FIELD WORK
Excerpt from the FE Handbook:
The primary goal of the field reconnaissance is to flag roads in the field according to the designs made in the paper planning stage. Due to inaccuracies in the maps, your roads will rarely work as planned. Streams, wet areas, and steep slopes can be a major hassle. Evenings can be spent inputting new data into RoadEng for analysis and redesigning roads that in the office worked but are determined not probable once in the field. Remember to take good notes while you are working. Otherwise, everything will be a cryptic mess when you return to Pack Forest three weeks later. If at all possible, get your handwritten notes entered into the computer the same day you take the notes so you can correct any unexpected errors.
During the field work, you will check to see that the plans you made in the office make sense when you see the ground. You will spend time laying out gradelines, surveying planned roads, identifying landing locations, identifying needs of existing roads, and basically making sure that the plans you made in the office are accurate in the field. All of this will entail a lot of rambling through the woods, so make sure you have adequate gear and that you’ve gotten yourself in shape (See Information for students on the FE 450 web page). You’ll spend all day walking along the roads you’ve planned. You don’t want to run out of energy halfway home.
See FE Handbook, Appendix J – Surveying, for detailed information on surveying technique and use of equipment. (Available from the FE 450 web page)
Below are excerpts from the 2000 Burnt Mountain Project report and the 1999 Hoodsport Project report:
Burnt Mountain:
While performing field reconnaissance, when possible, the design team would follow the paper plans. The first step in locating the planned roads is to establish a grade line using orange flagging. Usually the grade line followed the paper plan very closely, however, there were areas where the paper plans needed to be modified in the field. These modifications were due to the need to avoid a problem area, due to changes in the desired ending point or due to the elimination of landing locations. For these areas, the design team would go ahead to the desired ending point, and then worked backward to miss the problem area until the flag lines met. The second step is to set a P-line with stakes. The last step is to perform an accurate road traverse of the P-line including distance, slope and side slopes.
Hoodsport:
11 Road Systems
11.1 Field Reconnaissance
Field reconnaissance was held during the scheduled three-week period, beginning April 26, 1999 to May 5, 1999. During this three-week period, the weather varied from sunny to rain showers. Also, heavy amounts of snow pack were encountered at elevations above 1,500 feet.
The Hoodsport landscape was predominately surrounded by United States Forest Service (USFS) to the West and private land to the East. Within the Hoodsport planning area were private in-holdings owned by various local timber companies. During the road location process in the field, there were some critical issues that had to be considered before gradelining a road. Examples of such critical issues are roads crossing streams, areas with steep side slopes, and rock outcrops.
11.1.1 Processes
While performing field reconnaissance, there were certain processes followed in the location of planned roads. The first step was to establish a grade line for a planned road using orange flagging. The second step was to set a P-line with blue flagging. The third step was to traverse the P-line using a laser and reflectors. The last step was to perform a road inventory of an existing road that connects to a traversed road.
11.1.2 Equipment
Along with the field reconnaissance processes, is the equipment used. For setting gradeline, a string box was used for determining distances and a clinometer was used for setting grade. A compass was used for determining deflection angles and altimeters were used for establishing elevations at critical points (i.e. saddle, streams). A Criterion was used for traversing, which bounced a projected laser off of reflectors placed at set turning points.
11.2 Field Reconnaissance Prioritization
Due to only a three week period in the field, time spent on road systems had to be allocated in a way that areas of top priority were looked at first. With information provided by DNR, certain road systems were prioritized based on the road type (i.e. mainline vs. spur road). Overall, there were three types of roads that were looked at while in the field: Planned Mainline, Orphaned or Abandoned Existing Roads to be reactivated, and Logger’s Spur Roads.
11.2.1 Planned Mainlines
During the four weeks of preliminary office work, mainline roads were designed to access large areas within the watershed. These roads were given top priority during the field reconnaissance since the road network was highly dependent upon the construction of these roads.
11.2.2 Orphaned or Abandoned Existing Roads to be Reactivated
Currently in the Hoodsport planning area, there are numerous abandoned, orphaned, or old railroad grades that could possibly be reactivated and used as mainline roads. These old roads were given second priority to mainline roads, but it was determined necessary to the project to perform a road inventory of these roads. These roads were looked at to determine if they met the current road design standards of today and whether or not they have failed fill slopes or blocked culverts.
11.2.3 Logger’s Spur Roads
For the field reconnaissance, spur roads were omitted from the gradelining and traversing done while in the field. These roads were given a low priority due to time constraints.
11.3 Road Reconnaissance (Field Work)
During road reconnaissance, the routes initially laid out on the map were surveyed in the field using the equipment described previously in Section 11.1.2.
11.3.1 Gradeline Procedures
While in the field, we set our road gradelines according to what was previously pegged during the planning process and what was feasible. Sighting ahead for the desired grade used a clinometer.
11.3.2 Field Marking/Staking
As a part of gradelining, certain procedures were used for marking/staking road gradeline. Orange flagging was used for gradeline, and blue was used for P-line. Staking was done at every 100-foot station while surveying with the Criterion. Note: Station numbers recorded on stakes will not match up with the engineered road designs because the field stationing was not an average of the Foresight and Backsight.