July 2017 Advocacy Minutes

Advocacy Meeting

July 10, 2017 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

4499 Ruffin Road, San Diego

Ben Stone - Advocacy Committee Chairperson/Vice-President SDMBA

 

Attendance:

Kevin​ ​Loomis

Justin​ ​Andrews

Mark Hnatyszyn

Karen​ ​St.​ ​Germain

Luca​ ​Colasanto

Rick Richardson

Jose​ ​Galaz

Alan​ ​Gabrielsson

C. Osborne

Jim​ ​McFarland

Ben​ ​Stone

Dom Dias

Ron​ ​Guitard

Carmen​ ​Richardson

Seth Hansen

Daniel​ ​Pitard

Minette Ozaki    

Andy​ ​Darragh

Brent Wright    

Julie​ ​Klein

Josh Cassel    

Anthony​ ​Graytok

Mike Jennings    

Doug​ ​Johnson

Philip Erdelsky    

Walt​ ​Pershing

Tristan Gonzalez    

Bob​ ​Ponting

John Steele    

Sean​ ​Murphy

Ray White    

Scott​ ​Isgitt

Sarina White    

Yoshi​ ​Andosoglu

Andrew DePratti    

 

  • Welcome and Introductions (Susie Murphy)

    • Special guest: SDMBA is excited to have Matt Gunnell to speak this evening -  the executive director of SoCal racing league (NICA)

    • Susie has been volunteering with the SoCal league for three years and became connected in the South Bay area. NICA is an amazing organization with incredible sponsors. Both Susie and her husband, Sean, are now active with NICA.

 

  1. Guest:  Matt Gunnell - Executive Director, SoCal League, National Interscholastic Cycling Association

  • SoCal league history

  1. Matt Fritzinger originally produced a race series with teams from 4 local high schools in NorCal.

  2. SoCal league is created in 2008.

  3. SoCal league has now expanded to have a middle school team and over 1000 athletes.

  4. Easton Sports has become a partner in this organization - fundamental to growing interscholastic MTB.

  5. NICA is launched in 2009. It has since expanded to chapters all across the county, from Northwest to Northeast to Southeast and beyond

 

  • SoCal league is not a trail advocacy organization, but believes that trail work is very important

    1. Trail advocacy groups possess tools and knowledge.

    2. There are many advocacy groups in Socal - we want clubs to pair up with existing trail advocacy groups

    3. Advocacy groups bring : knowledge, training, tools, access to trail and land managers

    4. Examples: CORBA, Lehigh trail system built through coordination of TMTA and Tehachapi HS teams

 

  • Teen Trail Corps

    1. IMBA/NICA/REI venture

    2. National network of youth leaders for the future

    3. Long-term vision of a generation of riders who will be able to move into land management, cycling industry

    4. Students complete project to earn 4 badges, students can earn their badges by drive to earn trail captain aware

    5. Opportunities to attend future IMBA and NICA conferences

    6. Teen Trail corps camps - NorCal, SoCal (is coming in late 2017) Pennsylvania (late 2017). Campers work, ride, and NorCal can earn college credit and trail building certificate. Projects that are done will help students to earn badges toward teen trail corps

 

  • matt@socaldirt.org ←- contact email for Matt Gunnell

  • Can send any kids who want to ride to Matt or Susie, for a connection with NICA leagues.

  • Matt is always looking for coaches, especially now with a growing number of students. Please feel free to volunteer for any length of time that would suit you best.

  • Many parents become riders because their kids found the sport!

  • Carmen - new team South Bay Composite - needs volunteer coaches!

 

SoCal league teams - San Diego: Eastlake, South Bay, Ramona, San Pasqual, Julian, North County, Carmel Valley, Classical Academy, PB Middle School, and room for more teams and coaches

 

2. Sweetwater Bike Park Update (Jose/Susie)

  • Conceptual bike park plan for Bonita - close to sweetwater summit campground

    • 3 acres, near a little league complex and sweetwater summit campground

    • Next to the county trail system in sweetwater area

 

  • Jason Showalter has been working for 7-8 years for a bike park in the county. Supervisor Cox has supported the construction of this park, and originally allocated $50,000 for this.

    • Parcel has been settled on, there is now $500,000 allocated in the county’s operational budget.

  • Sweetwater planning group will also be involved and possess additional funds that have been earmarked for this projet.

 

  • Next steps: community meeting August 1st

    • At least 2 community meetings, then a bid process for the park


NOTE: Small pump track going in at Pacific Highlands Ranch

  • Chris Powell has been instrumental in this.  Slated to be completed by Fall of 2018.

 

3. Calaveras, CDFW Issues (Ben)

  • Area is owned by CA Fish and Wildlife, south property is where most of the MTB areas are - all illegal

I. Recent issues: tried to up a new level of enforcement, with a grant to hire 2 enforcement rangers

II. State legislative pressure - working with Tony Atkins’ office - CDFW has property across the county but does not give much MTB access.

  • Adding MTB as allowed use, trails should be entered in separate from the service roads.

  • Negotiations are imminent.

 

  • Moving toward compromises on the property - many areas have been bulldozed and trees knocked down - it is not a good idea to knock down and destroy these trails

  • If we can do Calaveras right, we will be able to see more access across the whole stage

  • Public meeting will happen soon - stayed tuned!

 

4. Sycamore Goodan Ranch Public Access Update (Ben)

  • Park area will go ahead with existing trails and attempt to improve them. More money will be allocated for this process.

  • Opening of northern part of property, no rerouting of existing trails.

  • Seth’s favorite trail is back - SWAT with a reroute to get off private property

  • Everyone showed up to meeting, including lots of county employees

  • This WILL become a heavily used reserve

  • Trying to get ridgeline trail open

 

5. USFS Trail Stewardship Summit November 2-5, 2017 (Susie)

  • Working with forest service (including Cleveland staff) to have a stewardship summit training, expanded to 4 days.

  1. Thursday and Friday will be geared toward land managers/ non profits

  2. Saturday and sunday - expanded trail building school and field work

  3. Will take place at Lakeside community center, and engage people who live around Cleveland. Will include presentations by forest service staff, imba trail solutions

  4. Trail building school to be in Crestridge - with a county partner

 

  • Save the date and registration will come soon

  • Garrett Villanueva has been helping with this project. He is with the Forest Service and originally from Tahoe - he helped to create very progressive trail in Tahoe. Trying to get new trail standards adopted.

    1. Trying to get many people in the room regionally talking about how to get projects done by leveraging partnerships and volunteers - how to help govt organizations

    2. Head of Forest Service for California will be there

    3. Certifying people to take over independently, volunteer agreements on forest service land

 

6. USFS Palomar District Pamo Valley - Pamo Valley Master Plan

  • North of Ramona, about 23,000 acres of forest service ownership. About the size of Cuyamaca. The valley owned by city of SD and the rest owned by Forest Service.

    • Total of approximately 80 miles of trail corridor to be identified - a small portion wil be  MTB trail systems that are directional - single use.

I. Directional trails will drop into a feeder trail that is multi-use. Working will many trail user groups on this.

 

  • Letter of commitment has been signed from Palomar District to support grant from county

    1. This is the 3rd priority for Palomar’s work plan - have to find partner funding for this

    2. Could be breaking ground on this next year in the winter

 

  • Met with Sierra Club members and other concerned parties

  • Should have plan from IMBA Trail Solutions by August

  • Susie and Ben did a field trip out to Pamo with Jose and others. it is an amazing place! More trips will happen out there in the fall.

  • Fundraising process will start again when master plan is had, in order to leverage against county funding

  • Bring capital into unincorporated area

 

7. USFS Descanso District Reroutes and new Trails (Mt.  Laguna, ATT)

  • History: 2008 - forest service revision - no legal access to ATT - road was marked to be decommissioned

SDMBA objected to in the Forest Service meeting

  • Ben went to forest service because SDRP has purchased land that contains ATT

    1. World Cup will never be legal again - tribe is not happy with MTB, damage done to property, connections to valley

    2. Spicoli 1 and 2 may become legal: with county being a partner, got county to identify this area as an acquisition priority

    3. Identify corridor in alpine community plan

 

  • Working on forming public release of info with forest service

    1. Will turn road into singletrack, delete some sections

    2. People driving vehicles down the road will be stopped

    3. Ben made case about access forever - new trails will be built.

    4. No current public access - but will bring trails that are identified into the system. Have to bring those trails to system requirements.

 

  • Descanso Ranger - Bob from Sedona. He is open to some  naturals features, but not manmade features.

    1. Make trails more sustainable and less steep

 

  • Inserted into 2019 budget - identify preferred routes, working on realigning existing trails

 

  • Q: How do reroutes work and how can we have input? - Josh Cassel

    1. Work together with ben to start working on drafting

    2. Date is august for decommissioner to come in

    3. Josh - designed 1.0 and 2.0 - invested in the integrity of these trails with Brent Wright

    4. Building has been a problem out there, and needs to be streamlined

 

  • Need to work on erosion issues

  • Features are not a problem, but sustainability is key

  • Part of last meeting with Descanso to know why equipment will be there in the future (from decommissioner)

  • There will be weeks where access is blocked, and the trail will be narrowed out

 

  • There will be communication from SDMBA and the forest service - want Brent, Josh, and all of Alpine Ride Shop to be involved!

    • Descanso office wants to make this more accessible for community

 

  • Mount Laguna - harder and longer project (includes archaeological sites), been pushing for extensive trails.

    • Met with USFS last week, finally figured out what would be approved.

    • Wooded Hill - wanted us to close the trail - interpretive trail (hiking only). Build an entire new trail that goes around lower elevations and cuts back into fire road trail. Would be losing part of the trail/Wooded Hill.

    • Steep-eroded sections that need to be rerouted

    • Potential progressive design - tabletops

 

  • Gatos - base has always been an issue.

    • Take trails in the meadow out of the meadow. Extra layer of environmental review. Break the trail off left and right before the sandpit. Lengthening out steeper sections.

    • Singletrack through the treeline

 

  • West side of the lake - not approved yet, but designing intermediate trail around the lake.

    • Want to plan for trails that are needed 5 years in the future

3.5 miles of new trail that is MTB Specific

 

  • Not to be ready this season - work on proposals this season and to be worked on next season

  • Connector to pioneer mail - Lucky 5

 

  • Miners Road - working segment of trail to connect Miners to the base of Indian Creek

    • Will be difficult to construct with many boulders, but has been signed off on

  1. Provides a place for endurance runners

  2. Provides a place for climb up to Noble

  3. A lot of new building in Mount Laguna!

 

Working with gravity groups such as Alpine Ride shop is crucial to success

  • Finite amount of time to do this - Ben and Evan have been working very hard at identifying these trail systems. We are not the number one stakeholder at cleveland

  • Getting rid of meadow trail will please environmental groups

  • Possible meeting in Alpine for Advocacy Meeting - September 11th - please help to find a place for meeting if possible!

 

8. MTB Patrol Trainings (Susie)

  • Upcoming

    • San Dieguito/Hodges Training 7/23 8 am contact david@sdrp.org

    • Ranger Dave - looking for new patrollers. Quick training, go on a ride afterwards

    • Contact Susie executivedirector@sdmba.com

    • Balboa Park/Florida Canyon Training 7/28, Friday 5 pm  

    • New patrol with ranger Roberto Bejar - 4 or 5 people now and wants to start small

    • You are a host, no enforcement. Be eyes and ears of ranger on the ground.

 

Closing notes:

  • August (Bonita) and September (Alpine) Advocacy meetings - possibly on the road

  • Upcoming meetings - August 7th advocacy, possibly a Bonita meeting close to the bike park(or else will be at regular location)

  • September 11th - week after labor day to meet in Alpine

  • Blood Road! A Red Bull film starring Rebecca Rusch: showing August 3rd at Mission Brewery downtown. 6:30 - party 7:30  - movie. Raffle prize - bike from Marin.

 

Old Business (Non-discussion items)

  1. Tecolote Trails plan - (Evan) - (In progress 2016 build 2017)

  2. Sycamore Goodan Ranch Update (Ben late 2017)

  3. Fanita Ranch Trails Plan (Ben Stone) (Unknown)

  4. Castlerock project date June 2016 grading has begun (One year) Ben

  5. Black Mountain/Black Widow (Matt 2017)

  6. Bonita Bike Park (Jason Showalter)

  7. Del Mar Mesa Surrounding Development

  8. Rock House / San Diego Wildlife Refuge- update (Jose/Jason)

  9. Otay Valley Regional Park - (Jose)

  10. Tijuana River Valley (Jose)

  11. Palm Canyon Update (in Progress October-November)

  12. San Diego County PLDO Funds

  13. Village 13 Projected Date “(First Quarter 2017)”

  14. Mission Trails Master Plan (Summer 2017)

 

Minutes recorded by: Siobhan Baloochi, SDMBA Secretary

Meeting ends at 8:35 PM

Next meeting: August 7th, location TBD