What about Stuart and Lookout in relation to the reconveyance of lands in the Lake Whatcom watershed?

"When completed, more than 50 miles of hiking and biking trails are envisioned connecting the various communities, neighborhoods and parks throughout the watershed." From:
http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/parks/reconveyance/index.jsp

Are any biking folks a part of this? Mark?



>>> "Eric Brown" <ebxtreme@earthlink.net> 9/8/2010 11:18 AM >>>

Hey all,

Just had an updated teaser from Pedal Driven sent over to me. In it are some familiar faces and trails from the PNW. Looks to be another good movie about how dedicated advocacy efforts with public agencies can help create a great private/public partnership….not too dissimilar to the Freedom Riders in Jackson Hole.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pedal-driven-teaser-2010.html

So, I ask you…..WMBC members.

Are you satisfied with the bulk of our local trails being on private land? What are some opportunities for future trails that we should know about? Who have you contacted to see what it would take for us to get mt. bike trails (or even multi use) trails built on these lands? Have you brought those up to the WMBC or actively pursued them on your own?

Just something to think about as we are putting our trail plans together and they are mostly focused on Galbraith.

Cheers,
EB

Steve,

If you get a chance, you should check out Mountain Bike Oregon to get a good overview of the trails there. It's held 2x per summer (July and August) and it's supposed to be super fun. My buddies have been going for several years now and it sells out months in advance. I've honestly shied away from it because of the crowds, but everyone that goes says it pretty much rocks.

Ooh and it's all about riding all day and then good food and beer provided by sponsors (Ninkasi this year!). No competitions other than the mini bike races and the raunchiest joke competition. J

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=645667

Also, if folks want to help support Pedal Driven, you can do that here.

http://pedaldriven.howellatthemoon.com/donor-benefits

Cheers,

EB

From: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com [mailto:whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steven VanderStaay
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 7:08 PM
To: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [whimps_mtb_club] New riding opportunities - A challenge

That is a fine start to a great project and movie. Now to get to Oakridge to ride that dirt. . .

Steve VanderStaay

--- On Wed, 9/8/10, Eric Brown <ebxtreme@earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Eric Brown <ebxtreme@earthlink.net>
Subject: [whimps_mtb_club] New riding opportunities - A challenge
To: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 11:18 AM

Hey all,

Just had an updated teaser from Pedal Driven sent over to me. In it are some familiar faces and trails from the PNW. Looks to be another good movie about how dedicated advocacy efforts with public agencies can help create a great private/public partnership….not too dissimilar to the Freedom Riders in Jackson Hole.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pedal-driven-teaser-2010.html

So, I ask you…..WMBC members.

Are you satisfied with the bulk of our local trails being on private land? What are some opportunities for future trails that we should know about? Who have you contacted to see what it would take for us to get mt. bike trails (or even multi use) trails built on these lands? Have you brought those up to the WMBC or actively pursued them on your own?

Just something to think about as we are putting our trail plans together and they are mostly focused on Galbraith.

Cheers,

EB

I would personally love to see mt. bike trails on all the hills/mountains around
Bellingham and Whatcom/Skagit Counties. There are currently many trails on
several of these mountains, but more variety in more locations is needed as our
sport continues to grow. That became very clear last spring as the WMBC
negotiated a new stewardship agreement with Polygon to maintain and build new
trails on Galbraith. The agreement almost didn't happen for a variety of
reasons, which would have meant no authorized maintenance of existing trails and
no new building on Galbraith. What then? We would have been in scramble mode to
find other places to build and ride.

In an effort to be more proactive, I think we need to have discussions with the
City of Bellingham, both Whatcom and Skagit Co. Parks and Rec. Depts., Wa State
Parks, DNR, and the U.S. Forest Service to see what other options are available
to mt. bikers. To accomplish this, we'll need your help. Who works for, knows
somebody that works for, or has an "in" with any of these gov't agencies? Who
has the motivation to help pursue some of these opportunities that come up? The
5 members of the WMBC board are dedicated to building, maintaining, and
advocating for trails in our area, however, we are also somewhat limited in the
amount of time we can volunteer to these efforts. If we want more trails to ride
on more mountains in our area, we'll need some help making it happen.

Cheers, Hawk

________________________________
From: Eric Brown <ebxtreme@earthlink.net>
To: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, September 8, 2010 11:18:42 AM
Subject: [whimps_mtb_club] New riding opportunities - A challenge

Hey all,

Just had an updated teaser from Pedal Driven sent over to me. In it are some
familiar faces and trails from the PNW. Looks to be another good movie about
how dedicated advocacy efforts with public agencies can help create a great
private/public partnership….not too dissimilar to the Freedom Riders in Jackson
Hole.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pedal-driven-teaser-2010.html

So, I ask you…..WMBC members.

Are you satisfied with the bulk of our local trails being on private land? What
are some opportunities for future trails that we should know about? Who have
you contacted to see what it would take for us to get mt. bike trails (or even
multi use) trails built on these lands? Have you brought those up to the WMBC
or actively pursued them on your own?

Just something to think about as we are putting our trail plans together and
they are mostly focused on Galbraith.

Cheers,
EB

My experience In the public lands arena has been that our requests for more access will need to be backed up by more early involvement in the  public process. It is painfully slow but necessary for our long term success. This takes bodies willing to attend meetings, write emails, follow up on master plans, etc. the fun stuff!!

The DNR reconveyance in my opinion would be a good one to work toward. I have had some early contact with the Trail Coordinator for Whatcom County Parks (happens to be a mt biker) so I know at least mt bikes being considered there. If there are any interested parties now may be a good time to join in the process.

Exploring the DNR relationship I feel is another good option. Staying on top of how things are progressing with the implementation of the Sustainable Rec Workshops will be key. Maybe budget cuts will present some opportunities if we can leverage our large volunteer force.

I think it its great to see this discussion happening-Let's expand upon it at our next general meeting-Fairhaven Park Pavilion-4:00-6:00pm October 10th, 2010.

Cheers,

MP

 

--- On Thu, 9/9/10, bill hawk <bhawk1980@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: bill hawk <bhawk1980@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [whimps_mtb_club] New riding opportunities - A challenge
To: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, September 9, 2010, 2:29 PM

 

I would personally love to see mt. bike trails on all the hills/mountains around Bellingham and Whatcom/Skagit Counties. There are currently many trails on several of these mountains, but more variety in more locations is needed as our sport continues to grow. That became very clear last spring as the WMBC negotiated a new stewardship agreement with Polygon to maintain and build new trails on Galbraith. The agreement almost didn't happen for a variety of reasons, which would have meant no authorized maintenance of existing trails and no new building on Galbraith. What then? We would have been in scramble mode to find other places to build and ride. 
In an effort to be more proactive, I think we need to have discussions with the City of Bellingham, both Whatcom and Skagit Co. Parks and Rec. Depts., Wa State Parks, DNR, and the U.S. Forest Service to see what other options are available to mt. bikers. To accomplish this, we'll need your help. Who works for, knows somebody that works for, or has an "in" with any of these gov't agencies? Who has the motivation to help pursue some of these opportunities that come up? The 5 members of the WMBC board are dedicated to building, maintaining, and advocating for trails in our area, however, we are also somewhat limited in the amount of time we can volunteer to these efforts. If we want more trails to ride on more mountains in our area, we'll need some help making it happen. 
Cheers, Hawk
From: Eric Brown <ebxtreme@earthlink.net>
To: whimps_mtb_club@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, September 8, 2010 11:18:42 AM
Subject: [whimps_mtb_club] New riding opportunities - A challenge

 

Hey all,

 

Just had an updated teaser from Pedal Driven sent over to me. 
In it are some familiar faces and trails from the PNW.  Looks to be
another good movie about how dedicated advocacy efforts with public agencies
can help create a great private/public partnership….not too dissimilar to
the Freedom Riders in Jackson Hole.

 

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pedal-driven-teaser-2010.html 


 

So, I ask you…..WMBC members.

 

Are you satisfied with the bulk of our local trails being on
private land?  What are some opportunities for future trails that we
should know about?  Who have you contacted to see what it would take for
us to get mt. bike trails (or even multi use) trails built on these lands? 
Have you brought those up to the WMBC or actively pursued them on your own?

 

Just something to think about as we are putting our trail
plans together and they are mostly focused on Galbraith.

 

Cheers,

EB