Before and After

Photo by Peggy Wenrick 8/14/2012

Jean and the first Arizona Black Walnut tree on 8/14/2012 (2+ years old).

Photo by Mark Hengesbaugh 5/4/2013

Jean and the stump of the first tree on 5/4/2013.

Photo by Jean Hengesbaugh 5/21/2012

Mark and the 2nd Arizona Black Walnut tree on 5/21/2012. This one was also about 2 years old at this time. Not in as optimal a location as number 1, it grew more slowly.

Photo by Jean Hengesbaugh 5/4/2013

Mark points to where the 2nd one was.
Not trying to beat a dead walnut, just trying to educate.

Blog reader Steve Welborn sent these comments to Jean:

I was really shocked reading the [blog post] about the walnut trees. After you and Mark showed them to me and told me the truly amazing story of nature's force for life I have made a point of going by to see the growth of twigs and leaves. Not often a tree gets to be so exciting.
It is done. Human error in so many ways. But as teachers, you and Mark and all the other volunteers have an opportunity to point out the irresponsibility of the Forest Service culture. People in authority have extra responsibility to research broadly and to critically think about possibilities. People in public service have a responsibility to consult with the public - in this case volunteer naturalists. The FS error should not be used to ridicule, but one should not be silent about it either. It offers a time for teaching benefits of community based critical analysis to young people to learn about harmful consequences of actions of doing things in a closed system.