Outdoor Recreation

Recommendations Outdoor Recreation

With increasing human population and higher demand for outdoor recreation and activities, Farm & Wilderness is likely to see an increase in land and water use. To reduce the pressure this will put on wildlife safety, habitat, and natural resources, it is important for Farm & Wilderness to continue monitoring their land for signs of stress that human overuse may cause, such as erosion issues, disturbed wildlife, litter, and invasive species.

Continue maintaining ecosystem health and reducing human impacts in ecologically sensitive areas. Offer information about current land practices to the public and identify and explain why areas should be protected and avoided by human activities.

Strategies: • Closely monitor existing trail conditions, especially during shoulder or “mud” seasons, when the ground thaws and trails are sensitive to erosion and disturbance. Close the use of trails when muddy conditions persist.

• Avoid ecologically sensitive areas for any new trails sited.

• Conduct a baseline assessment of existing trails that explores trailheads and waypoints. The existing trails’ safety, resilience to flooding and erosion, and current management practices should also be assessed.

Timber & Stone, a recreational trail design and construction LLC based out of Montpelier, VT, is currently in the process of examining the trails on

Farm & Wilderness landholdings.

• Identify any existing accessible trails, and consider adding an accessible trail or boardwalk.

• Create a trail management plan that considers increased future use and climate change.

• Conduct an assessment of the parking areas for each trailhead. This should include the number of cars an area can host, private properties and homeowners nearby, and current condition of the parking area.

• Explain to recreationalists the reason for limited parking in some areas and encourage users to carpool or use alternate modes of transportation whenever possible. There are private property owners around Lake Ninevah who would rather not have increased cars and people parking near their homes; there are ecologically sensitive areas that would be harmed if new parking was created; and increased erosion and sediment runoff may occur from expanding gravel roads near water bodies. • Offer online and physical trail maps, noting trails around camps with limited use when camps are in session. Make trailhead locations more transparent to the public. Create a trailhead brochure and/or QR code on trailhead signs as a way to educate people on the ecological significance of Farm & Wilderness lands and how people can help protect the natural environment.

• Use interpretive signs around highly sensitive areas to show visitors the unique features of the landscape and alert them to Farm & Wilderness’ careful practices that protect these areas.

• Around areas of recent timber harvesting, post signs that explain Farm & Wilderness forestry practices, and point out the benefits that timber harvesting can have on diversifying tree age classes.