Friday, June 27, 2008

Protect Singletrack on California State Lands

From IMBA:

"Urge California Decision Makers to Adopt Bike-Friendly Land Protection Measures

The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources recently passed a bill -- authored by Assembly member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus -- that directs the state to assess the suitability of numerous state lands in Northern California for Wilderness designations.

Bicyclists value natural landscapes and access to trails that bring us closer to nature. Because our activity is a quiet, low-impact and human-powered use that is compatible with wild settings, we believe many of these Northern California areas should not be protected with Wilderness designations, which would effectively prohibit bike access.

IMBA California Policy Advisor Tom Ward has testified in front of the committee and many members expressed their support for mountain biking — but they still passed the bill out of committee. Unless they hear from the mountain bike community, the bill will keep moving and suggest massive closures at three important parks.

There are many ways to protect these important places without banning the existing use of mountain bicycling. Cyclists need to rally and make sure their assembly member hears from our constituency.

Take Action!

IMBA's simple online comment form takes seconds to complete! Tell the governor and your state senator and representative you support land protection that allows bicycling to continue.

A quick phone call can be even more effective. Click here to find contact information for your elected officials.

Please also forward this alert to all mountain bikers, bike shops and industry employees you know.

Additional Information

Assembly Bill (AB) 2923 passed from committee with a 6-2 vote and awaits further review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition, the bill directs the Resources Agency and the State Lands Commission to assess whether selected state lands merit wilderness designation.

Mountain biking is an existing use in several of these areas, including Robert Louis Stevenson State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park.

Mountain bikers also have a long-standing proposal to create shared-use trails in Austin Creek Redwoods State Park.

Because Wilderness designations would prohibit bike access in these parks, we urge that these areas should be protected through other means.

IMBA California’s Tom Ward is meeting with key Senate staffers and will keep the pressure up to ensure that mountain bike access is protected."

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Deer Creek Trail Approved

Last week, the Nevada City Council threw its support behind the Deer Creek Trail project. According to the Union:

The council also approved a resolution of support for the Deer Creek Tribute Trail, an 8-mile trail that will follow sides of Deer Creek. The trail would begin in downtown Nevada City and about 6.5 miles of it would be on existing trails and unimproved roads, according to a staff report. The Friends of Deer Creek have received a $912,000 grant for the project. The Planning Commission previously approved the request on a 5-0 vote."

In a strange twist, the council decided to change designation of the trail from "multi-use" to "local use". Ostensibly, this was done to emphasize local control over the trail and the future ability of the city to change restrictions on trail usage. Or it could be to make sure that everyone knows that it is for locals, not some durned flatlanders. In any case, it is weird.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Building the Forest City Bridge

A whole bunch of folks showed up in Forest City to build the new stone arched bridge. Zachi Anderson just sent out a bunch of great pictures from the event.

Zachi writes:

"This week we will be preparing the false works. This is the arched form that the bridge is built on. We will do this in town at Tom’s house. We will bring these this weekend to install them and then make the big push for the last span on the July 4th weekend. Please contact me if you want to play..."

Monday, June 09, 2008

Mike and Dave at Bullard's

Mike Haire is at it again with his highly motivated trailwork efforts. On Sunday, he spent hours trimming back brush on Bullard's Bar trails. Dave Larson stopped by to help out too. See the before (top) and after (below) pictures.

Many thanks guys! You deserve large quantities of Mountain Dew.

So much more needs to be done at Bullard's. Mike would love it if you could join him for additional brushing work on Sunday, June 15. The trail along Marysville Rd between 7 ball and Rebel Ridge needs help too.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Pioneer Update - Volunteers Needed

Fellow trail advocate and BONCer Jane Ragan recently sent a note to me about conditions of the Pioneer Trail near Bowman Lake Road. According to Jane, this section is now brushed out and should remain clear for the season. Thank you for your hard work Jane! She has put in many hours on this trail and at Forest City, Burlington Ridge and elsewhere.

However, two blowdowns persist on this section and await a chainsaw. Also, the section above (east of) Lang's Crossing remains thick with brush. Any volunteers care to help out?

Monday, June 02, 2008

Trail Blazing in Forest City

Word is that plenty of trail building is going down in Forest City. My covert inside sources (Jon Fisher and Zachi Anderson) tell me that work has begun on the arched bridge and Zachi has his new excavator fired up. The bridge approach and the buttress is dug. Jon was able to grade out 1/4 mile of new trail with his new tractor as well.

These guys are absolutely kicking but in F-Town. I can't wait to ride these trails and features.