Battle for the Glade/Choke Cherry has begun (again)...

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
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Battle for the Glade/Choke Cherry has begun (again)...
By: Darryl Dunlap




Okay folks, the fight to keep our land open and try to get back our trails in the Glade has started again, with the City Of Farmington forming an advisory group to help them develop recommendations to the BLM.
Groups represented at the first meeting were: ATV/UTVers, Mtn-Bikers, Horse Riders, Motorcycle Riders, SJ College (they use this area for student courses in outdoor leadership), BLM and the City. Absent was the 4X4 appointee.

We have a new BLM Field Manager here and they are not scrapping the comments and ideas already put forth, but they are backing up and starting the process over to get more info and try to get groups to come together on ideas.
Public comment will be sometime in July. We have strongly recommended that there be at least one open meeting for the public to comment.

If anyone has ideas, thoughts or comments, they can either send them to the 4X4 rep (Phil Collard), or to myself.
Remember, we have to be reasonable, we need ideas, we need input. But what we don't need is fighting, bickering or war stories of how bad the bikers or other groups are. We are truly at a point that if we don't have some civil conversations and come up with a plan, we won't go anywhere and the Glade will drift off as a place "we used to go to have fun".

I don't want to lose any land, in fact, my intent is to expand our 4X4 Open OHV Area and get back the trails we have lost to the north of the current area. And there seems to be some thinking that we may be able to do that, if we are willing to be at the table to work it out. But that is where we will have to realize, we may have to be ready to negotiate and compromise. I don't like that anymore than you do, but our other option is to possibly lose our area or gain nothing and lose a large area to non-motorized recreation.

I was in Moab last week, at a UTV rally and found that the bikers, hikers, UTVers and 4X4 crowd have learned to work together so they don't lose anymore land...that is what we need here.

And if anyone says our only option is lawyers and courts, I ask them, how are they going to get around the registers full of laws and regs that give the BLM the power to hold this thing up for years and years or to close it all.
Don't get me wrong, I hate losing land to the Feds, I think they have forgotten that they work for us, the public. But I think we are at a point where fighting is not being productive, so we need to bring our butts back to the table and be ready to work this out..

My email is [email protected]
Email me ideas, but lets keep them positive towards finding a true solution.
 

Mike L

Kawasaki Kult Grand Wizard - We HATE Dem Bears
Feb 11, 2009
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Darryl,

I'm very familiar with Choke Cherry canyon as I used to frequent it in the ARCA/UROC rock crawling days and really enjoyed the wheeling there. Please let me know what I can do to help the situation! I would hate to see us lose that area too!
 

Darryl89

Killer Kitty - UTVUnderground Approved
Oct 8, 2009
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Farmington, NM
Darryl,

I'm very familiar with Choke Cherry canyon as I used to frequent it in the ARCA/UROC rock crawling days and really enjoyed the wheeling there. Please let me know what I can do to help the situation! I would hate to see us lose that area too!
Thanks Mike, when the public commentary period opens back up, I'll post links and if we can get everyone to submit comments of support to keep the Glade/Choke Cherry open, it would be great.

I think we are going to lose part of the Glade area we have now, to the City for their Parks and Rec Dept, and part to the mtn-bike/non-motorized crowd. I think that may actually be okay, if we can get those groups to support an expansion to the north end of the ohv area we have now. That would bring many of the 4X4 and ohv trails back into our use.

Biggest thing is, we need a large portion of comments, all basically saying the same thing, that the majority of user groups can agree on...
Now if any of you know how a side-by-side and an mtn-bike can co-exist on the same trail, please do let me know....

Hey Woody, are you out there watching this? If so, how about getting something up on your rockcrawler site that will let folks know what we have going and get them in contact with me if they have ideas or comments...

Joey, thank you for putting this up.....
 

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