Trail Mail  
     Friends of the Little Miami State Park 
In This Issue
2016 Tree Planting 


"Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking." Africa's Wangari Maathai would have felt real kinship with the FLMSP tree-planting volunteers. In the spring of 2016, Rick Forrester and his reforestation team had potted over 300 seedlings, a 50% increase over 2015. By the end of the year, 179 of those trees and shrubs were lovingly settled in their new homes along our trail. He hopes to get more in the ground before spring if weather permits.
 
Rick says the group could have planted more of the trees if not for a health problem he experienced just before planting was to start in October. Considering the problem required immediate major heart surgery, we can certainly forgive Rick for the small postponement.


To make up for lost time, the team continued planting up until the final day of the year, sometimes in frigid conditions. On December 11, the volunteers were working at Branch Hill. "It was a beautiful day although the trees were popsicles when they came out of the pots," Rick reported.   Read More


Trail More Popular Than Ever
Graph by John Theuring, FLMSP Trail Use Counting Chair


FLMSP's counting program recorded 1.27 million trail visits in 2016, a 40% increase over last year's count of 0.9 million. The most popular sections of the trail remain Loveland, Milford, and Fosters.



Our pioneering program uses electronic counters and sophisticated interpretation of data based on user surveys. The main purpose of this program is to demonstrate the importance and popularity of the trail to attract adequate funding, development, and oversight. The detailed data collected at 22 locations also provides customized usage reports to towns and communities along the trail.



Eagle Scout Project Benefits Trail


It's a win for everyone. The Little Miami State Park boasts a new kiosk to provide helpful information to trail users, FLMSP gets a big price break on construction, and Tejas Dinesh of Troop 838 in Morrow becomes an Eagle Scout.
 
Tejas, a junior at Little Miami High School, raised funds, gathered materials, organized volunteers, and supervised construction of the new kiosk at South Lebanon as his Eagle Scout project, with FLMSP providing blueprints and oversight.  Read More


New Ohio Bicycle Law Enacted


Beginning March 19, cyclists will gain an extra measure of safety along Ohio's roads. That's when House Bill 154 takes effect, requiring motorists to allow clearance of at least 3 feet when passing cyclists.
 
The new law also permits any Ohio vehicle to proceed through an intersection after stopping and yielding right-of-way, even when not detected by the device meant to move the signal from red to green.
 
The new laws benefiting cyclists are thanks in large part to years of effort by the Ohio Bicycle Federation.




Friends of the Little Miami State Park is a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation and enhancement of the Little Miami State Park. We assist the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with development planning, capital improvements, and safety concerns, as well as providing most of the maintenance of the park. 
 
Next FLMSP Meeting


Wednesday, March 8
7:00 p.m.



Hamilton Twp. Community Center


Public Invited!
Quick Links




Graffiti: Report It!


Sadly, graffiti has increased on our trail, some of it racially offensive and all of it offensive to those who love the beauty of the trail. While we all want graffiti covered over or removed as soon as possible, it is important that it first be seen by park and law enforcement officials so they can investigate and prosecute the offenders. 


So if you see graffiti along the trail, please call the Ohio Department of Natural Resources 24-hour Call Center number: #ODNR (#6367). 
ODNR will then contact both law enforcement and the park manager. Please add this number to your cell phone. 


Traveling Trail Art
A tree branch recently trimmed by one of our trail volunteers will soon become a traveling work of art. 


Mike Crossen was walking our trail one day near South Lebanon when he came across piles of trimmed branches waiting to be moved away from the trail. "There was a nice long stick lying next to one of the piles," reports Mike. "If your group left that stick for me, thank you very much!"



After allowing the branch to dry for three to four months, Mike's creative eye and skillful hands will transform it into a useful and beautiful walking stick.




Mike has made over 80 walking sticks from wood gathered from places he travels, and he says people are using them in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, California, Minnesota, Kentucky and Ohio. The sticks shown here come from our Little Miami Scenic Trail.
Help Wanted


Would you rather use a scanner than a shovel?  


We're looking for a volunteer to maintain our volunteer agreement forms. These forms give us permission from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to conduct maintenance as needed on the trail. 


Completed forms get collected, scanned and sent to the state.  For more information contact Ron Gorley ([email protected])


Contact Numbers
Trail Hotline:
513-212-6958
Report trees or large limbs down on the trail. A photo with location is most helpful.


Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources 
24-Hour Call Center:
#ODNR
Report graffiti, vandalism, or park management issues


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Peters Cleanup Complete


The EPA and DuPont soil remediation project at the old Peters Cartridge Factory at Grandin Rd. was completed in early December with the planting of hundreds of trees near the trail and on the denuded hillside behind the buildings.


Friends of the Little Miami State Park | 9378 Mason Montgomery Rd. | Suite 395 | Mason | OH | 45040-8827