Club cleans up for Jeep thrills
Posted: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 5:01 am
By Arrissia Owen | 0 comments
Off road enthusiasts like to tackle big rocks on big wheels. Sometimes they also enjoy conquering the elements with clippers in hand.
The Lost Jeeps So Cal Club, which boasts members from Big Bear Valley as well as other locales around Southern California, was recently awarded a stewardship grant from the nonprofit organization Tread Lightly to help support their trail cleanup efforts. There were seven winners nationally for the $500 grant.
Tread Lightly offers training and restoration initiatives along with educational messages that are strategically designed to instill an ethic of responsibility in a wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts and the industries that serve them. The program seeks to balance the needs of the people who enjoy outdoor recreation with the need to maintain a healthy environment, according to the group’s website.
The Jeep club adopted two trails: 1N86 in Angelus Oaks, and Pilot Rock Truck Trail 2N33 that runs between Silverwood Lake and Lake Arrowhead. Lost Jeeps members spend time fixing culverts, cutting back brush and removing debris from the trails to maintain safety for off-road enthusiasts.
By cutting back shrubs, the group also helps make the trials more fire safe. “The less shrubbery out there the better,” says group member Kelly Hoffman, a Big Bear Lake resident.
Money received from Tread Lightly will help the group purchase additional shovels, gloves, hard hats and lopers to continue the maintenance, as well as fuel to travel the trails during cleanup efforts.
From October 2008 to September 2009, the group logged 917 hours working on the trails through the Adopt-a-Trail program, part of the National Forest Service. The grants are awarded based on the number of hours worked. Lost Jeeps So Cal Club is on track to beat their record from last year, Hoffman says.
“It’s something we enjoy and that we like to do,” Hoffman says.
Lost Jeeps So Cal Club includes about 30 members. For more information about the group or to join visit
www.lostjeepssocal.com. For more information about Tread Lightly, visit
www.treadlightly.org.
