School Creek cleanup day?

[Savage]

I rode at School Creek yesterday. It's been in worse shape, but it's pretty overgrown. When I was leaving I ran into Kim, the main person who keeps things going out there. They are in the process of making a covered picnic table area.
She said she is thinking about doing a cleanup day in November.
I thought it would be nice if we could all get together and go out there and help cleanup again. Sound good?

[DanielKeimTS]

If they let a utv in (RAZR trail800 the skinnier version) then I could help. Havin minor knee surgery on Monday but could bring RAZR and saws etc and chains to drag and clear some of the bigger fallen trees.

[Savage]

Would it be able to fit between the metal posts? I think 4x4 ATV's with the larger tires are real close to rubbing.

[troy]

I can only speak to past experience, but neither Kim nor the ranger in charge of School Creek were very flexible on the rules. We asked about bringing in equipment and were told "no". Only motorcycles and ATVs. The ranger did give us permission to have a small bonfire in the parking lot -- it think it was 22 degrees that day. I don't recall the ranger even stopping by to say "hi". Anyone else remember?
http://rideforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=1777

The experience at Perry Lake's ORV area was very different. The ranger, Reece, welcomed us with open arms and even joined us--playing a huge part in the work that day. He shut the area down for riding that day--which I don't think was necessary, but it did show how much he wanted this to be a successful and safe event. He took down part of the cable fence in the parking lot to allow larger vehicles in to help with the cleanup. He supplied several high-quality chain saws and other tools--including a UTV. He brought in his skid loader and gravel to repair the parking lot. He took advantage of the USACE's program that allows him to receive budget money in exchange for volunteer hours. After the event Reece told me that maybe next time he could even get a local shop to donate food for the event.
http://rideforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=2254

From the last 2 cleanup days, we learned that 15 folks with about 5 chainsaws can do a lot! You need more people than saws. In fact, if Luc , Joe, or Kyle are running a saw, you need 3 people following just to keep up throwing limbs off the trail.

When you think of trail repair, you might also be thinking of moving dirt and rocks, and while there are some places that could use that kind of repair, if all we accomplish is knocking the limbs back off 60+% of the trails, we will have a lot to be proud of and a safer and more enjoyable riding experience for all.

You might think you need lots of ATVs and UTVs to carry saws, gas, tools, etc., but really, just having a couple ATVs around to run gas, water, tools around to workers is all that is needed. Most folks just walked in and walked out. These local ORV areas are not very big.

Savage, if you are willing to spearhead this with Kim, that would be awesome.

The little bits of wisdom I can offer:

Don't try to get concensus on a date, just pick one that you and Kim agree on and post it up. DO make sure it does not conflict with anything going on at the ORV park of course!

I had more than one motorcycle shop mildly chastise me for not doing the event on a Sunday so their employees could participate. Everyone knows motorcycle shops are open on Saturdays. Of course Sundays can prevent folks from coming due to church and family obligations. We did the Perry Lake cleanup on a Sunday for this reason. I don't think any motorcycle shop employees showed up. Ultimately, I don't think Sat or Sun will sway attendance numbers greatly one way or the other.

I tried VERY hard to coordinate with all the riding groups I could find. The FMHSC representative assured me that if we held the cleanup event on a day that did not conflict with one of their races, that 5 - 10 FHMSC members would show up to help. I don't think one showed up. (However, those guys actually did a ton of trail cleanup to prepare for their School Creek hare scramble, so they do their part!)

The above are not slams against anybody! Rather, they are recommendations not to worry TOO much about trying to please any one group in your date selection. It's easy to say "IN", but a lot harder to show up with a saw and gloves on ready to work.

I am definitely IN as long as I don't have an important excuse not to.

[Savage]

I am not spearheading the idea. But I am game to help out if it works with my schedule and its not 100 degrees or 20 degrees. Since she was talking with me and mentioned that they plan to get out and clean it up one of these weekends, I mentioned I could try and round up some guys/gals as well. I got her # and just asked her to text me when they plan to do it and I'd help spread the word.

Maintaining/trimming trails sounds like miserable work, but I actually enjoy it. Besides getting in a nice full body workout for free, you also get to explore and learn the trails and see lines you can pick that you just don't see while riding. Then later you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

If you would rather set up a cleanup day at Perry I would totally understand since it sounds like you got much better support over there. I'm game, given the conditions above.

[gagnaou]

My November is starting to be pretty packed, but if I can be part of it, I will!

[troy]

I don't have the gumption right now to spearhead this effort either, but I'll show up to help for the work day if it happens. What I will do is email Kim to say, schedule a day and tell us when it is. RideForum.NET will do what we can to spread the word and get folks to show up to help.

For those that don't know, Kim is Kim Jackson of SCORVA. School Creek Off Road Vehicle Association. As I understand, Kim has always had the odds stacked against her in getting that organization moving considering the general lack of motivation to work from most folks and the fact that many of the local riders are soldiers from the base who are only local on a temporary basis. Of course just getting the word out is still a near impossible task even in 2016.

Last time we posted on RideForum.NET and other rider group forums with some active discussions. The MoKan group was great--about half of the folks that attended found out through their forum. We had flyers in motorcycle shops from Abilene to Kansas City. The USACE put out a press release that was in some local papers. We had a notice posted at the ORV park. We got about 15 folks to show up on a VERY cold day, so it was a success. However, the fact is most users of the park had no idea there was a work day going on.

I don't do Facebook, but those of you that do, if you know about Facebook groups for local riders, help spread the word if we get a work day scheduled. If you can't come work, but you can spread the word to 5 riders, that is doing a lot.

[Savage]

Daniel if you're still available to bring your Razr, I will text Kim to ask if it is OK. LMK. Thanks