Picture this: You’re hiking along the St. Joe River corridor and spot a trail leading down to a perfect-looking fishing hole. As you make your way to the river, it’s quiet and peaceful.

When you look at a map of the Great Burn, you may notice that many trails either follow streams or lead to lakes. There are multiple reasons for this, but among them are humans' need and desire for water.

The restoration crew’s sixth and final hitch for the season got off to an unusual start. We met at Granite Peak RV park (granite pit, if you prefer the groovy slang), where Malcolm and Logan had been staying between hitches. Malcolm had noticed several Cyphocleonus achates (“Cyphos”), an important knapweed biocontrol species that acts as a root weevil crawling on their tent, so we were there to collect them.

Hello! My name is Micah Freeman and I am part of the weed restoration crew. As a wildlife biology student at the University of Montana, it has been a pleasure to spend time in this gorgeous area, a far cry from my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. This week is my turn to share some recent news in the Great Burn area.