Trails Updates
Taylor Mt Trailhead Information
Hello Tahoma Chapter Membership:
Fall City Biosolids Program Update
j
oan burlingame has been working with King County to gather and share information regarding the biosolids program in use in the Fall City area. The following is information on the program as well as a map to the areas that will be sprayed with biosolids in 2010. Please contact joan if you have any questions.************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Most of the sites are some distance from the boundary of the tree farm, so may
be far from where your members ride. Nevertheless, you will be able to look it
over.
We have used an explanatory sign in the past when we are operating near areas
used by mountain bikers, hikers, and horseback riders. I plan to begin using the
sign again when we are in those types of areas.
The website for the King County biosolids program provides a lot of information
on our program as well as general information about biosolids and why it is a
beneficial resource.
The website is:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wastewater/Biosolids.aspx
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Click >>here<< to see a map of the areas to be sprayed in 2010.
Heritage Project
As equestrians, we all know that preserving equestrian access to trails is an increasing challenge. That's why I'm writing to ask for your help in documenting trailheads as part of a project sponsored by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. If you care about the survival of equestrian trails (Seattle to Ellensburg, Cedar River to Redmond and Carnation, portions of the Wenatchee National Forest and Alpine Lake Wilderness along Snoqualmie Pass), please take just a few minutes of your time to provide us with information and input about trailheads along these areas.
Background
The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust has been active in a wide variety of efforts along the I-90 corridor for almost twenty years. From land preservation, wildland (backcountry) trail building and maintenance, regional history (Native American, pioneer, working farms and forests and the changing modes of transportation from wagon trails to railroads to interstate highway) to environmental protection and education, the Greenway Trust works to promote balance and sustainability across built and natural environments from Puget Sound to central Washington. (For general information on the Greenway Trust, please connect to their website at www.mtsgreenway.org )
Recently, the Greenway Trust kicked off a heritage study, seeking input from a broad coalition of interested groups to develop a plan for future stewardship – which includes preservation access to trails for equestrians. (For general information on the heritage study, please connect to the website at www.mtsgreenway.org/heritagestudy )
joan burlingame, legislative representative (Tahoma Chapter) and Public Land committee member for Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, and Sue McLain, long-time Greenway Board member and member of a variety of equestrian trail-oriented organizations, volunteered to participate on one of the twelve heritage study working groups, focused on Wildland Trails (as opposed to Regional Trails, which are more oriented toward non-motorized commuting and can be in more urban settings). joan’s and Sue’s role is to reach out to equestrian trail-user organizations to solicit input from this key stakeholder group; to provide feedback to the Greenway Trust on wildland trail assets, threats, needs and opportunities; and to keep the equestrian trail-user constituency informed of the various steps in the heritage study process.
Besides equestrian trail-users, other stakeholders on the Wildland Trails Working Group include representatives covering hiking and back-packing, mountain bike, search & rescue, and several public land managers.
What we need from you
During the first session of the Wildland Trails Working Group, stakeholders were asked to identify heavily used and key trail access points in the Greenway, serving trails on both publicly owned and/or privately lands. (For a map of the Greenway boundaries, please link to the second page of http://mtsgreenway.org/heritagestudy/HSBrochure_040110.pdf , note -- it is a large file and sometimes takes a minute or longer to load onto your computer.)
In order to complete this task joan developed a form for your use to help us collect this information. Click >>here<< to download the form. (As we anticipate additional information will eventually be collected on the trail itself, we expect to be asking you for additional trail information in the future.)
On or before May 20, please complete as many forms on equestrian trailheads and trail access points as possible and e-mail the forms to joan at joan@jburlingame.com . Additionally, if you are interested in assisting us compiling and summarizing the information, or wish to discuss the project further, please contact either joan burlingame (joan@jburlingame.com ) or Sue McLain ( Kastu88@msn.com ).
Finally, please forward this material on to other equestrian trail-users and/or equestrian clubs and organizations!
Additional Benefits to Equestrians
Because there are a significant number of local equestrian organizations interested in trail riding, we are also hoping:
If you belong to an equestrian organization that is actively involved in trail use, please provide Sue (Kastu88@msn.com ) with:
The name of the organization,
The website link, and
The name and e-mail address of the current president or executive director.
Website Updated 6/8/10