Postcards from the President

Hi COPMOBA,
We have great news for this month, on several fronts.  First, the Ridgway crew recently passed a critical milestone in their efforts to create a trail network on BLM land adjacent to town.  As you can imagine, the BLM has several steps in the process of allowing the creation of trails on public lands that they administer.  This process can often be slow, and daunting, but it does serve some purposes, among them protecting our public land from improper development.  In any case, on May 10 the Montrose district issued their final Environmental Assessment and their citing of Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and their Decision Record which outlines the specifics of the proposed project.  The decision is out for a 30 day public comment period, after which the Ridgway crew should be able to get going on implantation of their proposed trail complex, barring any new issues.  This complex will be a great addition to the Ridgway area, with the ability to access these trails directly from town.  When completed the plan calls for over 18 miles of non-motorized trail, with 14.5 mi of new construction.  You can find a map of the planned complex at http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/information/nepa/uncompahgre_field/ridgway_tmp.Par.60356.File.dat/11-11%20Ridgway%20EA%20Final%20Decision%20Map%20web.pdf
 Let’s give the Ridgway group and the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office a hand for getting the project ready for implementation this Spring (hopefully), and in time to celebrate the development at the upcoming RAT Fest (Ridgway Area Trails) beginning June 7th.  Let’s attend the fest and give them [more...]

Hi Gang,

Riding time is here.  I love it!

I’ve heard a number of people lately make comments thanking COPMOBA for creating trails, and often the comments are accompanied by one of two endings.  First - I’m a COPMOBA member but I don’t come out to trail work activities.  Second – I’m not a COPMOBA member, but I sure dig what COPMOBA does.
To either, or both, of those ideas I have pretty much the same response – Come Join In.  No kidding, it’s fun, we’re all pretty friendly, and we’re all pitching in our time and skills towards making or sustaining the trails that we love to ride.  Everybody does it a little differently, and that’s great.  It’s not all about digging in the dirt or moving rocks, though those fun things certainly do take place.  But there are ways for pretty much any interest to take part.  Just take an evening to attend the next local meeting or maintenance activity, or group ride, and look for a way to be a part of the process.  It matters.

As we head into a season full of activities, I’d to highlight a few that are worth noting.  We’ve recently seen the second of two ride guides published annually in the Grand Valley by our local papers – the Sentinels Ride Guide (http://grandjunctiondailysentinel.co.newsmemory.com/special.php?date=20130224 ), and the GJ Free Press’ Cycling Guide (http://grandjunctionfreepress.co.newsmemory.com/special.php?date=20130329 ).  These publications do a good job of providing basic trail maps and [more...]

Hi COPMOBA,

Spring is nearly officially here, just a few more days, but the trails in the valley are drying out nicely and it’s time to ride.  It’s also time to gear up for trail work, and the schedule is set for a good number of work days. 

While that is all good, we need to accomplish one important thing right away – commenting on the BLM Grand Junction Field Office draft release of their Resource Management Plan.  This document and plan are critical because they establish the baseline structure for the next couple of decades on the management practices and priorities for the BLM in this field office.  Many factors are evaluated by the BLM with regard to land use, and one among those is the travel management, which affects access and developmental opportunities throughout the duration of the plan.  If we want to make sure that we retain access to any specific area, or trail or road, and if we conceive now of future trails or trail networks in certain areas, we need to provide our input now to voice those interests and let BLM know WHY we want them – why are those things of value to us?  This is an individual input to the BLM. 

Along with travel management, the BLM is also considering many other factors such as grazing, extractive industry use, plant and animal system health, watershed issues, etc, so our desires for access and trails are viewed as one part [more...]

Hi COPMOBA,
From a trail perspective, this year is starting off on the right foot.  I’m seeing pretty much only good news from our chapters, and you’ll see that from the various chapter reports.  We’re seeing forward motion with trail projects in Ridgway and Montrose areas as planning begins to get real on some old projects and some new projects come on-line.  One consistent key to these projects moving ahead is consistent attention by at least a few people in each chapter – being in touch with cities, counties, public lands managers, civil servants, etc. on a continuous basis to maintain a focus on our goals.  Without that persistence, ideas founder and usually fall by the wayside.  Please take a minute to think about what’s going on in your local area and consider who is pushing that work forward.  Can you add your time and attention to the process in any way - can you help with the planning and organizing that creates and supports the trails in your area?

In the Grand Valley, our local BLM field office has just released the draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for public comment.  This is a very important plan.  When ultimately approved, it will define the basic manner in which our local BLM lands are administered for the coming couple of decades.  We have about 80 days remaining in the public comment period, and COPMOBA and other interested mountain bike advocates are organizing meetings to help educate riders about the RMP [more...]