Carson City Land Acquisition
Did anyone catch the Carson City Land Acquisition story on NewsCarsonCity.com? Carson City is acquiring large portions of land in the Ash Canyon Area. This is great news for trail users. With the city owning a bigger, contiguous block of the land on the west side, we will see greater public access, and hopefully better stewardship of the land. Watch the video and see the details HERE.
OHV Damage in Ash Canyon
A concerned mountain biker recently contacted me to see what can be done about all the recent OHV (motorized off highway vehicles) activity in the “NO MOTOR VEHICLES” area of Ash Canyon. Jeff Potter and I rode up to survey the damage, and here are a few photos I took:
Clearly Marked Sign
New lines being cut right next to existing trail
Free For All
New Roads
And a few more pictures HERE.
While there are signs posted in some areas, other entrances to the canyon do not have signs posted. In fact, the sign in the picture above is posted on the bike path, not next to an access road where a vehicle will most likely enter. As Carson’s west side becomes more popular, it is apparent that better management of the area is needed. Just in the last few weeks, there has been two roll overs in the canyon, the 1st a couple kids, the 2nd a high speed p4x4 police chase! It is my hope that the city’s purchase of the property in the Ash Canyon area will lead to better preservation of the lands. I think that ideally, hikers and bikers should have their own low impact trail system, and motorized vehicles should stay on the existing roads that allow access to Hobart Reservoir. The area is just too small to be an OHV playground. The vast expanses of BLM land east of town are much better suited for this activity. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Carson Valley Trails Association
Last weekend we had the Muscle Powered Annual Meeting, and in attendance was the President of the Carson Valley Trails Association, Kerstin Wolle. Kerstin gave an impressive talk on all they’ve done in the Carson Valley, and invited Carson City residents to attend their CVTA Annual Meeting coming up this Monday, January 19th. If you’ve ever hiked the Faye Luther Trail or Job’s Peak Ranch Trail, you have seen the beautiful work these people do. A few of us plan to attend this meeting to see how we can bring what they’ve done in the Carson Valley to Carson City. Hope to see you there!
CVTA Annual Meeting
Monday January 19, 2009
At the Gazebo at David Walley’s
2001 Foothill Road, Genoa
6 p.m. Doors Open
social, displays, refreshments and no-host bar
6:30 p.m. Meeting
Genoa Foothill Trail System Project Presentation, CVTA grants information, current CVTA volunteer opportunities, 2009 “Hike for Health” Hike-a-thon Preview, Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing on the Trails, and More!
Please come and bring a friend!!!
Jobs Peak – Carson Valley