The 2022 Public Lands Corps crew completed a tremendous amount of work on the Bartram Trail between August and December.
In partnership with Conservation Legacy’s regional group, Southeast Conservation Corps, this 2022 Public Lands Corps (PLC) crew of 7 young adults and 2 supervisors spent 16 weeks on several sections of the Bartram Trail that were in desperate need of repairs and rehabilitation. The work they completed ranged from simply clearing trails off, removing blowdowns, rerouting and draining water, to building stone bridges and stairs, making the trail safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
See for yourself
You can find evidence of this crew’s hard work along the trail and we hope you find some appreciation for the effort that went into these improvements:
- Tessentee Camp trail, just below Scaly Mountain
- Sawmill Gap trail, between Wayah Bald and Lake Nantahala
- Cheoah Bald approach trail
- Warwoman Dell, heading out of the trailhead parking area
- Rabun Bald approach on the north side
We had fantastic support from our volunteers, major donors, and organizational parters on this program. Funding from the National Forest Foundation matched a generous individual donation and another grant from the Nantahala Health Foundation to support this crew’s work.
We also had volunteers contributing delivery of raw materials needed for the construction of the stone stairs. This effort began earlier in the summer with several volunteers repurposing stones from the Hickory Knoll trailhead, moving them to stage at Warwoman Dell.
Shelter from the storm(s)
No time in these forests is complete without inclement weather. At two points in the crew hitches as winter began to take hold, the crew needed to be pulled out of the forest to avoid severe winds, heavy rains, and below freezing nights. Once again we received generous support from partners and volunteers, who provided housing during these rough weather patches.
That’s a lot of hours!
For more comprehensive details of the stones moved, tread dug, and hours worked on the trail, check out this report complied by Crew 906.
You should hop over to our blog and read about the crew‘s work while at Warwoman Dell.
Support the next program
Our goal is to continue raising the support for these Public Lands Corp programs to work on the Bartram Trail. If this is a program you would like to support, you can direct donations to this year’s program below.
If there are other ways you would like to discuss supporting a future program, please reach out to discuss. We would love to see you on the trail volunteering side-by-side with the crew. We also welcome your ideas about how you would like to contribute.