Introduction to Mechanized Trail Building

March 11, 12, 13, 8 am – 5 pm, Lunch provided all 3 days

Cost: $500

Site: 7th Mountain Resort (meeting place is Riverhouse Conference Center)

Lead Instructors: Steve Thomas- Terra Firma Trails LLC,  Bill Goulding-Sustainable Trails Ltd.

Max size -8 people (additional instructors will be added if needed to accommodate more students)

DESCRIPTION

One skilled machine operator and the right machine can do the work of many hand laborers in a fraction of the time. In a dollars and cents world, machines save you time and money on any given trail project.

An un-trained machine operator can do a lot of damage in no time and this often requires significant time to "clean up the mess". These situations have given machine built trail a bad image and left trail users and land managers wondering if there is a "better way".

The "better way" is using machines for the project but making sure the operators are well trained and skilled and have a light touch. This 3-day workshop will focus on giving participants a good head start and introduction into the world of mechanized trail building. Join us for this hot topic workshop and learn how to use machines, but yield a high level of finish and an "always been there" look.

Instructors are some of the best in the business with not only good machine skills, but also good teaching and instructional skills. Teacher to student ratios will be kept low and there will be plenty of hands on machine time to hone your skills on a range of different machines.

Topics to be covered include:

• Care and feeding of trail machines
• Trailer loading and securing the load
• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and general machine safety
• Different types of machines and applications (dirt pushers vs. diggers)
• Multiple attachments on versatile machines
• Rough grading and grubbing vs. finished grading
• Trail maintenance with machines
• Road to trail conversions- making old road more effective recreational corridors
• New trail construction
• Extraction of a machine when you get in trouble
• Finish work behind the machines

This is a working and very hands on workshop, please come prepared for such. Being prepared includes having the following:  good work clothing including rain gear, good boots, gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, and a hard hat. Lunch is provided each day but you will need to bring a pack for water, snacks and extra clothing.

We will set up different stations with various machines.

Solutions-based Trail Assessment

Instructors: Scott Linnenburger, Kay-Linn Enterprises, Jeremy Wimpey, Applied Trails Research and Woody Keen, Trail Wisdom
Cost: $450 per person (includes lunches all 3 days)
Workshop Dates: March 11-13, 2017
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm each day

Where: Conference Center, Smith Rocks

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

This workshop examines a balanced approach to sustainable trail and trail system management, integrating the physical, social and managerial contexts of sustainability. Participants will engage in classroom and hands on learning on a variety of topics, including:

·        Trail Inventory

·        Trail Assessment

·        Field Assessment 

o   GPS and Field Data Form

·        Trail Classification

·        Trail User Impacts

·        Risk Management

·        Signage Inventory

·        Trail Operations and Maintenance 

Schedule

Day 1: ½ day indoors intro to trail assessment processes, then ½ in the field. 

Day 2: Full day in the field at Smith Rocks State Park doing trail assessment and data collection. 

Day 3: ½ day in the field and then ½ day wrap up with discussion on major areas of trail management plan development

Instructors

Scott Linnenburger, PTBA Member

Scott Linnenburger has nearly 20 years of experience in recreation/trail development, conservation planning, and environmental restoration projects.  His successful work on more than 100 trail projects in the federal, state, local, and private sectors demonstrates a keen ability to assist clients in developing projects that fulfill their mission, protect natural resources, and enhance community sustainability.

 After developing the International Mountain Bicycling Association's Trail Solutions, Ride Center and Gateway Trail programs, Scott founded Kay-Linn Enterprises to provide professional consultation and project management services. 

WOODY KEEN, PTBA Member

With a long and successful career in the outdoor industry, Woody Keen has always been a positive voice for the benefits of playing in the natural world. After growing one of the largest trail contracting companies in the country, Trail Dynamics, Woody founded Trail Wisdom in 2012 to focus solely on trail education and mountain bike facility planning. 

JEREMY WIMPEY, PTBA Member

Jeremey is the Research Lead, Applied Trails Research; Adjunct Faculty, Penn State University Recreation Park Tourism Management Program

Jeremy Wimpey, Ph.D. is the sole proprietor of Applied Trails Research, LLC, a trails assessment and recreation research company based in State College, PA. Dr. Wimpey is one of the country’s leading recreation ecology practitioners. His applied field investigations help public lands managers understand the phenomena and mechanisms associated with visitor-use-related impacts to wildlife, water, vegetation, and soils and impacts to other recreationists (degradation or enhancement of users’ experience) in outdoor settings. Dr. Wimpey combines his research background with on-the-ground trail expertise to develop innovative, science-based, adaptive management protocols that balance visitor use with resource protection. His work and training experience focus on estimation and modeling of recreation, wildland recreation classification, resource inventory, public involvement methodologies, social impact analyses, transportation-recreation integration, site design, use measurement, and facility operations and maintenance. His unique background—academic, trail enthusiast, entrepreneur—helps bring an innovative and holistic approach to providing solutions for recreation management challenges.

Trail Contracting - How to Make it a Good Experience

Cost: $180
Date & Time: March 12-13, 8am - 5pm (lunch on your own)
Location: Conference Center, Room TBA

Workshop Description:

A 2-part Workshop (taught since 1975) covering contract preparation, administration, and inspection.  Day 1 covers contract types and provisions, contract language, terms and conditions, procurement "boilerplate", Scope statements, RFP's vs RFQ's, Bid Schedules, the "Engineer's Estimate", writing good specifications, the role of drawings and sketches, and problems inherent in poorly prepared contracts.  Day 2 covers in-field administration and inspection, lines of contract authority, pre-bid actions and problems, contract and inspection records, appeals, disputes and claims, Stop Work Orders, accidents and "near-misses", contract closure vs termination, and problems arising from poor inspection or administration.  Scenarios and class exercises are used to emphasize points.  Participants receive a reference binder for each day, and are encouraged to share their personal experience where appropriate. 

Specific Learning Objectives:

- Be fully aware of what constitutes a good contract and its administration for both parties.

- Identify the risks and problems inherent in poorly prepared or administered contracts.

- Appreciate the "cooperative partnership" aspect of a successful contract.

Appropriate for:

Anyone preparing, administering, inspecting, or bidding on a trail maintenance or construction contract, or who anticipates doing so.

Instructor:

Mike Shields, Michael D. Shields Consulting, (907) 746-2515, meshie@mtaonline.net

Mike Shields started out on trails in 1960, in the days of axes, misery whips, and 90-pound loads in a Trapper Nelson backpack.  He has worked and/or managed trail systems in National Parks in Washington, Texas, Utah, California, Colorado, and Alaska.  Following his retirement in 1996 he has been a contract consultant providing services and training to federal, state and municipal agencies, non-profits and community volunteer groups in Alaska and throughout the western "Lower 48".  He wrote and administered construction and maintenance contracts, predominantly trails-related, from 1970 through 1996, and has assisted state and federal agencies, municipalities, and non-profits with contract preparation and pre-Award actions from 1997 to present.

High Efficiency Trail Assessment Process (HETAP)

Cost: $395
Date & Time: March 12-13, 9am - 5pm

Instructor: Todd Ackerman, Beneficial Designs
Location: TBD

Workshop Description:

The Universal Trail Assessment Process (UTAP) and the High Efficiency Trail Assessment Process (HETAP) are inventory processes that provide objective information about trail conditions (e.g. grade, cross slope, width). The information obtained through an assessment can be used by land managers to enhance the safety and enjoyment for all trail users (by providing accurate, objective information about trail conditions), monitor environmental impacts on the trail, prepare budgets, develop maintenance and construction plans, indentify potential access barriers, and satisfy the self-evaluation requirement for preparing a Transition plan for outdoor recreation facilities.

The Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines for Outdoor Developed Areas (ABA) are now the law for Federal lands as of November 26, 2013. Defined in the new law are trailhead signage requirements to display data that needs to be collected for each Outdoor Developed Area. HETAP is the only automated assessment process that calculates the required data to meet the new guidelines for trailhead signs. Both UTAP & HETAP provide information about grades, cross slopes, tread widths and surfaces that enable a land manager to determine areas of non-compliance, prioritize access improvements, and identify conditions for exception.

The two-day workshop combines classroom and practical, hands-on trail assessment experience to ensure that participants have the skills and confidence to conduct assessments. The course will conclude with a written UTAP/HETAP Certification Exam, which is the first step towards certification as a Trail Assessment Coordinator.

Space is limited; to guarantee a high instructor-student ratio, class size is limited to 19. A waiting list will be created once 19 people have signed up. Please contact Beneficial Designs at (775) 783-8822 or trails@beneficialdesigns.com for more information or if you need any accessibility accommodations for classroom or on-trail sessions.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Day 1:

9am - Noon: Indoor Classroom Session

Noon - 1pm: Lunch Break

1pm - 3pm: Indoor Classroom Session

3pm - 5pm: Introduction to Assessment Tools - Trail Module 1

Day 2:

9am - Noon: On Site - Guided Assessment - Trail Module 2

Noon - 1pm: Lunch (Provided)

1 pm - 2 pm: On Site - Guided Assessment

2 pm - 3 pm: Analyzing and Disseminating UTAP/HETAP Data

3pm - 5pm: Written Certification Exam, Review Written Exam & Certification Process

Instructor(s):

Todd Ackerman, Beneficial Designs,775.783.8822, todd@beneficialdesigns.com

Fundamentals of Trail Design and Layout - March 12-13, 2017 - SOLD OUT!

Cost: $300
Date & Time: March 12-13, 8am - 5pm (lunch provided both days)
Location: Smith Rocks State Park

Workshop Description:

This workshop presents basic trail design and layout for natural surface trails, including terrain dynamics, sustainable trail design elements, direction-reversing turns, location of structures, and use of information and measurement tools.  We will field test these concepts and tools, then turn to look at the social and aesthetic values that bring great trails to life.  Each student will lay out a trail line as part of the class.

We need a minimum of 5 students to make this workshop go, and a maximum of 12.

What to bring:

Clinometer and GPS (if you have them), outdoor clothing for an afternoon in the woods. (phone versions of clinometer and GPS are acceptable).

We will spend a large amount of this workshop outside, so please bring appropriate field gear for the weather. Expect rain and be pleasantly surprised if it stays dry. We will provide first aid kits and any additional tools and equipment necessary for the workshop. Let us know if you are unable to bring any of the above items, please contact us.

Instructor(s):

Jon Underwood, Happy Trails Inc. (http://happytrailsak.com), 907-322-5834, happytrailsak@gmail.com