2006  - A Summer of Success!
The Advisory Committee and volunteers have not only been watching but have been active on Chester Creek, Abbott Road Multi Use and East Northern Lights trails and at trailheads through events and projects.  The following are some of the 2006 Trail Watch project highlights.

 

Ride and Roll Trail Watch Day - May 13, 2006
A low key recreational activity focusing on trail participation & safety was supported by Trail Watch volunteers and partners was a great success.  Riders, rollers and walkers were invited to be out on the two trail segments as a Saturday afternoon ride and roll supported at numerous stations. Four Trail Watch refreshment / aid stations and Kincaid Chalet, Westchester Lagoon Headquarters and Goose Lake Paddleboat Café, Trail Watch stations were open to support riders providing water, some snacks, bike checks / helmets for those kids without. Some of the focus points of success were:

  • Over 150 bike helmets provided by AK Safe Kids / Providence were given away to youth on the trails.
  • Ten Covenant House volunteers gave the Covey Café / Westchester Trail Watch Headquarters an inside make over.
  • REI provided bike checks on countless bikes.
  • Approximately 830 trail users had interaction with our station volunteers.
  • Thirty (30) volunteers contributed over 130 hours to our inaugural event.
  • Many trail users expressed interest and desire to be part of the Trail Watch program.

National Trails Day - June 3, 2006
Over 150 volunteers made a difference on our trails on National Trails Day. Trail Watch volunteers and committee project leaders were focused on 3 projects joined with other user groups, BLM and the Anchorage Responsible Beverage Retailer’s Association (ARBRA).

  • Chester Creek Trail – Over 30 volunteers completed nearly half or 3200 ft of trail of the project at the Valley of the Moon and Ben Boeke Ice Arena to New Seward Highway portions of the Chester Creek trail. It entailed brushing back, deadfall removal and overall increasing the visibility corridor.
  • Abbott Road Multi Use Trail / Birch Road – Approximately 20 volunteers finished the western 150 yards of alder tunnel trail and improved line of sight on 4 down hill curves found on the Abbott Road Multi Use Trail In Far North Bicentennial Park.
  • Campbell Airstrip Road Mile 1.1 Trail head – A small team of volunteers completed the brushing project with the pruning of new undergrowth to open the parking island area visibility as a Smash and Bash prevention project.
  • Far North Trail Signage – A small team of volunteers located 24 of the 35 "You are here" sign posts that are planned for late summer installation.

Other user groups out on projects that benefited trails were Single Track Advocates (STA), a Mountain Bike user group, polished some trail locations on the Brown Bear Trail constructed by STA in 2005, the Nordic Ski Club began work in creating two new connector trails and surface reconditioning on the Richter Loop and Bog trails and BLM continued work on a new N/S connector trail on Campbell Tract between Smoke Jumper trail head and Lore Road.

Phase II Chester Creek Trail Safety Make Over - July 12, 2006
Nearly 60 volunteers and staff completed the Chester Creek Trail Watch focus project started on June 3.  In summary:

  • Work crews completed the trail corridor from A to Eagle streets to include the Fireweed Trail and Eagle Street connector.
  • 3,200 ft of improved trail equaled the efforts of June 3.A visual / safety corridor averaging 40 ft wide reaching a length of 5,550 ft nearly double that of June 3 (3,200 ft) when aligning the work on both sides of the trail, end for end was created.
  • Three tree companies & staff of Great Land, Tall Trees and Gage supported the safety project effort by a grant from the Anchorage Park Foundation to the Anchorage Responsible Beverage Retailer's Association.
  • Youth Works and Community Work Service volunteers joined Trail Watch volunteers in this project.

Public Lands Day 2006 - Three projects fo trail safety - September 30, 2006 
 On Saturday, September 30th over 250 volunteers joined Parks and Recreation, BLM and the Campbell Creek Science Center staff on numerous projects as part of the efforts to celebrate National Public Lands Day, a Take Pride in America event. The following is a summary of success on three trail related safety projects.

Trail Watch Northern Lights Trail Safety Makeover - Sixty seven (67) volunteers combined with 18 Community Work Service volunteers tackling the N. Lights trail - Phase 1.

  • Work crews focused on opening up visibility on the non road side / south side of the trail Goose Lake to Bragaw / East High School.
  • Volunteers represented Trail Watch, Elmendorf AFB 3rd Air Wing, three East High School student clubs, ARBRA, UAA / APU students and faculty, AK Adventure Group, NASSPA - Skijor Club, Arctic Bicycle Club and the Nordic Ski Club.
  • Tall Tree Service and Great Land Tree Service provided chipping crew support to re-distribute the limbs and debris back into the ecosystem.
  • Nearly 3500 ft of trail was improved by some 85 volunteers who contributed over 350 hours to trail safety.

Far North / Hillside Trail System Safety Sign Project - Ten (10) volunteers began the installation of "You are Here" trail posts and signage at critical intersections and junctions.

  • Volunteers helped cut and set posts for trail signs that will inform users of the name of trail, winter use, a locator map, and the distances to nearest trail heads.
  • The 10 volunteers, representing park trail users, contributed 75 volunteer hours and were able to set 22 of the 35 identified posts as part of Phase 1 of improving trail & park safety through better trail signage.

Mile 1.1 Campbell Airstrip Trail Head - The parking lot island at the Campbell Airstrip Trail Head (Mile 1.1) received a final pruning and trimming of new growth.

  • Staff directed upwards of 20 volunteers who completed the brushing project started in 2005 as a Trail Head Smash & Dash prevention project recording nearly 60 hours of volunteer effort.
  • Parks and Recreation, Community Work Service volunteers removed four large flat bed truck loads of brush and wood products from the parking island.

Thank you to the Trail Watch volunteers, the 30+ Elmendorf 3rd Air Wing volunteers, the three East High student clubs, ARBRA, UAA/APU students and faculty, Far North Trails Advisory committee, NASSPA (Ski Joring Club), NSAA (Nordic Ski Club), STA (SingleTrack Advocates), Tall Tree Services, Great Land Tree Service and numerous trail advocates who helped make our trails safer in the largest Public Lands Day Event to date for Anchorage.