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Minutes October 19, 2004 Amended November 16, 2004 Attendees—Scott McNew, Donna Bishop, Miranda Shapiro, Jennifer Wade, Mike Law, Amelia Dexter, Mike Smith, Bob Laport, Reg Pullen, Jennie Webster, Guadalupe Cisneros The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as read. Miranda began the meeting with a brief overview of the Healthy Hiking initiative. Bill Blackwell recommended that she contact Fran Grossman from the Curry County Hospital to find out what they are doing. Fran reported that hikes are set up a year in advance. Leaders are picked from the area, hikes are rated for difficulty, pedometers are used to measure distances covered, and money is raised to fund the program through an annual hike/overnight stay at Paradise Lodge on the Rogue River. Liability is not an issue, as people are not allowed to go on hikes if they are smoking, are not prepared, etc. Fran estimated that it takes 5-10 hours a week for her to maintain the program. A similar program has been started at the Bandon Hospital under the leadership of Mary Kemp. Major elements of other programs include: scheduling of events and publicity, safety and liability issues, funding and hiking incentives, and hiking tour leaders. The Curry County Hospital’s program entitled “Sole Pursuits” will be used for a model, with the umbrella sponsorship of the Bay Area Hospital. Donna brought up a concern that the CRTP meetings are not being sufficiently promoted. She feels that the BLM Public Affairs officer, Alan Hoffmeister, could help with that. Jennie voiced a similar concern that the Winchester Creek Trail work party was not properly promoted. She also observed that the CRTP is not bonding very well, and that some members who promised to attend the work party didn’t show up. Several members of the group thought that a high school journalism student could be recruited to help with publicity. Scott said that he had developed an excellent working relationship with Rick Osbourne, the outdoor editor of the World newspaper, but that he was no longer there. General consensus was that more publicity is needed. Amelia suggested writing a grant to hire a person to do promotion for the Healthy Hiking initiative. Miranda responded that she believes the hospital would be the best for this promotion, and that it could greatly increase attendance at CRTP meetings. The next major topic of discussion was the Winchester Trail System. The letter from the donor who contributed $1300 dollars for materials to fix the bridges was not available due to a malfunction of the South Slough computer program. This money is to be funneled through OCEAN, and used by the CRTP. Donna is concerned that labor may be a bigger problem than materials. Bob brought up a greater concern that Coos County should have been the first, not the last to find out about a donation targeted for trails on county lands. Other related issues include how the $1300 for materials was arrived at, and if an engineering report is necessary to build bridges strong enough to handle both horse and ATV traffic. Donna’s response was that the $1300 was an estimate used to apply for an Oregon Equestrian Trails grant. Bob elaborated on how the original Winchester Trail System was designed. The Coos County Planning Department believed that the trails were a conditional use that should have gone through a hearing process. The trails were routed to avoid bridges as much as possible, since there were concerns about bridge safety. Mike Law offered to help design the replacement bridges to meet safety concerns, and a suggestion was made that perhaps BLM engineers could review the plans to ensure a safe product. There is a general concern about bridge safety, and Bob and Miranda want to prioritize which bridges to repair. Bob again brought up wildfires associated with the trails and public use. He did note that the fire this summer was not associated with trail use. Trails must be closed during the regulated use season to protect the county from the extremely high cost of fighting fires. These closures are unpopular and difficult to enforce. Other trails, including Blue Ridge, are closed throughout the fire danger season. Mike pointed out that this means that some trails are not open when most of the use would occur. Donna and Jennie want to work with the county to keep the Winchester Trails open as much as possible. The discussion broadened to include other conflicts. Paintballers damaged a logging vehicle near the county dump. The county is becoming increasingly concerned with the risk of fires and other liabilities associated with keeping their lands open to the public, and may be forced to close all their lands during fire season. Scott added that he has seen websites where information is provided about how to sabotage trails to prevent ATV and horseback use. Bob wants to look at the County’s logging plans before he approves any further work on the Winchester Trails. He also wants to change the statement in the grant proposal that says the county will provide oversight, logistics, and support. Mike Law described how designated trails are managed in the Tillamook State Forest. Designated trails in the Tillamook State Forest are not kept open throughout the fire season by the use of volunteer patrols. Once fire levels reach a certain level the trail patrol cannot extend the open season. The Tillamook Forest's volunteer trail patrol has been an extra set of eyes and ears for the agency. They make public contacts (no law enforcement authority) and provide information about on the ground activities (such as resource damage and trail conditions) and relay that to the Oregon Department of Forestry so they are aware of the issues. The point Mike wanted to make was that Coos County may feel more comfortable allowing OHV use during lower periods of fire danger on the Winchester Trails if they had a trail patrol program similar to Tillamook's. For more information about the trail patrol programs contact Liz Alemon (BLM, Shotgun Creek, Eugene) 541-683-7578; Kelly Foster (ODF, Tillamook State Forest) 503-359-7463, or contact Mike Law directly. Mike Smith views this as the answer on the Coos County Forest. A certification program where riders are trained in safety and fire prevention before receiving a permit to ride might also help. Donna agreed to research how other groups certify volunteers. BLM’s volunteer trail patrol program at Shotgun Creek could serve as a model. Amelia did work at McDonald Forest, where volunteers were used to patrol trails. They kept logs of contacts, and informed her of potential problems. Donna and Jennie brought up work done this summer through Oregon Equestrian Trails work parties. Ten members contributed 160 hours of work on trails at Cape Blanco State Park, Wild Mare, Bullards Beach, Winchester, and North Spit. Jennie thanked the Forest Service for work done at Wild Mare, including improving the parking lot. The Eugene and Roseburg chapters of the OET have also commented on the improvements. They also raised the issue that trails to the north of Wild Mare, where ATV use is allowed, have a lot more litter than trails to the south that only allow non-motorized use. Jennie challenged ATV groups to help maintain trails they use. Donna did point out that the ATV riders are very courteous to horseback riders, and are doing a good job of keeping the Winchester Trails clean. Jennie thanked the ATV riders and BLM for maintaining the Blue Ridge trail system. Mike had several comments on the draft Memorandum of Understanding and Bylaws that will guide operations of the CRTP. He suggested that all references to “multiple use trails, where appropriate”, be taken out to avoid any negative connotations about types of users. Jennie would like to see this wording changed as well. Mike wants the concept of multiple use to be promoted as much as possible by the CRTP. The memorandum will be revised to reflect that CRTP supports multiple use trails. Voting by consensus or majority also continues to be of concern to some members. The memorandum as proposed is very inconsistent in regards to this, stating in some places decision-making by consensus, and in other places by majority vote. It is also unclear as to when the board can take action, and when a vote of the membership is required. The issue was again brought up about the role of federal agency representatives on the CRTP. Jennifer Wade of the Siuslaw National Forest said that the Forest Service could sign an MOU but she could not participate except in an advisory capacity regarding the by-laws, and when money is transferred from the Forest Service to the CRTP. There is a need to recruit more user groups to carry out the work of the organization. Donna again suggested the tie-in to school outdoor clubs, and agreed to draft a letter to send to regional school outdoor clubs enlisting their help. |