Informal/Unauthorized Trails
By Beth Mather
There are a number of trails in our preserves that have been informally constructed by the public over the years. Some have been there for a while, and some are newly constructed, but all these trails are undesirable. Illegal trails destroy native plant habitat, including habitat for the rare, endangered plants that we have in our preserve, they threaten wildlife, and they increase the risk of soil erosion.
When trails are built in our preserves, they are carefully planned. Multiple experts do surveys to determine optimum placement of the new trails that avoid rare plants and habitat and minimize erosion risk. They also take other steps to minimize erosion, such as adding baffles to help control water flow.
Please help out our rangers by not constructing unauthorized trails. If you see a newly built illegal trail, please notify the rangers. Also sometimes crowd sourced apps contribute to the proliferation of illegal trails. Please help inform people of the damage these trails can do.
Thanks for helping take care of our preserves.
