FoOTNotes - Vol. 2 / No 1 (Jan 2005)

FoOT Volunteers and Supporters,

Happy New Year. Welcome to the second full year of FoOT existence. We have come a long way.
Thanks to all of you who participated in the election of our Board of Directors. The proposed slate of officers was supported by all those who voted (about 60% turn-out). This gives us a strong slate of officers for the next two years. Hopefully, we will all earn your trust and serve the organization and the trail well. The new Board, in accordance with our by-laws, has appointed the officers for this year as well. Below is a quick summary of the Board members and the leadership roles they will play. Feel free to contact us at any time.

Returning Board Members:

• Martha Doty (2004/2005 term): Martha is a hiker and a long time member of the Ouachita Mountain Hikers. She served as Trail Maintenance Chairman for OMH for over five years and was named the "Arkansas Trails Volunteer of the Year" in 2001, based partly on her efforts during the cleanup of the great ice storm of 2000. Martha does not hold an officer position, but has accepted Chairmanship of a Standing Committee on Resources to explore such issues as incorporation of our organization, fund raising, and sponsorships. Martha has adopted a five mile section of trail in Mena District, west of Foran Gap.
• Jim Gifford (2004/2005 term): Jim is a past-President of the Ouachita Mountain Hikers and has been President of FoOT since its founding in Dec 2003. Since retiring to Arkansas in 2000, he has been active in trails work with the U.S. Forest service, Hot springs national Park, the Arkansas Trails Council, and the Hot Springs Village Trails committee. Jim maintains a 3.5 mile section of trail in Jessieville District, west of hwy 7. He works on the OMH work parties; he is chainsaw certified. He will serve as President of FoOT again this year.
• Ed Hawkins (2004/2005 term): Ed lives in Waldron, AR and is a mountain biker. He is active in several clubs and organizations in the state. He has supported trail maintenance efforts in the Ouachita National Forest for several years. He has been active in the Arkansas Trails Council, currently serving as Chairman of that organization. During the founding of FoOT, Ed was instrumental in coordinating participation of the mountain biker community. Ed has adopted a five mile section of trail in Poteau district, on Fourche Mountain. He is chainsaw certified and a member of the FoOT Patrol.
• Kris McMillen (2004/2005 term): Kris is current President of Ouachita Mountain Hikers and past chairman of the Arkansas Trails Council. She has been active in trail maintenance in both organizations. Kris was the first VP of Recruitment for FoOT (and most of you can remember when she first convinced you this was a good idea). Kris and her husband Billy were instrumental in creation of the "Dreaded FoOT Patrol". The FoOT Patrol is the group that follows up (usually with chainsaw) on the "work needed" in your work reports. As the primary focal point for FoOT Patrol, Kris no longer adopts a section of her own, but works all over the trail. This year Kris will be the Vice President of Maintenance.

New Board members:

• Seth Buys (2005/2006 term): Seth is mountain biker and lives in Waldron, AR. Seth has been active in trail issues for years and does lots of trail work. He participates in the Arkansas Trails Council . Seth has adopted a five mile section of trail in the Oden District and is a member of FoOT Patrol.
• Todd Henne (2005/2006 term): Todd is a mountain biker from Plainview, AR. Todd is a member of Tri Peaks Cycling club (which has adopted a section of trail, and Todd has also adopted 4.5 miles in the Oden District, near the Womble Trail. He is a member of FoOT Patrol.
• Loretta Melancon (2005/2006 term): Loretta Melancon lives in Hot Springs Village, AR, and is vice president of Ouachita Mountain Hikers. Loretta recruited and leads a rather large team that has adopted over seven miles of trail in Jessieville District. She is relatively new to the area and to trail work, but her enthusiasm is contagious. Loretta will serve as Vice President of Recruitment for FoOT.
• Roy Senyard (2005/2006 term): Roy Senyard has been trail maintenance chairman for Ozark Highlands Trail Association for many years. He lives in Fayetteville, AR. He does trail work continually and is chainsaw certified. Roy has adopted a 4.6 mile section of the Ouachita Trail in Jessieville district (including Ouachita Pinnacle). Roy is considered an expert on maintenance and construction, and he has agreed to share his expertise with us by serving on our board.
• Glenn Wortham (2005/2006 term): Glenn lives in Hot Springs Village, AR. He is Trail Maintenance Chairman for Ouachita Mountain Hikers, and leads their effort to adopt/maintain almost 20 miles of the trail in Flatside wilderness and surrounding area. Glenn is a member of Loretta's team on her section of trail and has also adopted a four mile section of his own in Jessieville district. He is a member of FoOT Patrol and is chainsaw certified.

What We Have Accomplished

This time a year ago, several sections of the trail were virtually impassable, and we had no overall visibility as to which sections were good and which were bad. Compare that to today:

• We now have over 200 miles of trail adopted. The only remaining un-adopted sections are in the east end (Section 10).
• Since the first of October we have recorded almost 1000 hours of volunteer labor on the trail.
• At the end of November, after a summer of heavy growth, we had a complete overview of the condition of the trail. This may be the first time we have ever had such visibility. As of the latest work reports (and/or reports from the through hike) we have 100 miles reported in Green condition; 92 miles in Yellow condition; and only 26 miles reported as Red. This is the most meaningful measure of success we can use, and these ratings come despite a very heavy season of growth and in spite of the "tough grading" that Kris McMillen used during her through hike.
• Beyond the individual efforts of those who adopted sections, we had eight major work parties that spent two to three days each solving particular problems. We cleaned up two un-adopted sections of trail that were definitely "Red"; we re-routed a section of trail in the Flatside Wilderness that had collapsed; and we repaired at least one shelter on the trail.
• We have 130 names on our roster and 15 clubs/organizations that are active.
• We have collected about $200 in cash donations, which has helped to offset some of our administrative expenses.
• We have five commercial sponsors:
  • Electrolux Corp (Poulan Weed-eaters) was first and most generous in giving us seven weed-eaters.
  • Husqvarna donated a powerful brush cutter.
  • International Paper has donated safety equipment.
  • Tim Ernst's Hike Arkansas web page (www.hikearkansas.com) is providing a promotional link and has offered a discount on the Ouachita Trail Guide book.
  • Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters (Airport Road in Hot Springs) is supporting our cause by offering a 10% discount on outdoor equipment to all FoOT members. They have also adopted a section of trail.

All of this is real progress. It is a great start, but it is only a start.

What We Need to Do Better

The most important thing FoOT needs to do is better manage the work and trail information we receive. We did not have a formal process to manage the data received on work reports or to assure follow-up on trouble reports. Reports were handled on an ad hoc basis, and little planning went into follow up. At the recent Board meeting this problem was addressed and a better approach will be used from now on. We have gone back and categorized the data received so far and put it into a meaningful plan. More importantly, we now have the tools to keep ahead of the information.

We need to strengthen our coordination with the Forest Service and the District Offices. The Ouachita National Forest has been strongly supportive of our efforts, we need to make sure that we give them what they need to manage their limited resources.

Although we are excited about the early enthusiasm for FoOT, that initial burst of enthusiasm has pretty much run its course. We have definitely hit a plateau on new adoptions and new donations. We need a concerted publicity campaign to generate new support. That effort is underway.

As we move into our second full year, we need to take the steps necessary to perpetuate the organization and make sure that this is not just a burst of enthusiasm for a few years. This is hard work, but we are underway.

New Work Reports: Due to numerous comments from you the Volunteers, and our own experience in handling the work reports, the report has been redone and greatly simplified. The new form will be distributed separately in a day or so. Now we need your cooperation in getting the reports to us. The revised report puts focus on trail condition and work still required after you finish. Please differentiate those tasks you plan to accomplish on your next outing and those things you need help with. If you want FoOT Patrol or Forest service help. please be as specific as possible in location. Use flagging tape if you have it to identify the spots.

Trail condition is particularly important in prioritizing follow up work, whether provided by the FoOT Patrol or the Forest Service. Many of you apparently have not felt this was important in the past. Please include it in your report using the traditional "Red / Yellow / Green" status. In fact, we have also created a new form, strictly voluntary, called a "Trail Condition Report". This is intended for those of us who go use a section of trail, on those rare days when we go out just to enjoy the trail and want to give a "heads up" report. Such a report may be useful to other trail users and it may be an important insight for the person who has adopted that trail. For example, take a scenario this fall. The adopter had been on his section in late summer and thought he was in good shape. A warm, wet October produced a lot more growth and his section became very overgrown. Had a trail user not reported this, he might have been unaware, and swamped when he finally went back out six months later. This new form allows you to give that report and let people know how the trail is doing.

Forest Service Meeting: One of the key aspects in our coordination with the national Forest is the annual planning meeting, tentatively scheduled for January. The intent of that meeting is to look at the overall condition of the trail and discuss who can best do what work. This is a great help to the Forest service in managing their limited dollars and personnel. We also want this year to discuss how our interaction can improve through out the year, so that both groups can be more effective in our common goals.

Publicity: A publicity campaign leveraging the through-hike taken by Kris McMillen and friends this past November is now underway. We are working with various state-wide media and will then focus on local media in the smaller towns throughout the Ouachita Mountains. Any of you with media connections or ideas of where some publicity might be targeted, please speak up.

New FoOT Website: One publicity tool is the internet. We have recently created our first Friends of the Ouachita Trail web-site. It is little more than an introduction to who we are and why, at this time, but it is a start. It will grow over the coming months into a useful tool where current volunteers can obtain information they need and where trail users can get a quick look at trail conditions. Go take a look now at www.friendsOT.org - and then watch us grow over the coming months. Thanks to Mike Kelsey for getting us up and running. Ernie Weidenberger will now take over as web-master.
By the way, we are looking for a sponsor to cover the expenses of operating a web-site. Any one who knows of a likely source, please let us know. Individual donations would be appreciated also -- about $200 will cover the creation and first year's operation.

Fund-Raising: The FoOT by-laws specifically state that FoOT trail workers will never be required to make a financial donation for the privilege of working on our trail. Although many of you have volunteered to contribute anyway, our fund-raising strategy is based on seeking other sources of money for our financial means. One of the steps in this process is incorporation of Friends of the Ouachita Trail and recognition as a tax-exempt organization. This process has been started and is one of the goals of Martha Doty's "Resources" Committee. Martha will also be exploring other opportunities for fund-raising throughout the year.

Thanks again to all of you who have been part of getting FoOT off the ground. The first year was great; the second year should be even greater. Together we can make a real difference and ensure that the Ouachita Trail remains a healthy asset for years to come.

Jim Gifford, President
Friends of the Ouachita Trail