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At the beginning of the
Graveyard Fields Trail is a sign which reads:
"A natural disaster
occurred here 500 to 1000 years ago. A tremendous "wind-blow" uprooted the
spruce forest. Through the years the old root stumps and trees rotted,
leaving only dirt mounds. These odd mounds gave the appearance of a
graveyard, and the area became known as Graveyard Fields. The forest
eventually recovered, only to be destroyed by a catastrophic fire in 1925.
This fire consumed the entire spruce-fir forest and the ancient mounds.
The forest again is slowly recovering. The 1925 fire burned deeply,
destroying the soils nutrients. Blackberry briers and other small plants
have taken hold, adding decaying vegetation to the earth each season,
gradually enriching the soil. With time, this process will establish
larger plants and trees. A spruce-fir forest might once again flourish in
Graveyard Fields." |
