Friends of Nachusa Grasslands
  • Home
  • About Friends
    • Mission, Leadership, Objectives, and Financials
    • Endowments
    • Heritage Heroes Initiative
    • Friends Annual Reports
    • Newsletters >
      • PrairiE–Update (email)
      • A Prairie Calling (print and digital)
    • Friends Annual Meeting 2022
    • Commenting Policy
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours & Parking
    • Directions and Map
    • Visitor Center
    • Pet Policy
    • Public Bison Tours
    • Bison Viewing
    • Hiking >
      • Hiking Guidelines
      • Hiking Destinations
      • Stone Barn Savanna Tour
      • Visitor Center Trail
      • Scavenger Hunt
    • What's In Bloom?
    • Autumn on the Prairie
    • Exploring Nachusa Grasslands on Your Own
    • Things to Do
    • Places to Eat and Stay
    • Local Sites to Visit and Explore
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Thursday and Saturday Workdays >
      • Workday Signup
      • Volunteer Workday Safety Protocols
      • Workdays – November to February
      • Leader Workday Safety Protocols
      • Steward Workday Tips
    • Stewardship Teams
    • Workday Email List
    • Steward Login
  • Stewardship
    • Nachusa Stewardship
    • Restorations
    • Planting Histories >
      • Stewardship Unit Planting Histories
      • Planting Histories in Chronological Order
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2016
    • Stewards and Staff
    • Groups and Committees
    • Available Units
    • Controlled Burns
    • Prescribed Fire Recruitment
    • Restoration Publications
    • Stewardship Resources >
      • Weekly Top Picks
      • Seed Collection Guides
      • Invasive Plant Management
      • Invasive Identification
      • Monitoring
      • Links & Resources
  • Science
    • Science at Nachusa Grasslands
    • Science Grants >
      • Science Grants 2023
      • Science Grants 2022
      • Science Grants 2021
      • Science Grants 2020
      • Science Grants 2019
      • Science Grants 2018
      • Science Grants 2017
      • Science Grants 2016
      • Science Grants 2015
      • Science Grants 2014
      • Science Grants 2013/2012/2011
    • Science Symposium 2023
    • Science Symposium Abstracts >
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2019
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2018
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2017
    • Potential Research Topics
    • Scientific Publications
    • Testimonials >
      • Dr. Holly Jones
      • Dr. Nick Barber
      • Kimberly Elsenbroek
    • Science Videos
    • Become a Community Scientist >
      • About Community Scientists
      • Butterfly Monitoring
      • Calling Frog Monitoring
      • Dragonflies & Damselflies
      • RiverWatch
  • About Nachusa
    • General Info
    • Prairie Smoke Annual Reports
    • Plant Inventory >
      • Common Names
      • Genus Species
    • Animal Inventory >
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Bison Bison >
        • Bison
        • Bison Babies Broadcast Videos
      • Fish
      • Insects
      • Mammals
      • Other Arthropods
      • Reptiles
    • History
    • Jobs
    • Hunting
    • Geology >
      • Geology Part 1
      • Geology Part 2
      • Geology Part 3
    • 30th Anniversary Memories
    • Websites of Interest
  • BLOG AND MEDIA
    • Nachusa Blog
    • In The News
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Spring Photos
      • Summer Photos
      • Autumn Photos
      • Winter Photos
      • Visitor Photos
    • Submit Your Photos
    • Videos
  • Contact Us / FAQs

How to Prevent Ruts in Nachusa's Lanes

Picture
Summary for Wet Season Driving
Think about the recent weather conditions before going out.
In our suburban environments with paved or gravel roads, we can drive anywhere any day. At Nachusa, if it is March through early June, or just a wet summer, or a thawed January, our ground can be water logged for weeks and the lanes prone to damage. 

Even if the sun is shining, if the ground moisture has not changed, then the lanes are still vulnerable. 

​Fixing lanes is expensive.
A deep lane rut is about $4-7 per linear foot to repair. How badly do you need to get out there? 
​
Do not drive a pickup truck on wet lanes.
Pickup trucks have at least 7 times more ground pressure as our UTVs. If you add the weight of a bunch of passengers or a water pump, you really have a rut-making machine. 
Consider walking in.
Perhaps you can hike out with your scissors and bucket, or weed spade or squirt bottle. Or drive in part of the way and then walk. Perhaps those passengers can walk instead of ride. Maybe change the tour route you had hoped to do to save our lanes. Maybe park on the road and walk in. Or drive a sandy lane in and then walk. 

UTVs have a light foot print, but that ground pressure can still be too high for some wet lanes on bad days. 

Tell us when you see problem lane sections developing.
Adding a little rock early is not expensive, works well, and is nicer looking than truckloads of rock later. 
Picture
Above we see an idyllic lane at Stonebarn Savanna (along the Bennett lane where it descends to Tellabs), with native plants growing right to its edge, and in the middle, descending, a gentle slope. Wild geraniums galore bloom along both sides and the trail looks like a nice hike. This lane is our featured hike in this unit so looking nice is good; it also functions as a track to move our stewardship vehicles ​
around, and as a fire break. This lane section does already have about four inches of rock added to stabilize the erosion prone soil on this hill.

​When the ground is saturated, like it often is in spring and early summer, the lanes are vulnerable to damage. Once we churn through the soil and its vegetation roots we can create a soupy high-erosion substrate. 

​Our high traffic lanes end up compressing into shallow depressions because we compact the soil, even if we have not churned up the soil. So the lanes turns into gentle ruts that then are the path of least resistance for rain water . . .  and erosion often occurs. As erosion occurs the lane becomes deeper and wider over time. 


Ideally, we would add a little layer of the 2” rock just before the lane starts to erode to help stabilize it. We now own a used dump truck with a diverter that places the rock only in the rut, and not all the way across the lane. This saves a lot of rock and places it only where we need it. 
Picture
The repair to this rut cost about $1500
The photo above from several years ago shows a deep rutted lane at bottom of a wet hill in Tellabs. We filled this rut with 2” rock which lasted a few years. Then some recent pickup truck use rutted it back to quick sand. We just added 4-6” rock for a base and then we will cover it with 2” of rock when the ground dries. The cost of the repair is about $1,500. 
Picture
This Sand Farm example shows how lanes can be the lowest point in an area and carry water and soil, eroding deeper. The answer is to rock the lane or stop using the lane. Where topography is right, the water can be diverted to the side before it picks up speed. 
Picture
Here is a vegetated lane that had one or two passes with a pickup on the wrong day. You can walk along such a rut with your boot and push the sides back in before the soil gets dry and hard. This lane needs a modest amount of 2” rock to stabilize it. 
Picture
The repair to this lane cost about $2,000
Here is a freshly 2” rocked lane by Leopold. This lane slowly rutted over the years. The soils were erosion prone, with the ground often wet, and although the lane is flat, the ruts were 8 to 12” deep and wide. Vehicles were bottoming on the middle of the lane. Note the middle of the lane is barely rocked so vegetation there may emerge. The repair to this lane cost about $2,000, plus two full days of work. Now that we have a dump truck, we add a little rock to an eroding lane before needing a lot of rock. 
Picture
Picture
Our used a one ton dump truck we bought last year.
We installed the diverter or chute to put rock in the driver-side rut. The skid loader, with its low pressure tracks, works well to load the truck. 
Picture
Dick Gambrel helps us check bison fence, and places rock in the lanes. In 2016, we ordered in several thousand dollars of rock and we was rockin' for about ten days.
Picture
A few of these signs were installed on the west boundary to alert UTV drivers that the lanes ahead was typically impassable wet habitat. Hike only. 
Picture
The winner of the low ground pressure is the old 6-wheel Gator. Super low ground pressure. 
Picture
Gerald McDermott drives the old 6-wheel Gator with maybe 750 pounds of water sprayer in the back. The ground pressure of course is much higher with the added weight, but this is still much less pressure than a truck. 
Picture
UTVs have less ground pressure than trucks, but if you fill this with heavy humans your pressure goes up proportionately. 
Thanks for working with us to protect our lane system so you can do good stewardship and science!

CONNECT WITH US

PrairiE–Updates Newsletters

SUPPORT US                      

​Donate | Volunteer                  

FIND US ​

Map & Directions

2075 Lowden Road             |           Franklin Grove, IL 61031              |             Contact Us


PRIVACY POLICY
© 2023 FRIENDS OF NACHUSA GRASSLANDS The content on this website is owned by us and our licensors. Do not copy any content (including images) without our consent.
  • Home
  • About Friends
    • Mission, Leadership, Objectives, and Financials
    • Endowments
    • Heritage Heroes Initiative
    • Friends Annual Reports
    • Newsletters >
      • PrairiE–Update (email)
      • A Prairie Calling (print and digital)
    • Friends Annual Meeting 2022
    • Commenting Policy
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours & Parking
    • Directions and Map
    • Visitor Center
    • Pet Policy
    • Public Bison Tours
    • Bison Viewing
    • Hiking >
      • Hiking Guidelines
      • Hiking Destinations
      • Stone Barn Savanna Tour
      • Visitor Center Trail
      • Scavenger Hunt
    • What's In Bloom?
    • Autumn on the Prairie
    • Exploring Nachusa Grasslands on Your Own
    • Things to Do
    • Places to Eat and Stay
    • Local Sites to Visit and Explore
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Thursday and Saturday Workdays >
      • Workday Signup
      • Volunteer Workday Safety Protocols
      • Workdays – November to February
      • Leader Workday Safety Protocols
      • Steward Workday Tips
    • Stewardship Teams
    • Workday Email List
    • Steward Login
  • Stewardship
    • Nachusa Stewardship
    • Restorations
    • Planting Histories >
      • Stewardship Unit Planting Histories
      • Planting Histories in Chronological Order
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2016
    • Stewards and Staff
    • Groups and Committees
    • Available Units
    • Controlled Burns
    • Prescribed Fire Recruitment
    • Restoration Publications
    • Stewardship Resources >
      • Weekly Top Picks
      • Seed Collection Guides
      • Invasive Plant Management
      • Invasive Identification
      • Monitoring
      • Links & Resources
  • Science
    • Science at Nachusa Grasslands
    • Science Grants >
      • Science Grants 2023
      • Science Grants 2022
      • Science Grants 2021
      • Science Grants 2020
      • Science Grants 2019
      • Science Grants 2018
      • Science Grants 2017
      • Science Grants 2016
      • Science Grants 2015
      • Science Grants 2014
      • Science Grants 2013/2012/2011
    • Science Symposium 2023
    • Science Symposium Abstracts >
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2019
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2018
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2017
    • Potential Research Topics
    • Scientific Publications
    • Testimonials >
      • Dr. Holly Jones
      • Dr. Nick Barber
      • Kimberly Elsenbroek
    • Science Videos
    • Become a Community Scientist >
      • About Community Scientists
      • Butterfly Monitoring
      • Calling Frog Monitoring
      • Dragonflies & Damselflies
      • RiverWatch
  • About Nachusa
    • General Info
    • Prairie Smoke Annual Reports
    • Plant Inventory >
      • Common Names
      • Genus Species
    • Animal Inventory >
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Bison Bison >
        • Bison
        • Bison Babies Broadcast Videos
      • Fish
      • Insects
      • Mammals
      • Other Arthropods
      • Reptiles
    • History
    • Jobs
    • Hunting
    • Geology >
      • Geology Part 1
      • Geology Part 2
      • Geology Part 3
    • 30th Anniversary Memories
    • Websites of Interest
  • BLOG AND MEDIA
    • Nachusa Blog
    • In The News
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Spring Photos
      • Summer Photos
      • Autumn Photos
      • Winter Photos
      • Visitor Photos
    • Submit Your Photos
    • Videos
  • Contact Us / FAQs