Dear friend of conservation efforts,
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is in great jeopardy. The Bush administration wants to cut the funding for this important source of conservation funds in fiscal year 06. Our local congressman Charles Taylor is the chair of the Interior Appropriations Committee, and unfortunately he also wants to cut this funding. It is up to us as his local constituency to sound off in support of continuing the funding for this important program.
The LWCF has granted monies for many local conservation efforts including many parks, forests, and green spaces in surrounding areas. In Henderson County, a total of $565K of funds has been used for projects including $100K that went toward the purchase of lands to create Holmes State Educational Forest. Other important conservation projects funded by LWCF grants include the following parks: Jackson Park, Patton Park, and the William King Memorial Park.
Transylvania County has also benefited from the LWCF program receiving a total of $308K for support of conservation and green space efforts there. The following parks has received grant funding: Franklin Park, Silversteen Park and Champion Park.
Buncombe County has greatly benefited from grants received from LWCF, with the total being just under $1 million (998k). There have been many great conservation projects down through the years, with many parks seeing capital improvements and/or purchase money to establish these important green spaces. Projects in Buncombe County have included: French Broad River Park ($78K), Lake Julian Park, Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain ($51K), and Lake Louise in Weaverville.
All other surrounding counties in Western North Carolina have benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Funds program, and this source of funding has make great strides in conservation efforts in this beautiful park of the state.
Please join me in the lobby efforts to protect the LWCF program. Please contact Charles Taylor's office and ask for continued support of the LWCF program. Contact info is as follows:
Make your voice heard. Express the importance of this major conservation tool by sharing how much these parks mean to you, and personal stories about the project closest to you that you use on a regular basis.
Thank you for your lobbying help to protect the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to know about projects completed in your area. Please see below for more information, and read the attached White Paper drafted by NRPA. Also feel free to pass this information on to any contacts that you might have.
The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and the Western North Carolina Bicycle Dealers Association, with the assistance of the USDA Forest Service, have entered into a joint venture to develop a map of the legal mountain biking trails in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest recreational area. Without an official map of the area and the continued popularity among recreational users, it was inevitable that conflicts would arise. The cycling community has been requesting a map for some time. The Forest Service agreed to work with the cycling community to map an official map available. All profits from the sale of this map go toward trail maintenance and development for that area. The map is made of quality water and tear resistant paper and is available at all local bicycle shops and the Ranger Station in Pisgah Forest for $8.00. Stop by your favorite bicycle store and pick one up, and support trail maintenance in the Bent Creek area.
This map is also available online at the National Forests in North Carolina website. You can download it from this link: Bent Creek Experimental Forest Trail Map.
Claudia Nix
Liberty
Bicycles, Inc.
From: Claudia Nix
Sent: Wednesday, September 18,
2002 6:56 PM
To: brbc@topica.com
Subject: BRBC: bike lane
Hi folks,
I am trying to develop a group of people who are willing to help with maintenance of the bike lane along Riverside Drive in Asheville. The city does sweep the lane twice a month on Thursday evenings. If any of you have ridden it lately you know it is in dire need of more maintenance than that. I talked with Jeff Burns today and he would welcome volunteer help and would be willing to give us credit as a club for the help. Some of the needs involve sweeping, removal of junk in the lane, weedeating weeds and trimming branches. There may even be a need to shovel dirt off the lane. If we could get a group of folks to work on this it would not take too long. Some things would not need to be done but once a month, some quarterly.
Claudia Nix
Liberty
Bicycles, Inc.
Letters get results! Please consider writing your elected officials to lobby for more consideration of the needs of bicyclists. Here are some letters that got replies; feel free to use them as starting points. For the addresses of local and national officials, see the links below.
From: Julie White, NC IMBA representative, Mountain Bike Advocacy Officer for BRBC
As Advocacy Officer for the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and as the NC representative for IMBA, I try to ensure that cyclists are empowered in their advocacy efforts. Specifically, some of the things that I do include:
Whenever there is a need for public input, I typically post that to the BRBC list serve and the NC mountain bike list serve.
Things are rather quiet in NC at the moment. However, the National Forest Plan is under revision for the Cherokee District in Tennessee. I may be asking people to comment about that if I receive such a request from IMBA's Tennessee representative, who is involved in that process.
I encourage people to join the NC mountain bike list server by sending an e-mail to: nc-mtn-bike-subscribe@topica.com
For Immediate Release, November 13, 2002
Contact: Jenn Dice,
IMBA
advocacy director, 303-545-9011
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a final National Mountain Bicycling Strategic Action Plan for the management of mountain biking on the BLM's 262 million acres of public land. The 31-page document represents the most comprehensive mountain bike management plan created by any land management agency.
The plan was announced yesterday, November 12, at the National Trails Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
"This is a great plan," said IMBA's executive director Tim Blumenthal. "It addresses the current desires of mountain bikers, leaves most decision making to local managers, and is adaptable as the sport evolves."
The BLM decided to produce a mountain bike-specific plan last year following a flood of comments from IMBA leaders and members on the BLM's Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy. That plan originally proposed to group mountain bike management with that of motorized vehicles.
Mountain bikers played a key role in shaping the new plan. The BLM considered thousands of cyclists' comments, sent a team of leaders to the 2002 IMBA Mountain Bike Advocacy Summit, and included long-time IMBA advocate Mark Flint of Tucson, Arizona, as an advisor.
The BLM did not adopt suggestions from the American Hiking Society and others that recommended a "closed-unless-open" trail policy and a prohibition of bicycling from national conservation areas.
IMBA believes the 10-year plan sets a positive, proactive direction for the BLM. It offers constructive advice to local managers, clearly recognizes changing demographics, identifies emerging bicycle and trailbuilding technologies, and discusses other issues unique to mountain biking.
The BLM now faces the challenge of implementing the plan. IMBA will cooperate with the agency by providing volunteer resources and technical assistance. IMBA will also continue to seek adequate recreation management funding from Congress.
The plan is available at:
http://www.blm.gov/mountain_biking/
--
Pete Webber
IMBA membership & communications director
phone: 303-545-9011 x 112, fax: 303-545-9026
web: http://www.imba.com
Long live long rides.
From: Jeff Jennings
To: DuPont Forest
Trails
Friends
of DuPont Forest
Subject: [DuPont-Forest-Trails] DOT plans to pave Sky
Valley Road
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 21:07:30 -0400
Dear Friends of DuPont Forest,
This email is to inform you of a situation that could impact the use and character of the eastern part of the DuPont State Forest (Guion Farm area). We have learned that the Department of Transportation has taken steps toward paving Sky Valley Road through the Forest. Such an action would be months away, and would require the transfer of property from Forest Resources to DOT in order to widen the shoulders of the road. The section of Sky Valley from DuPont Rd to Old CCC Road has already been considerably widened and paved, bringing a much more open, sunny character to the road, and leaving tall, very steep embankments.
This information became available at the recent meeting of the DuPont State Forest Advisory Committee. While the Committee took no formal action, it should be noted that the majority of members present were concerned about the impact of the road paving on the character of the Forest. And while the Friends of DuPont Forest Board has not formally discussed the issue, it is apparent that a majority of the board members are concerned about the impact of paving on the Forest.
Forest Resources management has not yet taken a position on the paving, and appears willing to receive input from the Advisory Committee, Friends of DuPont Forest, and the public. Our involvement in this issue should not be taken at this early stage to be a criticism of the Department of Transportation (or Forest Resources). Indeed, DOT has been instructed by the 1989 Highway Trust Fund Act to attempt to pave all state roads. However, as the discussion below illustrates, there is a strong argument to make a special situation for this State Forest roadway.
We hope to explore the situation further by making courteous contacts with State officials in the coming weeks.
When we have more information about this issue, or an official position from our board of directors, we will keep you informed. Attached is additional information and arguments that have been raised against the paving of the road.
Sincerely,
Jeff Jennings
President, Friends of DuPont Forest
Because State law prescribes paving for every gravel road, the arguments for paving should not need to be listed. But for fairness, paving any road would cut down driving time for users of the road, lower frequency of maintenance, and reduce the dust on the road. Clearing away most of the trees from the side of the road would reduce the time to thaw ice during the winter. In summary, widening and paving the road would make that part of DuPont State Forest more like every other roadway in the State of North Carolina.
And therein lies the problem. DuPont is a special recreational attraction because it is different from everywhere else. Most people come to DuPont to get away from Anywhere, USA.
The Natural Heritage Trust Fund purchased that part of the property to establish a gameland to preserve our natural heritage - for the benefit of the environment, wildlife, hunters, and the public at large. Widening and paving the road would further fracture the habitat and may hinder the movement of wildlife within the Forest.
The paving of the road will degrade the recreational use of the State Forest. Many trails can only be connected by using Sky Valley Road, and the paving of the road will degrade the recreational experience, making it unsafe and undesirable to use this road as a connecting trail.
The widening and paving of the road will alter the character of that part of the State Forest, and the user's experience by driving up to the Guion Farm access area. DOT plans not just to pave the road, but to clear out numerous trees to eliminate shade on the road. Shade is an important draw to Forest users of all types.
The Perry family, which owns most all of the non-State land on this section of the road, including the E-Toh-Kalu wilderness school, has informed FODF of their strong opposition to the paving and widening of the road.
The paving of the road will serve to fuel subdivision-style residential development in that part of the county. The Henderson County Land Use Plan calls for this part of the county to have "Conservation" priorities. Paving the road, and the ensuing development, would be a set-back for the values of the State Forest, the Henderson Land Use Plan, and that of major private landholder in the area.
The paving of the road will bring unwanted traffic up to a part of the Forest that is largely unpatrolled. The Pinnacle Mountain Road area, which already suffers from vandalism and illicit activities, would become more accessible, thereby increasing the need for frequent patrols.
The paving of the road and the accompanying increase in traffic speed will not increase the safety on the precarious hair pin turn or other areas. In fact, the slick asphalt should be more difficult to pass during icy weather. Unless DOT proposes to regrade the entire Rocky Ridge grade, the higher speeds and slicker surface on this hairpin could lead to more accidents, not less.
FODF is in the process of contacting leaders at the E-Toh-Kalu school to learn their positions. It is already apparent that the school has NOT asked the DOT for the paving of this section for its sake. One board member of the Eckerd Advisory Committee has expressed concerns about the impact of the paving on the wilderness character of the school and its mission for its special student population.
Much of the road that is planned for paving is a "Primary Area" of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, which is managed as a nature preserve to preserve unusual ecological communities. New trails are not even permitted in a primary area. It is not in the interests of the Natural Heritage program for roadways to be widened through "Primary Areas".
The State of North Carolina is undergoing a severe budget crisis. It is unfortunate and ironic to have this project proceed at a time when our budgeted Forest Resources staff positions and capital budget are still frozen. We are also still waiting to hear if DOT has enough funds to build a pedestrian bridge over the Little River to eliminate the critical safety issues at the Staton Road bridge.
Eliada Homes is a non-profit social service whose mission is "to enhance the well-being of children through strengthening families." Programs are residential treatment for children with behavioral and emotional problems, foster care, day care, an alternative school, in-home family preservation and a therapeutic horseback-riding program. They have started a Therapeutic Mountain Biking Program as an alternative to their horseback-riding program. It’s already proven hugely successful in helping these children. In order to build on this program, Eliada needs some help from their community. Their financial goal is $1500. They could use donations to purchase items for the program, including bikes, tubes, lubes, gloves, bike clothes, helmets, water bottles, water bottle cages, and any working parts. They also need volunteers to teach kids bike maintenance.
This fundraiser is a two-pronged effort:
Let’s help the staff at Eliada get what they need to do this important work!
For more information, call Kelly Schaefer of Eliada Homes at 232-5737 or Jodi Zylstra of Kiwanis at 242-1929.
The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club officers voted to donate $400.00 to this program. The money will be used to purchase a trailer for transporting bicycles, in order to be able to take a group of kids all at once. In appreciation, they will put our club name on a sign attached to the trailer. We received the following letters from the Kiwanis and Eliada Homes.
From: Jodi Zylstra
To: Michele Trantham
Subject: RE: FW: getting kids on bikes!
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 15:23:36 -0500
Michele:
WOW! I don't even know where to begin to thank you!!! I can't wait to tell Kelly at Eliada! I talked with her this morning--she was so grateful about all that's been done already. She said she can't believe the amount of goods that were donated at BioWheels and from Liberty Bicycles. She said Jody Pogue from BioWheels is going out there to inventory what they've gotten and determine what they still need.
My plan now is to get our sign made for the trailer. I'm also going to start looking into purchasing one now, and maybe I can talk the dealer into letting us have a discount so Eliada can use the remaining cash for parts, etc.
This is just all so wonderful!
I will also keep you all posted as to when we start doing training rides. I know Kelly also appreciates if folks want to come out and teach the kids bike maintenance.
Again-
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
From: Kelly Schaefer
To: Michele Trantham
Subject: A big thanks!!
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 11:37:53 -0600
Michele,
Many thanks for all of the financial support Blue Ridge Bicycle Club has given Eliada. The kids are very excited about mountain biking, and it has proven to be a great outlet for them. We are now in the process of getting the bikes ready to go, and plan on starting a curriculum using the bikes in early spring as a weekly class.
We would love to have the kids be a part of the trail maintenance that you do. Let me know when we can help.
Kelly Schaefer
TASC Program Director
© Blue Ridge Bicycle Club Inc. 2005
