Trail Maintenance

This page suggests trail maintenance efforts that can improve the preserve experience for patrons. Most of the efforts described below are related to getting water off of the trails and adding signage.

The trails are well marked, and in general, in fairly good shape. For about a month in the spring many parts of the trails north of the red loop are impassable due to water accumulating on them and places of drainage streams intersecting the trails. Even in the wettest times of spring, most of the green trail is in good shape.

The following pic is a culvert placed between markers #10 and #11 that works perfectly. It is about 10 feet long and a foot in diameter. We could use more of these (discussed on this page).

A major erosion control project was conducted in 2017 that regraded the road just north of the main gate where the road takes a dip downward. This was done to control rain water flow that severely eroded the road and made it impassable with vehicles.

A large amount of stone was brought in and placed both along the eastern edge of the road and in a series of 4-5 berms crossing the trail. See the "before" picture below, which shows water accumulating on the road and flowing down it. I'll add an "after" picture shortly.

#1 Spencer Boundary signs and gate. There is no preserve signage, including no "no hunting signs" marking the field adjacent to Spencer Road. The presence of an abundance of deer in the preserve, three hunting blinds in and around the field, and the area's history as a hunting spot, underscore the need for "no hunting" signs. Those who have hunted in this area in the past likely entered through the field.

I suggest adding the following

    • "No hunting" and a preserve boundary sign at the northern edge of the field visible from Spencer, at the vehicle opening to the field (due east of marker #10).
    • "No hunting" at the southern edge of the field visible from Spencer, due east of marker #8.
    • "No hunting" mid-way between the first two signs visible from Spencer.
    • A gate on Spencer road at the very northern end to the Spencer field (due east of marker #10). If anyone thinks of four-wheeling in the preserve, or parking their truck/car for hunting, this is likely where they would enter.

#2 Improvements with culverts. Adding a number of culverts

#3 Trail is lower than surrounding area. Some sections of the preserve's trails were once traversed by a vehicle. It made ruts that pushed dirt up on the sides of the trails. As a result, some of the trails are the local low spot so the water drains and fills them. From marker #5 to #4 to #8 is especially troublesome. On the very wet day of April 4, 2017, these sections of the trail were impassable with some filled with 6 inches of water (see below). On these days detours through the adjacent woods is needed. A bobcat could get into these trails once it has dried out to knock down the sides of the trail and regrade. If interested, the home directly north of the park on Spencer road was purchased by a small pond construction company. They have a bobcat. Maybe you could encourage them to volunteer a little time and a bobcat? The worst area is immediately south and east of marker #4 (even in late April after much of the rest of the trails are drying up the trail is a small shallow pond at this point). The trail should likely be rerouted since many months of the year this section will be impassable.

#4 Vehicle access from Spencer Road. Maintenance vehicle access to markers #9 and #10 would be helpful to make it easier to pull out the two hunting blinds at the western edge of the field on Spencer, the pallets at marker #11 and the "ghost truck". Realistically, vehicle access isn't possible in the spring when the ground is sodden. Along the very north edge of the preserve in the field, there are deep tire ruts that are a few hundred feet away from Spencer road. The picture below is looking west with marker #10 at the tree line straight ahead. Grading this when it dries would make vehicle access easier when it is dry.

would go along way to drain water off of the trails. Water drains from east to west down the ridge and accumulates in about three areas that turn into small streams in spring which wash out the trail and makes it impassable for a number of weeks.

If installed, these culverts would make the trail from #5 to #12 passable even in the wetness of spring. The picture above is an example of one of the areas where a culvert is needed. If we could get these culverts in spring it would make the ground easier to dig and allow us to know exactly where to place the culvert. Although not mandatory, culverts would improve drainage in a variety of places:

    • Just south of marker #8
    • Just south of marker #5 on the green ridge trail
    • 2 culverts for a drainage stream that heads west and cuts across both legs of the trail from marker #5 to marker #6
    • Between markers #6 and #12 on the green trail.

#5 Installing vehicle culvert. It looks as though this large vehicle culvert was dropped in the field at the very northern edge of the preserve at Spencer. It should either be either installed or removed.