Tread lightly: road maintenance

[azskyrider]

On another forum there was a post about a person who came up with the idea to use his electric hedge trimmer and his 110V outlet to trim excessive growth that encrouched on established but lightly used roads. The idea being maintenance while still conserving the tread lightly theme. There was some interesting posts.

I personally value the peoples opinions on this forum as I think there are a lot of great guys and gals here with a lot of knowledge and experience in this department. I wonder what your thoughts and experiences are. I hope we can keep the discussion to a postive and respectful level without insults.

I have been on some roads that have been hardly ridden on and each year the vegetation seems to grow until it almost makes the road non existant. What is your or your organization viewpoint?

Cheers,

 

[articulate]

I have been on some roads that have been hardly ridden on and each year the vegetation seems to grow until it almost makes the road non existant. What is your or your organization viewpoint?

Cheers,

I sort of don't know what to post except for this....

While exploring FR 2466 in the Tonto National Forest (it skirts the eastern edge of Devils Canyon), my group found an off-shoot road that seemed to get us closer to the edge of the canyon. The road became very tight with brush, as if it hadn't been travelled in a decade.

We felt that the Sonoran wanted it back, and was taking it back whether we liked it or not, so we apologized and went back to the main road. This is an obscure instance though. But sometimes the best thing for the land is to leave it alone.

It is a "narrow path" deciding which roads ought to be cleared of overgrowth. There's a chance that if you need an electric hedge trimmer, you ought to have some authorization - or notify the forest service about the section in question. Especially because it sounds like you're going to produce a lot of trimmings with an electric tool (what would one do with all of those?). Many of us carry small clippers to trim back some branches, though.

I don't know....interesting.

 

[azskyrider]

At some forest service roads and power lines roads I would run into a bush growing in the middle portion of the road where vehicle tires do not usually travel. These bushes can grow larger and its stem thicker. Should one pull it out from its roots while it is young in order to clear the road or let it grow and have the vehicle run over it which at that point could cause a less appealing view?

Some triming might have some positive notes.

1) It can help people to stay honest and using the road instead of by passing it and creating another road. Sorta like mud holes on the road where vehicles have ventured off road and causing new by pass roads around it.

2) Trimming can be better for the tree or bush growing from the side of the road than having the branch break or split from its base causing a potential disease problem. Some of us do our own or hire landscapers. Would it not be better to take this maintenance method off road?

3) clean roads makes for a more safe and enjoyable excursion. Less chances of getting a flat tire from a poke of a tree branch and keeping the vehicle to staying on the road instead of guessing if you are on the road. Guessing can lead to running over a rock or sliding off the edge if you are on a ridge.

I have run into many published roads that over time have had significant vegetation growth that the road seems to be almost non existant. I feel worse driving through it as it then leaves a trail like if a jugernaut went through it. What is left behind might be seen as if we were not "treading lightly" even though it was a road before.

Thanks for your comments. I wonder what everyone else would do or if they have come across that situtation. If we leave it be then that is just one more road that we can no longer enjoy.

Cheers,

 

[awalter]

Let's not "landscape" the outback. Let Mother Nature have her way.:clapsmile

 

[Brian McVickers]

I would say that if you are on an established track that is clear but happen uppon one random lone branch that is overgrown then it would be ok to cut that one branch. You could also have someone hold it out of the way while you pass. But if you need an electric hedge trimmer I would turn around there are plenty of other tracks to explore.

Last summer we took a trial near Vulture Mountain north of Surprize AZ. There were several established looking tracks in front of us and we chose one that went in the direction we wanted. After a while we came to a small hill with a tree branch growing right across the track. We had saws and other tools to hack it away but instead we chose to turn around and backtrack 20 minutes to find another route. Obviously no one had used that track in a long while and since we did not know where it was taking us we figured to leave it alone. We also had the time to turn around, if it had been an emergency or our only way out I would have politely relieved the tree of its overgrowth!

I worry that if everyone got out there with an electric hedge trimmer and hacked away at their own discression there would be little left!:ar15:

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

One thing I don't think I saw brought up is the possibility of starting a fire under your truck from the extremely hot cat. converter. If I'm on a trail that is overgrown in the middle.....I make sure I keep moving and never park over tall grass etc.

I carry a small hand clipper (like you would prune a rose bush with) and a small folding hand saw.......for the occasional pin striper branch that sticks out. But that's the extent of my trail maint.

I would certainly vote.....No Weed Wackers.

 

[azskyrider]

Thanks for the great posts. One can learn a lot from other peoples experiences.


I did not mean to imply to use hedge trimmers but rather should designated MARKED off roads be maintained to be useable for future use? Would making a clean cut or trimming (any tool mechanical or electric) be better for the bush or tree than just plowing through and possibly breaking the branch? Wouldn't this put more stress and possibly disease the tree?

My off road experience is limited to mostly traveling on marked (forest service)/mapped (powerlines) roads for safety and environmental reasons. I understand that the private land owner or forest service can not keep up with all the off road maintenance so I wonder if a proactive attempt to limit the maintenance to designated roads a bad thing and what one should do if they come upon a designated road that has vegetation growth.

I have come upon some nice scenery on these roads that would be a shame if they were lost.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...I did not mean to imply to use hedge trimmers but rather should designated MARKED off roads be maintained to be useable for future use?...

Absolutely!!!

Work with the local land manager (be it Forest Service, BLM, etc.). We (Utah 4 Wheel Drive Association) have "working agreements" so to speak with many of our local trails to "user maintain" them. This includes blocking bypasses, trimming trees and removing deadfall...

Stewardship and user maintainance of trails is crucial to their existence. When I see a trail that is overgrown... it shouts "promote me"

 

[Nullifier]

Well I run river trips through a preserve. My persective is that mother nature needs a little help here and there. My company is the only organisation private or government that keeps up the water way portion of the preserve. We clean all trash and clear a route to help accesability.

Our philosophy is simple. Maintain a path wide enough for paddlecraft, and trim asthetically (i think that is spelled right LOL). Cut vegitation is palced out of the flow and large logs are secured into areas where they will not float off and become a challenge later.

Our local 4WD trails down here are alot different then what's out west. out trails get really overgrown with down trees, low branches (substantial size) and thick brush. I carry a chain saw and clippers on the truck with me always. I've actually thought about electric ones LOL. Not with the intention of clearing the route from all vegitation over growth. But to deal with blockages that would encourage people to start trail blazing around. Most of our trails are literally as wide as the vehicle so if you open a door it will be opened into the brush. I do not mind this however sometimes you need to trim stuff back. I think in the long run it is better to maintain the established route then let it over grow and leave the temptation of trailblazing. I think that as responsable outdoor people we can recognise potential trouble and and tack care of it before it becomes a problem both for access and for people doing stupid stuff to overcome the problem.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Grim Reaper]

My 4x4 club is very active with the local FS. We teach the FS Sawer's chain saw class. We do trail maintenance on the Beasleyknob OHV.

As was pointed out....Talk to your local FS/BLM rangers.

If it is a designated trail then usually they have no problems with maintains in the form of brush control. Generally we get two guys with sawer's license and walk each side of the trail trimming back. Then we get a second pass with two guys riding in a truck the clear the higher up areas. Those without sawer's license and proper gear are going at it with long loppers, machete's and bow saws.

And by all means if you do trail maintenance you MUST work with the local Ranger. You can bring money to that trail system. There is a program called ISTEA (Intermodial Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) http://www.istea.org/ This program does matching funds from Federal tax coffers (from fuel taxes on gasoline and Diesel). The way it matches is you document how many hours you worked, how far you drove, what tools you used even your boots and gloves. You get that information to the Ranger. they turn that into the Feds and they get money back to be put into that trail system.

As for your question about the tool.....Chain saw you must have a Sawer's license...hedge trimmer.....I would say it would be fine but it might be something to ask the local Ranger about.

Now those have a pretty healthy draw.....if its a factory inverter I doubt its going to have the muscle. You are going to need something in the 2000watt range to handle a powerful hedge trimmer.

 

[calamaridog]

I would agree that all work projects should be approved through the local land manager.

An exception may include a fallen tree making a trail impassable. In that case, it may be much more damaging to turn an entire group around than to remove the offending item on an established right of way. This should be a common sense decision since sometimes it is not practical to turn around.

I've moved a stolen car out of the way then reported it to the local land manager. For stolen/abandoned cars, give a VIN and the best possible vehicle description.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...I've moved a stolen car out of the way then reported it to the local land manager. For stolen/abandoned cars, give a VIN and the best possible vehicle description.

We specialize in cars & big rocks...

 

[Ursidae69]

Great dialog. :clapsmile

I've seen both instances. Sometimes a trail needs to be maintained such as a gasline right-of-way and alternatively random off-shoots where quads have ventured off the road should probably be left to mother nature to reclaim. I often come across downed trees due to there being so many dead trees with the drought and bark-beetle mortality. I try to move them when I can because around here people tend to just make a new road around the tree.

I agree with the comments about contacting the local BLM managers. I have dealt with my local BLM managers in Taos and they have been receptive. I helped them map out dumpsites a few years ago and we had several good conversations about land use.