Groups Collaborate to Accomplish Important Restoration Work on Blodgett Overlook Trail.
By Rachel Kaufman
The Blodgett Overlook trail received a much needed restorative makeover Saturday October 2nd when volunteers with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to connecting the community to wilderness through stewardship projects, closed off environmentally detrimental switchback cutoffs with educational signs, pulaskis, shovels and good clean muscle power.
The Blodgett Overlook trail is a popular 1.5 mile hike west of Hamilton in the Bitterroot Mountains. The trail switchbacks gradually along mostly open hillsides. Unfortunately, recreators eager to shorten their hike, have taken shortcuts between the switchbacks, creating several steep trails that go straight up the mountain side. Cutting switchbacks leads to many negative consequences for wildlife, aquatic health and the ecological integrity of the forests.
Cutting off switchbacks removes existing ground cover which leads to erosion. Erosion of sediments and pollutants into streams and rivers can damage aquatic habitat by covering spawning sites, destroying food sources and reducing water clarity.
Erosion also reduces the amount of nutrients available for native plants. The loss of ground cover, top soil and the soil compaction reduces the amount of nutrients available for plants. It also decreases a soil's infiltration and water holding capacities, as well as permeability for root growth. These conditions reduce native plant’s ability to re-vegetate. In some cases, non-native species may establish and further stress a native plant community.
Wilderness Steward, Rachel Kaufman and volunteers Kelsey McMullen and Alisha Caspary began their restoration work by digging three sign post holes at the beginning and end of two of the most eroded and lengthy cutoffs. They installed temporary signs that implore hikers to stay on the trail. The Forest Service will replace the temporary laminated sign with more permanent routed oak signs in the future.
They rested little in their restoration efforts despite the unusually hot October sun. Alisha used a Pulaski to loosen compacted and gullied soil in a 250 foot long cut off. Kelsey and Rachel scrounged the nearby hill side for downed trees and woody debris to cover the loosened soil. The cover will prevent hikers from walking on the fragile soil as well as shade and shelter germinating seedlings from sun and heavy rainfall. Their efforts will create a more complex surface that will slow water runoff and prevent erosion.
Over time, if hikers stay on the trail, the area will regenerate and a more natural and healthy ecosystem will prevail. “The views are more spectacular from the trail. If you take the established trail instead of the cutoff you may walk a little further at a more moderate incline but you will also be treated with a unique view of the hanging glacial valley of Canyon Creek,” commented Rachel. She also noted that volunteers and committed recreators can make a huge difference on our public lands by spending a day volunteering with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation. Visit www.selwaybitterroot.org.
By Rachel Kaufman
The Blodgett Overlook trail received a much needed restorative makeover Saturday October 2nd when volunteers with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to connecting the community to wilderness through stewardship projects, closed off environmentally detrimental switchback cutoffs with educational signs, pulaskis, shovels and good clean muscle power.
The Blodgett Overlook trail is a popular 1.5 mile hike west of Hamilton in the Bitterroot Mountains. The trail switchbacks gradually along mostly open hillsides. Unfortunately, recreators eager to shorten their hike, have taken shortcuts between the switchbacks, creating several steep trails that go straight up the mountain side. Cutting switchbacks leads to many negative consequences for wildlife, aquatic health and the ecological integrity of the forests.
Cutting off switchbacks removes existing ground cover which leads to erosion. Erosion of sediments and pollutants into streams and rivers can damage aquatic habitat by covering spawning sites, destroying food sources and reducing water clarity.
Erosion also reduces the amount of nutrients available for native plants. The loss of ground cover, top soil and the soil compaction reduces the amount of nutrients available for plants. It also decreases a soil's infiltration and water holding capacities, as well as permeability for root growth. These conditions reduce native plant’s ability to re-vegetate. In some cases, non-native species may establish and further stress a native plant community.
Wilderness Steward, Rachel Kaufman and volunteers Kelsey McMullen and Alisha Caspary began their restoration work by digging three sign post holes at the beginning and end of two of the most eroded and lengthy cutoffs. They installed temporary signs that implore hikers to stay on the trail. The Forest Service will replace the temporary laminated sign with more permanent routed oak signs in the future.
They rested little in their restoration efforts despite the unusually hot October sun. Alisha used a Pulaski to loosen compacted and gullied soil in a 250 foot long cut off. Kelsey and Rachel scrounged the nearby hill side for downed trees and woody debris to cover the loosened soil. The cover will prevent hikers from walking on the fragile soil as well as shade and shelter germinating seedlings from sun and heavy rainfall. Their efforts will create a more complex surface that will slow water runoff and prevent erosion.
Over time, if hikers stay on the trail, the area will regenerate and a more natural and healthy ecosystem will prevail. “The views are more spectacular from the trail. If you take the established trail instead of the cutoff you may walk a little further at a more moderate incline but you will also be treated with a unique view of the hanging glacial valley of Canyon Creek,” commented Rachel. She also noted that volunteers and committed recreators can make a huge difference on our public lands by spending a day volunteering with the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation. Visit www.selwaybitterroot.org.
1 comment:
Well done! The hiking sounds great too! :)
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