Park And Natural Area Are Endangered

Park And Natural Area Are Endangered

Photos, text by Doug Fulton 

More than a decade ago Pioneer High School designated a Conservation Observation Laboratory on a section of land adjoining the school. It was an extension of the newly-established Outdoor Education program of the public schools. 

The lab encompassed the woodlot west of the school, a brushy area next to the woods to the south and a grassland area further on.

Quite a bit of work was done on the lab when it was first designated. Scout and community groups planted evergreens and shrubs. Trails were cleared. Wildlife improvement programs were started. And residents along Woodland Ave. to the west, some of whom had their extended backyards into the woods, were asked to pull back and let the woods regenerate their natural condition. 

Then, just a couple of years later, came a crisis. The city wanted to extend Seventh St. from Stadium to Scio Church, and the route picked would have split the lab and woods in two. After much talk and deliberation, an alternate route was chosen which skirted the lab. 

The road also cut off a large section of school land between the new road and Greenview. Not needed as a school site, this parcel, containing a small pond, was "loaned" to the city for use as a park. 

Slowly, over the years since, problems have developed within the lab area and the park. 

Cutbacks in the public schools, both in personnel and bus transportation for field trips, have resulted in less intensive use of the lab. Elementary schools which used to have field trips scheduled there regularly, now tend to use areas closer to their schools, and come less frequently. 

Vandalism has increased. Trees have been broken off near the paths.The trails have been used by motorcycles and mini-bikes. In fact, a mini-bike "track" has been made in one area. And several of the homeowners on Woodland Ave. have extended their backyards into the woods again. Swing sets, vegetable gardens, wood piles, grass clippings dump, etc. 

The park area further west, owned by the school but mowed and maintained by the park department of the city, has suffered considerable damage from motorcycles and mini-bikes, both of which are legally not supposed to be in the park at all. 

A race course has been established around the little pond, and the grass has been completely worn off a large area. Adjacent to the pond, a small hill has become a "jump" area and is rutted and worn and eroded. 

There are no easy solutions to any of these problems. 

Mini-bikes and motorcycles, as well as snowmobiles in winter, are becoming more prevalent, and more destructive by sheer numbers. Clearly there must be some provision for them in any recreational plan, but they cannot be allowed to ruin parkland.

Natural areas, such as the conservation lab, must have the continued use of programs and interpretation. Casual use of such areas, unless they are large enough to absorb the use or unless the use is minimal, will gradually erode them. 

Jurisdiction is a problem in both places. The park suffers because no one is really in charge of it. The school system does not use it, and the parks department, because they are not guaranteed continued use of it, is reluctant to make permanent improvements in it. 

And who, within the schools, is really in charge of the outdoor natural areas and conservation labs? Who has the duty to check them and protect them from use that might destroy them?

The questions remain, and they should be answered. The photographs on this page show situations which, if allowed to continue, will destroy the very values we wish to protect within our park system and our school outdoor "classrooms."

Vandalism

Above [image], a stub remains of a broken tree along the path of the Conservation Outdoor Lab. At right, a mini-bike track apparently heavily used in the lab just east of the back lot line on Woodland Ave. And below, left and right [images], the motorcycle and mini-bike track on the parkland around the little pond, between Seventh St and Greenview. The photograph at left show how the grass is completely worn off the track area, and the picture at right shows the little hill which is rutted and worn from being used for "jumping." Legally, motorized vehicles are banned from parks by city ordinance.