Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
VOLUNTEERS, FROM left, Amy Nosal, Ian Shackleford and Tom Kangas spread dirt at the Hurley trailhead between the Montreal River and Second Avenue Monday evening.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley - Work improving the Hurley trailhead between the Montreal River and Second Avenue continues as volunteers were out Monday spreading soil on the site.
The top soil was spread around the trailhead in areas with a lot of rocks and is intended to help improve the trailhead's grass cover and "make it more park-like," according to Ian Shackleford, one of the volunteers and a member of Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts.
"Two or three years ago, back when the city bought this property, it was just bare ground over at this end," Shackleford said.
ICORE has been involved with helping develop the trailhead that runs between the parallel motorized and non-motorized trails as they enter Iron County from Michigan.
Along with the top soil, volunteers recently spent two days spreading a load of wood chips they got from the Iron County Highway Department on the path from the trailhead down to the Montreal River.
The wood chips act as a mulch, according to Shackleford, keeping the plants from encroaching on the trail and reducing the chances of people picking up a tick while using the trail.
The recent improvements are funded by a $20,000 Gogebic Range Health Foundation grant awarded to ICORE in January.
"A good part of that grant paid for that new parking lot there, ... but then other parts paid for that dog waste station, this top soil. We've got money from them for a bike maintenance stations like they've got (at Depot Park in Ironwood), and we even want to put in some LED motion-sensing lights," Shackleford said.
