Human Activity Assessment

            Just looking at the location of my plot, you can tell that it has been affected by human activity. Railroad tracks go straight through my plot. The Alger extension is located opposite of the railroad tracks. Turkeys are often seen crossing this road to get from one side of the woods, to the woods area where my plot is located. Where the road goes over the railroad tracks, graffiti is all over the underpass of the bridge. People drive by my plot everyday, yet they often don’t think of the life hidden within the woods.

            A trail also runs directly through my plot. There are many signs that people often walk along this path. Not as many leaves are on the path, there are footprints in the dirt, and there is trash scattered on and all around the path. I found plastic bags, a Wendy’s cup, a Gatorade bottle, a nutrisystem container, an empty cigarette pack, duct tape, a plastic cup, a sierra mist two liter container, a compact disc, a pepsi can, a headband, a book cover, and even a brown hooded sweatshirt covered in leaves. All these things show that there is often human activity in these woods.

            The cars whizzing by, the trains whistling, and people trampling though the trees doesn’t exactly make this an ideal location animals to make their homes. And if they do, they run the risk of having their home destroyed by some teenager messing around in the woods. Because of this inconvenience for creatures, they might leave such an environment and decide to find a home somewhere else. If animal life becomes less evident in these woods, and possibly eventually cease to be present, the city might decide to bulldoze this area to be used for recreational or businesslike purposes.

            In the case of extreme rains and flooding, the location of my plot could be dangerous. The road is on higher ground than my plot, so in case of flooding, water would run off the road and to the area where my plot is located. This water could then wash out much of the plant life and homes of creatures living there.

The liter all on the ground could affect nature adversely by making it hard for plants to find nutrients. But also, an animal, such as a deer, might try to eat such trash which could be hazardous to its health. If liter in this area becomes too much, people might just give up on trying cleaning it up and just leave this area as a place to be trashed and not worry on the effects that such materials could have on this environment.

To protect my plot from negative human impact, a good place to start would be picking up the trash there. This way it would not become a junk yard and keep everything there natural. However, I do not think my plot could ever go back to the thriving environment once was due to the fact that it is located to close to both a road and railroad tracks.