... nestled 8,000 seedlings into the soil of the 100-ft. buffer-zone around our wetlands. This picture shows the newly created buffer carved out of pasture-land and seeded into wheat last fall. The planting crew has just begun installing trees into the buffer. The seedlings range in size between 6 inches and 2 ft, and are generally imperceptible at this point. 125 seedlings were planted per 1/4 acre over 17 acres, with 8 ft. spacing between trees. This took 225 man hours, which reflected a team on-the-move, taking less than 2 minutes per tree. Species included: swamp white oak, shummard oak, pin oak, white oak, black walnut, red bud, Kentucky coffee, paw paw, shagbark hickory, and wild plum. We expect a 75% survival rate. Though barely visible today, imagine the forest these 500-trees-per-acre will create over coming decades. It will be protected by a conservation easement and thus will never be disturbed by man.