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-Calling all Volunteers in NC; Uwharrie National Forest Upcoming Work Day with the USFS Jan. 28, 9am

A quick note from  Theresa Stevens Savery (Terry), on behalf of the National Forests in North Carolina, Uwharrie National Forest

Uwharrie is one of the few remaining public trail systems in the eastern US. 

   Hi Everyone – I wanted to send out the message about the January 28th Work Day. We’ll meet at 9 am at the Uwharrie Hunt Camp. We’ll work on armoring several wet areas on the trails with rock from Cotton Place TH, Dutch John TH and from sources on the trail. We’ll also put up some short sections of guardrail or the old log barricades up. If you have a trail trailer, pickup truck or other vehicle that can be used to haul rip-rap, large gravel, posts and guardrail please bring it that weekend. Also, if you’re chainsaw certified please bring your PPE and saw, etc. because we might not get out to the trails before then and with the storm this weekend we might have some trees come down on the trails. 

 Thank you everyone for your continued support. I appreciate it very much. Bye - Terry


Theresa Stevens Savery (Terry),
MS Forest Resources / Watershed Management
District Recreation Staff Supervisor
Forest Service
National Forests in North Carolina, Uwharrie National Forest
p: 910-576-6391 x102
c: 910-975-0274
f: 910-576-4171
tsavery@fs.fed.us
789 NC Hwy 24/27 East Troy, NC 27371
 
www.fs.fed.us

Caring for the land and serving people

Some photos taken from a recent work day cleanup in 2016. These events are all about volunteers working to ensure our trail access is preserved. being proactive and preventative. Working cooperatively as enthusiasts with the USFS. 

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USFS Foothills Landscape Collaboration Workshop - Jan 31 & Feb 1, Dahlonega

From an email blast communicated by our friends at the USFS.  This is an open invite for anyone looking to get more involved. 

Join SFWDA and the USFS for the first of four collaboration workshops focused on developing a plan that will be used to create a proposed action for the Foothills Landscape. This is a great opportunity to share your views, discuss ideas, and interact with other members of the collaboration community and Forest Service employees -- a time to roll up our sleeves and really get down to work.

From the USFS;

We have had quite a jam-packed fall on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. The unseasonably dry weather has kept us busy fighting wildfires up north and attending to insect outbreaks down south. These pressing demands demonstrate even more that the need has never been greater for strategic, holistic, large-scale and long-range planning for a healthy, resilient forest. And we can't do it alone.

The Community Conversations this past fall gave us an overview of the attitudes, values and beliefs of community members. Now, looking forward, we need to begin to design on-the-ground actions that address the widespread resource challenges in an integrated way and on a scale that results in enduring impacts. 

What to Expect Next: 

Collaborative Workshops

We are planning four workshops before the end of August. These workshops will be focused on developing a plan that will be used to create a proposed action for the Foothills Landscape. This is a great opportunity to share your views, discuss ideas, and interact with other members of the collaboration community and Forest Service employees -- a time to roll up your sleeves and really get to work!

Our first upcoming workshop:

January 31st and February 1st

Lumpkin County Parks and Rec Community Center located at 365 Riley Road, Dahlonega, GA 30533
 

 

Learning and Sharing

Please take a moment to check out the thoughtful comments and robust discussions shared during the recent Community Conversations at www.tinyurl.com/FoothillsLandscape. The online forum for comments, discussions and sharing pictures worked so well during the Community Conversations we are going to use it again. In between the workshops you will be able to start discussions, post ideas and add comments on the restoration goals, treatment locations, and methods of treatment.

Also, share this update with others and encourage them to sign up to receive emails on the collaborative effort. 

Thank you for helping make sure we are working together to do the right work in the right places for the right reasons.

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests provide the finest outdoor recreation opportunities and natural resources in Georgia. Featuring nearly 867,000 acres across 26 counties, thousands of miles of clear-running streams and rivers, approximately 850 miles of recreation trails, and dozens of campgrounds, picnic areas, and other recreation activity opportunities, these lands are rich in natural scenery, history and culture. The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

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Join us at the Uwharrie National Forest Volunteer Work Day this coming weekend

Conservation

Uwharrie National Forest
Volunteer Work Day this coming weekend
Saturday & Sunday, March 19 & 20th, 9 AM

 If you can make the time to help out this weekend come join fellow SFWDA members and prospects at  the Uwharrie National Forest our upcoming Volunteer Work Day led by District Recreation Staff Supervisor; Theresa Stevens Savery (Terry). 

 This Saturday & Sunday, March 19 & 20th we’ll be doing a lot of work and the more help we get the more we can complete.  We’re going to have several teams doing signs, armoring trails with rock, brushing back the trails, picking up trash, installing guardrail & spreading straw. 

 We’ll be meeting on Saturday and Sunday at the Badin Lake Group Camp at 9 am.  We’ll need everyone that is going to be volunteering to sign in at this location.  We will have a map and the direction for the different teams typed up for everyone to hand out when we meet up on Saturday & Sunday.  If you’re planning to take your vehicles onto the trails then you must meet us at the Badin Lake Group Camp at 9 am and get signed in and to get a special pass so we know who’s volunteering & can be on the trails. 

Free camping has been set up for volunteers from Friday, March 18th to Sunday, March 20th at Badin Lake Group Camp at all 3 campsites.  If you want to come in and set up on the Friday night so you won’t be late on Saturday morning that is ok.  Please coordinate with any folks that are already set up and try to minimize the amount of space you take up so we can maximize how many campers and vehicles can get into the group camp.  Please be respectful of all of the volunteers and their families that will be camping there and don’t get too rowdy at the campground.  Thanks a lot. 

The different type teams are listed below with the general tools they will need for their task that you could bring.  If you’ve already been assigned a team by Darin then please bring what is listed for your team and what he has already asked you to bring.  If you haven’t been assigned a team yet but have several of the types of tools listed below please bring an assortment of these tools so you’d be prepared for whichever team you’re on. 

Straw team: Rakes, gloves, scissors or small knife, wear long sleeves and pants, sunglasses or safety glasses, a bandana, & closed toe shoes (no sandals or flip flops).

Rock team: Shovels, buckets, trailers or pick-up trucks that can go on the trails, gloves, heavy duty rakes, sunglasses or safety glasses, & closed toe shoes or work boots (no sandals or flip flops).

 Railing team: Sledge Hammers, Post Hole Diggers, Gloves, 1 1/4half inch drive sockets, 1 1/8 half inch drive sockets, Rock bars, shovels, ear plugs, Pneumatic Drill, sunglasses or safety glasses, & closed toe shoes or work boots (no sandals or flip flops).

 Brush team: Pole Saws, Hand loppers, Brush cutters, pruners, gloves, sunglasses or safety glasses, bug spray, after bite ointment, ethanol free fuel/oil/bar oil, wear long sleeves & pants, & closed toe shoes or work boots (no sandals or flip flops).

 Sign team:  Hammers, small step stool/ladders, pruners or loppers to clear around signs, sunglasses or safety glasses & closed toe shoes or work boots (no sandals or flip flops).

 Trash team: Gloves, trash pick-up tools & closed toe shoes or work boots (no sandals or flip flops).

 Loading team: Heavy equipment, fuel, safety gear, gloves, sunglasses or safety glasses. 

 Barn team: Skill saw, drill, Phillips drill bit, 1 1/4 in wood screws, 3 door hinges, 4 4x6 sheets of plywood, Phillips head screwdrivers, chisel, shims.  

  Bring water and food for during the day on Saturday & Sunday when you’re out on the trails.  If you’re bringing kids out with you please make sure to have appropriate shoes for them & if you have work gloves for your kids already please bring them.  Make sure they’re dressed appropriately for being out all day on the trails picking up trash, cutting brush, etc. for whatever team they are on.
Thanks a lot everyone.  

MS Forest Resources / Watershed Management
National Forest Service
789 NC Hwy 24/27 East
Troy, NC 27371
www.fs.fed.us 

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Daniel Boone Forest Updates - Call to Action

While these photos are now almost a month old we need to continue to follow through and be sure to not let this go without protest. Call the USFS Winchester Office, ask for the acting forest supervisor Bill Lorenz and let them know this action will not be tolerated. 859-745-3100.

A little more background on the subject. 
On Nov. 15th our very own Jeff Dozier of behalf of Freinds of Boone posted an update we all need to consider, to share, and to take action against. 

Our SFWDA Representative of the Daniel Boone national Forest region; Jeffrey Dozier commented by saying;  "We are very sad and outraged to report that this past June, the United States Forest Service took malicious actions to stop the momentum of the counties in getting Sand Lick Rd. CR 1057 and Sterling Rd. back. They authorized a track hoe to further destroy the entire length of goat hill from top to bottom, they left tank traps 15' tall, pulled soils from the cliff side down the slopes and pulled hundreds of trees over the counties' road. They created land slides, erosion disasters, massive wild fire hazards, isolated oil well heads, leaving no access to service these dangers. The USFS maliciously destroyed more land they are paid to protect with tax payer dollars." 

 "The FS is unshaken by any tactic we've tried. This lower portion of sand lick rd. was a natural corridor to the top of the ridge and whites branch arch for eons. In one week the FS has destroyed it for the second time in a way that is hard to describe. They literally pulled the road from the cliff side to the slopes. The county tried to get justification and the FS claims they are acting under the ordinal 2006 action that destroyed the sand lick rd initially. I cannot believe the FS's action. In fact they are threatening to come out with an EIS to rationalize closing all the roads in the sand lick area, completely disregarding the documented county roads existent. I'm unsure of the future but it's ominous. It seems they'll stop at nothing to keep multiple use recreation out of sand lick." 

As more of the tangled web has been discovered, we now know the USFS district ranger Dave Manner, who is responsible for the 2006 destruction of the narrows (Sand Lick Rd. And Sterling Rd.) and the additional destruction this past June, is retiring as of December 31 2014.

Please call him and protest his destruction of county roads as well. Have everyone you know call.

Dave Manner
Cumberland Ranger District
606-784-6428

Now, if your on the fence about whether r not to actually pick up the phone and make a call here are a few things to consider. 

It has been asked, "what good is calling the forest supervisor?". (Bill Lorenz 859-745-3100)

  • 1. The county wants a public outcry. Your call counts!
  • 2. There will be a new district ranger, this is an opportunity to let them know the new decision maker needs to honor the counties' roads and cease destruction of public land as well as demand repairs.
  • 3. When the USFS initially damaged these roads in 2006, they did so with zero public comment and no approval from the counties. This is a chance to make your voice heard, it is much needed!

-Be polite and respectful, most USFS employees are good people who aren't responsible for the damages.

Call at your convenience but please take the action of calling, this is important!


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