From the Virginia State Parks eNews. Great write up on our two most prolific chainsaw volunteers, Mike Capraro and Susan Musante.
Chainsaw Champions
Jennifer Saik, Education Specialist II/Volunteer Coordinator, Shenandoah River State Park
As we all know, many of our state parks suffered a lot of damage resulting from the derechostorm that hit Virginia last month. Many wonderful volunteers assisted parks with cleanup and repairs around the state. But we would be remiss if we didn’t brag aboutShenandoah River State Park’s dynamic duo, Mike Capraro and Susan Musante who are volunteers and members of the Friends of Shenandoah River State Park. The escapades of this couple have been written about before, but this time, they have really outdone themselves!
Almost a week after the storm, many of the park trails were still closed due to downed trees and brush. Mike emailed our chief ranger and asked what still needed be done. Then he and Susan came to the park and proceeded to clear seven trails in one day!
They used their chainsaws to remove all the large downed trees, as well as all the large and medium sized branches on all the trails. The Cottonwood Boardwalk had three huge holes, into which they inserted tree limbs to mark the areas and prevent anyone from getting injured.
While doing all this hard work, the couple still found some time to stop and enjoy some wild raspberries which, says Mike, were delicious. They also got to glimpse many wild turkeys, who likely were not too pleased with the noise of chainsaws, but put up with it nonetheless! On top of all this, they even managed to avoid the wrath of angry yellow jackets (some park staff weren’t so lucky) and take some great pictures along the way as well. So thanks again, Mike and Susan. We couldn’t have done it without you!
As we all know, many of our state parks suffered a lot of damage resulting from the derechostorm that hit Virginia last month. Many wonderful volunteers assisted parks with cleanup and repairs around the state. But we would be remiss if we didn’t brag aboutShenandoah River State Park’s dynamic duo, Mike Capraro and Susan Musante who are volunteers and members of the Friends of Shenandoah River State Park. The escapades of this couple have been written about before, but this time, they have really outdone themselves! Almost a week after the storm, many of the park trails were still closed due to downed trees and brush. Mike emailed our chief ranger and asked what still needed be done. Then he and Susan came to the park and proceeded to clear seven trails in one day!
They used their chainsaws to remove all the large downed trees, as well as all the large and medium sized branches on all the trails. The Cottonwood Boardwalk had three huge holes, into which they inserted tree limbs to mark the areas and prevent anyone from getting injured. While doing all this hard work, the couple still found some time to stop and enjoy some wild raspberries which, says Mike, were delicious. They also got to glimpse many wild turkeys, who likely were not too pleased with the noise of chainsaws, but put up with it nonetheless! On top of all this, they even managed to avoid the wrath of angry yellow jackets (some park staff weren’t so lucky) and take some great pictures along the way as well. So thanks again, Mike and Susan. We couldn’t have done it without you!
