Watchable Wildlife Trail Update

Work on the new Watchable Wildlife Trail located just off Shangri La road is proceeding rapidly. This portion of the LOViT trail is designed to bring all users, including those physically challenged, closer to nature. This level paved trail is approximately 1 mile in length and will include an elevated portion that will allow users to access a wild wetland area located in south end the Denby Bay area of Lake Ouachita. The trail circles a large open field following along the banks of Gap Creek as it flows in to the bay. The trail then ducks beneath the towering canopy of a densely wood area that changes from woods to marsh then open water.

The paved portion is currently open for use but the 1/4 mile long elevated walkway is still under construction. When completed this walkway will include thirty-foot bridge across Gap Creek that will connect a new section the LOViT Trail that will lead around Denby Bay to connect the Denby Point Campground and Shores Resort with the LOViT Trail system.

Most of you have followed the construction of the new highway bridge that will replace the sixty-year-old bridge that crosses the Lake Ouachita at Denby Bay. Once the new bridge is completed the old bridge will be closed to traffic and will become a hiking, biking and fishing bridge as a part of the LOViT Trail. The Traildogs negotiated an agreement with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department and the US Army Corps of Engineers to transfer the bridge to the Corps as part of the Lake Ouachita Compound for use as part of the trail.

The new Watchable Wildlife trail will include a new restroom, picnic area, parking and an information Kiosk with details of the history of the Trail and the Lake. Plans are being developed to develop habitat for field and wood birds including planting seed producing grasses, wild flowers, fruit trees and native berry bearing bushes designed to generate year around forage for birds and wildlife all along the new trail.

The Traildogs and the Montgomery County Master Gardeners are planning guided interpretive hikes along this section of the trail once completed. If you would like to take a short hike on a newly paved trail take the short trip east of Mt. Ida to Shangri La Road. Go one block up Shangri La Road to the first road on your left, Old Highway 27 Rd, go two blocks and you will see the parking area and information kiosk on your left. This would be a great place to begin developing your walking skills will enjoying the areas wildlife.

Traildog Award

This week is a special week for all of the Traildogs who have dedicated themselves to the development of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT). We were recently notified that the Traildogs are a finalist for one of the eight annual Governor’s Awards for Tourism. Each year the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commission hosts the Annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism at which the winner’s of the Governor’s awards are announced.
The Eight awards are:
The Natural State Award
The Tourism Special Achievement Award
The Media Support Award
The Bootstrap Award
The Arkansas Heritage Award
The Grand Old Classic Special Event Award
The Outstand Volunteer Service Award
The Community Tourism Development Award

It is an honor to be nominated for one of these awards and to be a finalist is special. The Traildogs have been nominated for the Bootstrap Award, which is presented to an individual, organization or community that has achieved significant success “on a shoestring” having limited means to work with either in resources or finances. The four finalists for this award are:
Paragould for their renovation of the historic Collins Theater
LOViT Traildogs for the development of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail.
Texarkana for their “Sparks in the Park” light project.
The Town of Calico Rock for their downtown renovation project.

These are worthy finalist in which each has found the support and means to develop a tourist worthy project in their community. Six of the Traildogs are going to the Banquet Tuesday March 17th in Fort Smith to represent our community to accept this award should we be chosen the winner. Whether we win or not being a finalist will help bring attention the tourism opportunities in our community and hopefully new tourism dollars.

We are planning the dedication of the fourth section of the LOViT for Friday April 3rd at 1:00 pm at the top of Hickory Nut Mountain at the picnic area. We will be celebrating the new section and the completion of half or twenty miles of the planned forty miles of trail that will terminate at the Blakely Mountain Dam at the east end of Lake Ouachita. The brief ceremony will be followed by a group ride for bikers and group walk by hikers down the new 3.2-mile section. So put that date on your calendar, pull on those walking shoes and come join the fun. The trail should be dressed in its best spring colors, Hickory Creek should be bubbling with the spring rains and as always the views from the summit are breathtaking.

Traildogs

For those of you who follow our work on the LOViT we have a volunteer group dubbed the Traildogs. We are a very informal group of trail enthusiasts dedicated to developing and maintaining the LOViT Trail. We have no dues and do not have meetings except on the trail. All our activities are coordinated by email.

LOViT Construction

We are back again for this year's dig of the next extension of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail or LOViT. For those of you who have followed our progress, we are in our fourth year of construction on this project that will eventually extend approximately forty miles of new trail along the southern shore of beautiful Lake Ouachita. This new portion of the trail will extend the finished portion to twenty miles or half the planned length. For detailed information and a map of the lake and trail please visit our web site www.lakeouachitavistatrail.net.

I will post some daily and weekly updates on this year's construction progress to keep the trail supporters and patrons informed as the work moves ahead in the coming weeks.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

May 2, 2008 - Ribbon Cutting

The third leg of the trail is now officially open. On Friday May 2, 2008 we had the official ribbon cutting ceremony opening the third leg to the public and adding another four miles of finished trail to the LOViT.

We were fortunate to have several of the state's key recreation officials attend the ceremony. Richard Davies Executive Director of the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Commission attended and extended his thanks to the US Forest Service for its support as well as the US Corps of Engineers both of which extended their team's support during a time of dramatically reduced budgets to assist in completing this beautiful section of the trail. He spoke of the great efforts of the Traildog volunteers who provided over 1200 volunteer hours in completing this section of the trail.

Richard Stokes US Corp of Engineers Lake Ouachita Manger echoed Davies remarks and stated the coalition that was formed to support this project has now raised $890,000 of grants, matching funds, in kind land and materials and over two thousand hours of volunteer support.

We are all proud of our progress and eagerly look forward to our next dig this winter. The fourth section has been designed and laid out and will connect with the USFS Charlton Trail which will then connect the Crystal Springs Resort and USCOE campground to the LOViT making it the fourth resort and fourth campground to be connected by the trail. This new portion of the trail is now being evaluated for historical and environmental issues and, once approved, we can begin the actual construction this winter.

After the ceremony several of the Traildogs joined in for a hike of the new section to admire their handiwork. It was a great day to be a Traildog.

Jerry

Finishing Touches

In the past month we have been working the finishing touches of the newly completed third leg of the trail.  We are also trying to deal us some vandalism to the Hickory Nut Mountain Vista at the end of the third leg.  It seems a number of people felt it was ok to vandalize the vista by spray painting their names over the beautiful old rock walls.  We were able to raise a reward of $750 from some of the local businesses and from the Friends of Lake Ouachita INc. and got support from the Hot springs and Montgomery County newspapers to run articles on the vandalism and the reward.  Attached is a photo of some of the damage.

Tomorrow at 8:30 we will be meeting at the Mt. Harbor Road Parking area by the white house.  The Corps of Engineers is sending a machine and operator to help us relocate the trailhead sign to the new parking area.  We will also be installing some drainage pipe in the ditch to create a proper drive into the new parking area.  The county has committed to bring the gravel for the lot as soon as its dry enough.  If you would like to join us it should only take a couple of hours to complete. 

Weather permitting we will have a work day Monday Sept 7th starting at 8:30 am.  We plan to work on installing two ATV Barriers with one team and blazing the new leg of the trail with another team.

If we can get four volunteers to help with the blazing it should only take a couple of hours.  We have a short training class on proper blazing before we start.

We will meet at the trail entrance located at the top of Hickory Nut Mountain at the west end of the picnic area.

We will have all the tools and supplies there for both activities.

Se you Monday.

Jerry