KENNARD, TX (KTRE) -
The Piney Creek Horse trails in the
Davy Crockett National Forest have reopened, four months after dangerous
conditions kept the public out.
"Its one of the very few places in the Houston County
area that people can ride horses. One of our main priorities was to get
the trails open again because so many people depend on using the trails and
using the recreation area," said Ernie Murray, Public Affairs
Specialist, National Forest and Grasslands in Texas.
Forest officials found the large number of dead trees
killed in last summer's drought created safety hazards throughout the forest. Piney
Creek, along with Ratcliff Park were both ordered closed.
"It was significant enough that
we had to close the horse camps and the horse trails to address the safety
issue," said Gerald Lawrence, District Ranger, Davy Crockett National
Forest.
A survey identified all the trees that
needed to be cut down in the 54 mile trail.
"Contractors came in behind our
crews and cut those trees down and cut them off the trails and cut the trees away
from the trails the dead trees," said Lawrence.
Though the debris is cleared and trees
are cut, District Ranger Gerald Lawrence says there's more to do.
"There's still a lot of
additional work that needed to be done to finalize some of the clean-up efforts
for the horse trails and horse camps," said Lawrence.
As East Texans take advantage of the remaining
summer season, staying safe along the trails isn't difficult.
"When the public is out anywhere
in the forest they do need to take caution and be aware of their surrounding and
be safe out there," said Lawrence.
Forest officials are now
turning their focus to Ratcliff recreation area.
The park is undergoing a
two phase recovery process. They are also working to reopen 17 miles of hiking
area in the Neches Bluff Trail.
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