2002 IN REVIEW
From the BASIN AND RANGE TRAIL ADVOCATES
newsletter - TRAIL BITES
ISSUE #4 January 2003
Happy New Year from your BARTA Board of
Directors:
Judy, Matt, Jeff, Rob, Spike & Leanne
Well another year has gone by and it’s a good time to look back and see
what we’ve been doing for mountain biking in Southern Nevada. Here is a
list with a few details. As you can see trail work was the activity we
focused
on this past year.
January: We held a trail workday in Cottonwood. Around 30 trail
volunteers helped close the Mud Springs Area for restoration.
Unfortunately,
the bypass trail had note been completed as promised many volunteers and
BARTA members were upset. Fortunately members of the crew were willing
to split up work on the new trail bypass.
March: Hot Rocks NMBP riders and SNWA volunteers rode 25 miles in
the Wetlands Park in search of viable mountain bike routes for the
developing Wet Lands Park trail system. BARTA submitted a rough trail
network map to the engineering firm in charge of park development.
April: Throughout the spring months several BARTA directors spent
time discussing and developing our stance on the Southern Nevada Lands
Bill. BARTA board members presented our desires to protect our trails and
public lands without designating everything Wilderness (which prohibits
bicycles). We addressed two public meetings, met with congressional
staffers at Senator Reid’s office, consulted IMBA, held meetings with
Friends
of Nevada Wilderness and The Wilderness Society. We distributed an action
alert letter writing campaign to protect the growth of mountain bike trail
development in Southern Nevada.
May: BARTA board members were also active in the early stages of
development of the Spring Mountains Perimeter Trail. Many public meetings
were held and several initial mapping and community outreach sessions were
attended and we committed to work until the trail is complete.
June: Our Beat the Heat poker run was a great success. Seventyfour
intrepid riders braved the early June heat to enjoy a morning fun ride in
Cottonwood Valley. Most riders won donated prizes and all had fun. The
following morning BARTA hosted a table at the National Trails Day event at
Floyd Lamb State Park where we distributed information about local riding,
BARTA and the National Mountain Bike Patrol unit – Hot Rocks.
July: Mark and Laura from the International Mountain Bike
Association’s Subaru Trail-Care Crew visited us late in the month to help
with
the Mud Spring bypass trail. A dozen hard-core volunteers braved the 100-
degree heat in to armor one of the many sand pits the trail passes
through.
The rock armor appears to be doing the job and we are planning on spending
a good part of our trail work days armoring more of the trail. In Addition
three patrollers from Hot Rocks NMBP spent a day up at Clark County’s On
the Edge Summer Camp helping instruct and encourage one hundred
teenage campers on the mountain bike ride that has become part of their
youth adventure program.
August: Trail work continued this summer. In August, BARTA began
several months of trail marking in the Cottonwood Valley Area.
Surprisingly,
six riders with BOB trailers can mark five or six miles of trails in the
morning
before the heat kicks in.
September: BARTA volunteers continued our trail marking in
Cottonwood. We also posted our BARTA web page (www.BARTA-nv.com)
for the first time. It’s still a work in progress, but we’ll at least post
upcoming event information and a few photos for everyone to see.
October: Still trail marking in Cottonwood and setting up the Blue
Diamond to Jean course. Much of the last week of October included BARTA
board members riding and marking the course for our annual BD to Jean 35
mile event.
November: Blue Diamond to Jean was a huge success this year
and over 150 people participated including 125 paid entries. We really
want
to thank our sponsors for the great prizes and our volunteers for the help
they provided. We really can’t do it without you.
Fall 2002: The Southern Nevada Public Lands Bill passed through
Congress and won’t really have many negative impacts on the mountain bike
community. There is one area that will pose a serious challenge to the
Spring Mountain Perimeter Trail near Trout Canyon. The inclusion of the
area
will force the trail to drop to the valley floor to bypass the new
Wilderness
section.
2003 Action Plans:
Trail Work: BARTA plans to complete the trail signage in Cottonwood Valley
and Blue Diamond. We have made a good dent in the signing of popular
trails and this next year we hope to finish and maintain the signage on
our
trails. In this spirit we are planning to hold a trail-work day in
Cottonwood
on the third weekend of each month. We are also excited about finishing
the
Mud Springs bypass trail by rock armoring all of the sandy areas and
making
the trail more fun for all riders.
Trail Maps for Cottonwood: The BLM is working on trail maps for
Cottonwood and they should be ready for distribution soon. Stay tuned!
New Parking Lot on the north side of HWY 160: For some time, BARTA has
put the word out that the parking lot located on the north side of Hwy 160
will eventually be closed and a new one will be built approximately 1.5
miles
to the east, on the north side of Hwy 160. The BLM has funding to build
the
new lot, and the project is moving forward. The new lot will have a kiosk
and will have a new trail connecting it to the current trail system. The
old lot
will not be closed until the new lot is completed. After closure, the old
lot will
be "reclaimed" with plantings of native flora. BARTA will keep our members
and other trail users informed as this project progresses.
2003 Events:
Beat the Heat: April 26th is the day for the second annual BARTA
Poker Ride in Cottonwood Valley.
Blue Diamond to Jean 8: Our annual Blue Diamond to Jean ride will be held
on Saturday, November 1.
Casual Rides: In the past BARTA has focused on several large events
throughout the year. In 2003 we are starting a monthly casual ride program
that will include low or no fee fun rides somewhere in Southern Nevada.
Rides will vary from a Boulder City get together to see the new mountain
bike park (for those who may not have ventured out there), a summer
solstice night ride in Cottonwood, and the re-introduction of our old
Elvis
Presta fun ride at the base of Lee Canyon. We will provide more
information
as plans come together.
If you are interested in sponsoring or volunteering, please call Leanne at
228-4076 or email BARTA at
info@BARTA-nv.com
Continued Trail Development:
Trail systems to be established in the northern McCulloughs: The northern
McCullough Mountains are near Henderson in the south end of the Las Vegas
Valley. The City of Henderson and a number of local user groups and
agencies will be working together to establish some multi-use trails in
the
area.
Wetlands Park Trails Development: Clark County Parks and Recreation and
other local and federal agencies, are developing a Wetlands Park in the
Las
Vegas Wash, east of the Silver Bowl. The park will include bicycle,
equestrian and hiking trails. The trails closest to the wash itself will
be more
of an urban variety; however, in the desert north of the wash there is the
possibility of developing some single-track trails along a 4-5 mile
stretch,
potentially creating a 9-10 mile loop.
Spring Mountains Perimeter Trail: The passage of the Southern Nevada
Lands Bill in Congress has created some challenges in certain areas that
will
need to be addressed. The planning for this non-motorized trail is
progressing, and surrounding communities are being recruited for
involvement and input on the project. The project has some great support
from community groups such as "Outside Las Vegas" and government
agencies such as the BLM, US Forest Service and the National Park Service
River and Trails Program. The meetings take place once a month at the
Bureau of Land Management Offices at 4701 N. Torrey Pines. For more
information call Suzanne Shelp, BLM, at 515-5147.
BARTA Hats Available!
You may have seen these embroidered baseball caps at the "Beat the Heat"
Poker run. The caps, embroidered with the BARTA logo, were such a hit we
ordered more and they are now available for a donation of $14.95.
Membership and Membership Renewal!!!
The time has come for many of us to renew our BARTA memberships. Please
be generous with your contributions. We can’t continue promoting mountain
biking in Southern Nevada without you.
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What is BARTA and why should I become a
BARTA member?
Basin and Range Trail Advocates (BARTA) is a non-profit organization
comprised of mountain bikers whose goal is to preserve and maintain
current recognized trail systems, such as Cottonwood Canyon, and to
establish new
trail systems within the southern Nevada area. We are dedicated to the
educate mountain bikers and other user groups on proper trail care, use
and
development as well as environmental impacts associated with our
activities. Our affiliation with the International Mountain Biking
Association (IMBA) provides resources in some of these areas. We also
communicate and work with land management agencies, such as the BLM, US
Forest Service and Clark County to achieve our goals. This is why you
should become a
member. We are mountain bikers passionate about the sport and we are
working to improve your trail experience, to create more sustainable
trails and to keep the trails we have. Please support our efforts with
your membership.
For more Information About
BARTA:
E-Mail: info@BARTA-nv.com
Patrol: Or Call:
Judy Brandt, President at 702-837-6522
Hot Rocks National Mountain
BikePatrol
Matt Carter, Director 822-8627
E-Mail: bikes4four@lvcm.com
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