FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RTCA-Alaska
projects featured in a new video/handbook
03/13/03 -
RTCA-Alaska has been
actively conducting an applied research program on trail hardening for all-terrain/off-highway
vehicles (ATV/OHV) trails across the state for the past several years. Findings from
this effort are documented in a new videocassette and accompanying handbook available to
the public.
The video features the Rivers,
Trails and Conservation Assistance Program - Alaska Region, and covers ATV trail
issues from a rural perspective, as well as trail impact mitigation on Kodiak
Island. The first half contains segment from the “Heartbeat of Alaska” television program
that aired in early December 2002 about ATV use in rural Alaska areas. The
2nd half includes a detailed segment
about a trail impact mitigation project in the summer of 2002, conducted on the
Summit Lake Trail on Kodiak Island.
The accompanying technical handbook entitled, "Managing
Degraded Off-Highway Vehicle
Trails in Wet, Unstable, and Sensitive Environments" provides a framework
for a comprehensive technical response to degraded OHV trails on public lands.
It describes the nature of soils and how they are degraded by OHV traffic, and
outlines a series of management elements including: trail location mapping,
condition assessment, improvement prescriptions, implementation, and maintenance
and monitoring. It describes a range of management options for severely
degraded trails such as trail re-routing, seasonal and other use restrictions,
trail hardening and trail closure.
The report also provides an expanded discussion on trail hardening techniques
including an “Installation Guide for Porous Pavement Panels”.
The report was recently published
as a collaborative effort between the NPS-RTCA, the USDA Forest Service Missoula
Technology and Development Program, and the USDOT Federal Highway Administration
Office of Human Environment.
Free copies of the report are available by calling: (907) 644-3575.
OR For More Information
Contact:
Lisa_Holzapfel@nps.gov
(907) 644-3586
Rivers, Trails and Conservation
Assistance Program - Alaska Region National Park Service
240 W. 5th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501
Internet:
Lisa_Holzapfel@nps.gov www.nps.gov/akso/riversandtrails/
