Y'all:
Hopefully I can catch the flak on this issue, because I'm intentionally putting myself in the way.
If you don't ride down near Black Diamond, across from the Lake Sawyer trails, you can probably ignore this.
If you DO ride there, on the other side of WA SR 169, on the Real Life Church's property, please read on....
If you're ridden there, you know there are signs on the trails saying you're welcome to use the existing trails, but please don't build new ones. You can't miss these signs: they're about 4 feet tall! We all know there are trails there that long ago started as bootleg trails, and over the years they've gotten some pretty steady use. Nobody's got a problem with that.
This weekend some church members were out doing some work near the highway, and a few ventured up the trails. What they found freaked them out, and that's putting it mildly. The found 3 or 4 long downhill runs with jumps, stunts, ramps, in some awesome lines down the hillside. Obviously a whole bunch of DH'ers put a LOT of time and energy into this system. They stumbled upon one very sweet set of rides, constructed in what appears to have been the last couple months.
Unfortunately, as landowners required by law to keep the forest undamaged, and required by law to keep the stream runoff clean, what they saw was about 40 young trees cut down, large pits dug, a significant quantity of beer cans and other trash, unsafe and unstable structures, spikes driven into trees, and what they estimated as about 5 acres of forest floor stripped bare. All that damage on a hillside that's known for landslides and erosion, and with a seasonal wetland at the foot of the hill. Yeah, one of those seasonal wetlands that's covered by some shiny new federal legislation.
You might say they reacted "strongly". Or maybe forcefully. Or, if you built the trails, you might even say "violently". 'Cause they tore the stunts down. They knocked down the ramps. They put logs in the berms. Yeah, they were pretty unhappy over the whole thing. Oh...and they picked up the trash.
The church pastor, elders and project manager that I met with tonight were all very clear that their strong hope is that they can continue to allow recreational use on the land. But, they have a lot to lose if things go south from a liability lawsuit and forest-management perspective. And MTBers do too. If we can't get this situation under control pronto, at some point they might have to close the area to ALL recreational use, and nobody wants that. Can you say "Paradise Valley?" I want you all to be really well aware of this: the church is open to finding a way where they can safely and sustainably supporting DH MTB use on their property. Don't blow this opportunity by just putting the things back up, or building elsewhere on the property. That will definitely NOT help the cause.
So, here's why I'm really writing tonight: if you've been involved in that area, if you helped build the stunts or used that area, can you please contact me? No, we're not turning people in to the cops or God or Batman or anyone else. Likewise, if you've been involved in working out these kinds of disagreements at places like Saint Edwards, Tolt Macdonald, or Philip Arnold parks, please contact me also.
So, please contact me. Off list preferably: thom@tctrandolph.com, my cell is 425-761-5259. And if all you want to do is flame me for being involved with such heinous trail-damaging meanies, that's cool, fire away. I'm only trying to stand in the middle and find a reasonable compromise.
Thank you for reading this!
Thom Randolph
thom@tctrandolph.com
Hopefully I can catch the flak on this issue, because I'm intentionally putting myself in the way.
If you don't ride down near Black Diamond, across from the Lake Sawyer trails, you can probably ignore this.
If you DO ride there, on the other side of WA SR 169, on the Real Life Church's property, please read on....
If you're ridden there, you know there are signs on the trails saying you're welcome to use the existing trails, but please don't build new ones. You can't miss these signs: they're about 4 feet tall! We all know there are trails there that long ago started as bootleg trails, and over the years they've gotten some pretty steady use. Nobody's got a problem with that.
This weekend some church members were out doing some work near the highway, and a few ventured up the trails. What they found freaked them out, and that's putting it mildly. The found 3 or 4 long downhill runs with jumps, stunts, ramps, in some awesome lines down the hillside. Obviously a whole bunch of DH'ers put a LOT of time and energy into this system. They stumbled upon one very sweet set of rides, constructed in what appears to have been the last couple months.
Unfortunately, as landowners required by law to keep the forest undamaged, and required by law to keep the stream runoff clean, what they saw was about 40 young trees cut down, large pits dug, a significant quantity of beer cans and other trash, unsafe and unstable structures, spikes driven into trees, and what they estimated as about 5 acres of forest floor stripped bare. All that damage on a hillside that's known for landslides and erosion, and with a seasonal wetland at the foot of the hill. Yeah, one of those seasonal wetlands that's covered by some shiny new federal legislation.
You might say they reacted "strongly". Or maybe forcefully. Or, if you built the trails, you might even say "violently". 'Cause they tore the stunts down. They knocked down the ramps. They put logs in the berms. Yeah, they were pretty unhappy over the whole thing. Oh...and they picked up the trash.
The church pastor, elders and project manager that I met with tonight were all very clear that their strong hope is that they can continue to allow recreational use on the land. But, they have a lot to lose if things go south from a liability lawsuit and forest-management perspective. And MTBers do too. If we can't get this situation under control pronto, at some point they might have to close the area to ALL recreational use, and nobody wants that. Can you say "Paradise Valley?" I want you all to be really well aware of this: the church is open to finding a way where they can safely and sustainably supporting DH MTB use on their property. Don't blow this opportunity by just putting the things back up, or building elsewhere on the property. That will definitely NOT help the cause.
So, here's why I'm really writing tonight: if you've been involved in that area, if you helped build the stunts or used that area, can you please contact me? No, we're not turning people in to the cops or God or Batman or anyone else. Likewise, if you've been involved in working out these kinds of disagreements at places like Saint Edwards, Tolt Macdonald, or Philip Arnold parks, please contact me also.
So, please contact me. Off list preferably: thom@tctrandolph.com, my cell is 425-761-5259. And if all you want to do is flame me for being involved with such heinous trail-damaging meanies, that's cool, fire away. I'm only trying to stand in the middle and find a reasonable compromise.
Thank you for reading this!
Thom Randolph
thom@tctrandolph.com