BG Lake - Trail Maintenance

An amazing amount of work and dedication go into maintaining our local trails, keeping them rideable, open, and awesome so that we can all enjoy them.

But did you know that no one person is responsible for these efforts? Local clubs and organizations (such as the Washington Trail Riders Association - WTRA- and the Back Country Horsemen - BCH) pick up a lot of this work, but really it's all of our responsibility to keep these trails going.

Right now the WTRA, in coordination with the park rangers and the WSU Small Acreage program, are working on the Battle Ground Lake Trail.

Perhaps you've noticed the new trailhead at the end of the parking area. This was built as the new trailhead and next to it, they are putting in some manure bins. The bins will ensure that the droppings left by our horses is set up to compost and therefore become a usable by-product for our community.

Once the bins are in place, you need only grab the wheelbarrow that will be there, pick up your manure, and dump it into the bins.

Doing this one small thing will really help keep the parking area clean and usable for other groups that share the space. For some reason, non-horsey people are not all the keen to step in horsey poop. Go figure.

In addition to the opportunities to help with the bins, you can also help keep the trail clear and rideable. Generally the WTRA schedules a couple work parties to cut back weeds, blackberry bushes, etc. but this year has been a bit hectic so they need our help to keep the trail clear. Barbara Thomas, president of the WTRA, said she will be scheduling a work party shortly (look for more info on that soon) but in the meantime, there's no reason why all of us can't be helping out as we're working our horses.

And think, it's a great training opportunity to make your horse stand still as you cut back some blackberries!

For more information on how you can be involved in the Battle Ground Lake Trail project, contact Barbara Thomas at 360-896-7123.

NOTE: They are currently looking for strong, strudy individuals to help place the 12x14 posts for the manure bins. If you or someone you know might be able to help for an afternoon, please contact Barbara ASASP!