Beltrami County Trails Plan

[Joe Ski]

I'm not sure which thread this belongs in, so please move it as necessary.

I work for the HRDC in Bemidji, and have recently completed a Rec Trails plan for Beltrami County. One of your members contacted me a few months ago to support mtb trails as a part of the public input process, which I appreciated.

For those who are interested, the draft plan is now available on Beltrami County's website for review. The County Board will be holding a public hearing on the plan next Tuesday, April 4 at 5:00 p.m. Comments may also be directed to either myself or the County Natural Resource Management Department.

Overall, the plan includes a significant section on mountain bike trails through County and State land north of Bemidji. I hope you will appreciate the envisioned route and side singletracks. One key aspect of developing that route, however, will be the involvement of local user groups to do some of the work/fundraising/etc., in cooperation with the County NRM dept. I'm just encouraging folks from this group who are active in the Bemidji area to start thinking about how to get together to advocate and work on these trails.

Thanks for listening, I appreciate having a place to go with this exciting new development.:)
Sincerely,
Joe Czapiewski
HRDC
Bemidji, MN

[fisherbikefreak]

I'm glad to hear that singletrack trails are planned for the Bemidji area. I moved away from Bemidji three years ago, but still get back often to visit friends and family. I don't typically spend time recreating in the area because I'm not into fishing or hunting (the mainstays of tourism in the area). Knowing that there's plans for singletrack goodness I may have to make a few trips with the bike! I'm excited that I now have another reason to visit the area. Unfortunately, I'm not up there to help build and maintain the trails.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but MORC doesn't have a strong presence in Bemidji. This is likely due to the lack of riders... which is due to the lack of trails. This is a great case of "if you build it they will come." The young populace in the area would likely jump on the mountain biking and trail-building bandwagon once you get the ball rolling. A little publicity in the area should get the college-age crowd all fired up. Trust me, I used to be one of that crowd. I was desperate for non-killing outdoor fun.

This is a great opportunity to reach out to a virtually untapped market for biking. If done properly you'll be able to mold the locals to be riders and trail workers. I wish you the best of luck in getting this project going.

Yippie:jumpy:

By the way, what does HRDC stand for (H? Regional Development Commision)?

McD out.

[Joe Ski]

Very good, thanks for the response. I hope there are enough cyclists in the area that at least view the forum that they will become interested and involved.

You're also very close on HRDC - Headwaters Regional Development Commission.

Joe

[Heuy]

Oh, man.

Joe,

MTB is the last thing needed to make Bemidji a really cool place. I visited the campus up there before I went to college and rode some local xc ski trails that were all overgrown, doubletrack, whatnot. There is huge potential for that area with so much woods. Living in St. Paul I don't know how involved I can be other than to say if there was a large network of killer trails there I'd like to come up and spend a weekend and a few dollas as would most of us on this forum.

For this to happen make sure that actual mountain bikers are involved in the design of this system. Too many local governments either decide everything needs to be 12ft. wide and paved (boring I have streets out my front door) or stuck in some swampy area thats supposed to be nice because its close to a lake (can you say malaria). Has IMBA been alerted to your plans, I don''t know how familiar you are with MORC or IMBA, but IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) has excellant methods of making trails that are fun, safe, sustainable and environmentally sound.

That being said could you let us know who we need to write at HRDC to support Beltrami County Trails and also the name of that excellant independant Pizza Place in town.

[fisherbikefreak]

Oh, man.

That being said could you let us know who we need to write at HRDC to support Beltrami County Trails and also the name of that excellant independant Pizza Place in town.

You must be referring to Dave's Pizza or maybe Dave's brother Keith who owns Keith's Pizza. Both of which are excellent pizza joints.

Headwaters... that's the ticket! I couldn't get that "H" to mean anything! Are the HRDC offices located in the tourist info building?

[Heuy]

yep, I think its Dave's Pizza

[Joe Ski]

Don't worry about the trail being developed without cyclist input. None of the trail systems identified in the plan will be developed without extensive involvement and leadership from the user groups. That's why the County needs your help.

If you want to comment on or support the plan, contact any of the County Commissioners (you can find the contact info on the County's website), or e-mail Bob Milne at the Natural Resource Management Department. I appreciated being contacted by a MORC member earlier in the process to show support for including this type of trail.

Excellent choice on Dave's Pizza - which was founded by the brother of the guy who founded Keith's Pizza. Dave's is now owned by Pete Fenson, who was the skip on the Olympic bronze medal curling team last February.

Later,
Joe