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September Trail and Stewardship Update


Each month we want to share our stewardship efforts of the Whitefish Trail and our community's beautiful open lands. Stewardship means the responsible planning and management of resources. The management of the trail itself will be the focus throughout this series, but we will also discuss stewardship of the land beyond the trail.


September was a busy month out on the Whitefish Trail. Adopt-a-Trail crews were hard at work ensuring their sections are in good shape heading into the fall. The Whitefish Trail Crew had their last workdays of the season as well. Pictured here is Church of the Cross on their adopted section at Woods Lake. Next time you are on the trail, look out for Adopt-a-Trail Crew and Sponsor plaques on signposts. You can learn who is responsible for keeping the section you are on in top notch condition! Check out Park Side Credit Union's plaque at Lion Mountain in the photo below.













Check out this monster Mullien plant that the Women Who Explore Montana found during their workday on their adopted section at Holbrook!









The Whitefish Trail Crew wrapped up their season this month with a couple of exciting projects. They added additional drainage and improved existing drainage on the first 0.4 miles of the Skyles Trail. When the landscape allows for it, the best option for a water drain is called a grade reversal (see the cartoon image below). When the grade of a trail is steeper, it can be hard to build big rolling grade reversals, so we just built smaller, more abrupt grade reversals. Since the first section of the Skyles trail is relatively steep, the drains are more abrupt. The work entailed using a Pick Mattock to loosen the dirt of the trail tread followed by using a rake to reshape the surface to capture water and outslope the trail downhill to allow the water to exit. The last step is to tamp the newly shaped trail tread down with a Mcleod. See the images below to learn what these tools look like if you're unfamiliar. If you want to learn more about this process, consider joining the Whitefish Trail Crew next season!





If you've been on the Whitefish Trail in Haskill recently, you may have notices some new "Slow" and "Watch" signs. In the section of trail between the Valley Overlook Bench and the radio tower, we have identified blind corners on the trail. The intention behind these signs is to warn both uphill and downhill users that they are approaching a blind corner and may not be able to see other trail users. It's good practice to give a holler when you are approaching these sections so other users can hear that you're approaching. If you have thoughts about these signs feel free to reach out to whitefishtrail@whitefishlegacypartners, we would love community feedback!



We still have Whitefish Trail Crew hats available! If you're interested in supporting ongoing efforts to maintain the Whitefish Trail, purchasing a hat is a great contribution!





Check out these Whitefish Trail Crew shirts! If you see someone wearing one around town, ask them about their experience volunteering out on the trail. If you want to earn one of your own, all you need to do is attend three volunteer events next year. Email whitefishtrail@whitefishlegacy.org for more info.













Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Octobers's Trail and Stewardship Update!

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