Volunteers repair Manawa trail

The Little Wolf River Trail saw a great deal of damage after the flooding that occurred July 5.

The storm resulted in the breaching of the dam and massive flooding in Lindsay Park in Manawa.

Ann Wade, who volunteers with the Little Wolf River Trail Committee, said the trail has been closed since the flooding. A main trail head in Lindsay Park was not accessible to the community.

Wade said last month volunteers shoveled off mud from some of the boardwalks, as well as stomp down overgrown saw grass.

The flooding pushed one of the boardwalks five feet in the air, Wade said, which needed to be pushed back down with heavy equipment.

Ben Hlaban, who is volunteering and assisting in the repairs of the trail, said there was not only the raised boardwalk, but there were also multiple silt deposits on the trail, boardwalks and covered bridge from the high water.

As of right now, Hlaban said, the silt deposits have been removed from wood surfaces on boardwalks and bridges as well as fixing the lifted boardwalk and helping to level three more.

Hlaban said work on the other displaced bridge has started, however the bridge will need to be disassembled and reassembled at the original site.

Wade said there is a new problem that they are starting to worry about moving forward. How will the river be regulated without the dam to manage rain fall.

Wade said there is still more work that will need to be done to get the trail back to its original state.

The only fund raising the Little Wolf Trail Committee does is through the Manawa Stampede during the rodeo, which was cancelled after the flooding.

With the new repairs, Wade said, the trail still needs maintenance. Following the new rainfall over the last two weeks, using the trail would be at ricky and she does not recommend it as of right now.

For more information on the Little Wolf River Trail or to donate to help with the maintenance or rebuilding, visit their Facebook page Little Wolf River Trail Organization or mail in a donation to P.O. Box 121, Manawa, Wisconsin, 54949.