Exploring Number 1: A Hike in the Woods
You may be familiar with the book entitled "A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson – a story about a man who details his experiences as he hikes the Appalachian Trail (shoutout to Dale Sanders, former WRC employee who is currently hiking the A.T. at 91). Instead of Robert Redford as the film adaptation depicts, imagine yourself hiking across the most recent success story of the Wolf River Conservancy, the number one ranked Briggs property.
Turning off the road, you immediately notice the standing water strewn across the forest. The forest is dense and dark, when streaks of yellow grab your attention. Gone in an instant, you wonder which warbler it was. Then you hear the distinct and loud “sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet” call of a prothonotary warbler. A sincere treat for the ears just footsteps onto the property. After truly appreciating a bird that has seen over 40% of population decline, you hike deeper into the property. The closed canopy breaks open, and you can tell a windstorm or two have roared across this landscape. What remains are towering oaks and hickories. Pressing onward, a beaver dam surprises you next to the main trail, rising above the trail. A haunting deep sound sends your heart racing, until you realize it is a great blue heron that you have spooked from the wetland pond. Jumping across the spillway of the beaver dam, your boots get wet, but feet stay dry. Further onto the land, the dark forest returns, but these woods feel different from the property edge. Most of the trees tower 70 to 100 feet above. Hickories, mulberry, oak, elm, and the occasional baldcypress. Winding your way through the big woods of the property, you reach a sluggish creek scattered with water tupelo, baldcypress, and buttonbush full of butterflies and bees. Where must this waterway end? Traverse its banks and see! A noticeably brighter area lies ahead, and so do trees more immense than in the towering forest you’ve been in. The river bank containing the greatest diversity of trees thus far are all draped with vines like a jungle. Alas, the Wolf River comes into sight with a wonderful sandy beach to take it all in.
Explore the newly protected Briggs property, where wetlands, towering forests, diverse wildlife, and the Wolf River create a remarkable conservation landscape.
