Sandy Ridge Fence-Mending and Corridor Clearing

By Shane Gould

On Saturday, November 11, 2024, NWTA had over 25 volunteers attend the build day at Sandy Ridge.  The scope of work for the day was to rough-in the perimeter trail for the new parking lot skills area and repair a boardwalk on Homestead trail that was badly damaged by a tree that came down in the January storms.

Volunteers started arriving before 9:00  AM and were greeted with donuts from NWTA supporter Studson.  Through a partnership with Studson and Chris King Precision Components, long-time NWTA Crew Leaders were gifted custom Studson hard hats. Studson staff collaborated on the 10th to see their product in action, and In addition to the delicious donuts, every volunteer received a brand new Studson hard hat.  After the safety briefing, our volunteers got to work on tackling the day’s agenda.

The boardwalk repair team replaced a broken runner, added railing, and reattached the decking.  A new railing was required to make the boardwalk safe.  The treefall that damaged the boardwalk had left a large hole that resulted in a vertical drop that exceeded the BLM guidelines for no railing.

The perimeter trail team got to work with weed eaters, two NWTA sawyers, a ditch witch, and hand tools.  By 1:30 PM the entire perimeter trail was roughed in!  There is still a lot of work to do on the skills area but the day’s work was a great start.

The volunteer crew finished the day with BBQ hot dogs and tasty beverages. A massive thank you to all who came out!