Post Fire Travel Management Tools - Trail Delineators

Mill Fire's Landscape Alteration

 

Post-fire rehabilitation of destination OHV areas on Forest Service lands requires a lot dedication, determination, and dollars/labor.  Sometimes, the landscape is altered for several generations.

Key trail entrance landmarks such as trees and boulders are often destroyed by the wildfire or impacted by heavy equipment used to blaze dozer lines around the fire.

Dozer Lines Can Also Remove Trail Entrance Features

 

On a recent work detail, QWR’s Sound Trails Initiative had the opportunity to help restore trail entrance features and vehicle-type control devices on the Mendocino National Forest.

Trail Delineators Ready for Installation on MC/ATV Trail

 

As many of you know, the 2012 Mill Fire destroyed about 82,000 acres within the boundaries of the Stonyford OHV Area on the Grindstone Ranger District in Northern California.  Much of the landscape is now unrecognizable and important trail entrance features are no longer there.

Delineators Installed on Designated MC/ATV Trail

 

To help identify trail entrances and vehicle-type restrictions, the Forest has been installing new trail delineators on important route entrances.  Over the last year, hundreds of trail delineators have been installed with the help of agency staff and volunteers to help prepare the unit for the fall riding season.

Trail Delineators Installed on Trail for Full-Size Vehicles

 

This summer’s fire season has devastated a lot of federal timber lands in the West including portions of the Stanislaus National Forest burned by Rim Fire.  Installing managed OHV recreation trail control structures will be important to reopen those routes in an expeditious manner.

QWR believes that volunteers will continue to play an important role in those trail projects.   It is a team effort to repair post-fire damage and will require continued partnerships with users, agency staff, grant funds where available, and other stakeholders.

Agency/Volunteer Work Party

 

Lastly, QWR wants to thank our partners and sponsors for the support over the last year which has enabled us to help with the ongoing post-fire trail rehabilitation efforts on the Mendocino National Forest.

Tools of the Trade

 

 

Trails are Important Part of Life's Journey - Kyburz Interpretive Center

Kiosk at Kyburz Flat Interpretive Center

 

At QWR we believe “The Trails You Take on Life’s Journey are Important.”   Trails and forest roads can offer adventure riders a link to our past via interpretive centers often found along both well-traveled and less-traveled routes.

Station One: Kyburz Petroglyph

While participating in the 2013 Reno 200 Dual Sport Ride this past weekend,  I stopped at the Kyburz Interpretive Center to learn about what took place in this remote valley over the last 2,000 years.  This center is located on the Tahoe National Forest’s Sierraville Ranger District.

 

According to information at the kiosk, the valley was inhabited as early as 2,000 years ago by ancestors of the Washoe Indians who lived and hunted in the area.  At one of the three interpretive sites, there are rocks that contain cupules which are a form of petroglyphs.  Cupules are round pits that were etched into the rocks and are believed to be associated with various Native American rituals.  This site remains important to the Washoe Tribe.

Link to GPS Coordinates for Kyburz Flat Interpretive Center

http://goo.gl/maps/ykJv6

In the 1850s, emigrants began to travel through this area.  Henness Pass Road had a stagecoach stop in the 1860s at this site and the route also provided access to this valley for grazing and timber. Basques also ran sheep in this area starting in the early 1900s. 

                                                             View of Kyburz Valley

 

Next time you are in this part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains just north of Truckee, California, take time to enjoy this information center and reflect on the many treasures that are part of our collective history.

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"Sound" Advice DS Trail Tip - Two Mirror Law in Nevada

As QWR prepares to attend the 2013 Ride Reno 200 Dual Sport and Adventure Ride to operate our OHV sound education booth, we want to remind riders that two mirrors are required when you are operating a motorcycle on roads in the State of Nevada.

 

Link to 2013 Ride Reno 200

http://www.dustdevilsmc.com/Participant/ParticipantFlyer.aspx
 

According to NRS 486.311  (Mirrors) -  Every motorcycle or moped shall be equipped with two mirrors, each containing a reflection surface not less than 3 inches in diameter, with one mirror mounted on each handlebar, in positions enabling the driver to view clearly the highway for a distance of 200 feet to the rear.

 

QWR is providing this reminder so that riders coming from “one-mirror” states such as California can comply with the law and reduce the risk of being pulled over by a law enforcement officer.

 

Our good friends at the AMA have a handy website that contains current motorcycle-related laws for all 50 states.

 

AMA Motorcycle Laws

http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Rights/State-Laws
 

If you are coming up to the ride, be sure and stop by the sound station and say hi.