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Minutes August 15, 2006 Attendees: Lisa Readel, Tom Baake, Miranda Shapiro, John Bragg, Don Luce, Mike Smith. Welcome and introductions Old Business Approval of July minutes – Minutes were approved by a motion by Mike Smith and seconded by Don Luce with the following changes: 1. “The county (instead of has immunity) is somewhat protected by state law from liability”, 2. Revised spelling of OET to Oregon Equestrian (instead of Equestrial) Trail Riders, 3. John Griffith said “it may be possible” that CRTP will need a new blanket permit… (instead of CRTP will need a new blanket permit…), 4. Horsefall Staging Area replaced Riley Ranch County Campground in paragraph 4, page 1 of the minutes. New Business Work Group Reports. Multi-use Trails Committee – Mike Smith The committee has developed a short term plan for Blue Ridge and are collecting ideas for improvements up there which include: 1. Trail hardening program to improve use in wet winter to extend riding season including one to two routes open for off road vehicles. There are no places for trailer ATVs in woods so they are asking to expand EA to give 4 wheelers some trails. 2. Gating/lowering maintenance on roads to make them part of trails system to make more loops and spurs. Reg Pullen has mentioned in the past that they are closing lots of gravel roads which can be turned into trails. Need to ask Reg for an update on this. Reg is currently evaluating the status of roads – some areas show promise for becoming trails. 3. Connection to Laverne Park to Blue Ridge – need access to Plum Creek land to make this possible. Mike wants to check out Blue Ridge before setting up new meeting for committee. Winchester Trails System – The county is currently logging off Ridge Road Trail. Asked if people could bypass logging area and they said no. Loggers have broad form insurance which makes them responsible for what happens in the area. They will hopefully be finished logging in 2-3 months. There are a lot of yellow jackets in area currently. The permit is done and anyone can go down and get a permit at the Coos Forestry office for trail work. The county attorney made a permit up after the last CRTP meeting. There is no insurance necessary for trail work on county property and you can get it for as long as you want. South Coast Striders The August 26th hike is at Floras Lake. Meet at parking lot next to lake. There will be two hikes, one long one led by Reg Pullen that will go to Blacklock Point and a short interpretive hike of 2 miles that will go directly out the trail and south along beach. The interpretive hike will include discussions on dune plants and animal adaptations for small and mid-size mammals. John Dellenback trail needs clearing. South Coast Trail Riders agreed to help and will use a 4 wheeler down to the beach to clear brush this month. This will be the October hike. Need to check in with Jennifer Wade about who will be leading hike. South Slough NERR will be on September 30th, led by John Bragg. September 30th is also National Public Lands Day and two different events will be held at the North Spit and New River. Bob Golden handed out flyers about the events. John Bragg noted he will be out of town the 16-20th of October for an Estuarine Research Reserve Annual Meeting. Don Luce created a South Coast Striders Subcommittee handout which includes intent, basic functions, other tasks this subcommittee could complete, and structure (see attached). The group also discussed putting proper trail etiquette on website and include information on the “Tread Lightly” series. California State Parks has information one can slip onto an existing trail marker. The group agreed it would be good to gather information from all the different users on use of multi-use trails and put it up on the website. Note: Need to ask Forest Service for a person to attend meetings. Contact Carl Linderman. Update On South Slough NERR Trails John Bragg updated the group on the status of new trails as part of the trail master plan at SSNERR. There is 1700 – 1800 feet of new trail called North Creek Trail which joins the Tunnel Trail and was worked on by the NW Youth Conservation Corps. They found fossils and a large Port Orford cedar log that was used to create a memorial bench for John Brands, a long-time commissioner of the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. The bench is installed at the boardwalk in dowtown Coos Bay. There are 6-8 bridges put in along this trail. John informed the group that South Slough NERR is also building a canoe-kayak launch off of Hinch Road, which they hope to have finished by the end of this year. They have a conditional use permit from the county. They will put in a log with a root wad to support fill material for a launching ramp. The use of the log will provide some benefits for fish and wildlife that will be similar to the benefits expected for other, similar habitat projects that involve placing large, woody material into Winchester Creek and its tributaries on South Slough NERR property where the habitat provided by tide channel development provides important foraging grounds for juvenile coho salmon. Tom Baake asked if the project included bathroom facilities such as a composting toilet. John said the area is too remote and vandalism is too much of a problem to risk installing a bathroom facility (composting toilets can cost as much as $20,000) or more. Vandalism in the area is a chronic problem that needs to be addressed. At one time the reserve maintained a portable toilet at the Frederickson house. Update on Oregon Equestrian Trails (OET) OET has a work party last Saturday at the North Spit with six people and two horses. There were a lot of yellow jackets. Eel Lake has a trail starting from the other side which is 6-7 miles long and is a better hike in May through Autumn. Adjourn |