FoOTNotes - Vol. 2 / No 5 (July 2005)

FoOT Volunteers and Supporters,
Just a couple of items, while we hide from the heat and bugs of a Ouachita summer.

• FoOT Web Page Re-designed: First, our re-styled web page (hopefully final format) is up and running for about a couple weeks now - go take a look. We have a lot of content still to add, but at least the format and structure has settled down. Thanks to FoOT member and new webmaster Mike Sims !! Coming soon to the web-site will be:
  
  • A page of links to other outdoor activities and supporters. If your club or organization has a web page that you would like linked to the FoOT page, just let us know. You might also consider putting a link to FoOT on your organization's page.
  • A page identifying sections currently open for adoption. Although the trail has been completely adopted at one time or another, this is a vey dynamic process and changes occur regularly. The page we are working on will list those sections that are currently available for adoption, so that people interested in joining can see what is available. Current members can also use this page to see if they can swap sections, find one closer to home, more challenging, whatever.
• Trail Condition Report: One of the features of the new web site is a Trail Condition report. The report is in spread sheet format and shows last reported condition of each segment of trail, using our Green / Yellow / Red code used on the work reports. For each section, it provides the current condition, with the source and date of that report. This report should be useful to all trail users, as well as FoOT members. The key to the utility of this page will be the accuracy and timeliness of the information. Some of the sections reported on this initial sheet are six months old, or worse. You, as FoOT Volunteers and as trail users, are the source of the information. If your adopted section has old (out of date) data - send in a "FoOT Work Report" or a "Trail condition Report" to update it. As a trail user, if you find an area that is not "as advertised" (good or bad), please submit a "Trail Condition Report" (or just send us an e-mail) , but let us know.
• Work Reports: Keeping track of work reports has become a big job. Our "head of maintenance", FoOT VP Kris McMillen, has brought on help to review, consolidate, and track the work reports. "EJ" Pangle has accepted this assignment and is finding out the hard way what she volunteered for. There are several important reasons for the work reports, the first being so that we have visibility of the trail conditions. This allows us to provide the Trail condition report mentioned above - as a service to all trail users - and it allows us to prioritize work appropriately. The second is to provide visibility of work that needs to be done - jobs that the FoOT patrol or the USFS need to follow up on. Finally, it provides a source of data that our partners in the USFS need for their reporting system on volunteer support (the manhours and miles driven data). Kris' objective is to provide specific feedback on the reports to the volunteers, where possible, so you know what is happening to your information. We have a little way to go yet before that is a reality, but in the meantime Kris writes:
  "I am overwhelmed with Trail Work Reports and rather than try to sit here and email everyone individually, I am using this way to thank each and every FoOT trail maintainer for all the great work reports sent in for the first half of 2005. We had gotten a bit behind on responses due to making a lot of changes in our clerical work, including a new staff member, E.J. Pangle, who is helping us streamline all this data. I love all of the great comments and notes you are writing on these report forms so please keep doing that. I want to hear it all--good and bad. I know that absolutely nobody likes paperwork (especially me---'cause I just want to be out on the trail), but the work reports are our main communication with you guys out there volunteering. Please keep them coming--it is important. Through the information you are providing we can make this thing work in an organized and timely manner thus keeping the Ouachita National Recreation Trail open and in good shape. Please see our revised website (still under construction) and check out the new Trail Conditions report. Again, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all you are doing to make FoOT a success and if you ever have a question or need anything, do not hesitate to contact me."
  
• Summer FoOT Activities: A couple of activities this summer have kept FoOT's name and mission in front of people.
  FoOT Sponsored two events on National Trails Day, and both were reported succesful. At Big Brushy, a group of mountain bikers had a big turn out and a good time. At Lake Sylvia, FoOT and the Ouachita National Forest jointly sponsored the events, including several hikes and ceremonies at historic Camp Ouachita.
  In mid - June, the Ouachita National Forest Recreational staff hosted their counterparts from USFS Region 8, headquartered in Atlanta, and including national forests stretching across the south from South Carolina and Florida to Arkansas. The three day conference in Hot Springs had a focus on partnering and included a "field trip" day, including visits to several ONF sites, such as Albert Pike Campground, Little Missouri Falls, Crystal Campground, and Charlton Campground. FoOT Directors Jim Gifford and Kris McMillen were invited to participate in the field trip day, as examples of succesful partnering with USFS. The FoOT Directors described the partnership relationship between the Ouachita National Forest and Friends of the Ouachita Trail, how the partnership came about, and why it is a win-win solution for both the USFS and trail users. The two FoOT participants spent a full day with the Recreational staffs, explaining how our program might be implemented in other forests. The two also gained a better understanding of the multitude of challenges facing the USFS.

FoOT is organized exclusively to provide assistance for the maintenance, enhancement and use of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail