Orientation, Lake of Three Fires and the Trails Summit!

What a wild month! June has seen the trail crew all across the state of Iowa, from the southwestern corner at Waubonsie State Park to the Mississippi river at Dubuque, and many places in between. Work began at our primary summer work site: Lake of Three Fires State Park, the summer crew survived the rigors of AmeriCorps orientation at Springbrook, and we helped pull off one of the biggest events of the year: the first Iowa Trails Summit (many props to Delilah for her vast contributions to this event).

June started off with AmeriCorps Orientation. The first order of business was a volunteer event at Rock Creek State Park near Kellogg Iowa. There the trail crew and members of other Keepers of the Land programs removed invasive species such as Autumn Olive (an invasive shrub). We then made our way to Springbrook Conservation Education Center. It was there that all of the Keepers of the Land members spent the rest of the week, going through various educational programs (very similar to the programs we crew leaders went through last fall).

All of the 2010 AmeriCorps/DNR Keepers of the Land members

The next week was (mostly) spent at Lake of Three Fires State Park. This park will be our primary work site for summer. Various factors have caused extensive damage to the trails and trail crew will have its work cut out for it in order to restore them by the end of the summer. Due to legal constraints, we are also unable to excavate the trails farther down than a few inches, which limits our options. The first week was therefore spent hauling in gravel and excavating what we could with our walk behind bobcat and our skid loader.

Rick and Adam load rock into the mule...

...which is then unloaded into a HUGE gaping hole on the trail. Just one example of the many problems on the trails at Lake of Three Fires.

Unfortunately we were plagued with rainy weather, and the already soggy trails were even more difficult to negotiate. This left us scrambling for options to keep everyone busy. The crew split into small groups to tackle various errands and tasks, within and outside the park. I assigned several people to make phone calls to local businesses in order to procure food and drink donations for the next week's volunteer events. I then took advantage of several downed trees in our campsite (one struck by lightning the night before about 100 meters from our campsite!) to conduct a chainsaw practice session. After these options were exhausted, we again broke into groups in order to find work at other nearby parks.

Cody stands next to his handiwork after a chainsaw practice session. Note the kevlar chaps he's wearing. Safety first!

While a small group of us stayed to work on the muddy trails, the majority of the crew was sent to the nearby Green Valley State Park to finish siding the check in station we built last winter/spring. At the end of the week, a small detachment was sent to Waubonsie to work on the tent platforms we had work on last winter. Work consisted primarily of painting and a small amount of carpentry. Though this is a rough start to our labors at Three Fires, it is training the entire crew to be flexible and adaptable in a job that is at the mercy of the weather.

After an extended weekend, the crew met at Hickory Hills Park south of Waterloo to attend the first Iowa Trails Summit. This event was an impressive undertaking, intended to bring together leaders and members of various trail user groups. Representatives of mountain bikers, ATV/Dirt Bikers, Hikers, Equestrians, Volksmarchers, Kayakers/Canoers and other user groups were invited to the two day event, which took place at UNI and the Riverview Recreation Area in Waterloo. The day before the summit was a volunteer event held at Riverview Recreation area, a small park created out of a reclaimed landfill. Trail crew constructed several small trails for use by hikers/volksmarchers, and then spent the rest of the day cleaning trash and junk off of the Mountain biking trail. This was a significant undertaking and much of the trash had to be removed using a backhoe loader.

Delilah signs up one of our volunteers at Riverview Recreation area. Food and snacks visible here were donated by the local HyVee. Thanks!

A detachment of the crew (and a volunteer) returns after clearing a section of trail for the summit.

Nothing like a well earned break!

Josh works on clearing trash off of the mountain bike trail.

A backhoe loader helps us remove trash.

The pile of trash we pulled off of the mountain bike trail. Nasty!

Friday was the first day of the summit, and took place at UNI. The day was open to the public, and representatives of various public and private organizations (such as the Iowa DNR, Sierra Club, Trees Forever and so many more) were invited to attend and participate. The day was divided into four (approximately) hour long sessions, each covering a different trail related topic (such as planning and funding a trail, or accommodating multiple user groups). Each session was presided over by a moderator and four panelists, each an expert representative of a different trail user group. The moderator and panelists each provided a ten minute talk about an issue related to the overall session topic, and the entire panel then participated in a question and answer session. The entire day was very educational, and provided insight into the many perspectives held by a diverse cross section of trail user groups. It was also an excellent day for the myriad organizations that are invested in trails to network and coordinate with each other. At the end of the day, a barbecue dinner was provided.

Peter Komendowski provides the opening remarks at first day of the Trails Summit at UNI.

Our first panel of the day.

Mark provides some remarks during a break in the sessions.

Panelists were given 10 minutes to provide as much information as possible...

...and they made the most of it.





Leah and Molly take the opportunity to network during a break.

Question and answer sessions were held after all panelists had finished their speeches.

Leah takes the opportunity to ask a question.

Pat Boddy, deputy director of the Iowa DNR moderates a panel.

Senator Bill Dotzler provides the closing remarks.

Saturday was the outdoor family day at Riverview Recreation Area. Representatives from many organizations and user groups held events and sessions in the park, such as ATV rides, equestrian demonstrations, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking and many many others. Trail Crew members had various duties, from directing traffic and parking to interpretive trail work. We were also able to participate in the festivities and events. Despite being the first Iowa Trails Summit, there was a substantial turnout and it was a very successful day (particularly for Delilah who was so heavily invested in the organization of the summit).

ATVers offer rides across the off road course.

Molly tries to walk a straight line with impaired vision goggles designed to simulate being drunk. They were very effective to say the least.

A tiny dirt bike. So cute!

Sisters prepare to go kayaking...

...and race on the way back!

Alycia Carlsbourg and Omar provide equestrian safety demonstrations.

The Jaycees provide food for all!

After a long week's work, Adam is completely pooped. ZzZzZzZz.

The remainder of June (and theoretically as much of the summer as we can manage) will be spent working at Lake of Three Fires. More updates to come!