The before and after pictures you see here are old road beds that run through Mountain Island ESF. The Old Hampton Road and the County Line Path Road are now closed to motorized vehicle traffic.

The old roads were used for farm traffic long ago. As farming dwindled in the area, the roads weren't used as frequently. Neglected, they turned into a trail for rain water to follow. Erosion of the soil began to create deep gullies. As an erosion control measure, the old roads were planted with a temporary cover crop of Grain Sorghum.

The old roads will have a permanent cover crop of clover and orchard grass this Fall (2001). The clover and orchard grass will stabilize the soil and benefit wildlife in the area. Two roads have been closed and stabilized to date and there are more to follow. We plan to add more pictures of the transformation process as work is done.