Part Two: Woodland Takeover

Part 2: Woodland Takeover

Soldiers Delight: 1900

This black and white photograph shows us what Soldiers Delight looked like at the turn of the 20th century. The rolling hills are mostly barren with some native oak trees scattering the landscape.

Conifers, or trees with pine cones, were absent, and a park-like setting was created by native oaks. This early spring photograph was taken around 1910.

Soldiers Delight: 1992

This photograph shows us what Soldiers Delight looked like in 1992.

While there are still some barren patches of land, there is a significant increase in the amount of trees and plants growing throughout the rolling hills.

Conifers have spread rapidly throughout the Serpentine Grassland. Native species, including more than 34 rare plants, are being killed by excessive shade.

Death of the Serpentine Grasslands

This photo shows us how much the serpentine grassland has been overtaken by trees and excessive vegetation.

Some areas have been completely lost to pine and greenbriar in less than 40 years.

Without sufficient restoration resources, these areas will be lost forever.

The Serpentine Grassland plants cannot grow in the shade of pine trees.

Soldiers Delight: 1937 / 1952 / 1971 / 1988

This photo is broken into 4 identical aerial photos of the Soldiers Delight area from the years 1937, 1952, 1971, and 1988.

It shows how much area the trees and vegetation have overtaken in 50 years.

These aerial photos show the progressive invasion of Virginia pine in the Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area.

Go to Part Three