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As Alice might say in Wonderland, the situation is "curiouser and curiouser" in the wetland at Kump Education Center (KEC).
Things change erratically, and such uncontrolled changes may not be for the better. Sixty years ago Kump corner was home to cows and horses grazing in a rolling pasture, but changes started to happen 50 years ago.
Now Sam Urban and the West Virginia Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program will help us plan to give the KEC wetland a better future, and make the wetland a happier habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies who love our native wetland plants.
Before we can make real improvements, we need to think about the way the land has changed in the recent past, and what we can do to keep our water clean.
After Governor Kump died in 1962, Kump property south of Hwy. 33 was sold and divided into various businesses.
The "development" process began by cutting into the hillside creating flatter land along Hwy. 33. New businesses created large commercial parking lots south of the road with large areas of blacktop.
All runoff drains north under the road into Kump pasture now. The pasture is so wet that horses and cows cannot live there, and shallow ponds fill up after every heavy rain.
In a meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Urban and I discussed what can be done to improve the wetland, and we set long-term goals that may become part is of a plan that Fish and Wildlife Partners can support.
At some point in the future, we may seek a grant to create a pond that would not go dry when rainfall is low. Also we may remove the old white fence, except near the house, and plant Sycamores to create a tree-line along the roads on the perimeter of the property.
In the short term, Mr. Urban is planning to reinforce the wire fence at the beehive enclosure with new posts and wire. We talked about a square pollinator garden near the beehive enclosure for the bees, and a round butterfly garden in the curve of the drive way where an old dead apple tree stands near the historic house.
Fish and Wildlife will provide several bird houses and bat boxes to increase wildlife on the property soon.
Also, Mr. Urban thinks F&W can find volunteers willing to help remove Japanese Honeysuckle and other invasive plants. They may also help remove some of the dilapidated wire fence in areas where invasive plants impose problems.