Hurrah for the Peaks! Georgian Peaks Takes the Lead in Excellent Stewardship of the Escarpment Hills
Wattles were strung across the ski runs Wilson’s Wiggle and lower Monster. (Photo: George Powell)
Georgian Peaks ski club has a lot of very steep terrain that is prone to landslides. This summer, Operations Manager Darrel Dennis had two trail staff work fulltime on slope remediation.
On several very steep hills with limited vegetation, they installed wattles across the slopes. These cylinders of compressed straw wrapped in jute or nylon, eventually biodegrade. They reduce erosion by intercepting runoff and directing it to ditches and catch basins. The club plans to plant dogwoods onto the wattles to create self-perpetuating fascines, bundles of brush that will replace the wattles when they decompose.
Other ski runs were seeded and mulched with hay to promote growth of more vegetation on
the hills. They also cleaned out drainage culverts and catch basins so there’s no backup across and down the hill. Congratulations Peaks! You are Escarpment Warriors!