Gettysburg Daily

Summer Foliage Removal

The 6th Corps Headquarters Marker for Major General John Sedgwick along Sedgwick Avenue in Gettysburg National Military Park. The dark red-colored plants in the background have been sprayed with herbicide. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Like last summer, non-historic foliage is being sprayed and killed in Gettysburg National Military Park. As we previously pointed out in a piece on the out of control undergrowth two years ago, the landscape and woods were mostly free of undergrowth at the time of the battle. For a look at our coverage of last summer’s foliage removal work in the Valley of Death, click here. The foliage removal locations we photographed for today are located on the slope of Little Round Top and along Cemetery Ridge.

We are now standing at the 6th Corps Headquarters marker along Cemetery Ridge and looking towards the Sedgwick Equestrian statue in the right rear of this photo. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

One of the challenges of removing non-historic undergrowth is simply that it grows back, year after year. This means that the National Park Service tries to rotate the areas of the battlefield that they treat each year. This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

This view was facing north at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

The car in the center of the shot is moving north along the Wheatfield Road. Houck’s Ridge is in the background. This view was facing southwest at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

This wasn’t the only area we noticed that had been sprayed … This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

… We’re now standing on Houck’s Ridge, with Devil’s Den just out of sight to the right of the camera. This view was taken facing east at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Let’s take a closer look at the summit of Little Round Top … This view was taken facing east at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Unlike last year, the plants that have been sprayed are those closest to the summit and the walking paths. Mowing/spraying took place in the right portion of this photo … This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

… and is more visible here. Note the darker colored plants which have been treated with herbicide. The 91st Pennsylvania monument is visible in the right of this view. This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

This view was taken facing east at approximately 1:45 PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.