Huntsville Alphabetz G - Huntsville's Greenways EarthCache
Huntsville Alphabetz G - Huntsville's Greenways
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Huntsville Alphabetz G - Huntsville’s Beautiful Greenways
Huntsville is known as a Green City.
We have abundant hiking trails, walking paths and bicycle routes.
One of the prettiest spots around is Hays Preserve.
The Hays Nature Preserve and the Goldsmith Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary provide environmental education and non-consumptive recreation while preserving the important and vanishing ecosystems with which they have been entrusted.
The Preserve and the Sanctuary protect 1000 acres of bottomlands along the Flint River in Eastern Madison County.
The Goldsmith Schiffman is an incredible asset to open space protection in Madison County.
It and the adjacent Ellet donation form about 400 acres of swamp, ponds, and bottomlands.
One of the most prominent critters there is beaver, but there are also many deer, wild turkeys, and hundreds of water fowl. Meadow inhabitants abound and hawks nest along the edge of the clearings.
The Goldsmith Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary is not open as yet, but the City Ecologist leads special hikes there.
Hays Preserve has the unique feature of wetlands, making this an ideal area for an earthcache.
Wetlands are critically important in a watershed-the area water falls and drains.
Everywhere a drop of rain lands is in a watershed.
Permission for this earthcache from Soos Weber, city ecologist and manager of the preserve.
Wetlands have three important characteristics: water, soil and the plants and animals it supports.
Water-it does not have to be wet all the time, the soil actually can hold in the moisture and release as needed and the plants and animals that live in the area. Wetlands are important nursery areas, especially to endangered and threatened species.
This wetland area, so close to farmland and golf course, actually work to filter out the poisons, pesticides and fertilizers. This swamp area is often flooded, most recently December 2008.
Requirements for logging the cache, (within ten days, please).
1. Upload a picture of you and GPSr and the bridge behind you.
2. Email through profile link, the answers to the following questions, do not post them on the cache page:
A. Calculate the flow rate in "Feet Per Second" for the Flint River.
You will probably see sticks or other debris floating, record the time from one point to another, then measure the distance.
Email this to me along the estimated width of the water at the cords.
3. In which direction is the river flowing at this location?
4. How many years would you estimate, it has taken for the water to erode the banks of the river here.
5. How high do you think the water has been recently? What indicators can you use to determine this? Do you think the Flint is currently at normal level or is it higher or lower than normal?
6. What was your favorite discovery on your trip here today-you may post that in your on-line log.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fvg ba gur orapu gb qb lbhe pnyphyngvbaf
Treasures
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