Please proofread my letter to the Dnr discouraging the mtb trail expansion.

[VikingsGuy]

'they always have money for more trails, never money to maintain anything'.

True of most areas of govt involvement.

 

[Phaseolus]

I worked BLM in Colorado for a while, and my mentor at the time looked at me and said 'they always have money for more trails, never money to maintain anything'. He said it was true for the ATV crowds, the truck bros, the dingy horse women, and the MTB community. Damn it if he wasn't dead on.

The Mountain bike community in Western Colorado maintains the mtb trails around here. There is also a BLM youth crew that works seasonally on our trails. Together we do a good job of maintaining these trails. COPMOBA, RAMBO, etc.

 

[Chama Grande]

The Mountain bike community in Western Colorado maintains the mtb trails around here. There is also a BLM youth crew that works seasonally on our trails. Together we do a good job of maintaining these trails. COPMOBA, RAMBO, etc.

Didn't mean to put anyone on the defensive, I worked in Eastern CO if that helps

 

[Sytes]

We rarely ride the entirety of the system in one evening so I have a hard time understanding their desire to build 10 more miles of essentially the same trail running through the same scenery.

In conclusion, I feel the construction of trail 11 would greatly diminish the beauty of this abnormally large un-trailed section of Illinois public land.
For an amalgam of reason, public access to hunting land in our state has been greatly reduced over the past several decades.
I feel it would be a shame to transform such a beautiful wild place into a racetrack or an amusement park.

I would like to one more time mention how rare it is in this state to find such a large un-trailed, continuous section of woods in Illinois.

I get some shit for this from a select vocal HT crew though, IMO, this public land is not specific to hunt specific public hands.
It's our collective public lands.

That said, I believe you made your point well and the constructive comments fit for your perspective of our public lands.

Since you're asking for critique of your message, I'd share the following:

Our public land requires professional biologists to evaluate the impact to the flora and fauna with respect to increasing the trail another five miles.

Solid comment about maintaining before increasing.

I've said this once, and I'll say this many times in the future, fighting public land users defeats the whole fight for the mantras, Public Lands in Public Hands and Public Land Owner.
We must engage the outdoor organizations to define a collaborative council, led by environmental based biologist(s). Engage in collective discussions about the human impact upon our flora / fauna.

Fact: cycle industry is 10x's larger and more diversely accepted than hunting. $ is on the MTB side.
My perspective: Lobbyists for manufacturers "public outdoor enthusiasts" are capable of squashing Hunting specific Lobbyists.

Thus collaborating with the full intent of recommendations based on science is where our $ resides for our future public lands, be it Illinois or Montana.

Side note: in Montana, I've personally seen the following mountain cycle members of organizations grouped, working trail maintenance:

Backcountry Maintenance | mtbmissoula

www.mtbmissoula.org

Trail Maintenance — Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association

www.southwestmontanamba.org

I can go on and on. Same time, I've seen (and volunteered my own) time with RMEF improvements of our public lands.

Hunt specific organizations? I'm sure there are a few though I've not personally witnessed as I have the above mentioned. I think I heard of an archery club in Missoula general though not seen first hand.

Meh, food for thought.

 

[Phaseolus]

Didn't mean to put anyone on the defensive, I worked in Eastern CO if that helps

Not on the defensive, I was just providing information.

 

[DouglasR]

@VikingsGuy @wllm
What kind of legal ramifications would someone face if they started taping these to the kiosks around the mtb trails?

 

[DouglasR]

Alright, so this was kinda funny.
Last night, when I got done riding, I took off my clippless cycling shoes and put on my hoka's and headband to disguise myself as a trail runner and began to prepare for my first covert op as an eco terrorist.
I felt like Ted kaczynski as I assembled my kill kit consisting of 1 roll of packing tape and 2 #stoptrail11 signs into my hydration pack.
It was a nice Sunday night, so there was too much heat at the main trailhead to set a sign, so I headed for the back lot.
From the back lot to the trail 6 map/kiosk is about 100 yards of single track through the woods, so I slipped on the hydro pack and made haste.
When I got there I pulled out my sign and tape and of course, the fuggin tape had rolled back up on itself so I had to work with shaking hands and freshly trimmed nails to peel back a starting point.
after what seemed like forever, I got it peeled back, stretched out a long piece and sure AF, as I was trying to line it up the wind blew and the tape stuck all crooked across the center of the sign.
I tried peeling it back but it was tearing the paper.
There was about a 4" tail of tape hanging off the sign so I quickly stuck it to the plexiglass cover of the kiosk and went to work trying to quietly rip off another piece.
Just then, I heard voices coming down the trail!!!
I thought, "oh #*^@#*" as I jammed the roll of tape into my hydration pack.
Just as I threw it on and started jogging, the president of the mtb club comes around the corner on his bike!
We exchanged a head nod, and I took off sprinting for my car knowing that in the next 20 yards he would surely have to see that sign blowing in the wind on his beloved kiosk.
I jumped in my old pickup, jammed her down in gear and did my best Mario Andretti impersonation as I pulled out of the back lot!
The bishop had ole Hayduke right under his nose and he didn't even know it!

 

[DouglasR]

Gawd dayumm!
This chick’s pissed!

Trail of Destruction | Q Magazine

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