Cutting down the trees

[des1954]

The trees and bushes are being cut to remove the potato vines. These vines are not native to Florida and the only way to rid the campground of these vines was to remove most if not all the vegetation. Once the project started they realized how much water was absorbed by the very plants they were removing. This is what has created all the recent standing water. To help keep the campground from becoming one big swamp, the company hire to complete the job began working in small areas in multiple locations instead of starting at one end and working straight through. Once the extraction is complete, Disney will replant all the areas with plants native to Florida. The project will not be completed until late next year or early 2009.

The "air potatoes" have been at the campground since it opened in 1971. They have made numerous attempts to remove them in the past, with no success. I doubt it will work this time, either.

As far as the standing water...Fort Wilderness is built on a swamp, and has always had standing water during the rainy season. The abundance of cypress trees is a dead giveaway as to the swamp. Cypress trees need to have "wet feet" to grow well. The standing water has nothing to do with the clearing of the campground - the water has always been there - you just couldn't see it through all the vegetation.

Disney clears out the vegetation from time to time to lessen the chance of wild fires. Rainfall in Florida has been below average since the 2004 hurricanes & the entire state has been under a burn ban (just recently lifted) since January of this year.

The current tree removal is a result of two things: (1) The 3 major hurricanes that hit the Fort in 2004 weakened a LOT of trees -and- (2) a lot of trees were just plain old and needed to come out. I would also like to think that they are making the sites easier to maneuver into. This is the "Year of a Million Dreams", isn't it???

 

[Mr Man]

I would also like to think that they are making the sites easier to maneuver into. This is the "Year of a Million Dreams", isn't it???

Hear Hear! We had a site in the 300's over Spring Break that I actually had to send my wife out to hold up a branch with a stick so we could manuever "The Behemoth into our site. Don't get me wrong....love the secluded feeling the overgrowth gave to the sites, but it felt like we were parking in a cave!