January 1, 2003
Patti DuMont
Environmental Coordinator
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Acquisition and Development
One Capitol Mall - Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814
2 page fax including
this page 916 445-9100
Dear Ms. DuMont,
Additional materials
were mailed to your attention on December 31, 2002 via USPS Priority Mail (Tracking # 0180 5213 9070 1755 7447).
The materials contain
both factual and anecdotal evidence. This includes numerous examples, spanning
several years that the MND has failed to address, which are relevant to the
current proposed roads to trails conversion on Mount Tamalpais State Park.
The materials
consist of 13 pages and one CD-R containing 12 files. The printed documents are
copies of media articles and editorials. Included on the CD-R is a variety of information
in MS Word, HTML and MS PowerPoint formats. This includes the full text of “Conflicts
on Multiple-Use Trails” referenced and partially included in our response to
the MND, December 24, 2002.
These materials
serve to demonstrate the following:
-
Specific
instances of incompatibility of multiple uses on narrow trails.
-
Historic
and ongoing patterns of environmentally damaging activity.
-
Historic
and ongoing patterns of socially irresponsible, rude and immature mountain biker
behavior.
-
Historic
and ongoing patterns of displacement of hikers and equestrians by mountain
bikers.
-
Historic
and ongoing patterns of illegal actions on the part of mountain bikers,
including within the local mountain biking so-called leadership.
-
Historic
and ongoing widespread community multi-use issue concerns.
-
Historic
and ongoing glorification of illegal activities.
-
Examples
in very close proximity to the proposed project where previous attempts to
provide access to cyclists on narrow multi-use trails eventually resulted in
bans of mountain biking activity on these trails.
-
Evidence
to show that similar and virtually identical issues are by no means unique to
Marin County and reach beyond MTSP, the Region and the State of California.
-
A
pattern by the industry of downplaying support for the practice of mountain
bicycling in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner while highlighting
and romanticizing through provocative photographs and statements highly erosive,
damaging activities such as high-speed riding on trails, “technical” riding,
which is usually associated with high-environmental impact riding, and
“freeriding,” which is the practice of riding high-tech machinery in pristine
and exceptionally steep off-trail areas similar to the slopes to the west and
southwest of Coastal and Lone Tree Fire Roads respectively.
The construction of
narrow multi-use trails as proposed will only serve to promote the
abovementioned negative impacts and incompatibilities on the environment and
the public. In light of these and previous submissions, we request that a full
EIR be prepared for this project.
Please contact us if
you are unable to access any of the materials. You can be provided with
additional compatible computer formats or printed copies if required.
Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely yours,
(Signature on faxed copy)
Larry Minikes
Corresponding Secretary
cc: Dotty LeMieux
Shaelyn Raab Strattan
David Boyd