Fish Habitat: Creating Brush Bundles from Invasive Buckthorn
![cutting brush](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_103034569_small.jpg)
Cutter crews headed out into rather dense understory with bow saws and chain saws to cut buckthorn saplings.
Stumps were treated to prevent re-growth.
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![trimming saplings](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_102532530_small.jpg)
Cut samplings are dragged to a clear processing site and trimmed to 8-12 ft lengths
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![roping bundles](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_102918749_small.jpg)
Ropes placed under the bundles before stacking are brought around and cinched down to bind the bundles
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![sapling stakes](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_102714395_small.jpg)
Stout parts of sapling trunks are shaped to serve as stakes to hold the bundles in place.
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![stuck boat](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_103304886_HDR_small.jpg)
Initially, we tried to haul brush bundles by boat directly from the cutting site, but, well, that didn't
work out so well. Too shallow for a heavily-laden small boat, even with a mud motor.
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![hauling brush to trailer](DikeBreach/IMG_20200928_124112167_HDR_small.jpg)
Plan B involved hauling brush bundles up to truck beds and a trailer to the Fred Funk landing, to get a
deeper route for boat transport to the breach site.
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![Before and After](DikeBreach/Oct16/BeforeAfter.gif)
Before and after views of the opening in the barrier island