Guided Hike Scheduled to Celebrate Trail Opening on Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement

Oak Ridge, Tenn. – The first trail on the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement is open, and the public is invited to attend a guided hike on the trail Friday, October 5, 2007 to celebrate. The hike will begin at 1 p.m. The opening of the Dyllis Orchard Road Hiking Trail and parking area signifies the first opportunity for the public to access the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.

The Dyllis Orchard Road Hiking Trail provides access to approximately eight miles of trail on gravel roads, which are considered moderately difficult. The trail is open daily from daylight to dusk, and is limited to hikers and bicyclists. No motorized vehicles or animals are permitted, with the exception of motorized wheelchairs and service animals.

The October 5 guided hike is expected to cover approximately two miles of the eight-mile trail. Anyone interested in taking part in the hike should meet at 1 p.m. at the trailhead parking lot located on Blair Road at the Department of Energy’s Dyllis Orchard Road, just north of the Oak Ridge Turnpike and East Tennessee Technology Park. Participants are encouraged to bring water and wear appropriate shoes for hiking.

When trail work on the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement is complete, the public will have access to four additional trails on access roads on the western portion of the property and woodland trails on the eastern portion of the property. Work on the first of the woodland trails, the McKinney Ridge Trail, is scheduled to begin in the coming months.

Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement includes 3,000 acres on Black Oak Ridge and McKinney Ridge in the western part of Oak Ridge. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and DOE manage the site. It contains interesting community types and species such as hemlock-rhododendron forest, beech maple forest, cedar barrens, fringe tree, spider lily, spreading false-foxglove, white-topped sedge, Vasey’s trillium, Tennessee dace and southeastern shrew. Some of these species are unusual for the Ridge and Valley region.

The site was put into a conservation easement to protect species and allow for low-impact public use as partial restitution for contamination left in place in the sediment of Watts Bar Reservoir from historic DOE operations. The Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustee Council, comprised of representatives from the state, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DOE, is responsible for negotiating restitution.