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Dedicated to conservation and multiple use of public lands for recreation opportunities. Edited by: John Stewart |
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Arkansas Trails Council Meeting
To ALL trail users:
The Arkansas Trails Council meeting was a BIG success! It was held last Saturday at Devils Den State Park. The theme of the meeting was "Unity in the Trails Community".
There were about 50 people there representing; National Forest, State Parks/Forests, mountain bikes, hikers, water trail users, horse riders, 4X4's, ATV's, and off road motorcycles. And a couple of "Traveling Trainers" from the LEAVE NO TRACE advocates sponsored by Subaru. (LEAVE NO TRACE is like TREAD LIGHTLY! but leaves the motorized, mountain bike and equestrian trail portion to TREAD LIGHTLY!, they focus on trail and camping etiquette.)
What all concerned learned was that ALL of us trail users are interested in working together to create, maintain and manage multiple use trails. The problem is we have no communication between groups.
Nothing was actually put in place to fix the lack of communication between groups but we learned the need and desire is there. With all the groups working together we would have enormous strength, I mean even the forest and State parks people are eager to establish more trails, maintain what we have, ect.. They know the need is there and with a strong unitized group pushing for trails we/they could more easily get through the bureaucratic system.
The Ranger at Wolf Pen Gap is putting together a web page for the park and said she would add to the page a link where trail users could gather info as to what group is doing what.
The only representative at the meeting that did not like the idea of shared trails was from the hiking group. He was the ONLY one there representing hikers and it was let know by everyone present that his attitude was not appreciated (he left early). Every other group was represented by at least 2 people, and guess what, the motorized group was the largest!
So, would any or all of you off road motorcyclist be willing to work with other groups? Would you be willing to help the mountain bike group build trail even if the trail was off limits to motorcycles? Would you mind sharing trails with horses and use the correct trail etiquette? Would you support the 4X4 group in getting their old Jeep trails reopened and help them with things like their trash pickup programs (which is BIG)? Can you have some empathy with the hikers and respect their ideas? Can you help to educate the ATV community in realizing the days of free travel in our public lands is over?
The benefit is more trails for all. The atmosphere in the State of Arkansas is right for this state to be one of the premiere trail states in the country. What we need is unity.
The meeting was Darrell Judy's last. He was nominated as one of the "Most Valuable" people in Arkansas for promoting trails. It was always Darrell's desire to get trail users to work together. So, if for no other reason, can we all try to work together with other users in Darrell's honor?
There is a very important meeting October 21 in Mena, Arkansas, downtown First National Bank building, starting at 10 am. We very much need motorized recreation to be over-represented. At this meeting the forestry and state trail managers are going to establish with the trail users a "standard of trails". It will be decided than what constitutes a trail for hiking only, horses only, hiking-bicycle-horse-motorcycle-but no 4X4s, motorcycle-ATV only, get the picture? This meeting is going to be very important to motorcycle off roaders. I know that as far as I am concerned I can get down any trail a hiker can and should be allowed to. The ground the trail is on is sacrificial and the "looks" of the trail it self has nothing to do with anything else. But, neither Gorman Smith, or I, will be able to make it to the meeting, we need some one (preferably many) to represent our trail interest.
The pressure is on and the atmosphere is right, lets take advantage of it.
thanks,
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Jim Devereux, devrodirt@hotmail.com |
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