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The Rocky Mountain Long Ears Association is an organization of
people who use the network of trails throughout the Rocky Mountains
of Colorado to ride or pack their mules and donkeys for
recreation.
As the trail user population increases within our state, our
organization is concerned about preserving the privilege of trail
use. Our areas of concern are focused on
Limited trailhead parking for horse trailers can put hikers and
bikers in potentially dangerous proximity to animals being prepared
to ride. Trailheads designed for overnight equine use would also
benefit from divided campsites so trail users not familiar with the
sights, sounds, and smells of the equine trail users would be more
comfortable in a separate area. We don't want to be alienated from
other trail users, we just need more room because of the size of our
equipment.
A second concern is having enough trails for our use. With the sudden
influx of hiking, biking, and motorized vehicles on the trails. We
need either more trails to accommodate these multiple uses or a
scheduled usage of the trails that exist. We also applaud the
development of the "Right of Way Program" with different trail users
yielding to each other.
Let's work together to develop and manage trails for all users
now-not after the trails have been over-used and abused, and we spend
all the allocations on repair and law enforcement to maintain our
trail system as it exists today.
For more information: Rocky Mountain Long Ears Association, P. O. Box
191, Eastlake CO 80614.
A new collaboration bodes well for the future of trails in Quebec,
and serves as an inspiration for trail advocates everywhere. The
Federation des Clubs de Motoneigistes du Quebec (FCMQ) and the
Association Cycliste Drummondville Foster have joined forces to
establish a 62-kilometer trail along an abandoned railway linking the
towns of Wickham and Foster. Crucial support for the project was
furnished by the Ski-Doo Division of Bombardier Inc. which provided
an interest-free, six-year loan for $150,000, enabling it to buy the
rail corridor from Canadian Pacific Railways.
The trail, which varies in width from 12 to 20 feet, will be open to
FCMQ members and bicyclists and will join other snowmobile and
bicycle trails. Plans are already being drawn up for its extension on
both ends, perhaps reaching as far as the Vermont border, 30
kilometers from Foster.
Quebec snowmobilers and other supporters of the sport have long been
concerned about the fragile nature of a trail system dependent on the
continued good will of thousands of private landowners whose
individual decisions can wreck havoc with a trail's continuity. As
Benoit Lafortune of Ski-Doo' noted,
"This financial contribution must be seen as encouraging the launch
of a permanent infrastructure program and as support for a new
approach to the development of recreation and tourism. This project
is for everyone and for every season.
It takes a team approach to convert former railbeds into recreational
trail systems. These efforts will succeed only if everyone is willing
to contribute and respect the interests of all parties."
The following dialog took place this summer on the International
Mountain Bicycling Association's electronic mailing list,
imba@cycling.org, and was printed in the IMBA Trail News:
We talk about "multiple use" of trails but I think we should consider
using the term "shared use" instead. Multiple use can allow for
segregated or separate use, and that's not what we're after. We want
trails that are shared, wherever possible. Sharing has a positive
feel to it, as it is something we've all been encouraged to do since
we first learned to socialize. Remember being told that we really
shouldn't bash the kid next to us so we can grab his toy while he
runs off screaming, in search of his mother? Even if we never really
got the message, we knew that sharing was a major feel-good,
something we were supposed to do.
I like that term. It has a "softer" feel to it. In some respects
"multiple use" can connote a mental image of many people on a trail
at one time, in other words, crowded. "Multi user" can also connote
in some people's minds the image of lots of substance abusers (I have
had people say this to me when I use this term about my trail club).
"Shared use" on the other hand, is more clear and concise, with
positive mental images. We definitely need to promote the concept of
shared use/share the trail. This term certainly, in my humble
opinion, does that.