Trail Volunteers Vital to Ohio's To
Mohican-Memorial State Forest
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January 1, 2009
Perryville, Ohio - Outdoor recreational
opportunities abound at Mohican-Memorial State Forest and volunteers
are the backbone of the trail system, having saved the Ohio Division
of Forestry over $15,000 of maintenance labor costs plus more in
material this past year.
"Annually, approximately 10,000 visitors trek across
Mohican-Memorial State Forest trails and our dedicated volunteers
help make sure their experiences are safe and enjoyable," said
Forest Manager Tim Humphrey. "We rely on them for a great deal of
trail maintenance."
In 2008, volunteers donated 788 hours of labor at Mohican-Memorial
State Forest. Hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders who value the
forest and its scenic trails contributed time, materials, tools and
machinery use to ensure the facility's upkeep. Normal maintenance
includes cutting tree branches, clearing debris and fallen trees,
cleaning culverts and water diversions, maintaining signage, picking
up litter and mowing one of the bridle day use areas.
Horse clubs, including Cowboys for Jesus and the Wayne County and
Holmes County chapters of the Ohio Horseman's Council, purchased and
spread forty tons of gravel for horse tie areas, spent four days
cleaning bridle trails after the September 14, 2008 wind storm,
furnished and installed two horse mounting stations and purchased
and installed trail directional signs.
The Mohican/Malabar Bike Club worked five days clearing the twenty
five-mile mountain bike trail after the wind storm. The Mohican
Trails Club marked the Hog Hollow hiking trail and installed a forty
foot bridge there. Hiking and biking volunteers also re-routed
sections of trails.
"This outstanding volunteer effort, initiated and carried out
annually by our recreation partners, has assisted us with routine
tasks necessary to maintain trails, provided improvements, staging
area maintenance and continued appreciation of this treasured
forest," said David Lytle, chief of ODNR's Division of Forestry.
"The volunteers are certainly the backbone of the trails at
Mohican-Memorial State Forest."
The volunteer groups are working together to develop an area trail
map to include the state forest, adjoining state parks and Pleasant
Hill Lake. They are raising funds to cover the design and printing
costs and will sell the resource to area visitors, using profits to
produce more maps.
The 4,525-acre Mohican-Memorial State Forest was initiated in 1928.
Easily accessible from Cleveland and Columbus, Mohican is the
largest public land base in north-central Ohio. It is one of twenty
state forests that encompass 191,000 acres statewide.
Over the past 80 years, Mohican-Memorial State Forest has been
managed for land stabilization on eroded soils, clean water, native
hardwood tree regeneration, pine plantation management, pine post
and pole production, firewood production and other forest products,
the profitable growth of timber, scientific tree growth and wildlife
studies, wildlife habitat, evaluation of tree harvesting methods and
recreation. The Mohican Discovery Forest interpretive trail
showcases many of these sustainable forestry practices to the public
on the north end of the state forest on County Road 939.
Ohio's State Forests provide recreational opportunities that are
compatible with sustainable forest management.
For more information on Mohican-Memorial State Forest, visit the
Division of Forestry web site at
www.ohiodnr.com/forestry.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ensures a balance between
wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of
all. Visit the ODNR web site at
www.ohiodnr.com.
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