Savage River State Forest Survey
Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:10 pm
Today I rode about 12 miles of old forest roads, logging roads and some wildcat trails with the DNR at Savage River State Forest. With me were two other bikers (Ray Tie who is a local mine manager and GNCC racer & our very own TyMarp). Also were representatives of the local ATV riding community.
I had a BLAST! What great trails and what incredible possibility for more including some single-track. There were nice dirt roads, rocky trails, steepish rocky hill-climb under the power line, a mud pit, etc.
The purpose of today's ride was to see if that area could replace what we lost at Green Ridge. We rode trails and looked at camping spots. We spent a lot of time talking about where we might connect logging spur roads and where we might cut some single track. All was positive. As I said, we rode 12 miles and we could easily install another 30-40 miles of new trails. The DNR, naturally, has some issues with certain areas. They are going to overlay the GPS tracks we made with their maps of sensitive areas to see if there are any issues. The folks with us didn't see any show stoppers so I'm expecting a green light.
We discussed what kind of volunteer activities the users might provide, what fee structure might be reasonable, etc. The DNR said they had funds for this year and the State budgeted funds for next year to open a riding area. I mentioned that the riding community would be happy to create trails if the State would pay for the signs/posts, etc. They liked the idea and view a strong volunteer community as key to a sustainable riding area. We mentioned that a $75/year riding permit was not unreasonable provided all the fees went to trail maintenance and opening new trails.
The State would like to implement a reservation system similar to what they use in other areas. This would allow them to gather usage data. The area will be limited to a set number of riders daily and there may be other restrictions. The DNR is open to group reservations and other special permit types of activities such as possibly a GNCC race, dual-sport rides and large group campouts.
The way forward is another meeting of the full OHV working group after the State has digested today's activities. I expect that meeting to happen in July if not sooner. If all goes well, it is entirely possible that we could be riding the current trails next spring and may be cutting in some single-track over the summer.
Here's the track we rode. Tim - what did I miss?
I had a BLAST! What great trails and what incredible possibility for more including some single-track. There were nice dirt roads, rocky trails, steepish rocky hill-climb under the power line, a mud pit, etc.
The purpose of today's ride was to see if that area could replace what we lost at Green Ridge. We rode trails and looked at camping spots. We spent a lot of time talking about where we might connect logging spur roads and where we might cut some single track. All was positive. As I said, we rode 12 miles and we could easily install another 30-40 miles of new trails. The DNR, naturally, has some issues with certain areas. They are going to overlay the GPS tracks we made with their maps of sensitive areas to see if there are any issues. The folks with us didn't see any show stoppers so I'm expecting a green light.
We discussed what kind of volunteer activities the users might provide, what fee structure might be reasonable, etc. The DNR said they had funds for this year and the State budgeted funds for next year to open a riding area. I mentioned that the riding community would be happy to create trails if the State would pay for the signs/posts, etc. They liked the idea and view a strong volunteer community as key to a sustainable riding area. We mentioned that a $75/year riding permit was not unreasonable provided all the fees went to trail maintenance and opening new trails.
The State would like to implement a reservation system similar to what they use in other areas. This would allow them to gather usage data. The area will be limited to a set number of riders daily and there may be other restrictions. The DNR is open to group reservations and other special permit types of activities such as possibly a GNCC race, dual-sport rides and large group campouts.
The way forward is another meeting of the full OHV working group after the State has digested today's activities. I expect that meeting to happen in July if not sooner. If all goes well, it is entirely possible that we could be riding the current trails next spring and may be cutting in some single-track over the summer.
Here's the track we rode. Tim - what did I miss?
