This summer I worked as an intern for the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska, where I had three jobs. My first was to count how many people were using the main trails maintained by the forest service and my second job was to do inventories on trails. I was also involved in data collection for the meaningless measures database.
Counting people using the trails was done by using trail counters that consist of a box emitting a laser beam, and a box that has a sensor that records the number of times the beam is broken. It was my responsibility to set up these trail counters on the six most heavily used trails, which were East Glacier, West Glacier, Auke Nu, Peterson, Herbert and Eagle Creek. The boxes had to be mostly hidden from view on opposite sides of the trail. On some trails the boxes could easily be mounted on trees, while on others they had to be mounted on stakes in the ground. Once the trail counters were in place I checked them three times a week, twice to make sure they were recording data and the other time to record how many people used the trail. It was necessary to check the trail counters often because they are very sensitive to any changes. In many cases the box would shift on the tree causing the beam to not match up with the sensor, or a natural obstacle would obstruct the beam. The counters were also vandalized in three cases during the summer. Two counter sets were stolen, and one set was unstaked and removed from the ground. Checking the counters three times a week minimized the time that a set of counters would not be operating properly. I entered the data from the weekly counts onto a computer spreadsheet.
The reason the number of people using the trails is important, is that right now in Juneau there is a large debate over the noise pollution that tour company helicopters and float planes cause. A study is being done on the noise pollution to examine the impact it has on other recreational uses of the area. Hikers have complained about the amount of disruption the noise causes while hiking and the data I collected will show how many people are actually using the trails. My work this summer will contribute to the research being done on the impacts of the noise caused by the helicopters, and to finding a solution to please the greatest number of people.
The second component of my internship was to do inventories on trails. I hiked the trails and recorded all man made structures and any other important feature of the trail. I hiked with a hip counter that measured the distance hiked in feet. I designated the trail feature by recording the starting feet and ending feet, what it was, and what condition it was in, on a spreadsheet I developed using Excel. Important trail features were lateral drains, bridges, culverts, retaining walls, steps, water bars, stairs, water crossings, property boundaries, and turnpikes. The condition of each trail feature was rated on a scale of one to four, with one being brand new and four indicating the item was in need of immediate repair.
For lateral drains, the lengths were recorded and whether or not they ran on one or both sides of the trail. There are plastic, metal, and concrete culverts and the diameter, material, and lengths were recorded for each culvert. Similarly, the diameter, length and number of logs in retaining walls were recorded. The turnpikes only needed the length to be recorded. For steps and stairs, the material used to make them and the distance they covered were the important pieces of information recorded. Water crossings are areas where water freely runs across the trail, and the distance and width of these were recorded. For water bars, property boundaries, and other trail features, the distance along the trail was recorded with any needed description. For all features that received a rating of three or four, I included my opinion on what would solve the problem.
Bridges were described in more detail because each bridge needed to be photographed and filed. The length and types of stringers used and their material, how the bridge was covered, if there were handrails, and any other unusual features of the bridge were recorded. All bridges were photographed with both a head on and side view. When the pictures were developed, I matched what I recorded about the bridge with the pictures.
I transferred all the data I collected on the trails onto Excel spreadsheets. This very detailed record will help my supervisor to evaluate maintenance needs. She can determine what materials are needed and what work needs to be done. Also, my data will help her compose her budget proposal for next year. I really enjoyed working for the Forest Service and feel that I learned a lot. I was able to contribute to important projects and studies, while experiencing one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
