Friday, January 6, 2017
Congaree National Park – Kingsnake
I get a rainy day. Lately, the floodplain is inundated with water. This condition is making work more difficult yet exciting. For the first time, I could not survey certain cavity roost because the openings were nearly submerged. I had to reorganize the gear on my body so it would not get wet. Nothing is hanging from by waist anymore. Instead, everything is attached to my back and shoulders. With my 5’6” stature, I have to be cautious that my gear is not getting wet inside my pack, not because of the rain but because of the rising water that I’m wading through.
I am amazed with how much water the floodplain holds. I am seeing how the landscape buffers the river during a storm event. This is elementary knowledge but to observe the process is exciting. I love to watch it work in Congaree.
Sadly, natural resource exploitation and settlement has diminished the effectiveness of our country’s floodplains. Back home in Pennsylvania, I’ve seen the Susquehanna River rise quickly from a rain. The water runs off of the roof tops, concrete, and asphalt – the hard surfaces – and channels it directly to the river in great volume. It wasn’t always this way.
Congaree may be an obscure national park to some but it is an example of one of the last remaining old growth floodplains within our nation’s borders. People fought hard to protect this land. I am thankful for the opportunity to experience this hidden treasure and participate in the ongoing exploration of Congaree National Park.