Action Alert: Mountain Bike Access in State Parks!

Are you concerned about the future of mountain bike access on California State Parks property?

We here at Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz sure are. This past weekend we have been inundated with widespread reports from the unofficial trail network above Highway 9 in Henry Cowell State Park of a State Parks effort to close down trails, threats of bike confiscation and citations. These provide a stark reminder that this beloved trail network is not something that should be taken for granted. This trail network has grown largely unchecked over the past couple of decades and attracts more and more riders every year. With new trails popping up each year, many with little consideration of natural resource impacts, and an increasing number of riders traveling to the area to ride them, it seems that reaching a tipping point is inevitable. The ever-growing popularity of mountain biking and its impacts on our local public lands has not gone unnoticed by State Parks. They have been stymied in dealing with the issue by a litany of factors. Lack of resources for enforcement, lack of resources to update trail plans to provide more recreation opportunities, and outdated land and trail designations are a few of the issues that have limited improvements to mountain bike access. Our friends here in the Santa Cruz District of California State Parks (yes our friends), are not fundamentally opposed to increased and improved mountain bike trail access. We have had an increasingly positive partnership with parks locally. For example, the Enchanted Loop reroute and the Old Cabin Classic have been extremely well received, and we have many other projects in the works. Unfortunately The California Department of Parks and Recreation, is not an agile organization. Rules and regulations are determined at the state level in Sacramento. Our local district, sector, and park staff do not have the latitude to diverge from what is dictated by Sacramento. The fact is that State Parks has no provisions for mountain bike specific recreation in its trail designations, nor its land designations. While parks provide off-highway vehicle use for motorcycles and ATVs, they have not been able to figure out mountain biking recreation. This is in large part to trail standards and land designations developed during the infancy of mountain biking that have not caught up to modern trail use needs. We are engaging in conversations regarding what would it take to update trail and land designations to reflect the popularity and importance of mountain bike recreation. There is a willingness to find solutions here at the local level, but ultimately the shots will be called in Sacramento. We here at MBOSC are working closely with other California mountain bike advocacy groups to develop a unified approach for addressing these issues at the state level. We invite you to help us in this effort! Here is what you can do to help:

1. Sign this petition encouraging the Director of State Parks, The Road and Trails Program Manager as well as the State Parks and Recreation Commission to amend Trails and Land designations to provide for mountain bike specific recreation for all skill levels.
2. Sign up for MBOSC’s mailing list to stay tuned about opportunities to get involved!
3. Donate and/or join MBOSC - help us fund these advocacy efforts. Building trail is the easy part of our job, advocacy, politicking, and community organizing is the difficult, time consuming part! We have dedicated professional staff working on these issues day in,and day out.
4. Volunteer with MBOSC this season to help with trail work at Wilder Ranch and Nisene Marks - Demonstrating good stewardship is the best form of advocacy!
5. Be respectful of State Parks Staff in all interactions - remember they are just doing their job and the guys out here on the ground have no control over what stems from Sacramento.
6. Engage in conversation, not confrontation - public land management is a proper pain in the ass. Being confrontational about our beliefs regarding land use is not constructive. Let’s keep the conversation positive and show people why we need mountain bike trails in a respectful manner.
7. Make good choices about where and when you ride.

Thanks for your support! -- Matt De Young Executive Director Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz [email protected] www.mbosc.org