Monitoring the Natural Education Reserve Trailheads & Trails – There are multiple trailheads on the Natural Education Reserve. Please see the map. At your chosen trailhead, please check trash, benches, bathrooms (if applicable), etc. to ensure all is in good condition. Please do the same for the trails that you choose to explore. If something needs to be fixed or attended to, please fill out the trail report form here.
Trash Clean-Up – As you explore the trails on the Natural Education Reserve please pick up any trash and dispose of it in the closest trash bin.
Trimming Overgrown Vegetation (for those on the trails between 10 am – 4 pm Tuesday – Friday) – Pruners will be located in a bin outside of the Boardman River Nature Center. Upon arrival in the parking lot, take the brick walkway path on your left. You will see a fenced-in area on your left, the bin with pruners will be placed just outside this fenced enclosure (please be sure to return the pruners to this location once completed). Once you’ve picked up the pruners, feel free to head to any trailhead you’d like. There is also access to trails directly behind the Nature Center. Please see the map.
How to prune the Trail Corridor
How wide, how high?
There are specific U.S.F.S. standards for trail widths and heights, general guidelines for trail pruning are to extend arms out and cut back anything within reach, from low to high. However, these can be varied based on several different factors:
Vegetation type and growth rate - Some species do not grow over a certain height or width and are not typically a problem in the corridor such as flowers or berries. These can be left to help enhance the natural beauty of the trail. However, tree saplings in the corridor should be removed.
Type of Users - Consider who is using the trail. Hikers do no not need as high or as wide of a corridor so if it is exclusively a hiking trail, the corridor can be tighter. Except for the multi-use Boardman-Ottaway River Trail that transects the park from north to south, all other NER trails are maintained as hiking trails!
Number of Users - Trails with high amounts of traffic need a larger corridor to allow for passing and visibility around corners.
Trimming and cutting branches
Be sure to use the pruners provided when trimming back overgrown vegetation. If the vegetation is clearly too thick for loppers, please leave it and fill out a trail report form here.
The thickened section of bark just outside the spot where a branch joins the tree is called the “bark collar”. When cutting branches, always cut just to the outside of this. Make sure it is cut flat and not pointed in any way as this could injure other passing users.
When cutting large branches, make a partial cut underneath before cutting down from the top. This will ensure that the cut is clean and doesn’t strip away bark when it falls.
Place all cut brush as far away as possible from the trail corridor, at least out of sight, with the butt end facing away from the trail.
