Rubicon Trail Public Meeting summary

[Cranky Steve]

I hope you guys find this info interesting. A public meeting was held last night in El Dorado county and the news is all good. I did not attend myself, and saw this message posted on the Friends of the Rubicon mailing list:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Subject: [trailbusters4x4club] Rubicon Trail Meeting

Guys,

Yesterday Marty and I went to the Rubicon Trail town hall meeting. The good news is that there are great people from different walks of life working to keep the trail open. Groups like environmental, property, users, Forest Service, SMUD, county and federal agencies all are represented. And they seem to get along pretty well.

We learned about the Rubicon Trail Master Plan. These people have done their homework. They have research all they could think of to keep the trail open for generations to come. From environmental impact, to law enforcement. They have an answer for it. They have mapped the trail beginning at Loon Lake all the way to Rubicon Springs using GPS. This allows them to pinpoint where the trail crosses federal, county and private lands. They have also monitored noise levels and found that the offroad use on this trail complies with county ordinances. They have done soil erosion and waste management assessments and it looks pretty good. They found that there are no endangered species on the trail. The closest ones are about a mile a way at a certain point on the trail.

Volunteers put in more than 1600 man hours this year on trail maintenance, education among many other projects. Thanks to this, they have gotten matching funds from grants. Which means they have the money to do their work next year.

Law enforcement was a big topic last night. The trail began to be patrolled about 4 years ago. Last year the county acquired several quads and trained over 40 deputies to patrol the trail. Up to now if you got caught drinking on the trail or trespassing or not being environmentally friendly, you only got a warning from the sheriff department. But that's about to change. The representative from the Placer County Sheriff ( Note: I think it's really the El Dorado County Sherriff) said that they did not want to go heavy handed the first couple of years. They feared that people would not welcome them if they did so. But what they are finding out is that people welcome law enforcement on the trail and yahoos off the trail.

Del Albright, who heads Friends of the Rubicon asked 4 wheelers to access the Rubicon during the winter season from Wentworth Springs. They want people to avoid the Loon Lake area since it is used by cross country skiers, boy scouts and people that want to enjoy the area on foot. This is part of what sharing access means.

Their success means a lot to recreational groups all across the US. If they can successfully manage a trail like the Rubicon, their experience can be extrapolated elsewhere. All groups involved want, while protecting the environment, keep their access to these areas. Working together is enabling this to happen.

If you want more information about this visit Del Albright's web page:

http://www.delalbright.com/Rubicon/r...ting_12_03.htm

Regards

Alvaro
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Founding Member of RCRC 4wd Club Scaramento, CA www.rcrc4x4.com
Pirate4x4.com Vendor & Toyota Truck and 4Runner Talk Forum Moderator

[Cranky Steve]

I hope you guys find this info interesting. A public meeting was held last night in El Dorado county and the news is all good. I did not attend myself, and saw this message posted on the Friends of the Rubicon mailing list:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Subject: [trailbusters4x4club] Rubicon Trail Meeting

Guys,

Yesterday Marty and I went to the Rubicon Trail town hall meeting. The good news is that there are great people from different walks of life working to keep the trail open. Groups like environmental, property, users, Forest Service, SMUD, county and federal agencies all are represented. And they seem to get along pretty well.

We learned about the Rubicon Trail Master Plan. These people have done their homework. They have research all they could think of to keep the trail open for generations to come. From environmental impact, to law enforcement. They have an answer for it. They have mapped the trail beginning at Loon Lake all the way to Rubicon Springs using GPS. This allows them to pinpoint where the trail crosses federal, county and private lands. They have also monitored noise levels and found that the offroad use on this trail complies with county ordinances. They have done soil erosion and waste management assessments and it looks pretty good. They found that there are no endangered species on the trail. The closest ones are about a mile a way at a certain point on the trail.

Volunteers put in more than 1600 man hours this year on trail maintenance, education among many other projects. Thanks to this, they have gotten matching funds from grants. Which means they have the money to do their work next year.

Law enforcement was a big topic last night. The trail began to be patrolled about 4 years ago. Last year the county acquired several quads and trained over 40 deputies to patrol the trail. Up to now if you got caught drinking on the trail or trespassing or not being environmentally friendly, you only got a warning from the sheriff department. But that's about to change. The representative from the Placer County Sheriff ( Note: I think it's really the El Dorado County Sherriff) said that they did not want to go heavy handed the first couple of years. They feared that people would not welcome them if they did so. But what they are finding out is that people welcome law enforcement on the trail and yahoos off the trail.

Del Albright, who heads Friends of the Rubicon asked 4 wheelers to access the Rubicon during the winter season from Wentworth Springs. They want people to avoid the Loon Lake area since it is used by cross country skiers, boy scouts and people that want to enjoy the area on foot. This is part of what sharing access means.

Their success means a lot to recreational groups all across the US. If they can successfully manage a trail like the Rubicon, their experience can be extrapolated elsewhere. All groups involved want, while protecting the environment, keep their access to these areas. Working together is enabling this to happen.

If you want more information about this visit Del Albright's web page:

http://www.delalbright.com/Rubicon/r...ting_12_03.htm

Regards

Alvaro
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Founding Member of RCRC 4wd Club Scaramento, CA www.rcrc4x4.com
Pirate4x4.com Vendor & Toyota Truck and 4Runner Talk Forum Moderator