Over the last 18 years, QWR has witnessed the increased
frequency of reoccurring intense wildfires impacting popular federal recreation
areas in the California and the West.
Pressure Treated OHV Route Delineator Destroyed by Wildfire
QWR believes this fire paradigm is going to be with us
for the foreseeable future. If that
belief is correct, then it forces the trail community to reconsider more sustainable
and cost-effective OHV management prescriptions including use of on-site natural
wood products (i.e. downed fire damaged trees, etc.) to reestablish delineation
of designated routes, highlight a trail entrance, or protect natural or
cultural resources.
No Dig Natural Trail Delineators
Deer Valley Trail - Eldorado National Forest
In September of 2017, QWR participated in a joint project
between the U.S. Forest Service and Motherlode Rockcrawlers to armor portions
of the historic Deer Valley OHV Trail. Part of that project included using downed
trees as trail delineators to help protect a nearby alpine meadow from vehicle
intrusion.
Post Wildfire Installation of Pressure Treated Wood Barriers
2012 Mill Fire - Mendocino National Forest
Using downed trees, trail crews comprised of Forest
Service certified sawyers (both agency and volunteers) bucked up footings
(about 20-24 inches in length) and then cut v-notches in said footings.
Example of Trail Delineator Using Downed Trees
Various lengths of trees were then laid into the v-notches
of the footing which created a stable natural-looking no-dig delineator that
highlighted the designated path of vehicle travel and/or the area that was
protected.
Tree Section in V-Notched Footing
Showing V-Notches in Footing
Over the last 10-15 years, QWR and other OHV volunteers
have helped agencies with post wildfire recovery projects which often included installation
of new pressure treated wood barriers to replace existing pressure treated
barriers that were destroyed by wildfire. Those efforts were time consuming and costly.
Example of Trail Entrance Using Downed Tree Sections
While that post wildfire model to “buy and replace”
pressure treated barriers may still be valid and necessary depending on desired
management objectives, QWR believes our new and more frequent wildfire reality
requires us to reevaluate the automatic response to purchase miles of costly
pressure treated wood vs. increased use of on-site dead or dying trees to
construct trail delineators.
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