Florida Road Cleanup Run
July 15, 2001

Summary

A few days before the actual clean up a few of us were worried that we may not have a lot of work to do or trash to pick up....boy were we wrong! The majority of trash was picked up off the side of East Hoosac Street. Unfortunately the trash service was not able to determine the actual weight of all the trash that we picked up. We did collect over 7 cubic yards of assorted trash, 18 tires, a freezer, coach, 2 mattresses, and a large pile of scrap metal. Luckily the town Adams disposed of the tires at no cost, but New England 4 Wheelers, Inc. did pick up the tab for the dump truck. On behalf of New England 4 Wheelers, Inc. I would like to thank the following people for this monumental effort... Adams Board of Selectmen, Florida Board of Selectmen, WNAW/ WMNB Radio's Don and Corey Thurston for allowing us to place a dump truck on their property. Sandy at Berkshire Solid Waste Mgmt. for allowing us to dump off the tires, Chris at Delmolino's who supplied the dump truck. The biggest thanks of all go out to Bill Barnes and Carl Merrick, without their dedication and hard work this would never have been as huge a success as it was.
Now for the individuals and their club affiliations...

From NE4Wi, Mass...Dave Cleveland, Paul Ferrari, Carl Merrick, Greg Baldwin, John Foster, Todd Landers, Mike McCain, Brian Seeley, Jud Pappas, Rick Boiros, Mike Broberg, Andy Vega, Scott Hatch, Tim Mulverhill, John Meinck, and Bill Barnes
From JonFund, Ct...Dan Stra, Dave Smith
From Yankee Toys, Mass...Nicholas Jennings, Mike Fox, Mark Waller
From Deepwoods Extreme, N.H....Roy Van Gemert, Mike Desmond, Tammy Lynn Lucke, Russell Cook
From Baystate Jeepers, Mass...Rich Banfield, Joe Ostrenga, Joe Lacey, Walter Dacey
From Long Island Off Road, N.Y....Joe Stevenson, Andy Murphy
Eastern 4 Wheelers, Ct. were on a trail ride in the area and significantly contributed to the cleanup of the interior of Old Florida Road.
Special mention...

JJUSA represented by Todd Landers, Bill Barnes, Tim Mulverhill and Andy Vega
North East Association of 4WD Clubs represented by Scott Hatch (VP), Tammy Lynn Lucke (Secretary), and Russell Cooke (Web Master)
Scott Hatch President New England 4 Wheelers, Inc.

Editorials

The Great Old Florida Road Cleanup With East Hoosac Street in Adams
By Bill Barnes

 
What does it take to make a cleanup happen? Meetings, phone calls, site visits and coordination. Carl Merrick and I had all of that going for us as we spent over a month, planning and working with the Towns of Adams and Florida Select- persons to make our efforts a success. Once we got our ducks in a row, we brought in Scott Hatch to make calls to other clubs, asking them to send up to four representatives to work beside us in this repair and cleanup effort of one of our favorite places, Old Florida Road. (NE4Wi believes we are all united in this sport, and inter- club cooperation can only enhance our perception to the public). We called on Steve Nordby to send the club insurance information to the towns and to make the initial payment on the dumpster we had placed at local radio station, WNAW/ WMNB in North Adams. We met at the gravel lot in Savoy State Forest (the usual NE4Wi meet spot). Attendance was very good with about 31 people from a good assortment of clubs coming from as far away as New Hampshire and New York. Hopefully, all in attendance signed their names and club affiliation on the clipboard. We broke into three groups. One to Central Shaft Road combined with the North end of Old Florida Road. A group to East Hoosac Street with the South end of Old Florida Road, and a group to clean up Tannery Falls and the Balanced Rock in Savoy State Forest. The group doing Central Shaft Rd. took along most of the Jeeps, some with military type trailers to work the water hole on the 4X4 trail. Their primary assignment was to block the illegal by- passes that 4X4's used in the past to avoid the deep water. The road across the water is shallow now that the beaver activity in the area has stopped. Also, the road through the water was shored up and is now passable for most 4X4 type vehicles. Garbage on Central Shaft Road was at a minimum. The real fun to follow... East Hoosac Street. We started at the top of the hill with four pickup trucks and a Jeep. We sent 2 other trucks and a Jeep down to the trailhead, knowing about the pile of trash dumped there. This street was a mess. It's an isolated hillside skirting road with a steep bank and dense foliage lining the sides, easy to ditch your old freezer. Yup, we got one of those out of there! Our intention was to just clear the edges in about 5 feet or so, but with the steep drop- off, we knew we were in for it. To make a long story short, we took out 18 tires, a freezer, lots of trash including a torn plastic bag filled up with nasty, disgusting and well used disposable diapers (I got stuck picking that up). Lots of metal, like pieces of dishwasher, signs, etc., mattresses, couches and other yucky stuff. All this before we even reached the trailhead! I had an agenda for this trailhead. For years the landowner has been griping about the 4 wheelers going across his land, causing massive erosion. Trouble is, he never tried doing anything about it. So, being the responsible group we are, we blocked off the access to this by- pass about 50 yards up on the trail. So, if you're heading South on the trail, you'll see it's blocked off and posted. Kudos to Rick Boiros and Andy Vega for supervising this effort. At the entrance to the trail, we were only allowed to define the actual road by placing small boulders that can be moved or crossed. This is what the landowner wanted. Clubs, take the hint. Stay out of the private property, please! Now that all the missions are accomplished, we can go to the dump truck and tire center to drop off our booty. If I had to take a wild guess on trash weight, I would say close to three tons if not more, and 18 total tires. We'll know for sure when we get the bill. So why did we do the cleanup? The towns of Adams and Florida have control of Old Florida Road. They can close it any time they want. There was a rumor they were going to do just that. I pleaded our case at an Adams Select- person's meeting, telling them there are no legal 4X4 roads anymore because the state buys the land around them, then gates them off, or only allows motorized vehicles with a 1000 pound weight limit. The Select- persons saw it my way and as a good will gesture...a cleanup came to fruition. The two towns will be putting up "Road Closed" signs at each end. For those in the know, it means, "Pass at your own risk."

The Great Old Florida Road Cleanup & Central Shaft RD in Florida
By Tim Mulverhill VP NE4Wi

The 4WD clubs of the northeast had the opportunity this weekend to show DEM, associated greenies, and local towns that we are serious about our offers to clean up the trails we use and the surrounding area. Thanks to Bill 'no really, I'm retired' Barnes and Carl Merrick's efforts, the towns of Florida and Adams agreed to let New England Four Wheelers host the first cleanup of Old Florida Road - one of the few remaining trails in western Massachusetts and a precious resource of the four wheeling community. Due to some early trip shenanigans on my part (going back for my wallet 15 minutes into the trip), John Meinck and I didn't hit the Savoy area until 9:30 or so. Foolishly believing Bill's warning of a 9AM sharp start time we headed directly to the Adams side of the trail. Needless to say there wasn't anyone there yet. Not wanting to waste a trip, John and I threw a dishwasher and some construction debris into my trailer and headed to the meet spot. We managed to pass the Adams side crew on the way but kept going since we already had a full load. With no one at the meet spot except for some ATV guys unloading, we went to the waterhole side of the trail to see who was there. Rich Banfield and his Baystate reps were pulling into the trail and Carl was policing the side of the road. John and I unloaded the trailer for later pick up and headed to the water hole. While we were unloading a local gent stopped to see what was going on. I think he suspected illegal dumping and was amazed when we told him we pulled this junk out of the trail. We managed to pass Baystate and get near the waterhole. John and I loaded up the trailer with some good sized, flat rocks until the springs were sagging and the tires were rubbing the fenders. Todd Landers and John Foster were working on blocking the waterhole bypass with some really nice folks from Deepwoods Extreme. Todd had already dumped a load of rocks in the waterhole near the edge, so I pulled my trailer across the water, leaving it in about a Jeep-length. I donned my shorts and sneakers; John opted for the hip waders. We both waded in and placed the trailer load of rocks on the bottom along the right-hand side (facing Adams) of the crossing. I should mention that I've never seen the water so low - I walked across the entire pond and it was never deeper than 30" on the crossing side. It appears to have been this way for a while as there is grass growing where there used to be two feet of water. There is now absolutely no reason for anyone to feel the need to use the bypass - the crossing is little more than hub deep for the most part. Stone stock vehicles can do it - stay off the bypass. Rich pulled his trailer into the pond and John and I unloaded their stone, again placing it carefully so not to create new holes or obstacles. At one point I said, "Give me a hand moving this rock, I think I just created a Dana 30 trap". Once we were finished we all unhooked our trailers so we could turn around, hooked back up, and pulled back to the exit side. By now the bypass crew was finished with the first closure. They had managed to maneuver a pile of boulders to one side of the bypass to block Jeeps and trucks, yet still allow ATV's and motorcycles through. These latter vehicles are allowed to use DEM trails and are not prohibited from using the old town roads in the forest as we are. After a quick lunch we all headed over to the power line side of the bypass to block that end. With everyone pitching in we amassed two piles of rocks and boulders, strategically staggered to deter anyone from climbing them with a trail rig. Once again enough space was left to allow an ATV through. In fact, while we were there we had a few ATV's and dirt bikes pass through. By 1:00 we were finished and headed out to the road. We loaded the debris we had left there in Carl's pickup and sold some of the new club t-shirts and sweatshirts. The waterhole maintenance, bypass block, and garbage cleanup crew consisted of NE4Wi, Deepwoods Extreme, Jeep Jamboree USA, and Baystate Jeepers. With luck the bypass closure will be respected and the waterhole conditions taken advantage of. This will go a long way in enabling the clubs of the northeast to continue enjoying this road by helping the towns to help us. If we police ourselves we show the towns we are a class of recreationists that they want to return to their towns, and they will be willing to work with us to prevent any further DEM road-grabs. Please pass the word to your clubs and anyone you know who uses Old Florida Road - stay off the waterhole bypass. The boulders blocking the bypass are not a new obstacle for your enjoyment. Stay on the road that crosses the waterhole, the bypass is DEM land We all headed out in different directions. Carl and I drove past the meet spot looking for people. Finding none we continued over to the Adams side of the trail. Bill Barnes, Scott Hatch, Paul Ferrari, and a few other members of other clubs were wrapping up their 'post cleanup BS session'. A bunch of us followed Scott and John M. in our vehicles as they policed the sides of the road headed down into Adams. We dropped off discarded tires at the town-recycling center and brought the rest of the garbage to the truck at the radio station. I couldn't believe how much crap was hauled out of the area. We should have some pictures on the club website soon that show how much we actually got, except for the 17? Tires. I turned the remaining shirts and sweatshirts over to Scott since I can't attend the Beacon run next weekend. This batch is printed on dark tan/kaki, and when they sell out the next batch will be on gray - plan accordingly. They seem to be moving quickly so if you want khaki get them soon. I think the cleanup was a huge success, but the true measure of success will come from making the towns and DEM remember who cleaned the area up. It wasn't the Sierra Club, it wasn't Earth First. DEM wouldn't block the bypass on their own land. We also need to remember the importance of policing our own sport and the areas we use. Thanks to all who made the trip to help out. I look forward to participating in more events like this throughout the northeast and hope you all will too.

home | membership | trail reports | vehicles | videos | land issues | links | contact

©2006 deepwoodsextreme.com