Bright new look

The big addition is sunlight.

Removal of hundreds of dead ash trees has transformed Kelly Baggs Nature Trail in Weiler-Wilson and Hudson Family parks.

It’s been open to the public since November but was muddy and “a little rough” in spots after all of the work that was done. Now, it’s taking on a different look.

Emerald ash borer took a devastating toll on the wooded area along the south bank of the Salamonie River east of Wayne Street.

And as trees died and fell and became tangled in the branches of other trees, the nature trail became a public hazard. It was closed in October 2018.

The City of Portland contracted with Myron Terrain Management, New Albany, in 2019 to remove dead ash trees that posed a threat to hikers on the trail. The result is a forest canopy that’s now more open to sunlight, trails that are somewhat wider, and an abundance of wildflowers and new growth.

“I have not been out there yet,” Jay County native Ben Myron said this week, noting in some areas the ash removal led to wide clearings where there had once been thickly shaded leaf cover.

Now, said Myron, the challenge will be to maintain the trail as new growth takes hold.

“You have to stay after it,” he said. “You have to maintain it.”

Myron said three methods will be needed to keep the trail at its best: Mechanical, chemical and vegetative.

City parks department crews have been back to mow the trail, which is the mechanical action necessary. Application of herbicides will also be necessary to attack invasive species that can quickly overrun native plants.

“There needs to be some sort of vegetation put in place,” Myron said.

“It’s a balance between those three. … What probably needs to happen is to have some sort of management plan,” he added.

Seeding or the planting of appropriate trees might be a project for service clubs or scouts, he noted.