A well-maintained trail seems to beckon you into a forest. Along a forest trail is where you can experience nature’s wonders firsthand -- soaring trees, colorful wildflowers, flitting butterflies, strange-looking mushrooms, sweet-singing birds and perhaps a frog or salamander. Nature trails often lead to breathtaking views of mountain peaks, roaring waterfalls and peaceful valleys.
Two places in Georgia with extensive trail systems are the grand, 750,000-acre Chattahoochee National Forest that stretches through 18 counties in the state's scenic mountains and the 115,000-acre Oconee National Forest covering portions of eight counties in the Piedmont.
More than 2.2 million visitors -- anglers, hikers, horseback riders, hunters, mountain bikers, off-road-vehicle riders -- come to enjoy the forests each year. The vast majority of them enjoy it from the forests’ 850 miles of designated trails. But, as Chattahoochee-Oconee Forest Supervisor George Bain said, “this extensive and diverse trail system is only possible because of the commitment and contributions of volunteers.”
The amount of work done by volunteers -- trail maintenance, repair, construction -- equals the work that would be performed by 21 full-time employees. In this day of severe government cutbacks, there’s not enough funds to hire all the workers needed for trail work.
Maintaining a healthy trail system is essential to keeping a forest healthy. A neglected, poorly maintained trail often erodes and becomes dangerous for users. Eroded soil washing off a trail smothers vegetation, endangers wildlife and chokes life out of streams.
Soil erosion jeopardizes what forest experts say is the most important product from a healthy forest -- clean water. The Chattahoochee National Forest, for instance, is essential for Atlanta’s water supply: It is where the city’s main water source, the Chattahoochee River, begins.
Unfortunately, Bain said, serious harm to the forests already is occurring from damaged trails.
Bain spoke last weekend at Unicoi State Park at a gathering of some 100 outdoor enthusiasts who were launching an ambitious program to recruit and train volunteers for maintaining the forests' trails and perhaps constructing new ones in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. The effort is called the Chattahoochee-Oconee Collaborative Trail (CoTrails) Initiative.
A diverse group of organizations and trail users -- hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, off-road-vehicle riders -- is backing the initiative. They haven’t always seen eye to eye, but they pledge cooperation for the sake of a healthy forest.
For more information and how to get involved, visit: www.cotrails.org.
In the sky: The moon will be first quarter on Monday, rising out of the east around lunchtime and setting in the west around midnight, said David Dundee, an astronomer with the Tellus Science Museum. Mercury is very low in the east just before dawn. Venus is low in the west at dusk. Mars and Saturn rise out of the east around midnight. Jupiter is high in the east at dusk and will appear near the moon Monday night.
