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Class roves hills to map trails in Ashland Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Nick Snead and other Southern Oregon University students are using global positioning technology to map trails around Ashland as part of a geography class. The data could be used to further develop Ashland's popular trail system. SOU geography students use global positioning units to focus on current system in town and in the woodlands By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Two-legged creatures seen roaming the hills above town with foot-wide, white domed bowls hovering behind their heads aren't aliens trying to contact the mother ship. During the past four weeks Southern Oregon University geography students in a planning issues class have cruised the woods with global positioning system receiver/antennae units strapped to their backs and hand-held data units. They seek to better map and characterize trails that exist in the city and its adjacent woodlands. Only a few trails are presently mapped. Five teams work from Strawberry Lane on the west to Tolman Creek Road to the east. "(The class) allows us to focus in a more independent manner on something that's a more current issue," said Pat Acklin, an assistant professor of geography who teaches the course. Data collected will be processed by the city, which loaned the GPS units to the class. Trails surfaced as a priority issue in the Parks and Recreation Commission's current revision of its open space plan. Trail advocates would like to see a trail system. Private property owners have restricted access to some trails in recent years. The project will document where trail use occurs, but there's no plan to formally publish the data. Results could help the Parks and Recreation Commission determine future steps. Private groups that address local trail issues might also benefit. Students carry letters from City Planner Brandon Goldman explaining the project for private property owners. "We're worried about how people feel about (their land) being inventoried," said student Nikki Gragg. "Most people are OK with it. It's just kind of a sticky situation." Other field challenges include timing, radio signal disturbances and current maps that aren't always accurate. "It's just an uphill battle. It's definitely a tough project," said student Nick Snead. The hand-held device must show four satellites overhead to maximize the system's capabilities. Times when the satellites are at optimum position don't always coincide with students' schedules. And the chlorophyll in leaves (what makes them green) can disrupt radio signals, forcing students to relocate. "I told my students, 'Folks, this is like real life. You deal with issues as they arise in project planning,' " said Acklin. Snead usually carries the backpack unit while teammates Gragg and Melinda Williamson scout the territory to see if trails correspond to available maps. They also keep an eye out for dangers. "You have to go kind of slow with it to make sure you get something," said Williamson. Snead records the location of a trail using GPS data and also makes entries on site characteristics such as slope angle, surface composition or erosion. "Maybe in years to come the city will develop a master plan for trails," said Goldman. "This is a first step." Legal trail routes could become part of the city's transportation plan, said Goldman. There may be other practical applications. "Lots of trails traverse down into ravines and then dead end," said Goldman. "The parks department and the forest service will be able to use that information to decommission trails." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.