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SPECIAL FEATURE Randy Krichten, orchard manager for the Gettysburg National Military Park, poses in front of "The Barn with the Bullet Hole" as it is known to the locals; it also is known as "The Trostle Barn." The hole is just below the diamond-shaped patterns in the brickwork. It was near this barn that General Dan Sickles lost his leg to a Confederate cannonball. Photo by Eric Schroder (Continued from page 20) need arises.The frequency of use of an item determines whether it is better to rent or purchase the equipment. "Each equipment operator is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of that item," said Hill."We have a mechanic on staff who performs diagnosis and repairs on equipment beyond the scope of routine maintenance. Service intervals are performed according to the manufacturer's recommendations." With regard to plant stock, much of the bare-root tree and shrub stock is purchased from several nurseries located in the Mid-Atlantic region, said Bolitho. Purchases are dependent on the extent of species availability and quantity from individual nurseries. "Native seed is used to rehabilitate open areas such as fields, pastures and wetland areas," he added."In the early years of grassland rehabilitation, the park purchased native grass seed varieties through local seed suppliers. Additionally, the park cooperatively worked with Fort Indiantown Gap north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to plant bio-types that are indigenous to this area of Pennsylvania. However, in recent years, volunteers have assisted with collecting native grass and other native herbaceous seeds in the park for use in our rehabilitation efforts. Seed from native shrubs has been collected and used in thickets and riparian areas to supplement riparian plantings." An ongoing effort The Gettysburg NMP GMP/EIS project involves continuous effort, and includes not only major rehabilitation efforts, but also day-to-day 22 Arbor Age / May/June 2013 maintenance of the park. "Winter is when we perform the majority of our tree work, field mowing, and preparing equipment for the spring and summer," said Hill."In the spring, summer, and into fall, mowing, trimming, brushing, and fence repair/replacement are daily occurrences.When the grass is growing quickly, a typical day would be to get on the tractor and mow roadsides all day, or get a string trimmer and trim all day. But when the grass slows down, you could build a fence one day, and the next day be working with a volunteer group on a special park project." Bolitho added that managing erosion along park avenues and trails is one of the park's routine concerns. "Recently, the park completed a site-specific cultural landscape report that addresses erosion issues of the Little Round Top, as well as many other landscape features important to that area," he said."Designing better trail alignments and using appropriate surfaces for traffic are just some tools that will help to reduce erosion in this one area." And, according to Lawhon, the Gettysburg NMP GMP/EIS project has also enhanced Gettysburg's natural environment. Some of the environmental benefits of the project include: • Increasing grassland areas to increase habitat for grassland species such as Upland Sandpipers, Meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrikes and Least Shrews, many of which are state-listed species of special concern. • Removing cattle from key pastures with streams and wetlands to reduce soil compaction, erosion, excess nutrient loading, and ground cover loss,as well as improve water quality in the park and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. • Delaying the cutting of hay to allow ground-nesting birds such as Henslow's Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Grasshopper Sparrows to thrive. • Removing exotic plant species to provide opportunities for reestablishment of native plant species. July 1-3, 2013, will signify 150 years since the largest battle ever fought in North America. Over much of that time, historic topographic features and their significance had been lost.As a result, visitors and historians could not fully understand the Battle of Gettysburg. But through their continuing efforts, the staff members at Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) are undoing the effects of time, and realizing the goals of the NPS to preserve the features that were significant to the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg. Because of their work and attention to detail, current and future generations can better understand this historic event. John Kmitta is associate publisher at Green Media, and editor of Arbor Age magazine and Landscape and Irrigation magazine. Green Media editors Eric Schroder and Steve Noe contributed to this piece. Special thanks to the National Park Service and Gettysburg National Military Park for the wealth of background information that made this feature possible,as well as for their special assistance on site at Gettysburg National Military Park. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm or www.gettysburgfoundation.org/ www.arborage.com