Effort To Save Wildlife Carvings Continues

    Umatilla’s Cadwell Park wood carvings have been in various states of repair/removal in recent months, as the city looked to preserve what it could of the unique wildlife art carvings. Termites and other pests, as well as Florida’s heat and rain had conspired to bring a large amount of decay to the carvings, leaving the city scrambling to preserve what it could of the popular art pieces.
   In recent weeks, carvings that had been removed and ‘restored’ have found new homes on the back porch of the city’s Cadwell Park community building. Two have been placed at the Umatilla Historical Museum. Another has found a new home at the Umatilla Public Library. Others, including those that have yet to be removed, have undergone a series of treatments designed to prevent further decay.
   “Mark Kuhfuss and Brian Butler are doing the restoration,” said city public works director Vaughan Nilson this week. “We are continuing to work on the others.”
   In an effort to preserve some of the park carvings in Cadwell Park, the city has applied a preservative, which has required the carvings to be wrapped for a period of time.