![A beautiful sunset in the distance with an MCC truck in the foreground.](https://cdn.firespring.com/images/87b0aaa3-13c4-44e0-ae91-b932864922f1.jpg)
The Black Cache crew was tasked with protecting the sagebrush prairies from the encroaching Juniper Trees. The Juniper is native to the area but has overrun the sagebrush habitat by depleting water in its threshold of influence.
The sagebrush is necessary for the grouse population and concentrations of Junipers will annihilate the underbrush by leaving behind dirt and spiky leaves.
Lopping Junipers is tricky: they grow "whips" which are branches that grow sideways from the main trunk. These whips, if left behind, will start a new series of growths. It is important to cut these whips on every stem because Junipers can come back to life like zombies.
We were given a digital map with polygons that distinguished areas where Junipers were not welcome. To cover the areas, we used a gridding system to ensure there were no Junipers missed.