4.4. SR 02-18-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Woodland Trails Park My volunteer work in Woodland Trails Park started in 1989 with the clearing of trees and brush for a small cross-country ski trail system in the park. We used my Ford tractor and brush mower to clear and maintain the trails. The next year I disced and seeded the trails. Other major Woodlands projects have included: After the trails were paved in the park, I organized crews of volunteers offand on for most of a summer to place dirt along the trail edges and seed them. This was a major undertaking that involved hundreds of volunteer hours, but the result was fantastic. For the last seven years I have been active in native vegetation improvements in the park. We have currently restored or reconstructed six sites within the park totaling about .twenty0 acres. These projects include site preparation, seeding, two or three mowings during the first year after seeding, watering to promote germination and to prevent loss of young plants, and hand weed removal. Each spring I lead volunteer crews who conduct prairie burns on portions of these areas to help maintain them. Each fall we hand collect seed to use in other restoration projects in and out of the park. The last two springs I have planted and maintained 250 trees and shrubs in the park in an effort to screen the new development at the golf course from the park. Other projects include annual trail mowing for summer events, park and trails signing, and fencing to control unauthorized access. Cross Country Ski Trails 1989 - 2002 Since starting cross country ski trails in Woodland Trails Park in 1989, I have led volunteer crews that have built and maintained 15km of trails in Woodland Trials Park, the Great Northern Railroad Trail, Top-of-the-World Park, the Elk River Country Club and adjoining private land. Each spring from 1989 to 1999 we would work 6 to 8 weekends clearing a new segment of trail. This work included cutting and removing trees (we estimate somewhere between 3000 and 4000 trees of varying sizes in those 10 years), brush mowing, stump cutting, stump removal and final brush mowing. Each fall I mow portions of the trails to prepare them for the season and coordinate volunteers that remove downed trees, branches and trail edge brush, as well as dig newly exposed rocks and fill in the holes with soil. Since i998 we have been leveling and reseeding sections of the previously built trail to improve them for low snow skiing conditions. All of the current trails should be leveled and reseeded by 2008.