Oxen power clears trails at Eagles Nest 2009

The Fort Harrod Back Country Horsemen removed tires from an old farm dump site at Eagles Nest Equestrian Trails with the help of a yoke of Oxen on March 21, 2009. During the morning, the work crew and bovine team removed 65 tires from the Cornishville Road side of the wilderness property. The tires were removed from the dump and stacked at a more appropriate location where they will remain until Mercer County’s tire amnesty day in June. After lunch, 27 volunteers continued work by clearing downed trees and limbs from storm damaged trails. Trail boss Dennis Blackburn estimates that more than 5 miles of trails at Eagles Nest were cleared during the workday.

The team of Oxen, owned by Fort Harrod BCH member Brian Rogers, was also instrumental in pulling damaged trees from trail areas. “It’s amazing to watch the oxen quietly pull a partially downed tree in seconds that would take a person with a chainsaw several minutes, if not longer, to remove,” remarked Blackburn.

In addition to Fort Harrod BCH members and trail enthusiasts in and around Mercer County, members of the Kentucky Back Country Horsemen and the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) were on hand to help remove tires and clear trails. The ELCR is a project partner with the Fort Harrod BCH in a National Park Service RTCA grant to develop a strategic plan for the preservation of Eagles Nest Equestrian Trails.

Photographs provided by Cynthia Higgs.

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