I love this trail....
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Joined
·
937 Posts
Me2 my friend Me2. They'll prob write you a ticket for posting it. haha
Joined
·
937 Posts
Wouldn't be surprised if there really was a falcon nest underneath that rock and we were endangering their breeding habitat or whatever...
Joined
·
3,778 Posts
Ditto! my fave in the area!
http://moabtrailfoundation.com/
Magnificent Seven Trail
Magnificent Seven Trail Alternative C Approved!
Feb 8, 2011
First, thank you to everybody involved in getting this approved. Thanks to all y'all letter writers who had so many great reasons for approving the trail system. A boat load of thanks to Kristi Jensen and Fred Wilkinson who were key in getting this website up and going. Mucho thanks to the members of the Trail Mix committee for all the work in getting their eyes crossed and the T's dotted on the proposal so it didn't get caught up in red tape due to errors and ommissions. A ton of thanks to Sandy and Geoff Freethy who work tirelessly with feet on the ground, GPS in hand, maps spewing off their color printer and meetings galore to help make this and many other trails a reality. And, of course, thank you Katie Stevens and the rest of the local BLM office for all the hard work in digging through all the data and handling all the work needed to make the decision and put the report together. And, finally, thanks to the people who will be doing the work on the trail to get it to its planned state.
Okay so... The good news is that the BLM parts of trail have been approved. Most of what was Green Dot and Blue Dot was approved with only minor reroutes. There is, however, a section of Blue Dot which was not approved due to it being in a bighorn sheep migration area. Take a look at the small map at the bottom of the Map Page. The green line is Alternative A, which was not approved, the red line is Alternative C, which was approved. For now, we should be happier than pigs in Shinola, go out and dance and sing and ride like you just got a new Yeti for free. Then, at some point, in the not too distant future, look to see what we can do about getting another, off the jeep road singletrack approved. To get the green line (on the map) approved would require showing that the sheep will not be any more disturbed by bicyclists there than the jeep road. That doesn't mean trying to convince the BLM that your opinion is more valid than theirs, it means presenting real evidence and reasoned opinion that this is the case. Or, finding another route that is not through the sheep migration area. Or showing that this is no longer an existing migration path or habitat for the bighorn sheep.
There is a thirty day window for appeal, during which, as I understand it, the trail cannot be opened. I don't know if the Souther Utah Wilderness Alliance will appeal, but this could possibly delay things a little. If you take a look at the BLM Decision Record, you can see that SUWA's arguments against approval were addressed. So, maybe they have better things to do.
Then there are the SITLA (The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) portions of what was Green Dot (the blue boxes on the map), which we have to wait on. Hopefully this will be pretty quick, since the EA study has been done, but don't hold your breath. This is unfortunately fairly complex. A SITLA easement costs money per area used. Plus it costs a big chuck of change just to apply. So, Trail Mix tries to bundle applications for multiple trails to keep costs down. But, the SITLA portions of Mag 7 may end up being turned over to the BLM through a swap, which also takes time I'm sure. The BLM then may tuen this over to Grand County, which may then require a comment period. Or not. So, hopefully, by this summer, it'll all be good to go. Well, good to start. 'Cause then we have to wait for is construction and signage, both of which should be pretty quick. I'll post volunteer opportunities on the Trail Mix Google group.
Here's a link to The Decision Record of the BLM. If that link fails (in case they move the file location) you can also find it over there... to the right... see it? No, more towards the top... it's the one that says "Decision Record for Magnificent Seven".
I'll post updates as I hear them. Same Bat Channel, some Bat Time!
Magnificent Seven Trail
Magnificent Seven Trail Alternative C Approved!
Feb 8, 2011
First, thank you to everybody involved in getting this approved. Thanks to all y'all letter writers who had so many great reasons for approving the trail system. A boat load of thanks to Kristi Jensen and Fred Wilkinson who were key in getting this website up and going. Mucho thanks to the members of the Trail Mix committee for all the work in getting their eyes crossed and the T's dotted on the proposal so it didn't get caught up in red tape due to errors and ommissions. A ton of thanks to Sandy and Geoff Freethy who work tirelessly with feet on the ground, GPS in hand, maps spewing off their color printer and meetings galore to help make this and many other trails a reality. And, of course, thank you Katie Stevens and the rest of the local BLM office for all the hard work in digging through all the data and handling all the work needed to make the decision and put the report together. And, finally, thanks to the people who will be doing the work on the trail to get it to its planned state.
Okay so... The good news is that the BLM parts of trail have been approved. Most of what was Green Dot and Blue Dot was approved with only minor reroutes. There is, however, a section of Blue Dot which was not approved due to it being in a bighorn sheep migration area. Take a look at the small map at the bottom of the Map Page. The green line is Alternative A, which was not approved, the red line is Alternative C, which was approved. For now, we should be happier than pigs in Shinola, go out and dance and sing and ride like you just got a new Yeti for free. Then, at some point, in the not too distant future, look to see what we can do about getting another, off the jeep road singletrack approved. To get the green line (on the map) approved would require showing that the sheep will not be any more disturbed by bicyclists there than the jeep road. That doesn't mean trying to convince the BLM that your opinion is more valid than theirs, it means presenting real evidence and reasoned opinion that this is the case. Or, finding another route that is not through the sheep migration area. Or showing that this is no longer an existing migration path or habitat for the bighorn sheep.
There is a thirty day window for appeal, during which, as I understand it, the trail cannot be opened. I don't know if the Souther Utah Wilderness Alliance will appeal, but this could possibly delay things a little. If you take a look at the BLM Decision Record, you can see that SUWA's arguments against approval were addressed. So, maybe they have better things to do.
Then there are the SITLA (The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) portions of what was Green Dot (the blue boxes on the map), which we have to wait on. Hopefully this will be pretty quick, since the EA study has been done, but don't hold your breath. This is unfortunately fairly complex. A SITLA easement costs money per area used. Plus it costs a big chuck of change just to apply. So, Trail Mix tries to bundle applications for multiple trails to keep costs down. But, the SITLA portions of Mag 7 may end up being turned over to the BLM through a swap, which also takes time I'm sure. The BLM then may tuen this over to Grand County, which may then require a comment period. Or not. So, hopefully, by this summer, it'll all be good to go. Well, good to start. 'Cause then we have to wait for is construction and signage, both of which should be pretty quick. I'll post volunteer opportunities on the Trail Mix Google group.
Here's a link to The Decision Record of the BLM. If that link fails (in case they move the file location) you can also find it over there... to the right... see it? No, more towards the top... it's the one that says "Decision Record for Magnificent Seven".
I'll post updates as I hear them. Same Bat Channel, some Bat Time!
Joined
·
736 Posts
I think I saw you riding a Corsair coming down portal. I might see you there this weekend between stormsJMH said:AWESOME! I am happy that my letter may have played a part in this, and I am beyond stoked that a compromise was reached. I am going to ride this trail this weekend! Well, between snow storms, that is.
JMH
Joined
·
4,657 Posts
Argh... as always, there must be a catch:
"There is a thirty day window for appeal, during which, as I understand it, the trail cannot be opened. I don't know if the Souther Utah Wilderness Alliance will appeal, but this could possibly delay things a little. If you take a look at the BLM Decision Record, you can see that SUWA's arguments against approval were addressed. So, maybe they have better things to do.
Then there are the SITLA (The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) portions of what was Green Dot (the blue boxes on the map), which we have to wait on. Hopefully this will be pretty quick, since the EA study has been done, but don't hold your breath. This is unfortunately fairly complex. A SITLA easement costs money per area used. Plus it costs a big chuck of change just to apply. So, Trail Mix tries to bundle applications for multiple trails to keep costs down. But, the SITLA portions of Mag 7 may end up being turned over to the BLM through a swap, which also takes time I'm sure. The BLM then may tuen this over to Grand County, which may then require a comment period. Or not. So, hopefully, by this summer, it'll all be good to go. Well, good to start. 'Cause then we have to wait for is construction and signage, both of which should be pretty quick. I'll post volunteer opportunities on the Trail Mix Google group."
Yeah, that was me and the guy on the Intense was Err, who also posts a fair amount. Right now I am on an Orbea Rallon and I just bought a TR450 for "serious business".
I am sure I will see you around this month, I need to get my Dirt Legs this week and then we should go for a cruise! I have been snowboarding way more than I have been riding for the last 5 months.
JMH
"There is a thirty day window for appeal, during which, as I understand it, the trail cannot be opened. I don't know if the Souther Utah Wilderness Alliance will appeal, but this could possibly delay things a little. If you take a look at the BLM Decision Record, you can see that SUWA's arguments against approval were addressed. So, maybe they have better things to do.
Then there are the SITLA (The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) portions of what was Green Dot (the blue boxes on the map), which we have to wait on. Hopefully this will be pretty quick, since the EA study has been done, but don't hold your breath. This is unfortunately fairly complex. A SITLA easement costs money per area used. Plus it costs a big chuck of change just to apply. So, Trail Mix tries to bundle applications for multiple trails to keep costs down. But, the SITLA portions of Mag 7 may end up being turned over to the BLM through a swap, which also takes time I'm sure. The BLM then may tuen this over to Grand County, which may then require a comment period. Or not. So, hopefully, by this summer, it'll all be good to go. Well, good to start. 'Cause then we have to wait for is construction and signage, both of which should be pretty quick. I'll post volunteer opportunities on the Trail Mix Google group."
Yeah, that was me and the guy on the Intense was Err, who also posts a fair amount. Right now I am on an Orbea Rallon and I just bought a TR450 for "serious business".
I am sure I will see you around this month, I need to get my Dirt Legs this week and then we should go for a cruise! I have been snowboarding way more than I have been riding for the last 5 months.
JMH
Joined
·
13,089 Posts
Is everyone in Moab except for me??
This is great news about the Green/Blue dot trails. I didn't expect to hear back from that proposal so soon.
I thought the most KRob-friendly option (GBR Singletrack) like where the above picture was taken was not being considered in the M7 proposal. If most of the GBR ST is in then that is really good news.
This is great news about the Green/Blue dot trails. I didn't expect to hear back from that proposal so soon.
I thought the most KRob-friendly option (GBR Singletrack) like where the above picture was taken was not being considered in the M7 proposal. If most of the GBR ST is in then that is really good news.
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Join the discussion
