Foundation Acquires Utility Vehicle Thanks to Grant

by | Aug 20, 2024 | Community, Ecological Restoration, On the Trail

Thanks to a generous grant from Muskingum Township and the Marietta Community Foundation, The
Broughton Foundation has acquired a two-seat Utility Vehicle (UTV). It was immediately used for various trail
and facility construction and maintenance within the Broughton Nature and Wildlife Education Area (The Park).
Foundation President George Broughton expressed his gratitude: “We are very grateful to our township and
community foundation for this grant in support of outdoor education, recreation, and restoration.”
Broughton explained that volunteers and maintenance crews often have to transport tools, equipment, and
materials over 40 miles of trails, navigate creeks, hills, ravines, and rock outcroppings to build and maintain
trails, clear fallen trees, remove invasive plants, gather and sow seeds of native plants, and maintain ponds.
The UTV is especially useful for transporting tools and materials across many miles of trails. It also comes
equipped with a winch.
Trail Steward Mark Krivchenia commented, “The winch on the new UTV has already proven very useful for
removing trees and limbs that block trails or create hazards.”
Various volunteer groups and maintenance crews will use the UTV to build and maintain woodland trail
shelters, ponds, trail signage, blazes, and other features of the Broughton Nature and Wildlife Education Area.
Volunteer activities include:
– Hiking and mountain biking trail construction and maintenance
– Ecological restoration (removal and destruction of invasive plants, followed by restoration of native plants)
– Disc golf course construction and maintenance
– Cross-country course maintenance
Volunteers and maintenance crews can access remote areas more efficiently and haul equipment and materials
to the site, thus avoiding trail damage that trucks and tractors can cause.
The UTV will be available to various Broughton Nature and Wildlife Education Area user groups, including the
trail committee, ecological restoration stewards, disc golf collaborators, and cross-country trail enthusiasts.