Public Liaison Report October 2000

Sept will be a very important Month for trails.

On the 13th at 9am the Board of Supervisors is taking the second large step in a countywide trails system. If you can be there to show support please do. There has been a strong adversary trails contingency in the past. This is the first time in 25 years that the Board is receptive to this plan. A show of support is our best chance. We need all the support for trails we can muster. You can access the issue at the SD county website; www.sdcdpw.org/trails/ A letter from Candace Ricks to Supervisor Cox follows:


The Honorable Greg Cox August 21, 2000

Dear Greg,

I recently reviewed the plan to develop and implement a long-range Trails Strategic Plan for the County of San Diego submitted to the Board by Mr. Copper. I see this planning as essential to the future development of San Diego County. The need for a Strategic Plan that establishes a commitment to an effective network of riding and hiking trails in the County is long overdue. In my personal experience, the level of interest in and willingness to maintain a comprehensive trail system in the County by volunteers and activists is great. I have had the good fortune to work with dedicated individuals from all corners of the County who have a vision of a comprehensive trail network. They are willing to seek funding opportunities from grant programs to support their vision. They are also willing to roll up their sleeves and provide the sweat equity needed to maintain trails.

As a result of the development and implementation of the Multiple Species Conservation Plan and the Multiple Habitat Preservation Areas many trail users groups have felt increasingly pressured to abandon their efforts solidify a comprehensive trail network in San Diego County. The recommended action to find that riding and hiking trails are a legitimate and necessary form of public recreation and that the County has a role in their provision is a concept whose time has come. In my opinion, now is the time to develop a comprehensive countywide trail network will give county residents reasonable access to publicly owned lands. This plan can create opportunities to incorporate recreational opportunities that foster conservation by encouraging a better understanding of the incredible biodiversity found in San Diego County. A wise man once said, ?In the end we will conserve only that which we love and we will love only that which we understand and we will understand only what we are taught?. We, as a society, have become more and more divorced from nature. Our children are increasingly dependent upon technology for their education, leisure and recreation. We must have the foresight to give them the ability to reconnect with the natural environment if we want them to support the protection and preservation programs we have worked so hard to establish.

The many existing and proposed trail corridors and linkages provide more than opportunities to reconnect with nature; they can also provide alternative transportation routes for commuters. Opportunities to commute using alternative transportation methods have long been a vision of a multitude of user groups in San Diego County.

The development of the Bayshore Bikeway is just one example of how much interest San Diegans have in a trail system. The possibility of linking the Bayshore Bikeway, the Sweetwater Refuge and the BLM Otay Wilderness Area is a fantastic concept. It is an extension of the visionary thinking that brought about the MSCP.

The preservation of river and stream corridors through the development of regional parks tends to provide opportunities to develop east/west trail corridors that can easily link to existing north/south trails such as the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the initial trail components designated in the National Trails Systems Act of 1966. There have been many amendments to the National Trails Systems Act throughout the years since its enactment that have strengthened federal commitment to a system of recreational, scenic and historical trails for the benefit of all Americans. The Millennium Trails Program introduced by Hillary Clinton reinforces federal commitment to "honor the past and imagine the future" by continuing to develop a system of trails. Recreational trails that can provide urban residents with bikeways, greenways and pathways which enable them to reconnect with nature and commute by alternative means of transportation. Historical trails that reconnect Americans with the western expansion that settled this great country. The Program also establishes scenic trials that increase opportunities for urban dwellers to experience the beauty and grandeur of the landforms of this nation. A trail network that provides recreational and educational experiences in a natural setting is of paramount importance to the health and well-being of Individual County residents and to the future of the lifestyle we enjoy in San Diego County. I strongly encourage each Member of the Board of Supervisors to commit to the development of a long-range Trails Strategic Plan for County Trails that will meet and even exceed community expectations.

Sincerely, Candace Ricks


The second Item important to trails is a public meeting in Ramona, again on the 13th of Sept., 7-9 pm. The CA Dept of Fish and Game wants to restrict the only trail in Boden Canyon (a part of the San Dieguito River Park) to only the one main trail on the bottom edge. The SDRP wants to put a multi use trail loop in the canyon. This is not the only property that DFG recently purchased and has closed or refused to keep open trails on. They have done it at Oakcrest in Crest, Jamul Ecological Preserve (formally Daley Ranch property) in Jamul and a piece purchased from the Rutherford Ranch in the Scissors Crossing area (also in the SDRP). This seems to be standard operating procedure for the DFG. It seems to me that if it is public property the public should be allowed access to it. Time to stand up and let them know we want to use our land! Kathleen and Nola will be at both of these meetings. Come give us moral support!

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