5/16/02

Roy Summerford, 334/844-9999

AU STUDENT GROUP PRESENTS PLAN FOR FOREST TRAIL SITE

AUBURN -- An interdisciplinary senior class project at Auburn University this spring could one day benefit nature lovers in the Tuskegee National Forest.

Seven students in three disciplines presented their report to U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service officials in Montgomery, following a semester-long study of the needs of horseback riders in the national forest in Macon County.

The forest's Bold Destiny-Bedford Cash Memorial Trail attracts dozens of riders on its busiest days. Although the trail can easily handle that many horses, the report notes that parking and waste disposal problems are increasing and that riders lack a camping area for overnight outings.

The students recommended that the Forest Service provide a base camp for horseback riders, including a parking area for up to 40 trailers, a composting site and an overnight campground.

Students from the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Department of Biosystems Engineering conducted the study to continue work started by members of a local horseback riders group. Members of the War Eagle Trail Association organized area riders in efforts to enhance the Bold Destiny-Bedford Cash Memorial Trail through the national forest.

A trail association member, Candace Bourne, asked Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Dean Richard Brinker for advice on designing a base camp. Bourne is a staff member in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the chair of the AU Staff Council, and her husband, Brian, works for the Forest Service.

Brinker turned to Kent Hanby, Forestry and Wildlife Sciences¹ director of student services, who gained the interest of faculty and students in the three programs. Students who volunteered for the project were Andrew Boutwell of Prattville; Christian Brodbeck of Fairhope; Brady Cox of Jasper; Geni Payne of Rainbow City; Chuck Tait of Fredericksburg, Texas; Adam Coleman of Madison; and Treff Alexander of Nashville, Tenn.

The students recommended that the Forest Service build a rudimentary parking area at the trail's entrance and construct a basic campground at a selected site along the trail. Team members determined that the site would pose no biological threat and could enhance the environment with a composting site in a single location.

Forest Service Supervisor James Gooder said the study was needed before the agency could consider improvements to the trail. A future study, he said, will need to address cost of construction and maintenance of those or other improvements.

may02: AU-foresttrail

CONTACT: Bourne, 334/844-2697.