3/19/03

AU ENGINEERS TO STUDY EROSION ON POPULAR OFF-ROAD TRAIL

AUBURN -- Serious mountain bikers and all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts across Alabama and the Southeast rave about the Kentuck Off-Road Vehicle Trail in the Talladega National Forest. At one online ORV trail review site, for instance, Kentuck fans describe the 22.5-mile trail as an "awesome ride," "super fast" and "major fun" -- as long as the weather is bone-dry, that is.

Any rain, the riders warn, and the steep-hilled trail turns into a giant mud bog.

"Do not go near this place if it has rained within eight to 10 days," one reviewer advises. And with the rain and the mud comes serious soil erosion -- erosion so severe that, given this winter's wet weather, U.S. Forest Service personnel responsible for the Kentuck trail system closed it in February for two months' worth of repair and maintenance work.

Concerned over the erosion of the soil and its subsequent polluting effects on nearby streams and rivers, Kentuck trail managers have asked biosystems engineers at Auburn University to identify ways to reduce erosion on the popular trail system and minimize the ecological impact of ORV traffic.

Biosystems engineering experts will do that in a two-year research project funded in part by a grant from the AU Environmental Institute. The Kentuck Trail project is one of six environmentally related AU research efforts to which AUEI awarded grants earlier this month.

The AUEI is a multidisciplinary research center that brings together AU faculty from colleges and schools across the campus to find solutions to environmental problems in the state and nation.

"Off-road vehicle trails such as Kentuck are a popular source of recreation and do have a positive economic impact on the rural areas around them," says Upton Hatch, AUEI director. "But there must be a balance between riders' wishes for extensive, challenging trail systems on the one hand and environmental concerns on the other.

"The Kentuck Trail research project will help bring about positive change for the future by developing ways we can preserve and protect our resources while taking into account recreational and economic needs," Hatch said.

Jim Baier, AU biosystems engineering assistant professor and principal investigator in the Kentuck study, said researchers first will evaluate the extent of the erosion problems on the trail and then will find an effective additive that can be incorporated into the soil to reduce erosion and the formation of ruts on the heavily used trails system.

The research team also will establish general ORV trail maintenance guidelines for managers of trails in Alabama and other Southeastern states. The USFS has trail maintenance guidelines, but most were developed for use in Western states and are not effective in the Southeast's climate and soil conditions, Baier said.

Kentuck users and supporters are applauding the AU research project, said Glenn Myers of Munford. Myers is founder and president of Cheaha Trail Riders, a group that was instrumental in getting the Kentuck recreational trail built 15 years ago. Myers said Kentuck annually draws an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 riders from across Alabama and the Southeast and generates more than $500,000 in tourist dollars for the local area.

"Our group requested that the Forest Service close the trail to do repairs, because it was in terrible condition due to lack of maintenance and the heavy traffic on the trail system last fall during the rainy season," Myers said. "We are optimistic that the research team from Auburn will find effective ways to preserve the trail."

The six research grants that AUEI has awarded for 2003 involve faculty from the colleges of Sciences and Mathematics, Engineering and Agriculture and from the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. In addition to erosion control at Kentuck, researchers will probe a wide range of ecological issues, including:

* the effects of ozone on the nutritional quality of native grasses and plants on which livestock and wildlife graze;

* the use of satellite remote sensing to estimate environmental surface conditions in Alabama;

* the removal of endocrine-disrupting compounds in engineered wastewater treatment systems;

* the effects of urbanization on the economies, water quality and biodiversity of rural areas; and

* the electrochemical changes that occur in groundwater due to microorganisms.

For more information on the AUEI, call 334/844-4132.

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CONTACT: Hatch, 334/844-4132 or Jim Baier, 334/844-3536.