[Skyline35]

An Alameda County judge has ruled that Carnegie SVRA must close trails until it comes up with a plan to limit pollution that ends up in Corral Hollow Creek.

Carnegie was the site of past mtb downhill races such as the Groovy Gravity Games...looks like the downhills ended in 2007: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=337737

The muddy future of Carnegie - Tracy Press
http://www.tracypress.com/pages/ful...ure+of+Carnegie&instance=home_news_lead_story

State fights off-road park closure - Stockton Record
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs....A_NEWS/912160310/-1/a_news14#STS=g3a7g1tz.fv0

State Park Gets Shut Down - Cycle News
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/industry-news/2009/12/15/state-park-gets-shut-down

Off-Roading Ends Until California Park Cleans Up Its Act - Common Dreams
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/15-3

 

[ICE4Me]

Looks like we lose another one…

What a shame, I have ridden every inch of that place and have taught many students to ride there.

Ben

 

[d-bug]

I'm all for saving the world (from ourselves) but some of this stuff just needs to be let go.
Things like this are getting me to move in a way of not giving a damn for the environment in places. I'm at the point of "so some fish die, I don't really care." I'm all for building better trails and creating something to help reduce pollution to get there, but to shutdown the place altogether is lame.

The world is going to end one day, and when it does the people that are so busy trying to keep it alive will be full of regret. Probably wishing they had taken up mtbiking. The Earth will survive long after man kills himself off.

 

[KFOG Big Rick]

Wow what a bummer. One outdoor recreation group sues to stop another. I donated money to both the fishing and OHV rights groups. Ahh California. Let's all not get along...

I've been on my motorized bike out there many times, and have mtb'ed there a time or 2. You don't often see it, but sometimes there are mountain bikers out on the trails. I'd hate to see it closed to motorized vehicles, but I wonder if it would be left open to nonmotorized vehicles?

 

[Carl Hungus]

The Earth will survive long after man kills himself off.

The earth isn't going anywhere...we are! NSFW!

 

[KFOG Big Rick]

I love that bit.

 

[Carl Hungus]

I love that bit.

Yeah, any excuse to post Carlin is a good one. I actually do think we need to lesson our impact in many ways but I also think his point is valid and funny as hell.

 

[d-bug]

Yeah, any excuse to post Carlin is a good one. I actually do think we need to lesson our impact in many ways but I also think his point is valid and funny as hell.

LOL! Never seen that clip before. That's a good one.

 

[LWright]

"The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed the lawsuit on September 17, alleging that the off-road park had failed to request and obtain the legally required permit for pollutant discharges from Carnegie's numerous off-road trails. Following a December 4th hearing, Judge Roesch of the Alameda Superior Court ordered the Department to "submit a report of waste discharge for water pollution associated with the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area" and to "suspend all off-road highway motor vehicle activity at Carnegie SVRA, including vehicles driving in Corral Hollow Creek" until they "have submitted an RWD and received waste discharge requirements or received a waiver of such WDRs from the Regional Board."

While I believe both the CSPA and PEER to be nothing more than shell covers for those who want to stop any recreation that is not hiking or fishing, the judges order does not seem to be too difficult to comply with.
A little paperwork and the park is back in business.

 

[bmartinez1429]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

 

[sactojesse]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

State Parks would still likely be required to submit a report of waste discharge under the federal Clean Water Act and Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Stormwater from areas subject to trail use would still discharge sediment into Corral Hollow Creek. Porter-Cologne is so broadly written that adding chlorine to your swimming pool could be considered a discharge of wastes to waters of the state.

 

[campisi]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

Flock You.

 

[Rich H.]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

I respectfully disagree with your simple solution. While this decision by the court may not impact MTB riders today, this decision will inevitably impact our use of trails as well. This decision by the court is not about dirt bikes, it is about water quality issues caused by erosion from the various uses of the park. A very similar argument can be made that the use of certain areas by mountain bikes cause similar water quality issues so any momentum gained by the groups who brought this case to the courts could be used to target other types of uses and mountain biking is probably next on the target list after motorcycles.

 

[vinnyl26]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

Screw you!

 

[racerick]

The solution is a simple one, change Carnegie to a bicyles only park, the end.

simple solution;

roost a rock in your eye

 

[kpd]

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=726+9th+Ave,+San+Mateo,+California+94402&t=h&ll=37.63025,-121.562862&spn=0.004079,0.006866&z=17&output=embed
View Larger Map

:skep:

 

[Brian B.]

zoom out a little bit on that Google map and get a different perspective.

 

[d-bug]

zoom out a little bit on that Google map and get a different perspective.

Yeah, it's in the middle of no where.
Hell, it's even called a recreation vehicle park.

 

[KFOG Big Rick]

kpd that's a hill climb skills practice area. It does get lots of use. I think the park had about 140,000 paid users last year. Often there will be kids of all ages, boys and girls with mom and dad at the bottom of these hills learning to go up them. They vary in steepness the ones on the left easiest and on the right tougher. It is pretty fun to watch the little kids spend a day there going up and down building their confidence. You'll see a kid on a 50 tipped over 1/2 way up standing next to his bike and crying in the morning while dad gets him going again, then by the afternoon he is bouncing along right behind dad on the same hillclimb. Probably a boring day for dad, but insanely fun for the kid.

All the hills are closed when it rains there. No riding is allowed and they lock the gates.

You see a lot of families out there riding around in a family "train" on bikes, quads, etc. It is right between the valley and the bay area so it gets lots of use.

There is singletrack out there and some really challenging terrain. Lots of the hillclimbs are rotated between open or closed and closed is really closed with fencing built to keep people off.

If you ever decide to mountain bike there check out the trails at the far left (east side) of the park above the motocross track they aren't on the map but are real named and marked trails. Mountain bikers would love them especially if the park was closed to other users.

The run along the back side including SRI loop to Golden Eagle to Los Osos to Ridge to Happiness Valley to Franciscan would be a good one. They are mostly tucked in the hills and not part of what you can see on Google maps. The views at the top of Carnegie are like Briones, you see a lot on a clear windy day.

https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1173

 

[Internal14]

Listen up boys and girls, the enviro's are coming after our non-motorized butts next.

Ride it while you can. The day of the outlaws are coming.