Please email your comments to State Parks regarding the proposed Osborne Hill trail plan. You can use the following letter as an example, editing it as you see fit. The deadline is December 24th.
Email address: CEQANSC at parks dot ca dot gov
Please put "Empire trails" in the subject line
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Heidi West – Environmental Coordinator
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Northern Service Center
One Capitol Mall - Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Ms. West
As a local recreationist, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Osborne Hill Trail plan for Empire Mine State Historic Park. As you know, this park offers an important trail inventory for our local community.
While I generally support the plan, I ask that you consider the following changes to it:
- User built trails currently slated for eradication should remain and become part of the park trail system. These popular trails have been used for many years and are often in excellent condition. In places where these trails have unsustainable slopes or design, State Parks should implement minor changes to achieve sustainability.
- When aggregate is used, the trail design should be such that it does not occur directly after a blind corner or sharp turn. Bicycles can lose traction in such conditions and leave the rider falling down onto sharp aggregate rock.
Thanks you for the hard work State Parks has put into this planning process. I look forward to seeing the results.
In the past few days, I've spent hours clearing manzanita that hung across local trails. As is often the case after a big winter storm in Nevada County, heavy snow pushed these brushes down so they block the singletrack. As of now, there is a LOT of these downed brushes in our area.
The Nevada County Land Trust has created an interactive map that describes trails and trail projects they are working on. Great stuff. In my experience, it always pays to make maps of these projects public, as it gets the community excited about such efforts.
From the Zack-Man:
As you may have read, State Parks is planning significant trailwork in Empire Mine State Historic Park. Some trails will be eradicated, new ones will be added (including a mountain bike specific trail) and others will be re-worked. Certain sections will see additional aggregate (gravel) on the surface. Which ones you ask? Well, see for yourself:
