G' W' Hill Forest

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G. W. Hill Forest

• Recreation Effort Meeting

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Agenda

• Management Goals
• Management of the forest
• Financial status
• Permit status
• Trail Survey
• Future Recreational Effort Dialogue

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Management Goals

• Encourage and facilitate teaching and research
  uses of the Forest
• Actively engage undergraduate students in the
  planning, operations, monitoring, and maintenance
  activities on the forests
• Provide a high level of protection to soil,
  water, and air resources
• Maintain representative examples of forest types
  and stand structures typical of the North
  Carolina Piedmont

4
Management Goals

• Maintain a balance of seral stages, distributed
  across the landscape and through time in order to
  provide a habitat for native wildlife species
• Employ examples of a wide variety of
  silvicultural strategies and forest practices
• Maintain informational brochures, interpretive
  signing, and web sites designed to increase
  public awareness of the multiple benefits of
  forests
• Produce sufficient revenues to offset the costs
  of routine management and facility maintenance,
  and to provide support for scholarships

5
Management of the Forest
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Management of the Forest

• Hill Forest 2475 Acres
• We get no support from tax revenues, except for
  Managers salary and some funding for equipment.
• All funds to support student work crew,
  scholarships, Foresters, and activities on the
  Forests must be generated on the Forest.

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Financial StatusFiscal Year to Date
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Permit Status since 1 July 07
1 Includes permits sold in October
2 Numbers in parenthesis are from last fiscal year
3 Does not include fox permits for Red Mountain
Hounds 44 (60)
9
Trail Status

• Trail survey done following a protocol developed
  by Yu-Fai Leung in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
  Management
• Involved training a student to the protocol, and
  surveying the trails.
• Cost of the labor and supplies for this years
  permits -- 2112.44

10
Findings 1400 feet of trail problems within 30
feet of a waterbody. This occurred in 23
different spots over the Forest. NRCS estimates
that it will cost approximately 25,000 to hard
surface this area to meet their specs. This will
ensure that the Army Corps of Engineers will
approve the permit to work on these areas.
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Future Recreational Effort Background

• Limit of liability that NCSU would be responsible
  for -- 500,000.
• This last legislative session, a law revised this
  limit to 1,000,000.
• By statute, a State organization may not purchase
  liability insurance.
• As a result, there is a new effort to shift
  liability when and where ever possible.

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Future Recreational Effort Background

• Under the laws, NCSU follows a predetermined path
  if sued (Industrial Commission).
• If the case goes for the plaintiff, then the
  settlement must be born by the home department
  Forestry and Environmental Resources.
• There is precedent on how to shift this liability
  hunting leases or license.

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Future Recreational Effort Lease or License

• The Department designs a lease or license
  agreement that University Legal and Realty
  Departments approve.
• The agreement is advertised publicly for a bid
  for the recreational use.
• Part of the agreement includes liability
  protection for the University in the form of a
  liability insurance requirement that names the
  University as a coinsured.

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Future Recreational Effort Lease or License

• Unless another venue can be identified that Legal
  and Realty will approve, the Department will
  pursue a Lease or License agreement for the
  recreational uses on the Hill.
• Both for hunting and other recreational uses.

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Time for Dialogue