GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS An Administrative History

CHAPTER VIII: DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARK (continued)

Backcountry

Trail Construction

The unobtrusive backcountry trails in Guadalupe Mountains National Park belie the amount of money and work-hours expended by the Park Service to plan and build those simple paths. By 1987, the Park Service had spent more than 1.6 million dollars to complete the first three phases of trail construction at Guadalupe Mountains. Phase IV was estimated to cost an additional $500,000.

In mid-1979 Jack Dollan and Robert Steinholtz, park planners from the Denver Service Center, finished construction plans for the first three phases of trail construction and established the priorities for the trail projects.

Phase I: Construction and reconstruction of Pine Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Foothills trails.

Phase II: Construction of Guadalupe Peak, El Capitan, and McKittrick Canyon trails.

Phase III: Construction and reconstruction of Marcus Cabin, Lost Peak, Williams Ranch, McKittrick (interpretive and geology), McKittrick Ridge, and Mescalero Ridge trails; hardening of McKittrick, Mescalero, and Upper Tejas campsites. [28]

Throughout the trail construction program, management faced a continuing problem of finding qualified contractors to perform the work. Because of the limited demand for their services, only a few professional trail-building companies existed. The requirement to utilize 8(a) contractors for the first phase of trail construction compounded the problem. Although the Pine Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Foothills trails were the planners' first priorities, negotiations with the Small Business Administration delayed the beginning of those projects for nearly a year. [29]

While negotiations with the Small Business Administration continued, Dayton worried that the Denver Service Center would pull Dollan and Steinholtz off the Guadalupe project just as construction was scheduled to begin. His letter of August 1979 to the Regional Director emphasized the critical nature of the supervisory role the two planners ultimately played during trail construction. ". . . [I]t is essential that close supervision of these projects be provided for the complete period of time that contractors are on the site. Because of the delicate ecological conditions at Guadalupe, irreparable damage to the resources could be done by the contractors if they do not have daily inspection by experienced trail project supervisors. . . . With the lack of trail experience of the 8(a) contractor, DSC personnel will probably have to act as on-the-job supervisors." Apparently, the Regional Director agreed with the Superintendent's assessment of the situation. In 1987 Dayton recalled the close supervision Dollan and Steinholtz provided and the care that contractors were required to take so they did not damage land and vegetation along the trails. [30]

Although contract negotiations stymied Phase I construction, work began on the second phase of trail construction. Between October 1979 and January 1980, Trio Construction, a professional trail-building organization from Priest River, Idaho, constructed the Guadalupe Peak Trail. The McKittrick Canyon Trail, built by D.D.W. Construction of San Antonio, Texas, was completed in March 1980; in May 1980 Raymond E. Walker, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, completed construction of the El Capitan Trail. The total cost for Phase II projects was $659,000. [31]

From March to June 1980 another professional trail-building company, High Trails, from Wilbur, Washington, constructed the geology and interpretive trails in McKittrick Canyon. High Trails and Trio Construction proved to be the best contractors employed on the trail construction projects. Elmo Warren, owner of High Trails, was a partner with Ralph Larson in Trio Construction before forming his own company. In August 1980, when the sub-contractor designated by the Small Business Administration, ITL Company of Denver, Colorado, finally began work on the trails in Phase I, Warren served as their consultant. Phase I was completed early in November 1980 at a cost of $445,000. While ITL finished Phase I, Warren began work on the contract for the Williams Ranch Trail, completing the project in February 1981. [32]

During the winter of 1981-82, Melvin C. Adams, of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, worked to construct and reconstruct the trails from Dog Canyon to Lost Peak and Marcus Cabin. From June to September 1982, Wilderness Construction Company, from San Manuel, Arizona, built the trails around the Pine Springs and Frijole areas and renovated the visitors' horse corral there. The bid submitted by Wilderness Construction Company began an unusual trend that continued throughout the remainder of Phase III construction. Their bid, $24,999, was about half as much as the highest bid, and much less than half of the engineering estimate of $62,917. In late 1982, the amount of the contract awarded to Trio Construction for the final portion of Phase III was $58,575, again less than half of the highest bid. The bottom had dropped out of the trail-building business and contractors were willing to work for a much smaller margin of profit than only a year earlier. In 1987, Ralph Harris, Area Manager of Guadalupe Mountains, reported that trail-building costs had dropped even lower since 1983, to perhaps as little as one-third of the cost in 1980. [33]

The work completed by Trio Construction in May 1983, included constructing trails on McKittrick Ridge and Mescalero Ridge and hardening three backcountry campgrounds: McKittrick, Mescalero, and Upper Tejas. The actual cost for completion of the work was about $3,000 more than the bid price. Completion of Phase III brought the total of constructed and re-constructed trails to some 52 miles, making the trail density in the park about one mile for every 950 acres. [34]

In 1984 Pete Domenici, senior Senator from New Mexico, unsuccessfully sought funding of the $500,000 needed to complete Phase IV of the trail-building program. By 1986, the trail-building program at Guadalupe Mountains National Park was fiftieth among priorities in the Region, and four hundredth Servicewide. The fourth phase included rehabilitation of 34 backcountry campsites, installation of two pit toilets, and construction of some 28 miles of connecting trails to complete the trail system. [35]

Pine Springs Campground

The Pine Springs campground opened in 1972, when the park was established. It was intended to be a temporary facility, serving only until private enterprise developed a campground near the park. However, the expected privately owned campground did not materialize. In 1974 park personnel installed charcoal cooking grates at the campsites and a vault toilet. The number of campers staying at the campground increased rapidly, from 4,506 in 1972 to nearly 17,000 in 1979. In 1980 the location of the campground was moved a short distance to allow construction of the water reservoir and utility lines for the Pine Springs development, and construction of the permanent restrooms and parking area for the campground. [36]

In July 1981 park managers opened the new facilities at the Pine Springs campground: 19 tent sites and paved parking space for 20 recreational vehicles. The campground had a restroom, but no utility hook-ups. While grills had been removed because of continuing concern about fire danger and environmental concern about the use of native fuels, campers were permitted to use containerized fuel for camp stoves. An error in the design of the sewage disposal system for the campground created problems that were not resolved until 1983. Before the reconstructed sewer and water systems were activated in March 1984, park personnel extended the water lines to four locations in the campground, building pedestals with a spigot and a fountain for the convenience of campers. During 1983 park personnel built a 6x6-foot kiosk for visitor registration and fee collection and constructed new benches for the campfire circle, creating seating for 75 persons. In 1984 camping space was increased to 24 tent sites and two group sites were added, each of which would accommodate 10 to 20 persons. The campground fee of $4 per vehicle per night was first enforced from March to November 1984. Managers later changed the fee collection period to May 15 through September 15 and after April 1987 began collecting fees throughout the year. In 1988 campground fees increased to $5 per vehicle per night or $10 for groups. [37]

Administrative Facilities

While wilderness designation precluded development in the backcountry, two administrative facilities were maintained there: a patrol cabin and an antenna and radio repeater. When the park opened, a log cabin in the Bowl served as patrol headquarters and equipment cache. In 1974 park personnel erected a prefabricated cabin west of the Bowl, permitting abandonment of the log cabin. In 1975, a radio repeater, solar batteries, and antenna were installed on Bush Mountain; in 1981 new equipment upgraded the installation. In 1985, after storm damage, the antenna was replaced. [38]

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