Edith's Gap reopening

[Dan T]

I met with a USFS Ranger today. I did not have a chance to meet with the "District" Ranger who will have the last word as far as I know. The District Ranger is the head honcho. Anyway the Ranger told me that Edith's Gap had once been registered as an approved hang gliding site on the USFS records. He thought it might have been taken off the records since it had been in disuse for so long. He will check. If it is still on the records reopening the site will be somewhat easier. If it's off the records, reopening the site is still potentially doable but involves a longer approval process.

There is an invasive plant species in the area. It is a tree. It's proper name is Ailanthus, http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/aial1.htm. I'm not sure but I think the slot is infested with this invasive tree. The USFS wants to eradicate it and perhaps more importantly reduce the likelihood that humans will spread it to locations where it is not established. This probably means that we will not be permitted to haul the vegetation away in an open pickup truck. I informed the Ranger that our club would be able to provide several conscientious volunteers who would carefully follow the USFS instructions on clearing the slot of this plant.

I read up on the plant on the website that I have posted above. It states that the tree is best mechanically eradicated by cutting it down very close to the grown then spritzing the open wound with an appropriate herbicide. The new growth and suckers need to be removed and sprayed, (to kill the roots), fairly quickly to avoid permitting them to get reestablished. Since we need a clear slot anyway, we would be ideal volunteer candidates. I think if we can work this right and follow through we might be able to gain a great deal of good will with the USFS that can be put to use elsewhere.

Anyway he promised to get back with me soon, not later than a week hence. Because of the presence of the Ailanthus we will clearly need to coordinate closely with the USFS. We will need to plan this work day well in advance as Mark C suggested.

Dan

PS, It was a darn nice day for a motorcycle ride and too windy to fly.

[mingram]

Nice work! And I'll second the nice riding weather! It's been so long I forgot what it was like to fly by the seat of your pants!

Matt

[Flying Lobster]

Now that you mention it--I remember when were were clearing the slot I felt a tap on my shoulder and a vine wrapped around my ankle--when I turned around all there was behind me was a tree!

marc

[pink_albatross]

GReat work, Dan!
Keepung fingers crossed, that we are still on the books.
Reading about the invasive plant species makes me think that two trips are necessary. One before leaves are out with chainsaw and then later a follow up with a herbicide.
Looking forward tjo flying the site!
Ellis

[dbodner]

PS, It was a darn nice day for a motorcycle ride

Yes it was, and I did. These are pictures I took yesterday of the launch (assuming I can figure this out). In my ignorance, I thought I was looking at young beech trees.

I spoke with a fellow there who thought a previous clearing effort took the form of a controlled burn. But, I wouldn't assume his recollection was reliable.

[deveil]

hah! i came home and just saw your post dave. i already wrote this up so i'll toss it in as is:
----------


well, as of 10am there was another tire and a stove. by now there could also be a washer and dryer and a dead horse.

here's two cents and, keep in mind, that's all it is, two cents. and sorry, but no, no paving with tires, kudzu or whatever else i was goofing about.

the slot reminded me of hair club for men, the gold club bonus installation. pretty dense and homogeneous, about one two inch sampling per two square feet. yeah, invasive is a good term.
anywho, some thoughts:
the tires and stove: a rope and a couple of pulleys.
removing the cut brush from the site and trucking it away: that one would really have to be thought through - there is a lot of mass/volume. a lot.
slot widening: probably clear out the slot first, then drop any trees. dropping a tree into that thicket would significantly increase the level of difficulty for clearing the saplings and clearing the tree.
spraying with herbicide: once again, a lot of saplings. if there would be monies to spend, a spraying service might be considered. it would depend on the forest service's protocols and how serious they are about it.
clearing protocol: cut/clear from the bottom up and the sides in, in an organized fashion, due to the density. a two or three man crew, one cutting and the others moving the stuff out of the way and laying it down to the downhill side. toss the first stuff down far enough to create some space to work in. we did things along these lines when opening a site that was so dense you couldn't walk through it. it was worked in similar manner of a gang of snowplows on the interstate in that case.
concurrent with that, come up the sides, then work it into the center, tossing stuff as far to the sides as possible.

here's another thought that's not, by any means, thought out or through (please remember that - no post jumping please): cut a whole new slot about 100 -150ft to the left/north. it would actually be significantly less work, believe it or not. the trees aren't all that close together and not all that huge. cut one down, cut into pieces, roll/toss pieces downhill. it wouldn't be so immediately close to the pull off area/road, there would be space the clear a set up area not up against the road (think woodstock), no invasive species to deal with and no sprain to do. hey, just pretend that we forgot where the old slot was, it could be believable.

oh, what else? i'll ad if i think of anything else (you Know i will)

and pls remember that this is merely two cents and that there are other people who are taking point on this and doing all the really hard stuff and have a better sense of the whole picture, what is needed, what is not needed, etc., etc.
and pretty pls - no post jumpin' cause i know you wouldn't want to see me cry.

i'll clean this up as necessary.

[deveil]

- hair club for men was a wig/weave thing wasn't it? i was thinking hair plugs.

-most herbicides are applied when the plant is "actively growing", therefore spring at the earliest.

-yeah, i know, the new slot thing ain't gonna happen, regardless of merits.

[deveil]

i hope 'as is' covers not having read anything that came before (i was tired - sue me).
but, after having taken a look see, some kind of muscular loppers might would work better than chain saws for a number of reasons. i'll look around for something. in any event, if there's any assistance needed along the way. . .

[mcelrah]

Being lazy to the bone, I have three words of wisdom: Casa de Maryland.
Actually, a better bet would be an actual tree service (also with Hispanic labor). They have the chipper that would reduce the debris to mulch in a covered truck.
My $100.

- Hugh

[Dan T]

I just spoke with my contact at the National Forest district office in Edinburg. He said that he had spoken briefly with the District Ranger on the subject but did not get the opportunity to get into details. At my request for more information he did say that they were considering it under a Special Use Permit. Under this arrangement we would be responsible for maintaining the site. I told him no problem and that I had a bunch of volunteers ready to engage in the labor it takes to reopen the site.

He confirmed that the trees in the slot are that invasive species, Ailanthus. The Forest Service will for sure not want us moving it around a lot or transporting it to a dump in some manner that could contribute to it spreading to uninfected areas along the way. I have a hunch that Hugh's suggestion to hire a professional crew with a chipper and covered truck might be the right answer.

This seems an appropriate use for club funds perhaps supplemented with a contribution from USHPA. Would one of you be willing to sign up for pursuing that option?

The USFS representative promised to get back to me by next Friday.

Dan

[deveil]

next problem - getting all those illegal aliens rounded up and brought to the road.
i call helicopters, bulldozers and any of the guys who drive those bigfoot trucks on monster jam (those guys give me tire envy). oh, and any lineman from the NFL. and Bigfoot himself. and this gal Beulah i woke up with after an all night bender a couple of years back - talk about junk in the trunk!

gary

could be an uphill job

[deveil]

and superman. i call superman as well.

[mcelrah]

This would be a good topic for the CHGPA meeting that is rumored to be taking place 10 March at an undisclosed location. - Hugh

[deveil]

ooh! ooh! and Paul Bunyan. he could do the cutting' And the hauling!

[deveil]

well, if you're going to go all real world on me. my place is always available.

[lbunner]

Dan, did they get back to you on Friday? Any new news?

[Dan T]

I didn't hear back from them. I'm a little disappointed. This might be a good time to have other people contact them as well. They are located in Edinburg.

I'll try again on Friday but I fear we are getting pocket veto'd. I think more voices could be helpful.

Dan

[rlweber]

Do you have telephone number or address for us to make our voices heard?
Randy

[deveil]

it's not unlikely that the invasive species factor really complicates things, making for a big headache for them which translates to a big headache for us. don't know, but regulatory agencies beyond the forest service might come in to play. or, maybe someone's just been on vacation.

[deveil]

http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/ipm/m ... weeds2.cfm

excerpt:

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Integrated Pest Management Manual
Exotic weeds II

This module is intended to serve as a source of basic information needed to implement an integrated pest management program for tree of heaven, Japanese honeysuckle, mimosa tree, siris tree, giant sensitive plant, and sensitive plant. Any pest management plan or activity must be formulated within the framework of the management zones where it will be implemented. Full consideration must be given to threatened and endangered species, natural and cultural resources, human health and safety, and the legal mandates of the individual parks. Recommendations in this module must be evaluated and applied in relation to these broader considerations.

plus everybody's budgets are strained.

i guess continuous follow up, as suggested, til some sort of answer is obtained. at some point a serious consideration of just how much people want the site opened and how much hard commitment people are willing to give. and, of course, it wouldn't be fair to ask people for hard commitment until they knew what was required both short and long term.
it appears that every other time this place was reopened, someone would simply needed to round up a crew and head on out - much less complicated then.

[deveil]

dan,
is there a specific person you've been dealing with? would it be best to continue dealing with that one person. and would it be best to have multiple callers or have one person sort of move in to the point position for the time being? things could become overly complicated and disjointed if there are multiple contact points within one office. i'd also call but for these concerns.
gary

[Dan T]

I spoke with my contact at the Edinburg office of the USFS this morning. His name is Cameron Seals. He confirmed that our Edith's Gap site is still on the books as an approved recreation site. Therefore it will be simpler to get authorization to clear the slot and get it reinstated.

The introduction of the invasive plant species is still a problem. We will need to utilize an appropriate and approved method of removing it.

The persons using chain saws will need to be 'certified' as qualified. I do not know what it takes to become a certified chain saw operator. The information may be on their website. All of us participating in the clean up will need to be registered as part of a volunteer organization. I believe that our CHGPA affiliation will suffice.

We may have an opportunity to take down a few of the large trees that are immediately adjacent to the original slot width. This will require a separate process. Mr. Seals suggested that we submit the paperwork separate from the clean up and removal of the invasive species.

Mr. Seals promised to get back with me in a few days.

Dan

[markc]

We have many individuals in the club who are qualified chain-saw operators. Factors to keep in mind are the many hours that said individuals have accumulated clearing trees at mountain sites, the safety gear that they routinely use, the planning that is required to lay trees down in an organized and safe sequence, and the communications gear used to keep everyone in the loop about what's going on. We do that all the time.

While it's unlikely that any of our club members can claim to be logger, many *DO* have skills that go far beyond those of Harry-The-Home-Owner who's just bought himself a chainsaw at Home Depot. It might be helpful to point out the fact that we have been clearing launch sites in the mid-Atlantic, on mountain-sides, for decades. On both private and national forest land.

I think we need to convey the fact that we have many skilled and experienced people in the club, and that the sum of those experiences is certainly equal to the task of dropping the small trees that have grown up in the launch slot in just 10 years. That part of the task is a relatively small job.... Clearing all the brush and moving the felled trees will be the actual challenge.

MarkC

[deveil]

my guess is that certified means having completed an approved basics/safety course.

[deveil]

which would probably be a good thing in any event. sort of like going back to the training hill now and again for a brush up.