Get Involved!

GET UP! GET OUT! GET INVOLVED! BE A VOLUNTEER!!!

Opportunities abound for volunteers at Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area. If you love to participate in the wonders of nature and want to help sustain this largely undeveloped natural park, we have many ways for you to get involved. Whether your talent is in writing education curriculum, building hiking trails, or surveying wildlife, we have an opportunity for you! Contact Volunteer Coordinator Terry Elder at 479-789-5009 or terry.elder@arkansas.gov.

 

    Volunteer Opportunities:

Monthly volunteer activity calendar:  http://www.keepandshare.com/calendar/show_month.php?i=1157223&date=2010-08-12&noti=y&tr=77

 Want to help? These are just a few of the activities that we need help with throughout the year.

-Trail construction and maintenance: ongoing most every second weekend of each month, check the special events page for changes

-Surveys: hiking, traffic and shooting range, animal: turkey, deer, small mammals 

-Trail Guide: leading educational hikes for school children and other visitors

-Oral history interviews and research 

-Tree Studies: Ozark Chinkapin and Thong Tree

-Landscaping and recreating the Van Winkle Historic Garden

-Grant writing

Let us know your volunteer interests.  Click on the Interest Survey Form to download a Word document, then complete and email or snail mail it to us. If you have an interest or talent that is not reflected within the survey that you would like to share with the park, please let us know.

 

 

Adopt-a-Trail Volunteer Trail Maintenance Program

“Adopt-a-Trail” has been developed at Hobbs to connect individuals and organizations to the inspection and maintenance of specific sections of the 30 miles of park trails. Park management has divided the trails into 9 segments for this new program. To volunteer individually or as a group, contact Jay Schneider , Assistant Superintenent at 479-789-5004 or email him at jay.schneider@arkansas.gov

Levels of Trail Maintenance

Volunteers for trail maintenance at Hobbs can select their own level of work according to their interests and abilities. Volunteer work at all levels provides an important contribution to the appearance and enjoyment of Hobbs State Park. Both classroom and on-the-job training and all tools will be provided by park staff. It is important to report the extent of all work and volunteer hours immediately to park staff.

  • Level One: Simply hiking the trail section for enjoyment and to assess its condition. Most large rocks and small limbs can be kicked off the trail. Pick up litter, drag off larger limbs if able and notify park staff of work requiring their attention. Tools: none required. Frequency: as often as you would like.
  • Level Two: Cutting brush and limbs and weed-whacking. Tools: loppers, hand saw, weed eater, maybe a Pulaski fire ax for roots. Frequency: early and late summer or as needed.
  • Level Three: Tread reconditioning or re-routing and removal of slough and berm, all performed with park staff supervision. Frequency: as needed, generally in cool months. Tools: Pulaski fire ax, McLeod rake, pick mattock, fire rake.
  • Level Four: Assist park staff with repair of unusual trail damage including bridges and signs. Frequency: as needed, often emergency level following storms and other types of damage.

Current Adopt-A-Trail Teams:

Even though most of our trails have teams, we encourage groups, families and individuals to help us maintain our expansive trail system. Join Al Knox on the Second Saturday of the month (please check the special events page for schedule changes or specific work day objectives) as we strive to make lasting improvements to our network of trails. If you would like to join an Adopt-A-Trail Team contact Jay Schneider to help make those arrangements happen. jay.schneider@arkansas.gov or 479-789-5004.

  • Historic Van Winkle Hollow Trail: 1/2 mile loop trail through Van Winkle Hollow and the Highway 12 parking lot and pedestrian tunnel. Team led by Bruce & Judy Pertle.
  • Shaddox Hollow Trail: 1 1/2 mile loop trail near Highway 303 north of Highway 12. Team led by Lynn Markel.
  •  Pigeon Roost – Dry Creek: 4.3 mile loop north of Highway 12 near Beaver Lake. Team led by Bob and Cathy Ross.
  • Pigeon Roost – Huckleberry: 4.4 mile loop running from the Dry Creek Loop to Beaver Lake. Team Led by Marci Krauth and Bo Wheeler
  • Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail – Dutton Hollow: 3 mile loop west of Piney Road to trail intersection and then right to Blackburn Creek. Team led by  team led by Don West, OORC.
  • Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail – Bashore Ridge: 3 mile loop west of Piney Road to trail intersection and then left to Beaver Lake overlook. Team led by Diane & Jim Gately. 
  •  Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail – North Little Clifty Creek: 4 mile loop from intersection east of Townsend Ridge Rd then west crossing Van Hollow and Piney Road to trail intersection. Adopted by Hill 'N Dale Hikers of Bella Vista.
  •  Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail – South Little Clifty Creek: 5 mile loop from Piney Road east intersection south and east across Van Hollow. Team led by  Sandy King and Judy Duguid. TEAM NEEDS HELP.
  •  Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail- War Eagle Loop: New 4.1 mile section of trail, Vince Pinalto- Nabholz Crew Organizer

 

 

   Thanks to these park Friends who worked hard in 2008:

Special thanks go out to all of the persons who have made our park what it is today. Without our volunteer cadre we would not be able to achieve our trail goals, maintain our park to our intended standards, or provide several guided tour opportunities on our trails. These are some of the persons, groups and organizations who have GOT UP/ GOT OUT/ AND GOT INVOLVED in the year of 2008 here at the Hobbs!!!

Special thanks to these volunteers who give to the park in several capacities as Active Volunteers. Please know that you are invaluable to us and we truly appreciate your participation. These volunteers include: Judy Duguid, Diane and Jim Gately, Bruce and Judy Pertle, Bob and Cathy Ross, Flip Putthoff, Fred Wills, Linda Heter, Mike Carney and the Friends of Hobbs Board Members. Words cannot describe the contributions that you have made to the park. Thanks for your time and commitment.  

- Cowgirl UP members helped on the new portion of the War Eagle Loop during the January weekend trail building session.

- ATU Cycle Club members, 15 persons, participated in building a section of the new War Eagle Loop.

- March was a great month for working on the Van Winkle Mill Site Trail. Thanks to Lavell Hall who works for Community Blood Center for helping out along with several of our park adopt a trail leaders who help with multiple projects as duty calls!

- Waylon Wishon- Wal-mart team leader with a group of 9 volunteers: Pigeon Roost Trail Head improvement project #1 in conjunction with United Way Day of Caring on April 17th. 

- The Van Winkle Mill Site was our Earth Day Event weekend focus. We enjoyed volunteer help from Teresa Asbury and Dayna Shepherd, both Wal-mart home office employees who helped with our spring cleaning activities at the park.  

- A work team of 4 led by Jeremy Ruttan from Mars Advertising helped with a landscaping and trail maintenance project at the Van Winkle Mill Site in May.

- Various trail workers as well as Girl Scout Troop #188 and Leave No Trace Trainer Ginger McKinney helped with our National Trails Day Projects June 7th & 8th.  

- Wayne Cox- Wal-mart team leader of 40 persons worked in concert with Eagle Scout Michael Sigulinsky: Pigeon Roost Trail improvement project #2 in June.

- Rusty Perkins with the Peace Lutheran Church in conjunction with Pea Ridge Baptist Church brought 40 participants out to the park to provide a day of service. Various tasks included: Pigeon Roost Trail Bridge debris removal, landscaping upkeep and general trail upkeep at Van Winkles Mill Site, and uncovering a new spur trail which will lead to the new visitor center from the Hidden Diversity Multi- use Trail.  

- Monthly support from the Benton County Corrections Facility has been a great asset in our facilities maintenance projects. Thanks for the help guys!

 These people have volunteered their professional services to support the park:

- Lookout Merchantile- located on Hwy 127 on the east side of Hobbs- Owner operator Ken Zey was able to fabricate new signs for the park using his high tech shopbot cnc router. With this equipment he can create custom wood signs and outdoor furniture made of cedar and other types of wood.

- Kathy Mahue- local photographer who has donated several matted photographs to the park to use as drawing items for our Community Outreach Events.

- Bret Vaughn- donated two mounted Large Mouth Bass displays for us to use in our new visitor center

- NPLD/ GAC- severl local merchants donated items for a drawing for our big event: Lookout Merchantile, Kathy Mayhue, War Eagle Cavern, Ozark Rescue Suppliers- thanks for the gifts!