Date: 01/02/2009 BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!



Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

Wickenburg Trail Opportunities with the BLM

The Town of Wickenburg, Arizona, along with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working on developing a master trail plan for the region centered on Wickenburg. The Wickenburg Conservation Foundation in cooperation with the BLM is starting the process by producing a preliminary plan for about a 25-mile radius around the town.

The BLM is looking for your input for motorized and non-motorized trails, user preferences and priorities for trailheads, corridors, and destinations, regardless of land ownership. The Wickenburg Regional Trail Planning Open House is being held on January 7, 2009, from 3:00 pm to 7:00pm, at the Wickenburg Community Center, 160 North Valentine Street.

Will your favorite trails be protected?
* Ensure your trail corridors & networks are inventoried
* Prioritize your most critical corridors/networks
* Talk to agencies & organizations involved with the trails

Please try to attend the Open House and if you know of persons or clubs in the area, who would be interested in participating, please pass the word along to them.

For more details and maps of the area proposed, contact Dave Konopka, Trails Planner, Wickenburg Conservation Foundation in cooperation with the BLM Hassayampa Field Office at (623) 580-5644 or by email to david_konopka@blm.gov. You may also contact, Mary Skordinsky, Bureau of Land Management, Lead Outdoor Recreation Planner, 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85027, at (623) 580-5586.

JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!

Thanks in advance for your support,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107

More...

Another Wickenburg trail planning meeting on February 4, 2010. Show up and represent motorized recreation. BLM and Maricopa County Parks are partnering with Town of Wickenburg. Will it turn out ok for us?

http://www.maricopa....vulturemtn.aspx

The cynical side of me reads this as "Tell us where you like to ride so we can make sure we get that part closed."


Dave

Maybe they're planning on closing it all unless we show up and represent. The world is run by those who bother to show up. Everyone else gets to live by their decisions.

XR650L_Dave said:

This is not New York. We actually a good number of trails on federal public land.

I am not part of the this particular process, but this is how it usually works. If you don't speak up your favorite route has no chance of being included in the plan. Things tend to get closed by default. At least if you speak up there is a chance for a trail to be preserved.

I'm considering a move to Wickenburg, and have a trip planned in February to scope the situation out. An acquaintence has a place there, and tells me the riding is fabulous, and the restrictions reasonable. I was hoping to find out about the area first hand, price some real estate that butts upto a legal area, etc...

So, in your opinion, should/would this legislature greatly impact any of my plans?

Any information greatly appreciated
Brett

Wickenburg is growing. There's no Walmart yet. Folks there want it to be a cowboy and horse town, but the rest of us ride...on wheels.

It's worthwhile to move there. The mining history is neat. There is a desert race course area south of town. The state land all around the town is a bit of problem coming in the future. But for the next few years it'll be ok.

The non-gas burning people have been slowly moving their chess pieces into place for years. This trail planning will have a lot to do with how we can access and how many miles of trail we have (and what kind of trail - singletrack, ATV or just jeep roads). The enviros have had their eyes set on all lands west of Phoenix to Yuma for the last 10years. They feel like they need to save it - from whom or what I'm not sure.

billygoat said:

Thank you for the info. Too bad they still won't have any money to enforce anything. Glee club at work. Keeping the few law biding folk from enjoying the land they pay for.

How bout all that land east of town? sorry for the boundary ignorance.

I think the issue with the east side is that it's not all in Maricopa County and also not BLM land, which is easier to have manipulated.

Announced at the public meeting, there is an on-line survey you can take to make your interests known. Here's the link. Let 'em know you ride...

http://www.surveymon...VultureMountain

Thanks!
Great link. I filled out my survey and passed the link to others, outside this forum.

Bump. Follow the link in an earlier post to take the survey and make sure off-highway vehicles are well represented in the polling. Many people who live in Wickenburg are horse folks, but lots of Phoenix folks ride out that way on wheels.

Wickenburg is a neat little town, we pass through there often. From what I've herd and experienced, It's a serious horse town that's not very motorcycle friendly. Probably going to be a tough battle for the OHV folks.

I did the survey. I ride near there all the time at the mile-markers. You run into plenty of horse folks out there, and as long as you're not a jerk, they seem very friendly. I'm always worried about the quad-tards doing donuts in the parking areas and turning singletrack into super-highway getting the whole place closed down. As soon as you're more than a mile or so in, you hardly see another soul out there.
Psycho