Maintaining the Kingdom Trails
- Details
- Created on Friday, 24 April 2015 14:22
- Written by Tom Weineck
BURKE - With summer almost here, that means biking and hiking trails will be opening up shortly. But in the meantime, Kingdom Trails still has a lot of maintenance work that needs to be done on their trails.
Kingdom Trails Manager, CJ Scott said there is a quite a bit of work which needs to get done. “There is never any down time, there is always stuff to do,” he said.
Some of the things they need to get done are clearing brush from the trails, cutting up trees that fell down, and checking drains on the trails. Kingdom Trails Executive Director Tim Tierney said, “Currently, we are out there cutting down trees, checking for erosion on the trails.”
This is all apart of the process according to Trail Foreman Keenan Chenail, “We go out scouting the trails to see what condition they are in.”
Checking the trails helps gauge what ones need more work than others. Trails with erosion and damaged drains will need more work. “We see how it held up with spring run off and if the water bars held up. If any drainage ditches held up and making sure water went off the trail not down it,” said Scott.
Water flowing down the trail could lead to erosion and that is something Chenail and Kingdom Trails want to prevent. Chenail said, “We have gone to great lengths to make sure water is not an issue for when we are trying to operate.”
Those great lengths do not always mean success as Tierney said, “You can’t do enough in preventing water from being on the trails.”
Preventing erosion and water on the trails are only parts of the job for the maintenance crew as they also have to remember the main reason why they are doing their jobs. “Resource protection is very high, we do not want to be a detriment to a resource. We are proactive in drainage so they are sustainable… they will be better for the environment,” said Tierney.
Checking the trails helps giving the trail maintenance crew a good idea into what they will have to do to make sure they can open as soon as possible. When Kingdom Trails opens, it will help bring some business into the local economy.
Louis Bushey of Vermont Forests, Parks, and Recreations said this industry [mountain biking and hiking] represents a major portion of our economy. Chris Hibshman, the Village Sport Store Co-Owner, believes the industry brings in over 40,000 visitors to the area.
These 40,000 people would not be able to ride without the support of local residents, who allow Kingdom Trails to run through their yards.
“Our landowners are our most valuable asset,” said Scott.
“We do everything we can to make them happy, even if it includes shutting down a trail,” said Chenail.