FoOTNotes - Vol. 1 / No 1 (Feb. 2004)

FoOT Volunteers and Supporters,
Welcome to this first edition of FoOTnotes, our new, semi-occasional newsletter to bring you up to date on our project. A lot has been going on the past few weeks, so here goes...

• Progress: First, and most important, we have now adopted 171.9 miles of the Ouachita Trail !! Outstanding achievement. Thank you all. The biggest open section we have is the eastern end, most of which is on private property. So when you look at the adoptions on the National Forest map, which we did last week, over 85% of the trail within the National Forest is now adopted. We obviously still need recruits, to get this number up to 100%, and to fill in the non-forest sections, but we should all be proud of what we have done.
• Weed eaters: We now have seven weed-eaters available to our members. Many Thanks to Mr. John Wesson and the good folks down at Electrolux Home Products, who make Poulan Weed eaters for this gift. We currently have three units in the Hot Springs area. These include two heavy duty units (one rigged with string; one with a blade) and one light weight string cutter. These units are in the custody of Billy McMillen (922-4994). Our intent is to put three units in the Mena area, with the same mix, in the custody of Mike Kelsey. We are looking for a place for the remaining two heavy duty units, preferably in-between. Volunteers let me know. IMPORTANT: Weed eaters can be very dangerous machines. They fling debris at astonishing speeds. Everyone in your work crew must use eye protection and hard hats. District Ranger offices can provide the hard hats; for now you must provide your own safety glasses. Ear protection is also a good idea with these things.
• USFS - FoOT Meeting: We had a very successful planning/coordinating meeting with the Forest Service January 27. Most of the following topics are a result of that meeting. Tom Ferguson, our primary contact in the Forest Supervisor's Office ran the meeting and clearly is working hard to make this project a success. The meeting will produce some changes to our preliminary documents, but this is to be expected, and we learn as we go. We have some slightly different interpretations of the Volunteer Work agreement, which I will cover in a separate message. The second edition of our Maintenance Guide will probably be published relatively soon also. The changes should make the document more useful and answer questions already received from some members.
• Working with the Forest Service:
  • USFS requests that we always check in with the cognizant ranger district whenever we plan to work on the trail. It is important for them to know work crews are on the trail. If you plan to request the District to provide tools, give them as much notice as possible. A full roster of Forest Service contacts, as of Jan 31, is being forwarded separately.
  • Districts will provide tools in many cases. Tread tools, such as Pulaskis and fire rakes, can be made available on request. In a couple of districts, they will probably set up lockers and give the keys to FoOT so that we can access the tools on our own schedule.
  • USFS has requested that our Work Reports be modified to include a complete list of names of all workers. This is necessary to meet their reporting obligations, and protects our liability rights.
• Working with FoOT: As mentioned earlier, we will separately discuss a revision to our initial documents, including the volunteer agreement (no, you wont be required to sign again), the maintenance guide, and the report format. We are also trying to finalize a process for handling the work reports. For now please continue to send them to our FoOT e-mail box (friends_ot2003) or to our PO Box (PO Box 8630, Hot Springs 71910).
  • The most important change to the report form is to list the names of all workers. For simplicity, please separate members (volunteers who have signed a volunteer agreement and one-time (or occasional) guest workers.
  • In most cases, FoOT will send in the 'second pass' team to work areas recommended for further action on your reports. The FoOT second pass teams will have two primary jobs - chain saw and blazing. When the chain saw gang goes into an area, the volunteer who has adopted that section of trail will be requested to provide the "swamper" (second man required for safety) for the certified saw man. FoOT has been authorized to rework blazes in all districts now - except in designated wilderness areas.
• Training Safety: Training and Safety is a major focus of the Forest Service part of our team, and must remain a focus for all of us. Several major topics were discussed on Jan 27.
  • Annual Training sessions. It is the intent of the USFS to offer FoOT volunteers at least annually a hands-on trail maintenance workshop, with the hands-on section involving the Ouachita Trail. The first session may be scheduled in conjunction with the annual Trails Festival, hosted by the Arkansas Trails Council. The festival will be in September. Stay tuned for more information.
  • Chain Saw certification. Kris McMillen and the USFS are working to get a chain saw certification class scheduled in the near future. If you are interested in certification, and have not let us know, contact Kris. We are asked to remember that our certifications will be for cutting downed trees only. In the meantime, hand saws can cut through some serious wood and accomplish much of what we need done. I carry a sheathed knife that can go through about three inches in a couple of minutes. Check the hardware stores, or catalogs like Ben Meadows.
  • Weed-eater safety. I already addressed this issue above. The Forest service will attempt to purchase at least one hard hat/face shield combination unit which we can keep with each weed-eater unit. This will help a lot.
  • Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook. We have several copies of this USFS publication, and in fact used it to produce our abbreviated guide. Those who want to dig deeper into trail criteria are encouraged to look at this publication.
• Volunteer Benefits: Although most of us have volunteered for trail work because we want to give something back to the trails we use, I have received questions about reciprocity. The USFS is anxious to make us volunteers feel wanted and so far have offered the following:
  • Liability: The master agreement states that the USFS will "consider participants as federal employees for the purposes of tort claims and compensation for work related injuries."
  • Free camping. Free camping at Forest Service campgrounds will be offered to FoOT volunteers when they are working on the trail. We are developing some placards to identify you at the campgrounds, but in the meantime, just let your District Ranger know if you plan to camp on a work trip. [Note: At least one private campground has offered several of our volunteers exceptionally good rates when they were doing trail maintenance. It can't hurt to ask at other private campgrounds. The Rich Mountain Country Store and RV Park (on 270 at base of Rich Mountain) has given great discount in the past while we were doing trail work. Contact Steve Watson at the store 479-394-5300. ]
  • USFS Volunteer patches. All of our volunteers rate "Trail Volunteer" patches to sew on your jackets or back packs. We are working on distribution now.
  • The Forest Service has no budget for signs to indicate trail adoptions ("This section of trail adopted by...") We are, however, working on a proposal for inexpensive signs that perhaps FoOT could pay for. We will continue discussions with the USFS.
• Membership in FoOT: Several people have asked about membership and dues for membership in FoOT. Our by-laws specifically state that anyone who adopts a section of trail and performs trail maintenance is a voting member of the organization, with no dues payment required. We do accept membership from people who support our objectives but are unable to work on the trails, and that currently requires a contribution of $25 or more. We believe it is important that volunteer workers not be required to pay dues, and have no intention to change that. As we struggle to get started, however, we are incurring costs associated with mailings, PO Box, safety equipment, gasoline for our weed-eaters, and numerous other expenses. Any of our volunteers wishing to make a donation to offset these expenses, may send that donation to Friends of the Ouachita Trail, PO Box 8630, Hot Springs 71910.
• Miscellany:
  • Club contact people please feel free to forward any FoOT material to your membership list. Particularly those persons who you expect to work on the trail.
  • The Ouachita Mountain Hikers invite all FoOT volunteers to hear a special guest speaker at their February monthly meeting. Mr. Roy Senyard, Director of Trail Maintenance for the Ozark Highlands Trail Association will speak to the club at 7:00pm, Thursday Feb 19. The meeting will be at the Garland County Public Library, 1427 Malvern Avenue, Hot Springs.
  • FoOT has chosen the "Ouachita Trail Guide", by Tim Ernst, as our official reference book for the trail. Mr. Tim Ernst is a noted Arkansas wild life photographer, author of several Arkansas Hiking Guides, and founding member of the Ozark Highlands Trail Association. He has offered to give FoOT recognition on his "Hike Arkansas" web page, to promote FoOT in any future editions of the Trail Guide, and to offer discounts on the guide to FoOT volunteers. For those unfamiliar with Tim's books, they can be found at most Arkansas bookstores or directly from his web site at www.hikearkansas.com.

Jim Gifford, President
Friends of the Ouachita Trail