WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |Upkeep of Harbison Forest suffering from budget cuts

Upkeep of Harbison Forest suffering from budget cuts

(Columbia) July 31, 2003 - The trails first drew Mark Diimmter to the Harbison State Forest and the trails are what make him stay, "Some of the things that need to be done on this trail is actually a little bit of cutting back bushes. You can see some of the stuff is starting to overgrow on the trail."

Mark is one of several volunteers helping to keep the paths safe and clear. If Mark didn't do it, practically no one would, "They really rely on us to get stuff done."

A tight state budget has clear-cut the staff. There were six full-time workers three-years-ago, but today there is one.  
           
He is Forest Director Russell Hubright. His main responsibility once was the big picture like new trails, new trees, the future, but now he's rooted in the details, "It's been more of the day-to-day things. Like, who is emptying the trash cans today, whose going to mow this part of the grass, who is going to ride through the forest to make sure no one is stuck back there after hours."

Trails are now closed. The bridge that once stood on one trail was wiped out in a downpour last month. It now sits 50 yards down the stream.

Hubright says it puts him in quite a bind, "We don't have the skilled labor to replace the bridge and we really don't have the time to do it even if we had the people." He can keep the trails up for now with enough volunteers, but he worries about them two or three years down the road, "As those deteriorate, we wouldn't be able to replace them, so people coming out here would wonder what happened, how come things have been let go, so to speak."                    

Mark says he still won't give up on the forest, "If you use it and you want it to still be here later on, you've got to invest something in it."

The Harbison State Forest says it can always use help for things like clearing brush, cutting branches or even building bridges. Please call 896-8890 if you are interested in volunteering.

By Heather Brown
Posted 7:33pm by BrettWitt