilled SEEP.

18 June 2000
Ken Prestwich found active gopher tortoise burrow ca 50 ft s. of DPI compound (not far from "last active burrow" seen at DPI fence about 5 years ago!)

17 July 2000
Mimosas along south fence line cut and stumps poisoned with Garlon.

18 July 2000
PPD completed work along Regency Oaks fenceline and cleaned up the west end of Gasline Trail where the dirt had been stored.

1 Aug 2000
Blue-light phone installed at NATL’s east gate.

2 Aug 2000
Laurel oaks and cherries in Plot B girdled and Garlon applied to the girdle.

10–11 Aug 2000
Contractor from dormitory construction project used bulldozer to spread dirt he had dumped on Plot C. Most of eastern two-thirds of plot now has "loam" rather than clay at the surface. Western third has native sandy soil.

23 Sep 2000
All trails and Plots A, B, and C mowed.

3 Oct 2000
PPD cut down three large dead trees (pine, gum, oak) that were threatening to damage Archer Woods and Regency Oaks Apartments.

5 Oct 2000
10-inch-long gopher tortoise seen on the firelane along the berm in square A8.

Oct 2000
GRU moved to the south side of the fence the power pole guy wire from where it was blocking the south trail just east of Regency Oaks.

6 Nov 2000
IFAS bulldozer pushed the dirt on Plot C to where it was needed and smoothed it.

388 ft of 4-board corral fence installed behind the Performing Arts Center.

17 Nov 2000
SEEP completely dry (no rain of consequence since mid September).

26 Nov 2000
SEEP partially filled from about an inch of rain.

28 Nov 2000
Plot C disked to start it on its 40-year rotation.

Firelanes disked.

15 Dec 2000
Tim Whitaker, of UF's Student Geomatics Association, delivered a CAD map of NATL with 13 layers of information.

15 Jan 2001
SEEP dry again.

18 Jan 2001
Don Graetz took soil corings to establish the site for the ephemeral pond near the southwest corner of successional plot D.

24 Jan 2001
Right-of-way cleared for moving the Main Trail from the south ends of successional plots D and E onto its original alignment.

12 Feb 2001
Ephemeral pond dug in SW corner of Plot D and Main Trail moved southward off of Plot D and onto the original roadway.

23 Apr 2001
Physical Plant Division took over mowing of NATL trails.

24–25 May 2001
About 50 loblolly pines infested with southern pine beetle cut and removed from NATL. Most were near the junction of Main and East Trails or near grid stake G7.

23 Jul 2001
NATL home page transferred from http://csssrvr.entnem.ufl.edu/~walker/natl.htm to http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/.

15 Aug 2001
All trees (other than longleaf pines) and stumps removed from Plot A and from western portion of Plot B. Huge pile of debris from pine-beetle logging removed from junction of Main and East trails.

21 Sep 2001
Proposed site for NATL academic pavilion cleared and staked.

16 Nov 2001
Plots A and B disked twice.

13 Dec 2001
Physical Plant Division personnel planted 2375 longleaf pine seedlings in NATL's upland pine.

20 Feb 2002
Mudholes on Gasline Trail filled.

6 Mar 2002
Upland pine north of Division Trail successfully burned.

12 Mar 2002
Plot A double-disked to start it on its 10-year rotation.

27 Jun 2002
Initial girdling and cutting of laurel oaks in the upland pine south of Gasline Trail completed. Most was done by Dr. Ken Prestwich, of Holy Cross College.

20 Sep 2002
Slab for pavilion poured.

24 Oct 2002
Pavilion complete except for tables.

2 Dec 2002
Tables installed in pavilion.

4 Dec 2002
Provost Colburn and Dean Cheek photographed at pavilion they funded.

Mudholes on Main Trails filled.

7 Dec 2002
Entomology and Nematology Student Organization planted 63 wax myrtles along east DPI fence.

winter 2002–03
Development of Natural Area Park begun. PPD placed boulders around edges to discourage vehicle from driving in. NAAC and Florida Museum of Natural History shared cost of picnic tables.

January 2003
East Trail extended from Gasline Trail to South Trail. SEEP Trail established between Natural Area Park and academic assembly area. PPD removed old barb-wire fence immediately south of Division Trail.

27 Feb 2003
Wireless web service activated in NATL.

22 Apr 2003
Plot B mowed and double disked.

20 May 2003
Bush-hogged in the north section of the public upland pine to facilitate planting longleaf pines.

21 May–5 Jul 2003
Ken Prestwich and TJW planted 206 1-gallon longleaf pines in the north public-area upland pine and 42 in the south public-area upland pine.

23 Jun 2003
Florida Museum of Natural History installed 8-foot-long kiosk in Natural Area Park.

30 Jun–2 Jul 2003
Florida Division of Forestry used Positrac mega-mulching-machine to mulch most of the sprouts, stumps, and downed wood in NATL's upland pine.

26 Jan 2004
Trail signs installed in public area.

10 Feb 2004
Signs that identify seven species of trees installed in Natural Area Park

18 Feb 2004
Alan Long supervised a successful burn of all upland pine except tract south of Gasline Trail.

26–27 May 2004
KP, TJW, and Erick Smith planted and mulched 15 trees, representing 11 species, in Natural Area Park.

28 May–7 Jun 2004
KP and TJW planted 222 1-gal wiregrass clumps in nPAP and 73 in sPAP.

30 Jun–19 Jul 2004
TJW planted 38 3-gal turkey oaks in nPAP and 12 in sPAP.

12 Jul 2004
Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee approves the concept of the Surge Area Wetlands becoming part of NATL.

12–14 Jul 2004
TJW bush-hog mowed sRAP.

20 Jul 2004
Rain gage installed at junction of Old Field and East trails.

21 Jul 2004
Additional trail signs installed.

23–29 Jul 2004
TJW planted 35 5-gal, 5–6-foot-tall longleaf pines in nPAP and 17 in sPAP.

31 Jul–2 Aug 2004
TJW planted 500 wiregrass slips in n RAP.

3–7 Sep 2004
Hurricane Frances caused 12.2 inches of rain to fall in NATL, resulting in record water levels in SEEP, NATL sink, and Regency Oaks sink. The depression west of SEEP was flooded as was Regency Oaks parking lot. Lots of trees down.

26 Sep 2004
Hurricane Jeanne downs additional trees.

27 Sep 2004
Rain from Jeanne = 6.8 inches. Water from Regency Oaks sink running past south end of berm, down 34th Street sidewalk, and into storm sewer to Hogtown Creek.

1 Oct 2004
Downed trees cleared from public area trails.

4 Oct 2004
Surveyed hurricane damage.

List of downed longleaf pines: Public area, 1, 18 inches DBH; restricted area, 2, 12 inches and 16 inches.
List of significant trees downed in hammock area: 2 live oaks, 18 and 15 (inches DBH); 1 water oak, 33;
1 swamp chestnut oak, 31; 1 laurel oak, 26; 2 sweet gums, 18 and 19; 2 pignut hickories, 21 and 25; 1 basswood, 12 inches.

6 Oct 2004
Downed trees cleared from Division Trail.

6 Nov. 2004
Two First-Year Florida classes picked up trash from NATL. In addition to cleaning up the casual trash that continues to be deposited along NATL's trails, the students tackled two major trash aggregations that pre-date NATL's start in 1993. One of these was a weed-choked, hard-to-access triangle of land just north of the parking lot for Regency Oaks Apartments. More than 20 large bags of trash and numerous objects too large to bag (e.g., discarded auto tires) were removed from this area. The other legacy site was a small sink, just south of NATL's grid stake H11, that was used for many years for dumping household trash from a farmhouse on Archer Road.

4 Dec. 2004
Members of the Alpha Phi Omega National Co-ed Service Fraternity planted 39 trees and shrubs to help shield NATL from the Southwest Chiller Plant. The plants were furnished by the Physical Plant nursery, and the planting was supervised by Erick Smith. North of the chiller plant, the group planted 10 pond cypress and 20 Virginia willows. Four persimmons were planted between the chiller plant and Natural Area Park and two swamp red bays and three swamp dogwoods were planted in SEEP east of the chiller plant.

20 Dec. 2004
PPD took off south end of 34th Street berm to provide floodway for Regency Oaks karst basin. Used some dirt to upgrade nearby portions of South Trail.

PPD put sandy fill in summer mud holes (1 on Main Trail, 3 on Gasline Trail, 1 on 34th Street Trail)

7 Jan 2005
Fire lanes tilled; Plot B tilled.

20 Jan 2005
Transplants from past two summers surveyed: nearly all turkey oaks living but dormant, 49 of the 52 tall pines living but a few recently defoliated and found redheaded sawflies on one; most of small transplanted pines from summer of 2003 seemed to be missing!

28 Jan–16 Feb 2005
Hoe used to clear around six-foot pines and turkey oaks to reduce chances of their being killed in the upcoming controlled burn.

2 Mar 2005
Alan Long directed a controlled burn of all of NATL’s upland pine except nPAP.

19 Mar–15 Jun 2005
Chris Benson (invasive plant contractor) worked under state contract to eliminate cogongrass, mimosa, air potato, and other exotics in NATL.

14 Apr 2005
Alan Long headed a successful control burn of nPAP.

26–27 May 2005
Trails established in NATL-east and hurricane-felled trees cleared from main trail.

9–10 June 2005
Fifty 3-gal wiregrass clumps planted along north and east edges of the north block of public-area upland pine.

15 June–5 July 2005
289 1-gal, longleaf pines planted in 48 sets in the public-area upland pine.

18 July 2005
Mulched trail established from Powell Hall service drive to NATL.

23–26 July 2005
500 wiregrass slips planted in the restricted area upland pine

30 July–23 Nov 2005
Every few weeks, all known colonies of cogongrass, air potato, Japanese climbing fern, and skunk vine inspected for live plants and those found sprayed with glyphosate. Patches of Johnsongrass and Panicum maximum treated on a less systematic basis.

Aug 2005
Kevin Ratkus hired as first NATL Graduate Teaching Assistant.

23 Oct 2005
40 volunteers from Make-a-Difference Day picked up trash from NATL-east and Sinkhold Pond.

Dec 2005
Website and posters on academic and Natural Area Park kiosks revised to include the new NATL-east.

11 Feb 2006
Volunteers from clubs and departments that use NATL remove Ardisia from hammock ecosystem.

17 Feb–18 Mar 2006
129 naturally germinated longleaf seedlings, at 24 sites in the restricted-area upland pine, flagged in order to follow and promote their survival in the "save-some-seedlings" [SSS] project.

25 Feb 2006
Volunteers from Leadership & Service, Wetlands Club, and SNRE remove Ardisia from hammock ecosystem.

24 Mar 2006
Three ready-to-shoot longleaf pines planted in Natural Area Park in memory of Jane B. Walker (1933–2006), a friend of NATL.

31 Mar–17 Nov 2006
Every few weeks, all known colonies of cogongrass, air potato, Japanese climbing fern, and skunk vine inspected for live plants and those found sprayed with glyphosate. Patches of Johnsongrass and Panicum maximum treated on a less systematic basis.

14 May–8 June 2006
SSS longleaf pines and newly planted container grown pines hand-watered on four occasions to reduce mortality from drought.

3–8 Apr 2006
130 naturally germinated longleaf seedlings, at 65 sites in the public-area upland pine, flagged for the SSS project.

8 Apr 2006
Three groups of volunteers from Greek Service Day remove unwanted fences, partly in preparation for new fences from the CITF Environmental Stewardship project.

2–4 May 2006
313 container grown pines planted, at 62 sites, in restricted-area upland pine.

13 June 2006
Tropical storm Alberto brings 4.7 inches of rain to NATL, ending the drought that had been killing the SSS seedlings and container grown pines.

July 2006
Census reveals 116 surviving SSS seedlings (of 259 flagged) and 134 surviving container grown pines (of 313 transplanted).

15 July 2006
Ten Summer Plunge volunteers upgrade Natural Area Park by spreading mulch, trimming vegetation, and planting a sweet gum.

18–20 July 2006
600 wiregrass slips planted in public-area upland pine and 400 planted in restricted-area upland pine.

Aug 2006
Twenty 1-gal longleaf pines planted at 14 monitored sites in the restricted-area upland pine where no more than 1 seedling or container grown pine had survived.

16 Sep 2006
Fifty Gator Plunge volunteers complete the following tasks: mulch trees and nature-scape stormwater draw in Natural Area Park, weed restoration islands in public-area upland pine, pick up trash in north NATL-east, and build up low areas in SEEP berm.

17 Sep 2006
Self-guided Upland Pine Nature Trail opened to the public.

8–27 Oct 2006
Routes for Old-Field and Hammock Nature Trails established and cleared.

16–18 Oct 2006
Florida Division of Forestry bushhogs all of the restricted-area upland pine while avoiding 135 flagged small pines at 60 sites.

6 Nov 2006
The portion of Plot B east of the Old-Field Nature Trail is mowed and thoroughly disked.

3 Feb 2007
Volunteers, led by Kevin Ratkus, planted a vegetational screen between the North Trail and the parking lot at the rear of the Phillips Center. Eight varieties of native trees and shrubs were positioned along a 300' fence line to mimic a "natural" random growth pattern. Approximately 25 volunteers from the following student clubs participated:

PPD supplied tools and more than 100 plants.

14-24 Feb 2007
TJW takes photographs N, E, S, and W at NATL-west gridpoints

5 Mar 2007
Alan Long, with great help from a variety of sources, executes an effective controlled burn of nPAP, sPAP, and nRAP (in that order); sRAP was not burned because smoke was not lifting well from nRAP.

22 Mar 2007
Hammock Self-Guided Nature Trail opened.

24 Apr 2007
New trail guides for UP and HM trails (with major additions and improvements).

28 Apr 2007
Business students pick up trash in NATL-east.

4 May 2007
Tree signs in NAP replaced. Marilyn Martin provided the new signs.

14 June 2007
Kenny disks Plot D.

20 June 2007
Storage building installed near pavilion. Ramp and steps to be added.

6 July 2007
David Reed (day laborer) and TJW weed 19 restoration circles in sPAP. David Reed, Kevin Ratkus, and TJW plant 447 2nd year containerized longleaf pines in the remaining planting plots of nRAP.

10 July 2007
TJW helps Mark Clark lay out the route of the 500ft SEEP boardwalk in preparation for the pre-bid meeting of contractors the next day.

12 Jul 2007
Ken P and TJW drive to Andrews Nursery at Chiefland to pick up 1000 containerized longleaf pines and 1000 wiregrass slips. Don Dickson delivers his John Deere Gator for permanent use in NATL.

14 July 2007
Kevin Ratkus with KP and five graduate student supervisors he had recruited use ca 25 volunteers to start the planting of 1000 pines and 630 wiregrass slips in nRAP. A thunderstorm curtails the volunteer effort but the supervisors finish the job on their own. This amounts to ca 33 pines and 21 wiregrass in each of the 30 25x25m planting plots of nRAP. During the same time period TJW supervises 3 inappropriately dressed volunteers in the planting of 225 wiregrass slips in the 29 restoration islands of nPAP.

8 Aug 2007
NATL's first summer burn. Burn Master Tom Workman, aided by Eric Smith and Kevin Ratkus, burn patches within sRAP that have sufficient fuel to carry the fire--mostly around the sparse mature longleaf pines. The Austin Cary brush truck is the support vehicle. Ken Prestwich and Tom Walker help.

9 Aug 2007
Contractor completes hammock kiosk (with door with slightly smaller viewing area than specified).

6 Sep 2007
TJW buys first batch of lumber for six kiosks and takes it to Powell Hall, where Jeff Sheldon, who is hired for 4 weeks will do the assembly and painting of the modules. The parts for the modules will be cut by the regular museum shop personnel. Jeff will work for the shop people to compensate for their doing part of the work that he was originally to do.

22 Sep 2007
Gator Plunge event organized by Kevin Ratkus, who reports "On Saturday September 22nd NATL organized ~30 student volunteers associated with the UF Gator Plunge event to come out and spread soil within the wooden ramp retainer walls we [Mark Clark & Kevin] built. The volunteers moved approximately 25cyds of soil with shovels, wheel barrels and strong lower backs."

27 Sep 2007
Pre-construction conference for the SEEP boardwalk. Construction begins.

29 Sep 2007
Tim and TJW erect a 14ft-high "kiosk hoist" and use it to erect the frame of the kiosk for the Upland Pine Nature Trail.

5 Oct 2007
Kevin and TJW erect frames for Intro and OF kiosks.

10 Oct 2007
Roofs for three kiosks completed.

12 Oct 2007
Tim Ruscello and TJW require 5 hrs to get roof onto Intro kiosk.

15 Oct 2007
Intro kiosk complete except for back cover and content.

17 Oct 2007
Jeff Sheldon terminated having completed all parts for six kiosks except for three roofs. He used the facilities of the FLMNH shop and had expert help from its personnel.

19 Oct 2007
TJW and Kevin erect frame for west SEEP kiosk. TJW and Tim hoist roofs onto UP and OF kiosks.

27 Oct 2007
Kevin Ratkus and Julian Resasco work with nine volunteers from the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity to improve and fill the SEEP boardwalk approach ramps.

30 Oct 2007
TJW and Tim Ruscello complete the three kiosks at the start of the upland nature trails (but not their contents).

13 Nov 2007
Chain link fence complete except for short stretch through pool at SE corner of NATL-east

6 Dec 2007
Steve Brickley leads a crew from the Student Geomatics Association in establishing all but one or two of the out-of-the-pond points needed to extend NATL's 50-meter grid into NATL-east. In addition to Steve, the crew consists of Nick Diguttolo (who did preliminary work on the project about 10 months earlier), Kory Paxley, and Chad Harralson.

10-13 Dec 2007
TJW uses a router and letter templates to inscribe "Hammock Trail," "Old Field Trail," and "Upland Pine Trail" on the lower crosspieces of the respective kiosks.

13 Dec 2007
Steve Brickley leads a crew from the Student Geomatics Association in completing the extension of NATL's 50-meter grid into NATL-east. Nick Diguttolo will prepare a map of the survey with GPS coordinates for the points.

18 Dec 2007
Boardwalk completed!

19 Dec 2007
Plot D double disked. SEEP vistas mowed.