Weller Natural Preserve & Rippled Cave News
by Marianne Russo, Preserve Manager
Published: Summer, 2008

It has been a busy spring up at the preserve. What have we been doing up there? Well, there are several things to report on. We have continued to make progress on our long-term vegetation management plan and have a great start at defining the northern property line. Our dream of replacing the old derelict building is taking shape and of course there have been several recreational and training-related trips to the cave by local grottos. Last, but not least, we continue to build friendly relationships with our many preserve neighbors.

Vegetation Management & Property Boundaries
In the late winter, volunteers spent three workdays clearing and burning thick stands of manzanita and deadfall and surveying the northern boundary line. This long, straight, boundary is approximately 1,400 feet long and traverses some of the steepest slopes on the property. However, because the brush is less dense in this area, the survey itself went considerably faster than it had on the western boundary last year. One more pass by the survey crew and it will be ready for placement of boundary markers. Our brush clearing efforts yielded a good trail up to the northwest corner and reduced vegetation in one of our worst fire hazard zones. Rest assured that we are not  clear-cutting or eradicating any native species not even the abundant Poison Oak! At this time almost all tree specimens are being left, although at some point in the future we will probably thin them out in certain areas to enhance the health of the forest as a whole. We are also preserving exceptional examples of mature manzanita and many younger plants of this species will be allowed to grow in scattered locations. We have not abandoned our mission to search and destroy all Scotch Broom, though. Tiny plants that are coming up where all the mature plants were removed last year have been sprayed with Roundup® and this will be periodically reapplied throughout the year.

Goodbye Old Party Shack, Hello New Preserve Multi-Purpose Shed
This winter, plans were made to remove the old building, construct a small temporary shed, and get geared up to start the construction of the new multi-purpose structure. You might be asking yourself what this is all about. Why is the WCC building it, and what will it be used for? All good questions.

During the course of the last two winters while we spent many days working on the preserve, the old building proved to be very useful, as leaky and insecure as it was. We were able to leave tools, supplies, the portable toilet, and extra containers of water on site, rather than dragging them back and forth. The building also provided a place to change clothes and use the  loo in private, as well as giving shelter from rain. We decided to replace the existing building with a new one of the same category (a shed). While the footprint (400 square feet) is large enough to require a county building permit, it is a minimal enough structure that the fee was very reasonable, and virtually no other restrictions or regulations were triggered. In addition to the previously described uses, we plan on storing some chairs and folding tables inside the new building so folks can use them either inside or outside to eat lunch or to have a flat surface to work on. Other uses will emerge with time, I’m sure. We decided to move quickly on this project last year when we found out from Amador County that building and fire regulation changes and fee increases were scheduled for January 1, 2008. These changes would have made the project substantially more expensive.

On March 15th, 19 volunteers showed up for the BIG TEAR DOWN! It was a long all-day effort, but by sundown, the old building was reduced to a few piles of boards and debris and the temporary shed was finished enough to lock up the Luggable Loo"! (portable toilet) and a few other odds and ends. A large scaffold on wheels was set up inside the building and was moved around as a platform to remove the roof. This worked exceptionally well and was the safest way to work on this rather tall building (the peak of the roof was approximately 16 feet above the ground). One trailer load of debris was hauled off at the end of the day and we salvaged many of the better boards to be used as needed on the temporary shed and other future projects around the preserve. A particularly exciting moment was when the south wall was released from the rest of the structure and came down as a single unit. Yee ha!

Later in March and again in early April a few more days were spent on cleanup and preparation of the old foundation slab for the new construction. Most of the remaining waste was hauled to the dump and all of the overhanging trees and branches were cut down or trimmed back. For many years the old building had flooded with runoff water, so the slab was covered with a thick layer of clay-rich silt. Removing this turned out to be quite a chore!

In May we hired a local equipment operator to spend a day re-contouring the slope immediately around the slab so that water would drain away instead of flooding the building. After pouring water and then scrubbing the slab with brushes for many hours, we figured out a way to use a power washer. Since the bulk of the clay has already been removed by elbow grease, the power washer finished the job nicely with only about 50 gallons of water. We had brought about 25 gallons with us and since we have established good relations with the neighbors, were able to go down the road to fill all the containers up again. We used a generator to power the washer, and then we siphoned the water and gravity-fed it from a large 25-gallon bucket set on a platform attached to the lumber rack of a truck. This worked like a dream!

After cutting off the old foundation bolts, doing a corner repair and filling in a gap in the center of the slab, we were ready to set the wood foundation sill plates. These 4 x 8 pressure-treated wood beams were attached with 8-inch foundation screws and construction adhesive. Now we were ready to begin framing! In mid July, we had a two-day building marathon. It was an outstanding success! With the expertise and hard work of our many volunteers, we finished framing the walls and roof, attached most of the siding, and installed the windows and door. The siding job included the application of Tyvek® building paper and metal flashing around the base. A few days later, we returned to do some more work. We finished attaching all the siding, completed the roof sheathing, cut holes for the two skylights, and hung all the fascia boards. By the time you read this, we expect to have installed the skylights and put up the trim, and will probably have gotten our county inspection, and be planning a roofing and painting workday.

Of course our main focus for the rest of this year will be finishing the building and conducting a fundraising campaign to pay off the loans used to finance it. When the rainy season comes again we will resume vegetation work and finish the boundary line survey. We also are moving the entry gate back 30 feet along the driveway, in compliance with new regulations. The gate as it is now is unsafe because it opens out onto the road. The new gate will open in toward the property, and thus will not be in the way of road traffic when people enter or leave the preserve.

Upcoming Projects & Events
Once the building is completed, we are planning to have a Preserve Dedication and WCC Supporter Appreciation Open House. Many of you who have contributed faithfully to this organization have expressed a wish to see the preserve for yourself, and we would love to show it off to you. This will be an opportunity to check out the building, take a walking tour of the preserve, and perhaps take a peek into the cave. Local grottos will have experienced volunteer guides and basic equipment to loan. Look for an announcement of this event in an upcoming newsletter.