SORBA-CSRA

Tower Trail Work Party Update!

Some truly incredible work went down on Tower Trail yesterday! A powerhouse crew of 6 sawyers (with 3 pulling double shifts) and 9 support/safety volunteers hit the trail hard and cut and cleared an impressive 159 trees!

We were thrilled to have Stan Crane return from Northwest Georgia SORBA to lend his expertise. His help has been invaluable as we continue this large-scale Hurricane Helene recovery effort. He’s been coming in from the start and his dedication and commitment have been greatly appreciated!

To put this work into perspective: Tower Trail started with a staggering 1,822 trees down after the storm. Despite limited access and severe canopy loss, our sawyer teams have already managed to cut and clear 1,112 trees so far off this trail.

This is not routine trail maintenance. These large work parties are focused on reclaiming trails that remain closed due to the sheer number of downed trees and extensive tread damage caused primarily by uprooted trees. Root balls torn out of the ground have left major holes, heaved tread, and created unstable trail surfaces that require significant effort to restore.

Tower Trail has always been challenging because of its limited access points, and post-storm conditions have only amplified that challenge. Still, these crews continue to adapt, get creative, and push forward.

Huge thanks to these trail reclamation heroes:
• Stan Crane – double shift
• Jake Veriato – double shift
• Miles St. Peter – double shift
• Jack Crockett
• Greg Hylton
• Paul Farrow
• Pete Hill
• Charlton Hill
• Jackie Dubose
• George Murphy
• Jeff Lippe
• Gabe Hoffman
• Brogan Rose
• Greg Miller
• Carina Bilger
• Jackie Sanders
• Daniel Allen
• Angela Allen

We are incredibly grateful for every one of you!

We’ll continue hosting smaller Hurricane Helene recovery work parties through the end of the year. If you’d like to be added to our weekend or weekday warrior email notification list and receive updates about ongoing trail reclamation work, let us know via sorbacsra.org or email us at [email protected].

This work is about reopening trails — and it wouldn’t happen without volunteers like these. Never helped before? No problem we will quickly bring you up to speed!!

Tower Trail at FATS Needs You – Saturday, December 13th

We have an amazing group of certified sawyers ready to clear more Hurricane Helene damage — now we just need support/safety volunteers to make our workday on Saturday, December 13th happen safely. We need help for both morning and afternoon shifts.

For every sawyer, we’re required to have at least one support/safety person assisting, and right now we’re rich in sawyers but short on support. We don’t want that to be the one thing that holds us back from completing this first major step toward reopening the north trails.

These roles are critical and require no saw experience — you’ll be helping with safety watch, moving cut debris, traffic control, and general logistics. Each shift is about 4 hours.

If you’ve been waiting on the north trails to reopen, this is the most direct way to help move that forward. Even one volunteer makes a huge difference, and these roles are truly essential and appreciated.

Reach out via our website: sorbacsra.org
Or email: [email protected]
to sign up or ask questions!

Please share or reach out to others who might can help! Thank you!