Handrail installed on portion of boardwalk

The portion of the boardwalk over open water now has a handrail, installed to conform to ADA regulations.



Happily, it doesn't look TOO out of place.

Path laid north of boardwalk

The gravel has been laid at the north end of the boardwalk, thus completing the walking loop. I don't know if the gravel will be tamped down or not, and they haven't yet put seed down along the sides of the path (for erosion control), but it is open for walking! (Well, technically, it's been open for walking since they finished laying the decking...)



There's a possibility that a hand-rail will be added to the boardwalk, to keep in line with ADA requirements.

In other news: cut the lawn to get rid of the annoying view of dandelions.

Graveling the north path from the boardwalk

The contractors are finally out to install the gravel on the north path from the boardwalk. They should be done by tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be able to tie the new path easily into the existing one.

They've added some more gravel to the bridge approaches as well as the south side of the boardwalk, due to settling. A part of my mind wonders what will happen when the north side settles in a year's time.

Property committee meeting

The property committee met today to discuss the conditions and problems of the three SNRE-managed properties: Saginaw Forest, the Newcomb Tract, and Stinchfield Woods. I discussed the continued problem of falling ash trees, and the possibility of removing these trees in the forest - for issues of safety and access.

Similar problems are found in the other properties.

Other topics were discussed, too.

Finishing up the boardwalk

Speaking with some of the project contractors, it presently looks like there will be an addition of a rail along the section of boardwalk that goes over open water. This will conform with ADA regulations. Hopefully, it will also tie in aesthetically.

Also, it looks like gravel will not be put down until the spring - unless there is a major snow-melt and dry-out (while staying above freezing) before then. Therefore, I'll likely have to make up some signage along the lines of, "Pathway unfinished; proceed at your own risk." Or something.

How long are the trails in Saginaw Forest?

With the completion of the boardwalk structure (and the hopefully quick completion of the connecting pathway), there is a new loop path within Saginaw Forest. The figure to the left is based on a compilation of paths taken using my (rather basic) GPS unit, and as such, it should not be considered an official map of the paths in Saginaw Forest. It does, however, illustrate the three distinct loops that people can walk within the property: Northern loop (~0.5 mi), Third Sister Lake loop (~0.8 mi) and Southern loop (~0.75 mi).

What isn't shown is the walking path through the "Arboretum" section of the facility, where the wooden "teepee" stands. This little detour doesn't add that much to the length of the Third Sister Lake loop.

The pathways are not absolutely correct, because my GPS unit isn't the best one that money can buy (I'm just a poor grad student, after all), and, because of this, the tree cover seriously hampers the ability of the unit to get a good fixed signal. Also, the lengths are rough estimates, made by using the distance tool in Google Earth. Still, I think that it does a good job of showing the rough distances that each of the three (!) loops are.

The length of the "outer loop" is roughly 1.3 mi.
The distance from the gate to the cabin is roughly 0.45 mi.
Distance from the gate to the cabin and along the "outer loop" (returning to the cabin) and then back to the gate is roughly (0.45 mi +1.3 mi +0.45 mi) 2.2 mi.

Now, if someone wanted to do an interactive and informative map of Saginaw Forest to take with you on that 2.2 mile trek, that would be awesome!

Board walk completed, but...

The structure of the boardwalk itself is completed. It's actually quite a nice structure, and will make walking around the forest a lot nicer: the views of the lake are quite good.

The only construction portion of the project is the creation of the gravel path on the north side of the boardwalk, connecting it to the path.

Boardwalk planking done -- low railing to be installed

The boardwalk planking is effectively finished, and they are starting in on doing the low rail that will run the length of both sides. (The rail isn't going a hand rail, but something more like a low guard rail about 4" high that runs along the length of the boardwalk; a rail very similar to that on the dock.) I asked about the depth of the screw anchors used in the boardwalk area, keeping the idea of the amount of muck found in that area in mind. The guys told me that most of the anchors had to drill through 20 feet of unconsolidated muck after punching through the root mat and before reaching hard ground. That's a lot of distance between root and ground!

Boardwalk coming along

I had a look at the boardwalk progress this morning, having returned from an out-of-town trip. The pathway of the boardwalk had been flayed and the pilings had been sunk. Today George and Eric were starting on the wood. I doubt that the structure will be done by the end of the week, but we'll see I suppose.

Boardwalk plans moving forward

The contractors for the boardwalk came out today for a site visit. It looks like the plan's going forward.

Exciting!

Upcoming operations

Drilling is going to commence (finally, since the snow and ice is now effectively melted) near to where it was done last August. This time, the well will be drilled using a different technique than before, thus (hopefully) speeding the process up a bit.

Also (at some point during the spring/summer), the boardwalk along the eastern property line of the forest will be built, and a path connecting the south and north sides of the eastern edge of Third Sister Lake will be complete. This will create three loop trails in the property (as well as any combination thereof).

Hand rail on bridge

The bridge turned out to be higher off of the stream bed than originally thought, and so it was decided that a handrail would, indeed, be a necessary addition. Too, a longer footing was installed to help control erosion of the ramps that were built up to the bridge itself.



... oh, and the contractors' port-a-john was finally removed.

Bike hoop installed near main gate

A bike hoop was installed at the main gate this week.

Major construction in the front done.

Wrong sand

The wrong material is out in the forest...


so they are removing it today from this pile...


... as well as what they had already spread on the trail.

Hopefully, the crew today won't tear up the grass too much with their equipment while they load up their dumptrucks to truck out the wrong sand.

Construction progress

Last week, work on the management plan began, with clearing shoreline brush and reeds for the installation of the dock. Today, thanks to the installation of the supports last Thursday, the work continued apace, with the builders finishing much of the structure of the dock, making it likely that they will finish covering it tomorrow. Next at this site: the installation of a "corduroy path" to allow wheeled access from the drive.



Meanwhile, the construction of the east path was stalled until today, when the siltscreens (straw lining packed in a biodegradable mesh) were installed, and a Bobcat digger was brought in. As of 4PM on Monday, the trail-blazing crew has advanced roughly 30 meters from the east-end of the property, and should be back to the cabin by the end of tomorrow, barring any major problems.

Still, the acts of this team has changed changed the nature of the eastern pathway, transforming it from a narrow footpath first into a cleared path by scraping and cutting away the groundcover vegetation and now into a path cut into the ground for eventual packing with gravel.


Before


Cleared (and slightly widened)


A new pathway is cut

The other part of the construction (the small bridge over the ephemeral stream) is waiting until other things take place: the blazing of the trail and the completion of the dock. Perhaps they will start by tomorrow...?



UPDATE: The photos in the slideshows cover all photos of the building of each structure. Therefore, the timeline of the slideshow goes beyond the description in the text.

Contractors out early

I was lying in bed at 7:30 -- just looking at the ceiling and contemplating the morning -- and I heard two dull thuds. "Hm. Perhaps its a tree falling across the lake," I thought. And then some muffled talking ensued.

A moment before my mind put together these two pieces of information and threw away the notion that the contractors might not come before 9am got me out into the morning chill. Indeed, two had come out, waiting for a third to drop off more lumber for the building of the dock and bridge. Yesss!

The night had not gotten quite down to freezing, and the forecast is calling for another warm spell by the weekend, but I would hazard that autumn is upon us. The mist on the lake was minimal, but looked really nice with the warm colors of the turning leaves behind.

Cutting open the forest for paths

The first stage of the Saginaw Forest management plan commenced this morning, with the clearing of an area on the shore for the installation of a dock and the clearing of brush along a new path from the cabin area out to the east. Tomorrow, there will be lumber coming on-site for the dock and bridge construction. In addition, there will be a silt-fence installed along the path.

Bridge and dock construction photos to come as they both proceed.

All activity should be done by October 15, to be usable by the start of the SNRE campfire celebrations.

Management plan pre-bid meeting

This morning, there was a meeting out here in the forest with contractors who can put in bids for building the boardwalk, paths, and wee bridge that will connect the eastern path to the northern path.

The bids should be in soonish and the work should be starting in 2-3 weeks, and all of it should be done by about one month after starting.

Monitoring well pre-dig meeting in the forest

There will be another monitoring well dug in Saginaw Forest, and this morning we had representatives from most of the various groups that are involved (either actively or administratively):

• DTE: ensure that electricity won't be affected
• Utility surveying: ensure that underground lines are properly marked
• Scio Township: because this is happening in the township
• UofM OSEH: they are in charge of safety and environmental health
• PALL: who are charged with drilling the monitoring well
• Well drillers: who came out to see where they will be working next week

This meant that, in addition to the biologists who came out, there were suddenly a large number of vehicles lined up in front of the cabin.



Most everyone drove off within 15 minutes of arriving, the whole thing being pretty straight-forward on their various ends, leaving OSEH, PALL, and drillers waiting for more people who didn't show up on time (and didn't end up showing). One mystery of the cabin was "uncovered" by the utility surveyor: the location of the phone cable, which apparently runs along the gravel road, and doesn't go under the concrete slab that is the patio (and was apparently poured after the foundation slab).



The well drilling operation will likely start on August 24, and the contractors will continue to be on-site (with their equipment) for 3-7 days. Therefore, if you happen to see a truck parked on the lawn that looks like it's digging a well, that's exactly what's going on.

Luckily, this should be done before the contractors come to get started on the construction of the boardwalk and dock, which are part of the forest management plan.