Presentation To Bankhead Liaison Panel

Presentation to the Bankhead Liaison Panel January 17, 2008

Screenshot of the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club website at www.sipseywilderness.org

Timeline

Nov, 1997 Tri-J Contractors begin construction on Trail 210.

Jan, 1998 Trail 210 is completed.

1999 Pine beetle epidemic begins.

Feb and March, 2000-Tri-J returns to clear fallen trees from the trail at a cost of over $24,000.

Summer, 2000 Pine beetle epidemic peaks. 95%+ Loblolly pines along trail are dead or dying. Trail is completely blocked. Future of Trail 210 is uncertain.

Feb, 2001 Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club adopts Trail 210.

Jan, 2005 After four years and 2,400 volunteer hours, trail is cleared of the bulk of fallen trees. Trail is open, but there are still many obstacles.

April, 2007 Trail is cleared of all major obstacles. True “maintenance” can begin.

Timeline

Volunteer Work

Followed USFS wilderness rules concerning tools and trail work.

Cooperated with USFS to obtain CPR certification, and crosscut saw certification.

Reported volunteer hours to USFS annually.

Average about 450 hours per year

3,463 Total Volunteer Hours

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Aerial photo of the Mitchell Ridge area pre-pine beetle infestation. The dark areas are the extensive pine plantations while they were still alive.

In this later photo, after the pine beetle epidemic and after the death of the pine plantations, the same area has fewer pine trees. The blue line is a GPS track of Trail 210.

A photo of a overstocked pine plantation. This photo is from the Bugwood Network website, and was not actually taken in the Sipsey Wilderness. Most of the pine plantations in the wilderness were made of up of slightly larger trees than these. .

The drought stress trees in the overstocked pine plantations were devastated by the southern pine beetle. Here, two different species are pictured next to a grain of rice. This photo is from the Bugwood Network website.

The beetles bore under the bark and at the beetle entry points, globs of pine sap may form.

Individual trees in the process of dying from pine beetle infestation .

A fast spreading beetle spot. This photo is not from the Sipsey Wilderness, but shows what the initial infestation would have probably looked like.

After tree death. This photo was not taken in the Sipsey Wilderness, but there were many areas that looked like this a few months after the beetles killed the trees.

This is an actual picture taken on the Mitchell Ridge, Trail 210, during one of the trail maintenance outings. This is a “before” shot. Keep a mental image as you advance to the next slide, which is an “after” shot.

“ After” photo. Club members clear a section that passes through a pine plantation.

When the central portions of the trail were being cleared, overnight camping reduced travel time to the interior segments of the eight mile trail.

The famous “Golden Log”. We anticipated reaching the last log that blocked the trail, and nicknamed it the Golden Log after the Golden Spike on the Transcontinental Railroad. When we actually reached the log, it was actually quite golden. The golden color was due to fungal growth, but the Golden Log is a landmark that will be remembered for years .

Members from the Bridge assisted during one trail maintenance outing.