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SALT LAKE CITY — If you enjoy mountain biking, running or hiking in the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos, you may have noticed that there are several new trails popping up.
Perhaps the new trails have made you excited to explore areas you’ve never seen before. You might have even thought about carving out your own trail to add to the fun.
While your thoughts and feelings of excitement and ambition are likely innocent and well-intended, many of these trails are illegal, and the Utah Department of Natural Resources wants to put an end to the unauthorized trail making.
Habitat biologist with the DNR, Matt Howard, who is an avid outdoorsman himself, said these unauthorized trails are causing problems including erosion and disruption of native plants and wildlife — something the land in that area has been preserved for.
“What much of the public isn’t aware of, is the fact that this land was purchased with taxes from the sales of firearms and bullets and a grant from Fish and Wildlife Services,” Howard said. “The reason for purchasing the land was to preserve an area that will never be developed, so it can serve as a wildlife habitat. As such, we are state mandated to maintain it.
“For years, and even more recently, new, unauthorized trails have been popping up and it has become a major mountain bike area. These new trails are greatly disrupting the foothills including the landscape, animals and natural plant life. We at the DNR realize that the problem is getting out of hand and are taking measures to put a stop to new trail building while maintaining the authorized trails," he said.
It isn’t just Howard who is making these claims. For years, in fact, research on the impact of trails on the environment has been a topic of study. The National Mountain Bicycling Association published a report highlighting several studies showing that unauthorized trail building and high traffic on those trails greatly contribute to vegetation loss and compositional changes, soil compaction, erosion, muddiness, degraded water quality and the disruption of wildlife.
In the report it states, “Trampling — the action of crushing or treading upon vegetation, either by foot, hoof, or tire — contributes to a wide range of vegetation impacts, including damage to plant leaves, stems and roots, reduction in vegetation height, change in the composition of species, and loss of plants and vegetative cover.”
While Howard is concerned about the unauthorized trail systems on Timp, he recognizes the hobbies of mountain biking, trail running and hiking, and is working with many community volunteers to maintain the authorized trails and even in the building of new trails.
Volunteers like Dustin Martinez and Nate Younger are working hard often several times a week to make sure these areas serve their intended purposes while also providing a safe place for people to recreate.
“I enjoy doing trail work, but I also want to show people that it's possible to give back or volunteer simply out of the desire to volunteer,” Martinez said. “I want to help others realize the value in trail work for the sake of the betterment of the habitat. If you frequent the trails, you should do what you can to take care of them."Many will say things like, ‘Isn’t this public land? I can do whatever I want.’ That’s simply not the case. This is our land that we share with other people, animals and plants. We need to look at the big picture, rather than thinking about our own need for recreation.”
Younger, who adopted the Timpooneke trail on behalf of the Wasatch Mountain Wranglers during the summer of 2015, as well as the Summit trail along with friend Kendall Wimmer, also enjoys volunteering on trails for the sake of giving back.
“Since taking stewardship over the trails, the Wranglers have developed a pride and sense of ownership of one of Utah’s iconic and most used trails,” Younger said. “Wranglers are constantly looking after the trail, cleaning up trash and educating the public on a daily basis. We have organized trail work groups that clear brush, fix switchbacks, and work on the tread of the trail. It’s just not the members of the group that have taken ownership, but their families as well. Giving spouses, children and other family members the opportunity to learn about what it means to maintain the places where we love to recreate.”
Trail maintenance is a great way to help keep the foothills clean and up to par, but Howard asks that it is done so under the right guidance and authorization to do so.
“Don’t start working on trails without contacting someone at the DNR or people like Dustin who are working under the direction of the DNR,” Howard said. “There are specific ways that trails need to be built to prevent erosion, and so that they last for years to come. They need to be built the right way.”
If you are interested in helping by planting new shrubs, doing trail maintenance, habitat work, or by building new fencing where unauthorized trails are being closed off, the Timp Foothills Trails Alliance on Facebook has several events posted, as well as contact information.
In fact, this Saturday, Aug. 26, UVU Outdoor Adventure Center will be working with the Division of Natural Resources trimming the scrub oak, removing rocks and raking on trail #003 in the Timp Foothills as they “show gratitude, give back to the community and help maintain the resources people in the community use.”
For information on how you can help maintain the Timp Foothills, contact the DNR at 801-491-5678 or go to the Timp Foothills Trails Alliance page.
