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How to build a Culvert Trail berm just right!

13K views 85 replies 44 participants last post by  DJ Lieb 
#1 ·
#79 ·
Fuel break dozer work

I'd like to add that the Dozer work you see in the picture and the "2 freeway lanes" is work done by the state of Ca. I'd like to add that Forest Trails Alliance is not responsible for that type of mastication. From what I understand the dozer is in high demand and budgets are slashed so when it does come through they clear with a multiple year cycle interval.

Thanks,

Blair
 
#82 ·
A state parks sanctioned gap jump? That's funny right there.
There already are several small ones on the Culvert Trail that were either allowed to remain or were constructed as part of the recent work that FTA, FATRAC, and I believe REI did with State Parks' blessing. They aren't 15-footers like the dear departed creek gap on the Confluence Trail, but they are gap jumps that presumably have State Parks' approval.
 
#85 ·
Email I received explains what is going on with that area: (edited/removed image)


There is not any easy way to explain what many of us have recently witnessed on the Fuel Break Trail.

Yes, this is the Culvert Trailhead.
No, this work is not related to the Culvert Project we have been working so hard on.
Yes, this work WAS done by State Parks.
No, the beautiful Manzanita grove was not vaporized by a high powered laser from outer space.

My best explanation is that there was a miscommunication and misunderstanding of fire break grooming standards.
A heavy equipment operator was brought in from outside the Auburn Sector to complete grooming work on the Fuel Break Trail.
Essentially, what CALFIRE refers to as a “shaded fuel break” has been cut along the periphery of the Fuel Break Trail.
The good news is that I was able to stop the work before it continued beyond the big oak tree.
I talked with the operator who IS very skilled and has done an excellent job on our other roads like Ruck-A-Chucky and Ponderosa Way.
Unfortunately, he was faced with completing a week long job in two days time. He was unaware of the Culvert Project.
The West section of the trail was deeply entrenched with deep ruts and tall berms that were left by a fire crew dozer.
Unfortunately fire crews do not build roads or trails, they build fire breaks; generally with little or no regard for drainage or erosion concerns.
They simply doze down to the bed rock or mineral soil, leaving huge berms at the sides.
Because the last “grooming” of this “fire break” was done years ago, mature Manzanita’s had grown out of these berms which had to be removed.
The explanation I have been given is that the material had to be exposed in order to “repair” it to a true engineered trail with appropriate drainage features.
Yes, the work became arguably a little overzealous, and I was as shocked as anyone seeing the results the first time.
To keep things on the positive side as much as possible, the Fuel Break Trail should be in solid shape for years, once the compaction and grooming is completed.

On another positive note, the paper work for CEQA compliance is all but 100% completed for the 5 reroutes on the Culvert Project Phase II.
I’d like to be able to better share the Phase II Plan, but the document size is too large for the Google group data limits.
I am excited at the prospect of hitting the ground running this fall, at the first sign of moisture.
When I have received the final go ahead, there is also the prospect of starting work (earlier) on a small bridge (technically a puncheon) near the bottom section (#4).


Ranger Jon Brandt



Sucks what they did to that part of the trail :madmax:
 
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