News from Uwharrie

April 10, 2006

by Richard Queen

The Uwharrie National Forest has a new District Ranger, Mrs. Deborah Walker. Mrs. Walker came to us from New Mexico but is originally from Raleigh and she and husband, James (who is an avid wheeler with a nicely built TJ!) are glad to be back home in the Carolinas. Recently she asked all local 4wd club officers to attend a meeting at Uwharrie and we were asked to give our views and concerns about the Uwharrie OHV trails. She has asked for our help and ideas concerning all of the projects that need to be addressed within our trail system.

The main Uwharrie contingent of leaders has grown over the years to a core group that can reach out to their prospective members and get the help that we need to build and maintain our trail system. Mark Hall has taken over the main responsibility of full-time trail work overseer. Scott Fields, Bruce Hatton, Galen Koch, Janet Becker, and I work and meet regularly with rangers to coordinate work weekends and trail work in general. We are working to get our volunteer base back up for the work weekends because we have a lot to do!

Getting ready
for a work day.

Trails volunteers have built “corduroy” bridges at water crossings in the past and they are deteriorating quickly. Those will be replaced with culverts in the near future. A leg of the Sawmill trail has come “under fire” literally by the adjacent shooting range a couple of crests over. The shooters are targeting the tops of the trees and the bullets are whistling through the trees and over the trail rider’s heads. Deborah Walker immediately shut down the shooting range (NOT the trail for a change) and we are working to reroute a section of that trail so we can all recreate safely.

The new ATV laws have made for a nice change at Uwharrie NF. ATV riders must wear helmets and can no longer ride tandem on vehicles not equipped for two riders. In the past, ATV riders with helmets were the exception, not the rule. The rangers have been out in FORCE since opening weekend, politely warning the illegal operators of their wrongs and sending them back to get in compliance. Real ticketing will begin soon. Although there is only one Law Enforcement Officer within the ranks of the rangers, the rest of them can write citations under most circumstances. The 4WD community has allowed rangers to ride with us on the trails to make them more visible and to give the rangers a better perspective from a user’s view.

If you are a member or user in the Uwharrie area, please attend our work weekends and if you have special skills, tools, supplies, or equipment to offer, please contact me at . Our trail work is a group effort and the larger the group, the better.

The new Uwharrie National Forest Management Plan has been well under way for the past year and after eight meetings we are nearing the conclusion. This not only affects OHV trails but equestrian, hiking, sightseers, etc. The two most controversial topics have been OHV use and timber harvest. Some meeting topics were ”uncomfortable” but we did get through them and although we are still refining the final product, it seems that we have a workable plan that should see our entire forest system prosper for the next generation.

We have many more work weekends planned for the year. We work for a few hours and then wheel and camp for free the rest of the day. Come on out and meet some new friends and enjoy a day or weekend of camaraderie with your 4wd friends.

Finished trail work to keep sedimentation on the trail.