一座山，一家人

赵东山 李宁宁

國有织女洞林场里沟林区，地处淄博市沂源县石桥镇大山深处。在这里，有一对护林员夫妻二十多年如一日，为了护林事业隔山相望。“一人一塔一座大山、一人一屋一片林区”，在各自的护林岗位上，他们默默坚守，被乡亲们亲切地称为深山里的“牛郎织女”。

这对护林员夫妻，分别是49岁的陈新兵和47岁的王美蓉。1998年、1999年，中专毕业的两人先后被分配到林场，担任护林员。共同护林值守让两人因绿结缘，并于2001年结为夫妻。

由于林区人手少、看护责任大，丈夫陈新兵要常年吃住在海拔600多米的山顶瞭望塔里；妻子王美蓉作为营林区主任，要守护在山下的护林房里，负责营林区管理及里沟林区护林点相关工作。他们每天要花费3个多小时，走十几公里的山路进行山林巡护，几乎每月要穿坏一双鞋。

一人一岗的守护责任，让夫妻两人十天半月见一次面成为常事，每到防火季节，夫妻俩更是一两个月才能相见。他们婚后的所有春节、中秋节都是在各自的值守点上度过的，二十多年来他们负责守护的林区未发生一起森林火灾及其他安全隐患，两人也多次被评为市、县优秀护林员和护林防火先进个人，陈新兵更是入选2023年“淄博好人榜”。

夫妻两人所在的沂源县地处鲁中腹地，素有“山东屋脊”之称，全县林果总面积111278公顷，有名的山头1983座，林果覆盖率62.1%，野生动植物达2153种，具有良好的生态禀赋，是全国绿化模范县、国家园林县城，更是国家生态文明建设示范区。数字与荣誉的背后，是无数个像陈新兵、王美蓉夫妇一样的护林员的默默耕耘。夫妻俩说，绿色是他们永恒的眷恋，为了这份责任，他们将一直无怨无悔地守望下去。

编辑/刁艳杰

A Family in a Mountain

The Ligou Forest Zone of the State-owned Zhinyu Cave Forest Farm is located deep in the mountains of Shiqiao Town， Yiyuan County， Zibo， Shandong， where a ranger couple has been separated by their duties for woodland protection for over two decades. “One is responsible for a tower and a mountain； the other is responsible for a house and a forest zone.” They have been silently remaining at their posts， affectionately known to the folks as “the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid”.

Due to a manpower shortage in the forest and the huge protection responsibility for safeguarding it， the husband Chen Xinbing has to live in a watchtower perched on a mountain with an elevation of over 600 meters. He is responsible for monitoring the fire situation and ensuring the safety of over 533.33 hectares of state-owned mountain forest and collective forests located near 12 surrounding villages； the wife Wang Meirong， as the director of the forest range， has to guard the forest protection house at the foot of the mountain， being responsible for forest range management and work relating to the Ligou Forest Zone.

Due to the guard duty of each holding one post， it is common for them to only see each other once every 10 or 15 days. During the fire season， they even cannot see each other for a month or two. The couple said that they had an eternal attachment to the green world and would keep guarding this forest without complaint or regret for this responsibility.