Jan. 8
We hadn’t done maintenance on the trails at River Recharge for some time, so it was good we had one of our best turnouts for crew members. More than 30 tackled various tasks, including string-trimming, lopping and tree limb removal and construction and repair of water bars on the Swallet Trail.
Team Flora members removed some cactus encroaching on the trail to the wildlife viewing stand which is under construction. We also spread wildflower and native grass seed in anticipation of some rain. (Photos and text by Lance Jones)
Jan. 10
Sharing thoughts. Yesterday I mentioned that the trail crew was 30+ with plenty of tasks to go around. It wasn’t too many years past that we were lucky if 10 people showed up at the crack of dawn (summer heat and folks with jobs).
Yesterday’s trail crew size is an indication of the value that the community puts into our efforts. Not everyone is retired as we count several professors and undergraduates in our crew.
The mix of backgrounds of the crew is impressive but all value being outside, contributing to the community and watching our efforts germinate over time.
We were fortunate that the City of San Marcos had the foresight to set aside more than 2,000 acres. Three full-time city employees have been a godsend for what they are able to accomplish. The natural areas serve several purposes:
- flood mitigation – undeveloped, natural areas reduces flood levels downstream
- Water quality – watershed for both the river and drinking water
- Air quality – Trees = carbon capture filter out particulates
- Wildlife – development is pushing wild animals out
- Recreation – residents & visitors
- Exercise – healthy citizens both physically and mentally
- Nature – classrooms and research for tiny tots and post-doctoral
- Cooling factor – greenspaces are cooler than concrete and roadways
- Transportation – an alternate route to get from point A to point B
- Night sky – preserve the starry skies
(Text by Lance Jones, photos courtesy of Monique Tschurr)
Jan. 22
Back at River Recharge. Construction of the wildlife viewing station (aka bird blind) continued just off the service road in the natural area. The sides and roof frame were completed. After the roofing is completed, a gutter will capture the water into a rain barrel. That water will be used for a guzzler-fed water feature for the birds and animals that are already present.
The bulk of the trail crew worked first on closing off a rogue trail that dipped into a dry creek bed that will certainly erode if not corrected.
Speaking of erosion additional water tables (aka water bars) were constructed on Doline Trail. This natural area has several karst features that prove the importance of water management.
Photos courtesy of Jo Korthals, Monique Tshurr and Lance Jones.
Jan. 29
Trail crew at River Richarge. Because it would be a little nippy the crew started work on the River Recharge projects at 8:30a.m. This gave the sun a chance to warm things up a bit, but you can see in the pictures it was still a mite cool. Thanks to Yvonne and Monique for the photos and Susan for helping get them presentable.
From Todd, team leader on Thursday: “Work on the bird blind will continue, there are at least three trail tables needed on Karst Corner and there may be other details that could use some attention depending on trail conditions considering the rain and ice we received over the past few days.”
What determines where and what our two-hour trail crew tackles on Thursday mornings? A lot of planning and scouting goes into these weekly workdays. Reports of trouble spots from our Adopt-a-trail volunteers and the trail users themselves. There’s also a monthly Stewardship Committee meeting.
To learn more about Stewardship and the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance consider attending our annual meeting Saturday, Feb. 28.
Feb. 5
We worked in three different areas.
Team #1 worked on a Dante reroute in middle Purgatory near marker D38. This included a side sloping new trail to avoid a large oak trunk that is too close and is leaning into the trail. On the trail coming up to this area, several drainage features needed to be created to help with cupping and erosion of the trail.
Team #2 worked on armoring tree roots near the creek bottom of Beatrice. Near this area, we also created drainage features along the trail to help with erosion and reduce rocky prominence’s.
And finally, Team #3 finished up working on the bird blind in the River Recharge area.
Feb. 12
With the increase in crew size (and much better weather) we were able to expand to three projects. Team Flora worked on painting the Wildlife View Stand (bird blind) in River Recharge. That project is coming along well.
A smaller group worked at Limestone Link where the county has partnered with us.
The main trail crew worked in Purgatory Creek. Here is Monique’s take on the trail effort: Crew headed to Beatrice in Middle Purgatory. Beatrice was built pre- SMGA so we are working on repairing or rerouting sections that have erosion issues.
A specific creek crossing in Beatrice (let’s call it Broken Bones) has major erosion issues that has caused major cupping and rutting that leads to problems of large cobbles and major razor- sharp limestone exposure. We are doing 2 things at this trail section:
- We are still keeping the creek crossing open for those who like the challenging climb in and out BUT are rerouting a short bit on the lower approach. The reroute will protect some tree roots and give the closed section back to the creek so water can move through its natural course.
- We are building an ALTERNATE line for those who’d rather not travel ‘Broken Bones’. The alternate route allows a friendlier switchback way across creek crossing. The alternate route crosses Beatrice but skirts the sketchy section. You leave Beatrice for only a short distance.
We hope these improvements will make hiking and biking Beatrice a pleasant experience by giving users a safer option and making Beatrice more sustainable!
