Mountain Cyclist – April 1999
Lead Stories
...by Berry T. Stevens
On February 22 the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) board unanimously voted to close the Devil's Staircase and Outhouse Trails at El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve (ECdM) and to open the new Sierra Morena trail to multiple use, effective in about thirty days. I can't begin to express how I feel about this, how angry, hurt, disappointed and frustrated. The sense of loss is palpable. For me, this has been five years of my life and hundreds and hundreds of hours on the ground in ECdM, in task force meetings, in board meetings, and in other communications.
Many of us have a passion for the experience that only rugged, technical trails like Devil's Staircase and Outhouse can provide. To have this taken from us, by board members who look at lines on a map and say that fire roads like Gordon Mill or Methuselah are acceptable alternatives to Devil's Staircase or the Outhouse Trail, is absurd. To have the fate of our access decided by people who are so ignorant of use and circulation patterns – as well as the experience offered by these trails – is wrong. One board member said he walked the preserve and even walked Devil's Staircase, but walking it and riding it are two different things. To claim that eitherfire roadd is a substitute betrays a failure to understand the issue at hand.
Unfortunately, as the MROSD board has continued to take positions contrary to the interests of mountain bikers, some bikers have started taking renegade actions on MROSD lands, further hardening the position of many board members against mountain biking interests. These board members are angry about illegal trail use, bootleg trail construction, the vandalism of trail closure fencing, and the removal of "Closed – Not a Trail" signs, and they are now getting monthly reports on this subject.
Given this frustrating situation, there are several important things for us to remember and to do:
- Do not take your anger and frustration out on the MROSD rangers. The rangers are not responsible for the board vote; they are professionals performing their jobs, enforcing the rules created legally by the board.
- Do not vandalize anything in ECdM or any other preserve. It is unethical, childish, and an impotent display of emotion; furthermore, it hardens the board, the staff, and potential allies in the public against us.
- Get involved in MROSD and ECdM: volunteer to do trail work, to join the trail patrol, or to be a docent. These are the only ongoing ways we have to influence decision-making and to expand our riding opportunities at ECdM.
- Most importantly, get involved in the political process so that a board favorable to our interests can be elected.
- Learn which district you live in and which board member represents you (visit http://pw1.netcom.com/~donohue/MROSDelection.html for details, or contact MROSD as described in the Land Manager Directory).
- Learn your board member's views, attend public board meetings, and learn how he or she votes (see Land Manager Meetings).
- Write letters to your board member; let him or her know what you think of his or her work.
If you do not get the results you want, prepare to elect members who represent your interests. Save your money to fund future campaigns. Get involved in your community in a broader sense and get known to those who could vote for you or for the candidate you support.
Share this with everyone you know who rides at ECdM, at other MROSD preserves, or anywhere in the area which is part of the MROSD. Only through such ongoing efforts can we guarantee the riding experiences we desire.
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...by Jane Hall
A big thank you to all who turned in your mountain biker volunteer hours to me this past year! Here are the volunteers hours accumulated by ROMP and local bikers in 1998. Special thanks to the heavy hitters (over 50 hours each!).
Hope to have you help us out in 1999!
| Totals |
|---|
| Combined hours | 2,627 |
| Volunteers | 101 |
| Subtotals By Category |
|---|
| Advocacy | 351 |
| Club administration | 453 |
| Communications | 209 |
| Education stations | 47 |
| Leading rides | 401 |
| Miscellaneous | 360 |
| Trail building | 778 |
| Trail patrol | 38 |
| Heavy Hitters (Over 50 Hours) |
|---|
| Ray Alley | 65 |
| Peter Donohue | 142 |
| Ross Finlayson | 91 |
| Bob Kain | 52 |
| Todd McGee | Wow! – 208 |
| Kathleen Meyer | 64 |
| Peter Luptovic | 67 |
| Cathy Ott | 84 |
| Linda Palmer | 72 |
| David Smernoff | 58 |
| Berry Stevens | Whew! – 349 |
| Glenn Wegner | 136 |
| Linda Wegner | 109 |
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...by Ross Finlayson and Dave Wade
The California State Parks Department has released their preliminary general plan and proposed Declaration of Purpose for Castle Rock State Park, and both are now available for comment. Copies of the plan, Declaration of Purpose, and draft Environmental Impact Review (EIR) can be reviewed at the following libraries: Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Santa Clara Central, San Jose Main, San Francisco Civic Center, CSU San Jose, and UC Santa Cruz. You can also find copies at the State Parks offices in Boulder Creek and Santa Cruz and the Northern Service Center in Sacramento.
Now is the time to review the plan and EIR and make your comments known. The most effective comments are concise and address specific omissions, deficiencies, or inadequacies. Written comments must be received by April 15, 1999 at California State Parks, Northern Service Center, 1725 23rd Street, Suite 200, Sacramento CA 95816.
How will these plans affect mountain bike access at Castle Rock? The short answer is that they will have no direct or short-term effect. Castle Rock is currently completely closed to bikes except for a short gravel road leading to the main trail camp. The state-developed general plan does not directly address mountain bike access; instead, it merely calls for a future trail plan to be developed at the Santa Cruz District level that will decide how specific trails within the park should be used and if any new trails should be built.
So, the general plan neither codifies the existing ban on bikes nor rescinds it. The only exception is that the General Plan calls for a large natural preserve within the center of the park; this will definitely be closed to bikes, and much of it may even be closed to hikers, too. However, most of this area would be physically unsuited for bikes anyway due to boulders, steep cliffs, etc.
The real decisions about bike access will come when the trail plan is developed, after the general plan has been approved by the state. ROMP has asked that some trails in the park, especially those that provide opportunities for connection with other open space areas, be opened to bicycles. In particular, ROMP has asked that some combination of the Saratoga Toll Road (a fire road) and parts of the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail be opened to bicycles. This would provide a safe off-road alternative to much of California Highway 9. (In contrast, ROMP has explicitly not asked for access to the relatively short, heavily used trails that lead to the rock formations, Castle Rock and Goat Rock, near Skyline Boulevard.)
Nonetheless, there remains a lot of strong local opposition to the suggestion of any bike access at all to Castle Rock State Park, so in the months and years to come we have a lot of work ahead of us. We will need to continue to reassure this opposition that we're not trying to "take over" or "displace" them from the park, and that our use does not represent a threat to them.
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