By Andrea Arnold
The McBride Community Forest Corporation held an open house on June 29th. Manager Craig Pryor said that the event consisted of a luncheon, a presentation, maps for viewing and an opportunity for some open and honest conversation with MCFC members. They plan on hosting at least two open houses a year going forward.
Following the meeting, Pryor met with the Goat to provide an update on some of their current activities.
LaSalle Lake Recreation Area
“A crew from Recreation and Trails will be on site all of next week performing maintenance,” said Pryor. “We, MCFC, have already done some cleanup on the roads in the area.”
The plan is for the crew to install a new floating dock as the old one was falling apart and had been declared a safety hazard. The portion of the dock that is anchored to the shore is in good condition and will remain.
The trailhead for the trail that connects Little LaSalle to Big LaSalle will be moved from its current location, only accessible through a campsite to a more central location and the trail brushed to provide a clearer path.
The crew will also be brushing the sides of the roads, painting outhouses, adjusting signs and installing a larger recycling bin.
Pryor confirmed that they are looking into authorization and best practices for weed control near shore in conjunction with Rec and Trails.
Lucille Hiking Trail
MCFC has contracted local contractor RT King to plan and layout a two loop trail system that will be accessible from the Lucille snowmobile parking lot, and will incorporate some of the existing trail infrastructure in the area such as Lucy’s Lane.
“The plan for these hiking trails is that they are accessible for every level of experience,” said Pryor.
The project is still in its beginning stages, but Pryor said that the trails are not expected to take visitors to any viewpoint, rather provide an experience of a more densely forested area.
Teare Creek Fire Cleanup
Pryor says that they are looking into ways to help clear danger trees from the recreation areas on Teare Mountain. These trees are ones that were damaged during the fire and could fall at any time.
New Website
The MCFC recently launched their newly designed website. They contracted based web design company Orion Business Design to create a site that is clear and easy to navigate.
Tree Planting
“We have planted 390,000 trees on previously logged blocks,” said Pryor. “We are 95% planted.”
