Advice needed for working with McLeod County Parks

[dejorn]

I am requesting advice for how to handle/facility a relationship with the McLeod Count Parks.



There is a nice piece of trail located in Stahl Lake park which was somewhat maintained by a very small group of dedicated riders from a local bike shop. The trail is relatively short (slightly over 3 miles) but very well laid out and sustainable. The main problem, however, is the dense vegetation that completely chokes off the trail in the summer. There is a large amount of "itch weed" making the trail nearly un- rideable during the summer months. I was told that the parks board has a "look the other way" attitude about the mountain bike trails within the park. That is to say, that they have not received an official blessing from the parks board, but are not prohibited as well. For example the sign at the park lists the trails for hiking and biking when snow is not present.



The original trail was constructed "under the table" with the parks board knowing of its construction but again not giving its blessing.



I have been riding the trail occasionally for the past couple of months and have seen only one person while I was there. Last week Monday and Tuesday and this Monday, my Wife and I and our 4 children spent those evenings cleaning up the trail. I removed the underbrush on each side of the trails with a mower and my wife raked the organics off the trail, while the kids picked up sticks and branches that had fallen during the strong winds this spring.



Last night I was approached by the McLeod County Parks Director and told I could not cut anything on the trails. I got the impression that the parks department would like the MTB trails to "go away". I told him my name and that I would like to go through the "proper channels" to maintain the trails in the park. He told me to call him this morning with my contact information. Supposedly he was going to bring it up at the next board meeting and he said we would go from there. I know in hindsight that not contacting the parks board beforehand was probably not the best idea, but I felt with their "don't ask don't tell" attitude it was the best option.



So the main question is where do I go from hear? I would like to see a trail system that can be utilized the entire summer not just early spring and late fall after the weeds have died down. I apologize if I have in any way hindered the progress of what MORC and the MTB community is trying to achieve. In defense, however, I was in no way constructing new trail only trying to maintain the existing trail.



Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Burke]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the post. It sounds like one of your goals for the park is to have trails that aren't overgrown in the summer so you can ride. In order to get that, you're going to have to convince the park system that the trails are legitimate and that someone should maintain them.

One approach that I would suggest is finding out if you can give a brief presentation to the park board at their next meeting.

If they give you the OK, I would try to get your friends that ride to attend as well in a show of support. The more riders you can get to attend to show their support, the better.

I would suggest that you tell the board that you're a resident of the county, a frequent user of the park, and a mountain biker. I would also mention that you feel that mountain biking should be represented as a legitimate user group within the park. You might go a little further into who you as a mountain biker 'really' are. The stereotype is that mountain bikers are a bunch of irresponsible thrill seekers that will destroy the land and move on. It's very possible the board doesn't know that mountain bikers can be responsible stewards of the trail.

You could then talk about the trails that exist in the park, how they are appear to be sustainable, but they aren't maintained in the summer.

From there, I would propose to the board that they authorize mountain biking on the trails in a trial manner. Part of the trial period would be giving you and your mountain biking friends permission to do overgrowth trimming on existing trails. YOU WILL NEED TO STRESS THAT YOU ARE NOT ASKING TO BUILD NEW TRAIL, rather just maintain existing trails. Also, you can tell them that their approval of your request will not cost them anything as you will be providing the labor and tools for the maintenance.

From there, you will have to be ready to be flexible based on their response to your proposal.

You could also reference IMBA and MORC as mountain biking groups that build trail sustainably and have successful relationships with land managers in city, county, municipal and state park systems. Meaning, that their approval of mountain biking wouldn't be the first time anyone has approved mountain bike trail in Minnesota.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can be of any additional help.

Scott

[Burke]

Matt, any update on your situation?

[dejorn]

I had a chance to ride the trail yesterday and it was in much better shape than I anticipated. I talked to a fellow rider Chris Olson who lives in the area and we discussed the trail system. It appears that he has been instrumental in building and maintaining the current trail system, although he performes almost all the work himself, and by hand (no powered equipment).

I asked Chris what the park departments position is on the trail and he explained what I had also sensed. The Park Board does not really like the idea of having a MTB trail on the land, but they realize that the land is for public use and way back when permission was granted to put the trail in. They have stressed the fact that not a single tree could be cut down to build or maintain the trail. It appears that the residents living near the park have a very keen ear and when they hear anything motorized they quickly place a call to the parks director to find out who is in "their" park.

My friend and I agreed to work together with Chris to maintain the trail (three bodies is much better than one). Our plan of action is to perform any trail maintainance without "power tools" and work within the guidlines of the parks department (no cutting of any trees). After the trail is in shape (which will not require much work) we need to work on getting the trail "officially" recognized by the parks department. Unlike many of the trails in the twin cities we don't have enough riders to keep the trail in shape, especially keep the weeds down.

I will post more when we make progress (or lack of progress) with the city.

Matt