Update #1 - Calaveras Access

 

6/23/2017

 

My name is Ben Stone and I am the Vice President of the San Diego Mountain Biking Association. Some of you may have met me at the recent meeting we did with Zoic or have communicated with me by email since that meeting. I wanted to offer an update for those who are already engaged in this process and to anyone who would like to get engaged in this process.

          If you have received this update you are on this specific distribution list, but if someone passed this email to you and you would like to be added to our project specific distribution list please email executivedirector@sdmba.com.   For those of you who don’t know me, since I became a SDMBA board member, I have worked on numerous projects on behalf of SDMBA including identification of a 13 acre bike park at Mission Trails to be built at a later date, Mission Trails Master Plan Update, two significant projects with the Forest Service in Descanso and Palomar Districts (Pamo Valley Master Plan and New Trails in the Mount Laguna Recreation Area) including working to reverse a decision to decommission Anderson Truck Trail, working with legislators on opening up the Stowe Trail, and among many other projects working with private developers to include trails within their future developments.

          With all that said, I must say working on Carlsbad Highlands Ecological Reserve/Calaveras, overseen by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW),  is incredibly complicated. There is an extensive network of trails on this Reserve that was meant to be set aside for habitat conservation and, in addition, everyone seems to have a favorite trail on the property. CDFW for their part have not effectively managed this Reserve and the idea of a reserve surrounded by 100,000’s of people without a plan for public access is nearly setting yourself up for failure.

          For our part as mountain bikers we need to realize a couple of things as we go through this process.  This Reserve is a shining example of everything not to do as a land manager, but it has also been used as a bat against mountain bikers across the County. What I mean by this is that this situation is what is pointed to as the worst behavior of mountain bikers and the reasons why we should not be given access to open spaces or new trails. As a group I believe we have effectively fought back against that argument, but we also need to show that we can fix the situation on this property.

          So where does that start? First it starts with getting the word out - NO NEW BUILDING OF TRAILS. It also includes being good stewards of the land, educating other trail users and friends about the issues that are taking place, reporting any issues you see on the land back to us and staying engaged with local MTB advocacy. You’re getting this update because you are a SDMBA member or are on a list. The key for SDMBA as a representative association is the more members we have in the County translates into more people who are engaged in local trail advocacy and are aware of what is going with trails they care about.  

Join or renew here: https://www.sdmba.com/join.php

So onto the issue on hand with the new law enforcement “ranger” position for Carlsbad.  I have spent the time since the meeting on June 14 engaging with other local stakeholders and speaking directly with the City of Carlsbad about the new Ranger position we were all very concerned about. I am happy to say that the City of Carlsbad is onboard for working with us and CDFW towards a solution on this property and has assured us that the new position will not be used as an enforcement tool against mountain bikers or used primarily to patrol this property. The City would like to see a solution to the public access issue on this property and has offered to help as we go into future public outreach meetings.

          CDFW has for their part ceased enforcement actions for the moment. Please keep in mind if that situation has changed since the writing of this update, we are only aware of what we hear from locals. So if you see fencing, downed trees, trails being demolished or anything else that stands out to you please report it to us. Photographs and detailed summaries are immensely helpful.  Please also note we have no guarantee from CDFW that they will not patrol this property.  The only guarantee is that we are both working in good faith together towards a solution and we have asked them to manage the property the way they would once our agreement is in place.

          So what has CDFW agreed to?  On record they have agreed to modifying the Civil Code which is a complicated process, but very attainable to allow for legal Mountain Bike Access on the Reserve and they have agreed to identifying trails outside of the two designated fire-roads to become system trails. Now, this will be an ongoing discussion and we will need to work hard to get to a compromise of reasonable access on the Reserve while respecting the spirit of the reason these lands were purchased and preserved.

          I do not expect anyone will be 100% satisfied at the end of this process (including CDFW), but I believe we can find a compromise that CDFW, local riders and SDMBA will buy into.  I have heard from a lot of different people in the area and I do know your concerns. I want to assure everyone we will not be turning over data to CDFW immediately, we are not going to hand over everyone’s favorite trails on the property just to have them go out and concentrate on closing those trails nor are we going to agree to a trails plan on the property that locals will not support or buy into. Please keep in mind CDFW is well aware of Strava and could find trails on their own, but just do not have the manpower to monitor this property or shut it down on their own.

          I expect that we will need to have one or two more public meetings as we work towards a trails plan on this property and we will follow up with you on dates once we get there. In the meantime, SDMBA will continue working with all interested regional stakeholders and have several follow-up meetings planned with CDFW.

          Please feel free to contact Susie Murphy at executivedirector@sdmba.com to be added to this local distribution list or email me directly with any questions you may have, but realize I am sometimes a little slow to respond due to the volume of emails I am getting on this project and the fact that I work full-time outside of advocacy.