The Poplar Bluff Trails Coalition is taking up trail maintenance at Lake Wappapello State Park, Morris State Park and the Wrangler Trailhead in the Victory section of Ozark Trail after striking a deal with the Missouri State Parks agency last month.
The PBTC already keeps trails throughout Butler, Wayne and Carter counties. Volunteer project organizer Jon Breithaupt said PBTC reached out to Missouri State Parks because they knew the parks had limited staff to deal with labor-intensive trail maintenance.
“Further complicating the issue, out there there’s been some significant wind events in the past several years that have dropped a large number of trees down the trail, and it’s not something that a couple people are going to be able to pick up,” Breithaupt added.
The State Parks happily accepted the offer. PBTC plans to work alongside park staff as much as possible despite primarily operating outside standard work hours.
“We’ve been working independently as an organization in concert with their staff, and briefing them on our plans and updating them after the work is accomplished, but we definitely have plans to work with them directly moving forward,” explained Breithaupt.
PBTC already covers 80 miles of trail. President Brock Littles is pleased the group has enough resources to expand.
“I’m in favor of it. It just kind of seems like we’re kind of focused on Butler, Wayne and Carter counties, and we feel like that we have enough time and resources to do the local stuff here outside of town, and also we can branch out,” Littles said.
He went on to say Southeast Missouri’s verdant forests are both a natural and financial asset to the area. There are 140 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails within 40 miles of Poplar Bluff, including those of the massive Mark Twain National Forest.
“We’re known around here for the rivers and springfed waters ... and it’s good for travel and for tourism in this area but, you know, we’ve also got these woods that have some great trails... We can kind of capitalize on that and then get some use and travel through here in the fall, winter and spring,” Littles explained.
The invitation to cover the Ozark Trail is particularly exciting because hikers come from St. Louis, Columbia and beyond to experience those trails.
“So we’re kind of going to have a little pride with that... we don’t want them coming down here to do a jungle, you know, so we’ll get those in pretty good shape,” he added.
Trail maintenance is particularly difficult at the start and paths can grow wild for a decade or more before the PBTC arrives.
Breithaupt explained, “So that (maintenance) will typically consist of cutting down trees off of trails with chainsaws and hand saws, cutting back the trail corridor or from overgrowth, using loppers and hand saws and shears. It might include installing trail markers or other signage, and then we’ll also use string trimmers to cut back weeds and grasses and other overgrowth on the trail corridors as well.”
On Sept. 26, PBTC volunteers used these techniques to reopen the Lakeview Trail at Wappapello State Park. The 0.7-mile trail was previously unusable due to overgrowth and fallen trees. It took crews weeks to finish bushwacking, logging and installing trail markers — fortunately, it is far easier to keep a restored trail in good condition than it is to clear a neglected one.
“It’s kind of like your backyard if you don’t really tend to it for a while,” said Littles. “And it kind of grows up and gets a little overwhelming, and then once you do go in there and clean it all up and cut everything back, then you’re not going to have to do all the work the rest of the summer that you had to do the first time.”
Volunteers are always welcome, both Littles and Breithaupt said. Those interested should visit the group’s website, poplarblufftrails.org, to RSVP for specific trail cleanups so the group has an accurate headcount for projects of varying size and difficulty.
More information, upcoming events and fundraisers, and project photos can be found on poplarblufftrails.org and the Poplar Bluff Trails Coalition Facebook and Instagram pages.
(This story has been edited to include the correct spelling of Jon Breithaupt's name.)