GLDS has added stump grinding to our list of special projects on our Snowmobile and ORV Grants. We are limited on how many can be done per season, so we are focused on the main problem areas.

The stumps we are after are those left over from prior timber harvest activities that leave stumps near the edge or in the trail. When those were trees, they were easy to get around, but now with just the stump, the trail will “slump” and pop the stump up higher, making it easier to snag with our grooming/grading equipment and of course by the rider as well. Removing these stumps makes it safer for all.

Most often the stumps are the results of clear-cut sections where all of the trees were removed. When the suckers pop up from those stumps, it only takes a year or two before the stump becomes a hidden hazard beneath the new shrubbery growth. Having the timber harvester remove the stumps, say within 5 feet of the trail, would be our preferred option instead of having the Program spend thousands of dollars to have volunteers like us remove them.

Two sections on Geels had 54 stumps removed. Several sections on the Atlanta snowmobile trail had about 20 removed. Most of the ones in Atlanta were very large (more than 2 feet in diameter). It takes 20 to 40 minutes on average to grind the stump, usually twice that amount to get to the area and set up, do the work, document and then move to the next one.

We run an 34″ grinder run off PTO on our Holder tractor. The 72HP diesel does a great job with it. The neat part is our front 3-point, which allows us to sit normally in the machine and run the tool, where as if we had a regular tractor, we’d have to twist around to look out the back window. The Holder is also less than 50″ wide and so fits on the ORV Trails, like Geels, or at least in most sections. The grinder is heavy and large, making it a tricky fit through some sections of the trail.