Now that the collective cheers have died down, here is the great news regarding Trexler.
Overview
Lehigh County, Wildlands Conservancy and the Game Commission are working together on a project to remove 220 acres of autumn olive and restore nesting grasslands in the preserve. The project is being driven by an initiative at the Wildlands Conservancy to specifically restore nesting areas for large variety of ground nesting birds native to eastern Pennsylvania. The Kestrel is key among the list. The Game Commission will be running the project which includes removal of the autumn olive and planting of native grasses and maintenance of the area for the next several years. The Commission will be funding the project through a series of state grant money specific for invasive species removal and grassland restoration. Lehigh county, in exchange has agreed to continue to allow hunting at the Preserve for at least 10 yrs.
Target area
The target location is a 220 acres on the North Range. The game commission has installed grasslands in the adjacent State Game lands 205 and has been successful in attracting the desired birds and other wildlife. The intention is to enlarge the area. As many of you know, we have a number of trails running through the Autumn olive on the North Range and “KIlldozer” will be affected by the work.
Methodology
The program involves several steps – this is not for our comment but for our information (success or failure isn’t up for debate) 1) remove of the Autumn Olive with mechanical equipment and immediate plant grasses/wildflowers and forbs. 2) Divide the 220 acres into 10 zones for future maintenance and 3) Conduct periodic controlled burns and replanting in rotating zones over a 3-6 year period to keep the AO from re-establishing.
What this means to MTB bikers/users
This affects us in a number of ways both long and short term. Wildlands is very sensitive to the impact on the trials and will be working with us to ensure that we can maintain trail continuity and have no “dead-end” trails.
• Short term – Naturally users will not be allowed in the area while the work is actually being done. Certain trails, particularly “Killdozer” will be affected. It is not yet clear to what extent because the Game Commission has not yet identified what type of mechanical equipment will be used. We have another meeting with the commission set for later in July when more details are expected to be available. The trails now, with their 25-35ft corridor cannot be put back because they will act as a fire break for the controlled burns. The Commission will not allow a condition where people would have to be sent into a burn area to restart a fire – safety first. We explained that the wide corridor was dictate by the autumn olive and a typical MTb trail is only 18” wide. The Commission made note and we will discuss further at the next meeting. In principal, they seemed OK with trails as long as they did not interfere with the burns.
• Long Term – Naturally, we will not be able to use trails in active burn areas and we still need to discuss with the Commission how soon after a burn we can enter an area. The burns are not expected to damage the trails and will help significantly with any corridor clearing – possibly eliminating it altogether!!. As mentioned the primary goal of the project is to attract Kestrels and other wildlife. The Wildlands does not yet know how biking/hiking/trail usage will affect that. The ultimate decision for any future trails rests with the County but they will be advised by the Wildlands who will determine the location of replacement trails based upon the exact nesting species, their desirability, and sensitivity to trail usage. We have a meeting set for early in June with the Wildlands to discuss this and other details of the project. Mountain bikers have the smallest footprint of any user group.
Additional Trails
Another key objective of the Wildlands is to make wildlife/nature accessible and trails are a key component of that. The County and The Wildlands recognizes VMB contribution to Trexler and fully appreciates the massive volunteer effort that made the Preserve “accessible” . They fully understand it would not have been possible without our efforts. Mountain bikers are now the most important user group in the Preserve and we were given this opportunity to learn about the project before the general public. Understanding mountain biking’s importance and the desire to encourage other user groups, we discussed options for expanding the trail network – with both bike specific trails and family friendly multi-user trails. With that said, The County and Wildlands will work with VMB to maintain the length and “complexity” of the current trails. We briefly discussed a larger master plan for a trail network and mountain bike grant money to make it happen. Again, the County and Wildlands both want more trails but trail design will play an important role in making them materialize. VMB will continue working with both parties to coordinate the planning of this and other projects.
Timing
The Commission does not yet have the money for the project but is fully prepared to apply for the grants. They will begin the application project within the next 2-4 months. Once the grant money is available, they will solicit bids from various contractors for the removal and restoration and work could begin as early as September/October (it also may never happen). We asked to be informed of the start date so we can plan a celebration festival to watch the autumn olive get ripped out.
Key Take-a-Ways
• Autumn Olive is being removed!!
• Mountain bikers are a very significant user group and the County is appreciative of our efforts and presence.
• This is The Wildlands’ project, not a VMB project. We were informed out of courtesy and for better or worse, we really don’t have a say in the project.
• Wildlands wants more trails, VMB wants more trails and the County wants more users. Yes, it is that simple.
• Certain MTb trails will be affected and we have to work hard to make sure we maintain a usable trail network. This is a key time to get the word out and act as a cohesive group to ensure our interests are addressed.
• The trails will change, period. Change sucks but accept it. If you like one particular bump or berm, go take a picture of it. It may go away. It is VMB’s goal to have other trails to replace any lost trails.
• VMB’s official stance is that we fully support the removal of autumn olive and continued mountain biking at The Preserve. We have far more to gain from the project than we can lose. Being a belligerent objector isn’t going to foster the cooperation necessary for additional MTb trails. See point #5
The next club meeting will be at the Environmental Center so we can get into more details.
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