Equestrian Partners in Conservation (EPIC) | Nonprofit Preserving Equestrian Trail Access in Montgomery County, Maryland

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Kay Family Trail is Almost Complete

In the past few weeks, our contractors, under the supervision of EPIC directors Kayla Gatalica, Anne Davies and Allan Noble, have completed the major cleanup work necessary to open up the new Kay Family Trail. This has been no small task!

Years ago, the Humane Society put in two large turtle pens to house turtles displaced by the construction of the Intercounty Connector. There were two large pens about 600 feet in circumference, made up of about 140 steel posts, wire mesh and landscaping fabric. These are the before and after pictures.

BEFORE: Turtle pens

AFTER: No more turtle pens

Also, at the beginning of the trail there was a very large old trash dump with the remains of metal appliances and tires. This was a remnant of farming practices in the early to mid 1900’s when people simply dumped trash from their farm at the back of their property. It took two large dumpsters and a lot of work to remove all this trash! The pictures below show before and after.

BEFORE: Trash dump

AFTER: No more trash dump

Finally, there was a lot of clearing and smoothing to make this an acceptable trail, including the reworking of a stream crossing. All that remains is to do some final cleanup and installation of posts and signs and the trail will be ready to go.

We are hoping to have a formal dedication sometime this fall, so stay tuned!