A unit of Lasting Forests
evolving since March 30, 1999
 
  

A Total Forest Management Plan
and Wildland Management
Decision Support System

 
[ HOME | The Trevey Home | Table of Contents | The Finder | Glossary ]


Trail System Concepts

See Virginia DCR trail notes.

Many miles of trails are needed. Trail density can be described as 1000 feet per 1000 acres and this statistic han help compare and contrast areas nd describe the changes resulting from work of the Stoneworms.

Trails often will fit well with surface-mine benches as well as haul roads, but others are needed for many reasons.

There are several major types of trails that can be built:

Stoneworms
Putting owners
in touch with
their land
Special trails

  1. cross country skiing
  2. nature
  3. 4 x 4 courses
  4. 2-wheeler courses
  5. biking trails
  6. horse-riding
  7. trails for the blind
  8. trails for the handicapped
  9. elderly
  10. special recreational
  11. research observation
  12. arboretum
  13. demonstration plots
  14. urban and residential walkways

All of these constitute low investment network to make the rich resources of the area available to a wide variety of users of quite different tastes, values, and levels of action.

Trails convert land to resources through the well-known economic concept of access. This is not sufficient, however, for they do have costs, and returns are needed. It will be unfair to require the trails group to bear the full burden of a positive income-to-cost of operation. Trails are the insurance against fire losses; they reduce forestry costs; and will provide inspection and security aids. They add beauty and increase land value (at least for sale.)

The general proposal is to develop a demonstration trail and along with that market trail building and restoration services. Research project funding will also be sought for overhaead contributions to the enterprise strength.

Computer aids to trail location will then be employed (e.g., slopes, blasting, use of existing trail segments, maximum viewscapes, erosion, and other factors.)

A wooden cross-trail open drainage device
Trail segments will be assigned priorities using GIS with design factors of slope aspect, nearness to exiating roads, viewscapes, rock and tthus trail building costs, stream crossing, hazzards, potential of vandalism, and probable intensity of use.

The concept advanced is that a team of well-equipped individuals will establish published time and cost records may some day create and conduct a national competition in trail building. Annual conference (perhaps with a contest) will be held. This team, through its own initiative and creativity, will learn by doing and create a science of trail construction.

There are many texts and articles available. We have prepared a preliminary Trail Handbook that may be improved, perhaps sold. Continued development, testing, and perfection of that book can provide direction for the group and produce a training document used in shortcourses taughjt by Stoneworm staff.

Using local education facilities and the field areas, groups from over the world can be housed, educated, and given demonstrations and actual field work on trail building.

There remain decisions and models to be created to help in decision making about optimum crew size, effective equipment, handling wet areas, switchback design, signs, optimum working distance from base camp before trail camps are used, computer aids, handling of explosives, rock crusher use, placement of shelters, base for various uses, trail inspection frequency, and many others.

Government work programs will increase and trail building may be a part of this

A trail-boss cadre must be trained and the Stoneworms is the group to do it.

Many 4-wheel drive vehicles will not be available for recreational use in the future and trail use will become a major interest.

The trails enterprise is one that is local and does work. In addition, it is a research and development group, perfecting its own work. It is also a demonstration and educational group. It attracts people for annual contests. It gets extra trail work done in demonstrations, tests, and contests. It uses the potential of the systems enterprise and enhances the potentials of the forestry, fire, recreation, research,wildlife and fishery enterprises. Licenses or several-day permits may be sold to allow hikers to use certain trails.

Scheduling of hikers may eventually be needed to assure high quality experiences and minimize overuse of camping areas. Marketing will be very important, but the opportunities for doing so are evident (TV spots, newspaper accounts, and dozens of outdoor and environmental magazines). Bus trips for school and other hikers can be sponsored. This can be counted as a promotional cost and the visitors encouraged to see and participate in the other resources of the greater enterprise.

National competitions can be created such as the Confederate Ridge Runner, a 50-mile in one day race; cross-country marathon; a combined horse riding, trail run, and highwall climbing challenge course. Special events can be sponsored, e.g. a wildflower week, in which lectures, etc., on wildflowers are available for those encouraged to see the spring spectacular; similarly a fall-color hike (with designed viewscapes) can be provided, and promoted along with other activities, sales, and use of facilities.

A nationally recognized trails school may be created to create and federal cuts may make this an opportune time to capture national leaders in trail equipment design and testing.

Ideas and concepts:

  1. Have a work uniform designed by Outfits.
  2. Employ and train at least two teams. Initiate competition between the two. Expand teams as resources and contracts become available.
  3. Develop representative fundamental trails networks.
  4. Obtain computer-aided design from Blair Jones or others in the Conservation Management Institute (Mr. Jeff Waldon - 231-7348) and assign work priorities.
  5. Acquire preliminary basic working equipment (and anticipate changes with experience).
  6. Seek out experts on recreational land use liability and acquire appropriate insurance, counsel, signing, and waiver forms for all area users.
  7. Work with the Fence Group (that is now assumed to also develop signs) for routed signs.
  8. Design several small bridges, and have those approved by an architectural enterprise. Some will be pleased with a troll-bridge idea and design.
  9. Offer benches, sculpture, and Special Japanese garden-like plots.
  10. Offer regional bird lists and lists of other creatures.
  11. Offer to have a plant list for the trail made (under contract.)
  12. Offer campsite developments along the trail.
  13. Work with and encourage the Avi group.
  14. Develop contracts with nursery enterprise for plants needed in esthetic developments, trail stabilization, and blocking "corner- cutting" hikers.
  15. Develop planting areas for moving specimen plants from the trail construction zone for later use or observation by users.
  16. Develop contracts with forestry enterprise for chips for trails where approprite (e.g. at mines, demo plots, research areas). Study the potentials in walnut mulch (see walnut vales) as a trail base.
  17. Explore use of horses and or mules in trail construction.
  18. Explore use of small horses and burros,lamas etc. in carrying equipment into and back from daily trail construction.
  19. Get basic cost-studies designed (and perhaps conducted)by Industrial Engineering group at Virginia Tech.
  20. Design a mobile work camp to minimize the cumulative average total costs (including accidents) per 100 meters of quality-weighted trail built.
  21. Hire or develop a trails maintenance (not construction) team. Separate their activities. Have them work against their own record for bonuses or other incentives. This too will be based on total costs per 100 meters of quality-weighted maintenance. Allow the group to subdivide or hire as appropriate to achieve efficiency of scale.
  22. Record and report individual's trails work in 100's of feet. Have annual awards or recognition for people with highest record of such units of quality-weighted work.
  23. Study trail density on public lands and compare it to local potentials.
  24. Use a leaf blower to blow duff and seeds from the upper edge of a newly cut trail onto the edge to revegetate it with natural or native plants.
  25. Conduct an annual trail builders and trail users convention. Collect fees for commercial area rentals (e.g. a tent to display hiking and camping equipment). Have demonstrations of equipment, trail building competition, mountain (highwall) climbing, safety, first aid, hikers' shortcourses (certificates and arm patches). Make annual awards presentations to best trail builder, the chief Shamir (Solomon's stoneworm).
  26. Coordinate teams with fire fighting, emergency activities training, and educational groups.
  27. Coordinate use of potential workers with rehabilitation community, elderly, and youth groups.
  28. Pathways to sacred places
    Coordinate special trail educational programs
  29. Develop a variety of marketing slogans.

See the Tread Trail Group draft proposal (2004).

Especially for Appalachian Trail and connector trails, the needs are

Possibilities…and responses to such needs:

  1. Write letter to Tazewell leaders supporting Rural System www.RuralSystem.com and Departure Project
  2. Discuss and implement Wildland Walkers (http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/aruralbusiness/walkers.htm)
  3. Discuss and plan for creating Stoneworms (http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/aruralbusiness/stoneworms.htm)
  4. Discuss and plan The Wildland Crew http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/aruralbusiness/wildlandcrew.htm)
  5. Discuss and initiate The Tred http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/aRuralBusiness/TreadTrailGroup.html
  6. Discuss Wildland Walkers, Tred, Wildland Crew, Stoneworms or their alternative dimensions including:
    1. Memberships with levels based on work, knowledge, trips, miles, GPS work, GIS work
    2. GIS projects
    3. Web site
    4. Research Integration and summaries with demonstration areas and project-stops with Park Service
    5. Ancillary trails to Rural System Tracts
    6. Bird Lists for the Trail segments
    7. GPSence units on the AT
    8. GPSence to raise money for trail work and improvements
    9. Trail marketing
    10. Monthly TV trail clip for news program public service work
    11. Advertising for footwear and equipment on the web site and publications
    12. Publications with sales (maps, stories, hints about the trail, what to see, excursions off the trail)
    13. Special trail food preparation in the County
    14. Trail recipes, lunches, sourdough, etc.
    15. Conferences at bed and breakfast places
    16. First aid and emergency procedures and rescue rehearsals for public demonstration
  7. Develop a "trial dogs " program
  8. Sell hiking staff (see notes)
  9. Develop several emphases (first aid, survival, nature study, watersheds, geology, GPSence, Lost)
  10. Promote the "Pledged" hiker, the well educated hiker with badge or emblem that lets owners and other know that he or she knows the "rules of the road"
  11. Provide minimum funding and appreciation programs for private landowners (at least those that have been vandalized)
  12. Develop a for-financial-gain program of equipment and clothing testing for manufacturers and "seal of approval" and study reports on the web
  13. Develop a program of "bird life lists" (and others) for specific Trail segments. Sell known species lists to hikers and others. Keep records on the web (slight competition)
  14. Develop computer GIS maps of trail maintenance progress for local workers as well as Trail users and as a means to encourage scheduled maintenance based on user-reported condition as well as history of treatment and typical needs for treatment
  15. Sell GIS maps of the trail segments - a book of 5 to 20 map combinations with descriptions to help understand and appreciate the trail and its conditions (slopes, aspects, solar, geology, snow depths in winter, temperatures, precipitation, species richness
  16. Promote hiker programs (at least services) with local motels, bed-and-breakfast and special restaurants; provide advertising, brochures, information, short hikes for staff and owners
  17. Develop a security program with cell phones, wireless communications, police contacts and "unmarked" security hikers on patrol for the modern urbanite "without a clue"
  18. Write a booklet for sale for the modern Trail hiker, what's expected, the rules, the goods and "bads," the etiquette, the abuses to cleanup and change, what to encourage, and advantages of the Trail and appeal for assistance - financial, ideas, etc.
  19. Develop dated events so that a group or family "tradition" can be created - the spring wild flower kike, the fall-color hike, the late fall "bag-it" hike for trash pickup to watch the amounts decrease over time as the programs become known, the annual TV report on the "Condition of The Trail," a standardized score completed by several respected observers over 3-4 trail segments, the same each year.
  20. Develop extensive web resources for the trail including images, materials on things seen, local connections, ancillary trails, suggested drop-off and pick-up segments.
  21. Develop a hunters and hunting program (safety, clothing, awareness of the Trail, etc.)
  22. Develop a program (local conference?) on back-country drug-plant production, illegal harvesting of mushrooms, and illegal take of wild plants and all of their Trail connections.

An Alternative System for Campsites, Trails, and Facilities

A modified general system replacing or supplementing the Limits of Acceptable Change and the Visitor Impact Management systems is proposed and seems significantly different from that proposed by Marion in 1993. It includes likely changes in area use by people (e.g., layoffs, fossil fuel effects on use rates, and population change and available funds for restoration and protection (e.g., fences and signs), or animals. Once type three objectives are stated clearly, the desired structures and processes can be written (these may be called "standards" and definitions seem to vary. They may be measurable conditions such as depth of litter or an objective such as to have depth of litter greater than 4 inches over 90% of the area). The processes (environmental, social) causing any observed change away from the desired condition can be described. These are described in terms of things that might possible be changed. They have been part of "carrying capacity" analyses but numbers, use rates, season of use, and vegetative site conditions all relate to and influence "capacity." In the single conventional feedback work, the conditions are monitored, compared to the standards, and if significantly different, then action may be taken to bring them to the desired condition. Time, risk, knowledge, funds, and labor are facts needed to be able then to decide whether the work should be done to move the observed system closer to the desired condition. If there are net positive potentials, including ability to continue protection, the work (action objectives) can be implemented.

Robert H. Giles, Jr., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus,
College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA home: 504 Rose Avenue Blacksburg, VA 24060
January, 2005

Go to top of page.

Other Resources:
[ HOME | Lasting Forests (Introductions) | Units of Lasting Forests | Ranging | Guidance | Forests | Gamma Theory | Wildlife Law Enforcement Systems | Antler Points | Species-Specific Management (SSM) | Wilderness and Ancient Forests | Appendices | Ideas for Development | Disclaimer]
Quick Access to the Contents of LastingForests.com

This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision October 17, 2002.