First impressions are important for several reasons. Among them are demonstrating “pride of ownership” and a sense of safety. There are fourteen trail head parking lots serving the Lone Star Hiking Trail in the Sam Houston Forest. Perimeter bollards, wooden kiosks and parking surfaces were identified by Allen Pape as needing repairs and updating. In 2016, Alan led an effort by the Sam Houston Trails Coalition to secure an RTP (Recreational Trails Program) Grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife to perform the upgrades. The volunteer work, led by Project Manager Bill Elwell, began in June 2021, and was recently completed.
The project scope included replacing single post bollards with post and rail perimeters, repair/upgrade parking lot surfaces with TXDOT limestone road base, installation of new parking lot identification signs, and replacement of eight parking lot kiosks. The grant provided $50,000 to carry out these improvements with a sponsor match requirement of $12,500. The match funds requirement was fulfilled through volunteer hours.
The project involved 57 workdays using 27 different volunteers, some from distances such as Dallas and Austin, for over 1500 volunteer hours, 190 hours of tractor engine time, five Eagle Scout projects, and kiosk construction from Engineering Technology students at Sam Houston State University.
A celebration of completion was recently held at Twin Lakes Pavilion where volunteers and other supporters were recognized. Coalition president Linda Secrist recognized the project as, “One of our best projects identified by Allen, led by Bill with numerous volunteers and outstanding support of the entire Forest Service staff, especially Trails Coordinator Heather Spencer.”
District Ranger Jason Roesner said, “Volunteers aid the National Forests and Grasslands through volunteer agreements assisting the forests and grasslands with trail maintenance, general cleanup, and helping visitors. Groups like the Sam Houston Trails Coalition work with the Sam Houston National Forest maintaining miles of trails. We appreciate all our volunteers who assist in providing our visitors maintained and safe trails. This project illustrates the sense of pride that our volunteers have for the National Forest and the Lone Star Hiking Trail. I applaud the team effort that it took to make this project a reality.”
Several users of the Lone Star Trail have shared how the nicer parking lots are making their enjoyment of the forest more encouraging and pleasant.
Thank you to John Elliott for the article and photos!