by Scott Ammerman
Torque Correspondent
The Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, has been an amazing resource for the Mid-Atlantic Region since officially opening to off road traffic in 2014. Since then, it has grown into a trail system with two properties spanning over 8,000 acres and hundreds of miles of trails that cater to all skill levels.
The history of this area is complicated because for decades it has been used for the mining of anthracite coal, but the sprawling acreage also fell victim to unauthorized dumping over the years — things like household trash, broken appliances, car parts, building materials and old electronics all found their way into the woods throughout the park.
While removing debris from several generations of dumping is an ongoing effort at AOAA, with cleanup events being hosted rather frequently, a push towards preventing further abuse is something Quadratec and Tread Lightly! have taken a very active role in promoting.
The most recent project at AOAA, over an early August weekend, was a concerted effort between both organizations as well as a few industry partners. This particular event was focused on four ideas: bulk trash pickup, identifying trouble areas for later cleanups, hanging signage promoting the Tread Lightly! TREAD Principles and urging people to conform to the posted trail speed limits.
Anthracite has seen several speed-related injuries since the start of this year mainly because it is a shared-use park that sees both smaller, faster-moving vehicles and larger, slower-moving vehicles often on the same trail. All it takes is for someone not to follow that speed limit and disaster can occur, so reinforcing those limits was a big push throughout the day.
But decades of trash remains the biggest issue at the park and during this clean up we found a nearly complete YJ hard top that was smashed and left for garbage. Even worse, broken window glass was laying all around with the debris.
Tires that had long been forgotten in the woods were pushed up into the light, and strapped to the back of Jeeps to be disposed of properly at a large container brought to the trailhead specifically for this task.
Tow straps were used to loop as many tires together as possible, stacking them in the cargo and back seat areas of the many JKUs in attendance. Say what you want about four-door Jeeps, but they sure can haul a ton of junk out of the woods.
Quadratec’s Terry Pritchard, who also hosts the Jeep Life Podcast, spent most of the cleanup day with his daughter Alexia, digging out as much rubber as possible and hauling it out with his Wrangler JK Unlimited.
“When I'm out on the trails, it is usually the little things that get taken care of — picking up small debris, bottles and trash as we pass by,” he said. “Those things are easy to pick up and put in your trash bag or floor of your Jeep to throw out later. But on this particular trail, we hit the mother lode with tires piled up and scattered a small distance from the trail.
”Tires are not easy to dispose of which is how they end up out in the wild. So it was fun to try and figure out how to get all of them off the trail. Tires were piled up on the back of Jeeps and strapped around the rear end resembling a tugboat ready to lead a big ship out of the harbor. One particular tire kept trying to escape. It fell out of multiple Jeeps, rolled down a steep trail and just generally creating a nuisance.
”Bringing all of these tires off of the trail was a visible and tangible record of just how much an impact we made on the day.”
Neil Berger, a seven-year Tread Lightly! member, was adamant about an outdoor recreationist’s responsibility to preserve access.
“To me, Tread Lightly means being responsible for the public lands we have the privilege to use for recreation,” he said. “Always obeying the rules of the land, staying on marked trails, and not disturbing the natural habitat. Lastly, to maintain those lands we do use by volunteering to help with organized cleanups, and to always bring out trash off of the trails. Every little bit helps.”
Tires weren’t the only thing found in the woods, as the group also came across a Jeep Grand Cherokee sitting disabled with control arm damage at the bottom a trail named Barney Rubble.
Don Bray, also a member of the Jeep Life Podcast, said he takes stewardship projects very seriously because he knows what is at stake.
“Every single day we behave poorly, we risk losing access to our public lands,” he said. “Giving back helps ensure access for future generations, and sets a good example for other people who participate in our hobby. The signs we installed are a subtle reminder as to what is at risk, and how much misuse can cause us to lose in the blink of an eye.”
Ron Harrington II, owner of Vermont-based Ridgeback Guide Service, made the drive south to Pennsylvania for the cleanup effort as well. He explains, “It is important to help, give back and educate the off-road community wherever you can. Give back to the communities, off-road parks and the places you go off-road, not just the state you live in.”
Evan Robins, National Tread Lightly! Stewardship and Education Manager, oversaw the day’s activities and said he was very appreciative of the efforts of all in attendance.
“The work we completed at AOAA this summer is vitally important for the national off-road community,” he said. “While the signage seems like a small effort, it allows a multitude of people to learn about the Tread Principles while out on the trail, and for local off-road stewards to participate in the Tread Lightly lifestyle by giving back to our trail systems.
”Huge thanks to all our partners and volunteers who helped out. We couldn’t do it without you.”
In 2022, Quadratec will look to keep these cleanup events going and has plans to ramp up its stewardship efforts in every corner of the country.
“While we are based in the eastern part of the United States, we care about every part of this great country," said Eric Ammerman, Quadratec’s Video Production Manager and liaison with Tread Lightly!. “Public land access is everyone’s responsibility, and Quadratec’s expansion of the Quadratec Cares initiative is just a reflection of how important this effort is in the long term. We would be ecstatic if we could create a positive effect towards land stewardship in every state soon, and that is absolutely what we’re working towards.”
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