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January 27, 2011 |
| The 2010 TPA financial report is available here for download . A lot of work was accomplished in 2010 through generous donations to the TPA, and looking forward we have even more issues to work on in 2011. Some of the major issues and tasks that we will take on this year are:
It is time to get involved! We need everyone’s help to save our sport, and to protect public access to public lands.
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Archive | January, 2011
Passing away of a great supporter of our sport, Victor (Zeek) Ziemer 1948-2010
 Colorado off road motorcycle riders lost a great friend and supporter of our sport on 22 December 2010.
Victor (Zeek) Ziemer was a long time Colorado resident that rode the trails in Colorado starting in 1968. His favorite areas were the Gunnison, Crested Butte, Taylor Park. Zeek loved motorcycles and rode competitively for many years, and then started enjoying the pleasures of just “trail riding” with his friends. Zeek was a great ambassador of our sport, and was one of the original
Victor’s Obituary: Victor M. “Zeek” Ziemer died on December 22, 2010. Vic was born June 2, 1948 in Hutchinson, KS to Billie and Dare Ziemer. Vic graduated from Arvada West High School. He attended Western State College in Gunnison, CO and graduated in 1971 with a degree in History. He married Diane Buresh and moved to Colorado Springs after college. Vic began work for Chief Petroleum in 1972, later buying the company in 2001. Vic and Diane had three children, Clayton (27), Amanda (26) and Rachael (22). In 2003 Vic married his 2nd wife, Lisa and became a stepfather to Emily (18). Vic loved motorcycles and rode motocross competitively for many years. He also enjoyed trail riding with friends on Captain Jack’s here in Colorado Springs and on trails in Crested Butte. Vic was a pilot and enjoyed flying to Kansas to hunt with friends and family. His father, Dare and his brother, David, precede him in death. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 10:30AM at Central Christian Church located at 2002 W. Pikes Peak Ave. Colorado Springs. In Lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to one of Vic’s favorite sports, motorcycle trail riding. Donations can be made in Vic’s name to the Trails Preservation Alliance.Vic was one of the first and major supporters of this organization. Even when Vic could not ride, he wanted others to be able to enjoy the sport that he did.
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Special letter to the NM FS on behalf of the TPA and COHVCO
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January 11, 2011 |
| Corbin L. Newman, Jr. Regional Forester, Southwestern Region 333 Broadway SE Albuquerque, NM 87102 Dear Regional Forester Newman: Our concern develops in response to the potential overlap between two pending analyses in the Carson Forest, Questa Ranger District. The Forest is proposing to authorize expansion of the Taos Ski Valley under its 2010 Master Development Plan and make associated changes to its special use permit which will include addition of mountain biking trails. The Forest has indicated that a NEPA document will be released addressing travel management on the Questa Ranger District. It is essential that the nature and extent of motorized and nonmotorized trail riding mileage be accurately portrayed in the alternatives and analyzed by the interdisciplinary team. During our involvement in the Gunnison (CO) National Forest Travel Management Plan and associated environmental impact statements (“the GNF TMP”) we learned that single-track trails are a highly prized but scarce recreation resource and that allocation of motorized/nonmotorized single-track opportunity is a thorny issue. Given the paucity of quality single-track miles it is critically important that each mile be thoroughly analyzed, properly understood and accurately portrayed to the reviewing public. The public cannot properly evaluate and comment upon the diversity of recreation opportunity, nor can agency specialists properly analyze and allocate opportunities without considering this information. The range of information needed includes motorized and nonmotorized recreation opportunities, including specific vehicle types or seasons of use, on lands within and adjacent to the project area, including other ranger districts, under special use permit, and on lands outside of Forest Service jurisdiction. In the GNF TMP a meaningful number of mountain bike only trails within the permitted Crested Butte Ski Area were not considered in the analysis. Whether by design or coincidence, the result was to skew the allocation of single-track outside the Ski Area in favor of exclusive nonmotorized (mountain bike) use. We wish to avoid this mistake again, which potentially looms given the proposed expansion of boundary and mountain bike trail network associated with the Taos Ski Valley special use permit. The Recreation Groups are strong supporters of a diversity of recreational opportunities in the National Forests, including ski areas, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and motorcycle riding. However, we wish to be firmly on record with several important principles concerning the analysis and allocation of these opportunities. First, we urge the Service and the Carson to recognize the principle of shared use, and to see through the tactic of many sadly-intolerant users who will claim that exclusive nonmotorized (or nonmechanized) access is the only acceptable solution to alleged resource issues or even more evanescent and subjective perceptions of “user conflict.” It is entirely valid for those seeking solitude, self-reflection, danger, psychospiritual escape or whatever other experience without motors or gears to look for a setting in the National Forest System, but it is not valid for them to use these primarily ideological requirements to exclude others who are likely greater in number and have equally legitimate interests in use of the public lands. There is an extensive network of formally-designated wilderness that provides them ample publicly-owned, publicly-managed and often free country to explore. Second, we urge the Forest to accurately disclose and consider in the analysis the nonmotorized recreational opportunity that is (or foreseeably may be) available on the Taos Ski Valley or other areas adjacent to the project area. This request is not only logical but necessary should the Forest wish to properly address its duty to disclose and consider cumulative effects to the human environment. Finally, we note that an essential ingredient in any recreation or trail management recipe is a commitment to active and effective management. There is no magic formula which can be announced by administrative edict and then ignored. Recreation management implies ongoing human use, and humans are notoriously curious, unpredictable, and at least occasionally irrational. Effective mapping, signage, user outreach, trail construction/maintenance, and enforcement are but a few of the elements that must be included in the Questa District (or any) plan if it is to succeed. As we have done elsewhere, the Recreation Groups are committed to assisting the Carson in achieving a reasonable balance and, to the extent appropriate and possible, in addressing these ongoing management needs. We appreciate your attention to these concerns and look forward to participating in the upcoming and continuing planning process. Sincerely, cc: Don Riggle, TPA |