The Heritage Park Hillside Trail (a.k.a. the switchback trail) will be closed Tuesday, Oct. 10 for annual trail maintenance as well as erosion control work.

Maintenance work includes trimming overgrown plants and filling in ruts.

Enterprise Services employees also will install additional erosion control measures, including placing more boulders and native plants at each of the trail switchback corners. Erosion control helps to stabilize the hillside, reduces pollution from runoff and helps encourage plant regrowth.

In April, a first set of erosion control features was installed as part of a pilot project.

Practices such as "trail cutting" – not following the designated trail while taking a shortcut – over the years have killed vegetation and increased soil erosion.

The pilot project has been effective in helping to reduce this type of behavior.

The multi-pronged approach also includes:

• Increased signage
• Cable strand fencing
• Piles of tree and shrub branches to block shortcut areas

Enterprise Services encourages trail users to stay on designated paths to do their part in decreasing further erosion while encouraging vegetation regrowth and slope stabilization.

Learn more about Heritage Park.

Enterprise Services maintains the 486-acre Capitol Campus, which includes Capitol Lake, Centennial, Heritage, Marathon, and Sylvester parks, the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center, and Deschutes Parkway.

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