Saturday, June 19
Thank you, volunteers, for the great work accomplished on Sipsey Wilderness trail #203 last month!  Water bars were constructed on the trail and hand-hewn cedar steps were embedded into a creek bank to prevent erosion and aid in crossing.  The entire length of the trail was tended by volunteers with bowsaws, pruners, loppers and an axe.


This month's volunteer work day will address trail maintenance needs on 3 sites in the Bankhead National Forest.  A team will return to #203 to finish up crosscut saw work and a stream crossing.  Another team will work on the Payne Creek trail to remove downed trees and then go to the Randolph trailhead to begin work on Sipsey Wilderness trail #201.

The next Helping Hands volunteer workday in the Bankhead National Forest will be Saturday, May 22 on Sipsey Wilderness trail #203.

Volunteers Susan Glasscock, Ted Kuzma, Jay Murphy, Lisa White and Wild South staff member Mark Kolinski on a new water crossing on Payne Creek Trail, April 2010

 

 

Work on May 22 will involve repairing and building creek crossings, clearing away downed trees, pruning encroaching vegetation. Our card-carrying crosscut sawyers will be needed!

Sign up by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 20 and your lunch will be provided.

Tools will be provided, too. But if you have tools (bow or pruning saw, hand pruners, loppers, etc.) that you are especially fond of, bring them.

 

Sign up or ask questions here!

 

Bring:

a snack

plenty of drinking water

tick repellent

your favorite tools, if you wish

work gloves

 

Be prepared for:

poison ivy (long pants and closed-toe shoes are highly recommended.)

ticks

creek crossings

rain (if it's in the forecast)

sun (if rain is not in the forecast)

 

Meet at the Warrior Mountains Trading Company in Wren (11312 AL Hwy. 33, Moulton, AL) at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 22. Please park on the south end of the building and come into the store.

Wild South's Helping Hands volunteer work days in the Bankhead National Forest are regularly scheduled for the third Saturday of every month. This month's date was changed to due the weather forecast. To get on our Alabama Volunteer list, please contact Janice at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 256-974-6166.

 

Wild South's Helping Hands Program is funded in part by a grant from the National Forest Foundation

 

 

and by a grant from the General Fund of the Walker Area Community Foundation

 

 

 

In October, the Forest Service announced it would close most trails in the Tellico Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) area, concluding a years-long process to improve water quality in the headwaters of the Tellico River. ORV use will no longer be allowed anywhere in the area.

In 2007, Wild South and our partners took steps to sue the Forest Service for failing to meet federal law and its own standards to protect the Tellico watershed from pollution caused by excessive ORV use in the area. In response, the agency undertook an extensive study to determine whether the Tellico area could be brought into compliance.