Advocacy Update

WE AT MBOSC HAVE BEEN HUSTLING ON PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCACY and want to take the opportunity to give y’all the update on what’s happening. There is a lot of exciting stuff coming down the pipeline for mountain bikers, such as new trails at the Glenwood Open Space Preserve, fresh singletrack in Wilder Ranch, news on the San Vicente front, and more! Keep scrolling to read the full update.

California State Parks

We are pleased to announce that we are on track to begin the West Engelsmans Reroute at Wilder Ranch this fall. State Parks is finishing up the last few details in their planning process. MBOSC will be working closely with CA State Parks to decommission the badly eroded West Engelsmans Fire Road and replace it with just over a mile of sustainably built trail. MBOSC has raised funds for this project with entry fees from the Old Cabin Classic cross country race as well as the Trap A Rock Lobster Raffle. We have also applied for a matching grant from REI to fund this project. Not only will MBOSC be covering our own costs for this project but we will be helping cover State Parks staff time and expenses as well.

MBOSC is working with other California mountain bike and trail access groups to develop a unified approach for lobbying State Parks at the state level to update their trail standards to include mountain bike specific trails, something they do not currently allow. We do not have any mountain bike specific trails in Santa Cruz County. State Parks is the largest landowner in the county. State Parks has been the most heavily impacted by unofficial trail building and use in the county. This is unlikely to change unless we can designate, manage and maintain official mountain bike specific trails.

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument

Our local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Field Office has submitted a proposal to Washington to commence the planning process for Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument and is awaiting final approval before commencing. The first step in that process will be public outreach during which the BLM will solicit public feedback through public workshops, solicitation meetings, solicitation of letters, surveying, etc. It will be crucial for the mountain bike community to make a strong showing at this stage of the process if we want to ensure that adequate bike access to that property is part of the BLMs plan. This plan could establish trail connections from San Vicente Redwoods to Wilder Ranch and the Rail Trail. Look out for more info on the timeline for this in the coming months. MBOSC will be working to make sure that the community mobilizes for this one.

San Vicente Redwoods

We just heard some great news from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County! The partners managing San Vicente Redwoods have successfully worked through their public access planning process and are moving forward with submitting their plan to Santa Cruz County for approval this spring. Check out the public access plan here. What does this mean for mountain bikers? Well this means that we are one step closer to getting to ride the 20+ miles of new trails that MBOSC designed in partnership with the SIerra Buttes Trail Stewardship. These trails will eventually connect to Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument and onto the Rail Trail. This means being able to ride, hike, or trot from nearly the top of Ben Lomond Mountain on Empire Grade all the way down to Davenport on the coast!The plan is to build out the trail network in phases and if things go well with the environmental review process with the county we could be building trail next year! Your support may be needed to get this project through the environmental review process. We saw what happened to the Velocity Bike Park Project in Felton during this same process and want to avoid a similar fate. Please keep your ear out for opportunities to speak out or write a letter to support the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County’s public access plan for San Vicente Redwoods.

City of Santa Cruz Parks Master Plan 2030

The City of Santa Cruz’s Parks Master Plan 2030, which may clear the way for new trail development in Pogonip and Delaveaga, including the county’s first mountain bike specific trail proposed by MBOSC, has undergone environmental review. It was scheduled to go before the Parks and Recreation Commission for Approval in early March but has now been delayed due to pressures placed on the city from opponents. The timeline for getting the plan back on track is unclear at this time. City Parks and Recreation staff are hopeful that they can continue to explore trail development options despite this setback. MBOSC will continue to support Parks and Recreation as opportunities arise.

Sawpit Trail at Soquel Demonstration State Forest

Sawpit trail remains temporarily closed while CAL FIRE completes operations on the Meridian Timber Harvest. The closure will continue through 2018 due to active operations this season. After that CAL FIRE will assess how best to rebuild and rehabilitate Sawpit Trail within the harvest area. Right now there is no definitive timeline for re-opening Sawpit Trail. MBOSC will support CAL FIRE’s efforts on this project as needed.

UCSC LRDP

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz continues to engage with UCSC through it Long Range Development Plan process to advocate for trail planning to be considered as plans for campus expansion are developed. We have had great engagement at public meetings this spring but there are still opportunities to weigh in. If you haven’t spoken out in support of trail access at UCSC check out the details here and write an email to [email protected]. Please stay tuned for updates.

Farm Park Dirt Jumps

MBOSC has developed a plan for new dirt jumps at Santa Cruz County Parks Farm Park in Soquel. The plan is for a progressive dirt jump park that will accommodate all skill levels from kids on strider bikes to our local dirt jump wizards and wizettes. Tyler McCaul, Greg Watts and Alex Reveles of Aptos Post Office Fame developed the design for the park which you can view here. The plan is being reviewed by the county planning department. MBOSC hopes that construction can take place Fall 2018 or Spring 2019.

Watsonville Pumptrack

MBOSC is continuing to work with the City of Watsonville to bring the first asphalt pumptrack to the county at Ramsay Park. We are currently in the design process and hope to take it to city council for approval this summer!