[pct-l] Trail clearing with horses and chainsaws

Eric Lee saintgimp at hotmail.com
Tue Sep 25 17:22:57 CDT 2012


Devon wrote:
>
I would like to think that when I donate to organizations that do trail work
that they aren't hamstrung by federal bureaucracy that impedes getting
important work done.  Can anyone shed some light on this?
>

To more directly answer your original question - The Wilderness Act of 1964
was purposely written with very tight restrictions on what is allowed in
wilderness areas.  Basically no mechanized/motorized/wheeled equipment is
allowed in a wilderness area at all for any purpose, with a narrow provision
for exceptions "as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the
administration of the wilderness area for the purpose of this Act (including
measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons
within the
area)".

A designated wilderness areas is defined this way: "A wilderness, in
contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the
landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of
life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not
remain."  According to this definition, trails aren't an integral part of
the wilderness area and normal maintenance of trails isn't included in "the
minimum requirements for the administration of the wilderness area".  The
only time you might see mechanized trail maintenance in a wilderness area is
when a job is so big or so dangerous that the administrators can frame it as
a safety issue (e.g. the huge blowdown in certain areas of the Sierra last
winter).

This is kind of a hassle for trail maintainers, for sure, but in the long
run I'm glad we have this hard and fast rule to protect our wilderness
areas.  The "slippery slope" problem would definitely threaten them
otherwise.  Once you start making exceptions for the sake of convenience or
economics, you start having to make exceptions for all kinds of things, not
just the things that hikers like.  It's better to keep the camel's nose
outside the tent, so to speak.

The real lesson to be drawn here is how much volunteer time is required to
maintain all 2,650 miles of the PCT.  Everyone who hikes on the PCT ought to
consider volunteering for a work party in your local area.  Check pcta.org
for more info, or if you don't live close to the PCT, find a deserving trail
in your area.  Trail maintenance is fun and incredibly rewarding.  There's
nothing like the pride of ownership that comes from clearing brush,
resurfacing tread, or doing some drainage work and being able to look at
your project at the end of the day and think, "This is mine.  I did this."
You've given a gift to thousands of hikers who will come after you.
Volunteer maintainers are the real trail angels.

Eric




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