CONSERVATION LE GACY APPALACHIAN CONSERVATION CORPS USFS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN REGIONS

GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON NATIONAL FORESTS Little Stony Falls Trail Reroute

During Appalachian Conservation Corps’ (ACC) summer and fall seasons, several crews worked on the Little Stony Falls Trail reroute project. They put in a total of 1,735 project hours to build about 0.3 miles of new trail in rocky, challenging terrain. This reroute was proposed as a long-lasting solution to an ongoing issue of washouts that had resulted in several visitor injuries on this popular waterfall trail. The solution was to move the trail a signifi cant distance up-slope, requiring the construction of several rock staircases, signifi cant retaining walls, and large armored sections of the tread. These trail structures were crafted using hand tools and rigging equipment to build a solid, sustainable trail out of the jumble of large local rocks on site with very little soil present. Over the entire reroute, the crew created and used more than 11,000 cubic feet of crush fi ll, also using the rock that was already on site. The main crew that worked on this project during the summer was one of our most technically trained rock work crews and completed some of the most challenging trail projects that ACC worked on this year.

MONONGAHELA AND DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL FORESTS Green Forests Work Surface Mine Restoration

Appalachian Conservation Corps crews partnered with Green Forests Work and the US Forest Service to complete restoration work on several sites, primarily in West Virginia. In total, these crews put in 2,739 work hours on sites across the Monongahela including Sharp Knob and the Mower Tract. The restoration work ranged from non-native invasive species removal with mechanical and manual means to herbicide, to spruce and orchid release, to re-seeding with native species. The crews improved over 180 acres of formerly mined land, were able to work directly with US Forest Service and Green Forests Work sta , learned about restoration practices, and built a connection with the land where they worked.

This project plays a critical role in building climate resiliency on formerly mined sites in WV and KY. Specifi cally, spruce-dominated forest ecosystems are fairly resistant to rising temperatures and play a needed role in creating cooler micro-climates, however, these stands are more temperature sensitive early in their life cycle. This work released spruce canopies to help speed their growth into a more resilient size before rising average temperatures kill or weaken the trees.