March 30 Shimek Trails Update from Forester John Byrd.......

Shimek Trails Update from Forester John Byrd as of March 30.......

It is that time of year again when the phone starts ringing off the hook about camping and riding trails.  This also means that the mushroom hunters will be calling as well.  Spring is a great time to visit Shimek and get back in touch with nature after a long winter.  Woodland plants start to emerge and show their lovely colors which make for a good distraction from all the other activities people have this time of year. 

As of now the equestrian trails are still wet and muddy, but as things start to “green up” the trails dry out faster and recover from spring rains faster.  Something new this year to lock into the memory banks is the status of the trails at Shimek.  There have been hundreds of hours devoted to trying to provide good trail management by DNR staff and FOS Volunteers and there will be hundreds more this year.  With a grant to FOS from the William M and Donna J Hoaglin Foundation for the purchase of gravel this year, we are set to put in another 2.2 mile loop of wet weather trail (WWT) (if the weather is drier this year.) 

The map below shows the current WWT in red and the planned additon to the WWT in blue.

Another point involving the WWT is that it will be closed more this year.  This is not due to the fact that it isn’t holding up or we can’t maintain it.  It is due to the nature of the rules.  One of the most important rules is staying off the other riding trails when they are closed and the WWT is open.  After visually inspecting the trails during closures there were multiple areas that still had significant riding pressure.  I have had multiple people tell me that their horse doesn’t mind riding through the mud and wet trails.  This is not the point of closing trails.  The primary point of closing the trails is to protect the natural resource. In some cases (particularly rough terrain) this also protects the safety of horses and riders.  If the natural resource can’t be protected during these wet times then the future of horse riding at Shimek could be compromised and no one wants that scenario.  With all of that being said, I do plan to try to open the WWT when the other trails are closed in the future and see if riders can follow the rules.  My hope is that everyone can follow the rules so the riders that follow rules aren’t punished by the riders who don’t.

As always, thank you for everyone’s support and I look forward to a great riding and trail work season.

 John Byrd, Shimek Area Forester

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Phone 319-878-3811

john.byrd@dnr.iowa.gov

 

 

Why not ride when the trails are wet?

 

 

This is what happens when we ride the trails when they are wet – a muddy loblolly that lasts for months is created that then begins to ditch and wash and erode the trails, destroying them forever. Follow the riding rules and stay off the trails when they are closed. Its easy to know where the Wet Weather Trails is---it is the graveled trail. Print off the map above or on the FOS blogspot. The Closed, WWT only or Open riding designations are not an option---if we want to ride at Shimek---we must protect the trails and follow the riding rules. People violating the rules might get tickets---but we could all lose our riding privileges in the forest. Yes—riding there is a privilege—not a right. Lets all cooperate to be sure we can continue to enjoy the riding trails.

Friends of Shimek