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Minutes - Open Space - 10/11/2006Approved as amendeQ IIB/2006. OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes October 11, 2006 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Ken Dunn Kay Tauscher Bill Briggs Bruce Bland Allyn Feinberg STAFF PRESENT Mike Patton Dean Paschall Ariel Calonne Jim Reeder Delani Wheeler Dave Kuntz Ronda Romero Cecil Fenio Don D'Amico Jce Mantione Brad Skowronski Steve Armstead Lynn Riedel Jessie Dulberger CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 1- Consideration of the final draft Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw Trail Study Area Plan Mike Patton preceded the staff presentation by reiterating the directive from council, through the Visitor Master Plan (VMP), that staff analyzes specific azeas in the system and make recommend- dations regazding visitor access and resource protection. He noted that public comment has been accepted throughout this Trail Study Area (TSA) process. Dave Kuntz introduced Don D'Amico, project mauager for the Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw TSA, and Joe Mantione, environmental planner responsible for writing the management plan. Dave explained that TSAs are part of the implementation of the VMP. The TSAs were established in the VMP to provide management guides for resource protection as will as providing recreational opportunities. Don D'Amico said the planning process began in January 2006 and produced an inventory report, an alternaUves report, a draft plan and the final draft, which is the focus of the meeting's discussion. Staff held meetings with representatives from community groups and public comment was taken at open houses and other public meetings. Comments were also solicited tlvough the web site. The Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw TSA (EM/DD TSA) includes a Natural Area (NA) and a Habitat Conservation Area (HCA). Passive Recreation Areas and Agricultwal Areas aze not included in tlus particulaz TSA. The plam~ing process involved many access considerations - opportunities for activities on more challenging terrain, opportunities for dramatic vistas, opportunities for more remote experiences and opportunities for trail connections and loops for various activities. Staff also considered resource protection opportunities due to the azea's exceptional ecological value - habitat diversity, a mostly unfraginented landscape and the presence of corridors for wildlife movement between habitats. Good opportunities for protecting sensitive species occur in this TSA by requiring some on-trail only travel, establishing seasonal closures in some areas and by not putting trails in the more sensitive azeas. New activities anticipated in the azea include paragliding on Flatirons Vista mesa, mountain biking west of Highway 93 and new dog and dog-free opportunities in the Natural Area. The plan also calls for a monitoring progam to examine possible impacts from these new activities. Joe Mantione explained that the diversity of habitats and the potential for recreational opportunities made this a challenging study azea. There were also varied recommendations from members of the publia The most controversial issues included: visitor access in the HCA, dog-walking and dog-free trail opportunities and mountain biking. Joe reviewed the issues and the recommendations contained in the draft plan. AGENDATTEM lA PAGE 1 Dave Kuntz asked the Boazd for input and recommendations on the final draft plan. Staff will take the recommendations and make appropriate changes with the intent to begin plan implementation later this year. Public Participation Jason Vogel, 3300 Bridger Trail #111, spoke as a Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance (BMA) representative. By and lazge the BMA supports the final draft of the EM/DD TSA but felt the plan lacks vision for recreation. More biking connections aze needed system wide. Sarah Kennedy, 1057 Laratnie Boulevud #A, supported trail access at night. Mazk McIntyre, 2045 Balsam Drive, member of BMA, said that taJC money supporting OSMP comes from public appreciation for having access to the land. He supports using the least restrictive method of management. David Wert, 2626 Baseline Road, member of BMA, pointed out that provid'mg bildng opportunities lessens the impacts by users, keeps tax dollars in the community and reduces the need to drive to other locales for biking experiences. He encouraged implementing the VMP as soon as possible. Kaj Gronholm, 1795 Pearl Street, IMBA boazd member, supports providing biking opportunities without having to drive somewhere. Mike Barrow, 802 Shennan Street, Longmont, BMA member, wants OSMP to be successful implementing the VMP and believed the TSA process could be better. He said equestrians aze not getting fair treatment in the plan. He recommended that all trails be designed and built to sustainable standards and he discouraged any Board changes to the plan. Mr. Bazrow invited representatives of the Sierra Club, Plan Boulder County, BCNA and the Audubon Society to meet with members of BMA in a public fonun to discuss the VMP and TSAs. Buzz Burrell, 4488 Hamilton Court, presented the position of the Boulder Outdoor Coalition (BOC). He agreed with Mike Patton's statement that staff did their best to take as much public input as possible and provide the best possible plan. He reported that the general BOC position is that this the minimally acceptable plan. The plan is as close as it can get. Mr. Burrell pointed out that because this area is not pristine the plan provides more protection than it has had in the past. The TSA actually reduces the mileage and number of trails in the azea. BOC believes that banning dogs in some azeas and equestrians in others does not follow the "least restrictive" management policy as d'uected by the VMP. He added that it will be important to build the trails and be careful about closing existing trails before new ones are built. Guy Burgess, 1290 Albion Road, said the plan represents a workable compromise. He supports pursuing the least restrictive way to reach the goals of ma~cimizing visitor opportunities while maintanvng environmental protection. He cautioned against policies that don't balance the cost of visitor restrictions with comparable environmental benefits. For example, the current trail alignments discourage access to the grand vistas off the edge of the mesa. Ed Mills, Box 19212, speakiug for FIDOS, said the dog restrictions planned for the Springbrook Natural Area and the HCA depart from management guidelines in the VMP by being more restrictive. FIDOS recommends voice and sight for NAs and is concemed about the missed opportunity for making the lower loop of Doudy Draw a no-dog trail. Lori Fuller, 2995 Caznegie Drive, spealdug for FIDOS, said the TSA departs from the default guidelines for dog management as recommended in the VMP. She urged the Boazd to reconsider restrictions in the HCA and the Springbrook area. FIDOS encourages cazeful attention to the research AGENDA ITEM lA PAGE ~L cited in the final draft. Ms. Fuller pointed out one pazticular study that concluded dogs are not a contributing factor to the disturbance of birds on OSMP. Dan Sukle, 2637 5~' Street, FIDOS representative, said that members are concerned about the increased restrictions for dogs. He noted the defauk recommendations in the VMP and how the TSA deviated from that. The balance of the original VMP should be preserved. Michael Katz, 42 Benthaven Place, criticized the Ben Lenth study and said he was disappointed in the presentation of that study. He said the study does not reflect the current situation of dogs on OSMP. Peter Bakwin, 3054 10'" Street, Boulder Trail Runners, supported the Boulder Outdoor Coalition recommendations. He stressed the importance of not closing trails until new trails ue built, especially the link between Doudy Draw and Fowler. He questioned the restrictions to equestrians and dogs and reported that he experienced no conflict with those activities. Mr. Bakwin asked that because of their historic significance the old roads should not be closed. Suzamie Webel, 5735 Prospect Road, Longmont, spoke for BATCO. She encouraged incorporating the "wow factor" by providing trails with the good views. She urged reinstating the Flatirons Vista north loop and that the existing Matterhorn underpass become a designated part of the trail system. Spealdng as a member of BCHA, she voiced her concern tt~at the TSA has strayed from the VMP. She said the azea is especially important to equestrians and prohibiting them from getting off-trail permits was not using the least restrictive management approach. She recommended trying the off- trail pemut system and then maldng decisions if it doesn't work. On behalf of the BCHA, Ms. Webel made three requests: allow equestrians to be eligible for off-trail pernuts, keep social trails open until designated trails are built and establish objective standards for performance measurements. Steve Haymes, 1149 Monroe Drive #C, supported the equestrians' request to be eligible for off-trail pemuts west of the canal. Tom Isaacson, 3165 Noble Court, representative of the Flatirons Climbing Council, reported that the FCC supports portions of the TSA that affect climbers. He said the plan is a sensible compromise. David Buckner, 1077 South Cherryvale Road, plant ecologist, noted that some special plant communities are located near trail segments 13 and 14. The plant communities aze associated with certain geological features and aze stable, old plant communities. He encouraged revising the plan to avoid impacts to those grasslands because little is understood about them. Hildy Armour, 194 Nugge[ Hill Road, Jamestown, speaking for BCHA, said the organization was concerned that equestrian access is threatened. She asked that equesh-ians be eli~ble for off-trail permits and that the plan include measurable, objective, agreed-upon standards. Finally Ms. Armour asked that the Doudy Draw trailhead be redesigned to accommodate pull-through horse trailer parking and she offered matching funds from BCHA to improve that parking lot. Raymond Bridge, 435 South 38'" Street, representing Plan Boulder County, commended staff on the well thought out plan and review process. He reported that Plan Boulder County supports the OSBT in implementing the plan as written. He voiced concem about the plant communities that may be impacted by trail connections 13 and 14. He recommended doing a scientific wildlife and ecosystem study of that azea as well as for the Goshawk Ridge trail area. A good baseline study is important so that impacts will be detectable. Larry MacDonnell, 2160 Linden, observed that it took him a lot of time to understand the plan. He is concemed that it might be too complicated. He said that the resource is the starting point for visitor use and that factor seems to be missing. He encouraged beginning the next TSA with a basic look at AGENDAITEM lA PAGE 3 the resource and then integrate the uses within that context. Mr. MacDonnell noted that the original designation of the Springbrook and upper poudy Draw azeas as HCA has been radically changed. Richard Reynolds, 4331 Eldorado Springs Drive, stressed that this azea should be managed for its wildness. Trail 13 will slice directly through special habitats. Mr. Reynolds noted problems associated with the introduction of noxious weeds, biking and dogs in this area. If a biking route is necessary he asked to fmd a better route than trail 13. In sunm~ary, he recommended no trail 13, no trails in the Springbrook area, no horses in the HCA and the Doudy Draw/Springbrook areas and no bikes or dogs west of Doudy Draw. He urged staff not to be dictated by political pressure. Mary McQuiston, 4331 Eldorado Springs Drive, said balance has not been found in the plan and that the crown jewel of the system is being sacrificed as a bike park. She noted no "Iriking only" access until trai125 is reached and stressed the l~azards of bike traffic on the trails with other users. Trails 13 and 14 cuts right through good habitat and she doesn't understand why the area was downgraded from its original HCA designation. Ms. McQuiston urged thorough wildlife studies be conducted in the area before trails aze constructed and to look at the azea in context of the entire system. She recommended that nothing west of Doudy Draw be changed until further studies can be completed. Anne Davidson, 1625 Ponderosa Hill Road, Lyons, opined that equestrians should be equally eligible to off-trail pernrits, that existing trails shouldn't be closed until new ones aze built and that the Doudy Draw trailhead pazking be improved and expanded with additional facilities. She urged OSMP to accept the offer from BCHA to help fund those improvements. Dan Michaels, PO Box 129, Hygiene, operates Rabbit Mountain Equestrian Center. He said he depends on public land to recreate with horses and supports comments by representatives of BCHA. Edie Stevens, 2059 Hazdscrabble Drive, said plans to build trails 13 and 14 ignore the best scientific evidence of staff and the testimony of scientists. She said OSMP isn't ready to open additional trails especially trails for horses, bicycles and dogs. Such trails invite use from people in surrounding communities and there aze no plans to limit such use. There is no mountain biking maziagement plan and she alerted the Board to a High County News article about free-riding bicycles and the damage they cause to trails. Doug Pagels, 4384 Eldorado Springs Drive, asked the Boazd to look beyond the various users group demands and keep requests in perspective. He stressed that there is a lot at stake. Mr. Pagels related past efforts to save this azea from development. He said that if the plan goes through as is the area will suffer substantial impacts. Laura Bass, 15529 Navajo Street, Broomfield, member of BCHA, supported the eligibility of equestrians to get off-trail pemtits, urged enlazging the pazking facilities and recommended leaving the trails as they aze until new ones aze built. Robyn Rolander, 353 Skylark Way, said that equestrians should be eligible for off-trail pemuts and that the impact is minimal because the use is spread out. She supported keeping trails as they aze until new ones are built. Ms. Rolander said the land is precious to equestrians who aze also concemed about impacts. She submitted handouts and signatures. Nancy Neupert, 333 South 68~' Street, believed all segments of the Doudy Draw-Fowler trail should be dog-free. She reported that dogs aze already allowed on about 95% of the miles of trails and the decision to allow dogs is due to pressure from dog owners. Because of the exceptional wildlife values it was designated HCA and the plamiiug should be based accordingly and not on public presswe. Ms. Neupert stated that there should be more dog-free trails to meet the needs of an under-served recreational goup. She was also concerned about the lack of monitoring and requested adding a basic monitoring protocol to the plan. AGENDA ITEM IA PAGE 4 Werner Neupert, 333 South 68th Street, said the Miller study was done on OSMP and is relevant to the issues at hand. It addressed leashed dogs on open space and even a leashed dog on trail has impact. Mr. Neupert was disappointed in the planning process because it entertains proposals from active user groups. It is up to people who want to preserve wildlife and passive use of open space to azgue against the proposal. He urged that in the future there should be better representation from users who have not been accounted for such as the elderly, those with children, etc. Deane Little, 4511 47`" Street, conservation biologist, said the plan appears to be a well balanced compromise of the different user goups involved. He said the ultimate user group missing is the plants and animals. The ecologists were ueated as another user group. He urged cazeful consideration of the impacts dogs off leash and horses off trail will have on the azea especially regazding the spread of invasive weeds. Robert Yuhnke, 2910 County Road 67, observed that he has seen invasive weeds along a social trail in the Springbrook azea that were not there years ago and aze gradually spreading. He noted that the trail is used by equestrians. He questioned why the department would be willing to open more of the area for activities that bring in weeds. Mr. Yulmke added that he has only seen an enforcement officer in the azea once in 28 years and questioned the ability of the department to enforce any new rules. Finally, he urged the Boazd to protect the area around trails 13 and 14 by not opening those segments. Robert Sharpe, 5995 Marshall Drive, recommended that OSMP should protect the resources first. He relayed the difficulty he had in trying to obtain copies of studies from the department. Once he got the documents he noticed that they were neither local nor recent. Mr. Sharpe said that there is not enough information about the resources present to make evaluations. He requested to call a resource conservation meeting to discuss and evaluate the studies and postpone making decisions until then. Gail Matheson, 231 The Lane Road, Golden, speaking as a member of BCHA, stated tk~at all stakeholders should be treated equally. Equestrians should be eligible for off-trail permits and there should be standards for management and evaluation of visitor use and impacts. She r~ommended horse trailer pazking on both sides of Highway 93. Ms. Matheson noted the Matterhom underpass as a vital link and said some social trails should remain open until new trails are built. She added that studies show that weeds are scattered by other creatures besides horses. Gwen Dooley, 730 Spruce, said she has been observing this process for a long time and aclmowledged the great effort that k~as gone into the plan. She urged the Board to listen to staff and go forwazd with the plan including careful monitoring so corrective action can be taken if needed. Return to Board & Staff Bill Briggs reiterated the importance of baseline studies. He asked if staff has enough information to make decisions about trails. Don ageed that more information is always better but sometimes it is necessary to move forward with what is available. The inventory report contains on-the-ground information gathered recently. It is questionable if there is enough information but staff does Uave good information. Dave Kuntz added that OSMP has a well-funded and aggessive research prograin that provides information to the department. Staff feels there is enough information to move forward. Mike Patton agreed and said that the plan offers far geater protection than what currently eacists. If staff finds geater or unexpected impacts, management strategies will be adjusted accordingly. Kay Tauscher asked why equesh-ians were excluded from getting off-trail pernuts. Dave responded that staff thinks many impacts and undesignated trails were caused by horse use. The charter directs that staff provide horse use in appropriate locations. The terrain in this HCA is erosive and can not sustain a lot of concentrated horse use. Joe Mantione added that currently horses and dogs have access all over the system and, although a system-wide smdy was not conducted, staff determined that this area is a special place and needs more protection. AGENDAITEM lA PAGE S Kay asked about historic graz.ing in the azea and if and where it would be allowed. Dave responded that grazing has occurred virtually over the whole azea and currently it is occurring east of the Doudy Draw trail. Horses are attributed to impacts in areas where grazing is not occurring. Kay said that staff will need a baseline study as well as a list of criteria if impacts are to be measured. Mike aclmowledged that conversation will be needed in order to set standards for monitoring. The protocol will be developed with community input. Dave added that there aze well established standards in some fields but not for others. Staff will have to establish what will be measured, how it will be measured, when it will t~appen and how the results will be handled. Kay questioned why the no-dog trail recommendation at Doudy Draw was not included in the final draft. Dave responded that there was a no-dog trail proposed in the Doudy Draw vicinity, but staff decided against it because it would not be a good trail for that use and was not a sufficient no-dog trail experience. Staff felt the no-dog trail proposed for the western part of the TSA provides a good visitor experience for those visitors who would like a no-dog experience in the system. Regazding trail alignments, Kay asked for staff to comment on missing or avoiding the "wow factor". Dave said that staff detemuned that the presence of high quality native grasslands and prairie dogs were reasons to avoid putting a trail in the area. Mike added that some of the trails proposed do provide vistas. Joe said that the goal is to provide a good experience with low impact and staff will k~ave to make adjustments in the field to pick the best alignments. Allyn Feinberg questioned the status of the state pazk's acceptance of the Fowler trail connection. Dave responded that the pazk staff supports the proposal and is willing to take it to the state parks' boazd. Allyn asked what would happen if the proposal was not approved. Dave said the alternative would be to go down County Road 67 to Eldorado Springs Drive. Dave clarified that the Denver Water Department (DWD) staff would be responsible for maldng a decision about the Denver Water Boazd road and he aclaiowledged that one concern is the safety issue azound the canal siphon azea. Dave explained that OSMP was asked by the DWD staff to develop canal crossing options. Ariel agreed that the city has access rights and he anticipated that the discussion would be productive. Allyn asked what the schedule would be for building the proposed trails considering the need for monitoring standards. Dave reported that the Goshawk Ridge trail would probably be built fust, then trails 13 and then 14. Dave indicated that a couple of loops in Flatiron Vista need to be scheduled in the work plan also. The suggestion to not close social trails until new ones are designated is understood by staff but there is a fair amount of use in the azea. Staff will be judicious about providing trail opportunities and closing undesignated trails. Allyn suggested the possibility of building a Vail, monitoring it and using what was learned when building the next trail. Dave said that staff shares the concems about monitoring and is looking at 1-2 yeaz timeframe to get the information needed. Bruce Bland asked about the management decision about no-dog trails referred to in the letter from FIDOS dated September 1. Dave said the agreement referenced in the letter is pazt of the VMP. The direction from council is to provide more no-dog opportunities either by utilizing pree~cisting trails or constructing new ones. It is cleaz that council wants staff to bring a balance to those decisions. Bruce said that developing trails in this azea will attract more visitors and consequently more impacts. He asked if staff has an estimation of anticipated use in 10 years. Dave answered that staff l~as good current information based on the visitation studies and that historically the azea has low visitor use. He ageed that staff anticipates an increase in use by people from nearby communities. Bruce asked if staff has protocol on what use yields to what use on the multiple use trails. Dave responded that the general protocol is that all users yield to horses and bikes yield to pedestrians. Bruce said it would be important to publicize and provide signs explaining the protocol. Bruce then asked about the off-trail pernutting policy. Mike explained that the intention is to allow as many off-trail pernuts as requested but staff will be judicious about the number of requests for activities in sensitive areas. Dave agreed that if an area gets a lot of demand staff might make a deternunation based on resource conditions. Dave clarified that each trip will require a pernut. Mike said that before any restrictions on pemilts aze established it is nnportant to fmd out how much demand there actually is. AGENDAITEM IA PAGE G Ken Dunn asked about dog use on trail 13 and the concern that there are not enough nodog opportunities. By making trail 13 open to dogs people will have to walk a distance on a dog trail to reach the no-dog trail. Dave said that the on-trail and on-leash requirement for trail 13 is more applicable to HCA trails. He explained that the Springbrook azea has natural ecological values and staff wants to limit unpacts there. Staff thought it was fair to provide a way for people to move from one end of the TSA to the other with the'u dogs and this is the only way that can be done. Bill Briggs asked how fees would be handled if the trail link into the state pazk is approved. Dave agreed that it was a concern. He said that some kind of volunteer fee station could be set up although remote stations are not favored by park staff. A cooperative ageement among OSMP, state park staff and the bildng groups on how those issues will be solved is expected. Ken Dunn d'uected the Boazd to provide comments to stafF. Kay Tauscher thauked staff and the public and agreed that the current TSA is a sensible compromise. She emphasized that the plan reduces social trails curtently in use. She said it would be important to be consistent with the VMP, management zones and definitions. Trails 13 and 14 ue tough issues but that area is not in the HCA and therefore is available for use. She recommended not setting precedent for dogs in future situations. Kay suggested that if staff discovers that an area is heavily used by off- trail pernut holders, perhaps a trail should be considered so impacts can be managed. She supported remanung flexible with the trail alignments to ensure sustainability. Coming up with an evaluation process with measurable criteria is important. She shazed concern with closing social trails before new ones aze built. Because of the historic use by horses in the azea she urged cazeful consideration of the equestrians' requests and to be sensitive to that group. Overall, Kay felt tUat staff should move forwazd with the plan. Allyn Feinberg recommended gathering baseline data and developing standards for acceptable conditions after a year or two of use. It would also be very important to have flexibility about trail alignments. Allyn suggested prioritizing construction of trails to get a sense of use so, if there need to be adjustments made, that could be accomplished. She said it is clear that there needs to be biking access to Eldorado Canyon State Park and, potentially, Walker Ranch and this is that opportunity. She suggested monitoring impacts on users as a way to have an ongoing method of 5nding out what their issues may be. Bruce Bland stated that every year habitat is being lost throughout the azea. In addition, the habitat meant to be preserved gets degaded and recreation is one sowce of impacts wlrich accumulate over time. A couple of million people aze anticipated to live within easy access to these azeas so it is important to establish a management plan that will prevent fiuther damage to the system. Bruce stressed that one of the most unportant things will be the monitoring and he recommended that funds be committed to a pem~auent monitoring program. Because of the increase in mountain biking, effort should be made to provide more opportunities for that activity; but because of the ecological qualities of the area it should not be here. He said that he is opposed to the building of these trails and having them open to mountain biking. He also warned that multiple uses aze not always compatible, especially on an ADA trail. Bruce noted that the Doudy Draw/Springbrook subarea has been closed to dogs and he felt it should be kept tt~at way. There are many other opportunities for dogs on open space. He recommended no additional dog opportunities in that area and the HCA as well. Bruce added that trai125 (Goshawk Ridge trail) cuts through the Eldorado Mountain HCA and that goes against the spirit of the HCA designation. Bruce recommended that the Goshawk Ridge trail and trail 13 not be built. Trail 14 could be built but be realigned. Finally, Bruce recommended that regardless of what trails are built or not built all azeas west and south of Doudy Draw should be closed at night for wildlife needs. AGENDAITEM IA PAGE 7 Ken Dwui described the plan as balanced, overall, and he thanked the public for the'u input. He did not support the construction of trai125 because the HCA needs to be protected. He agreed that there should be trail access to the Mickey Mouse wall. He also agreed that habitat fragmentation jeopazdizes wildlife movement and the VMP did not support new trails in HCA. Ken supported Bruce's suggestion of restricting nighttime use. Ken felt the plan is a good balance of competing interests. Bill Briggs noted that this was his first TSA experience so he attended many meetings and read as much as he could. He said that he was impressed by staff s tremendous work but was concerned that the thoroughness was costly in time and effort. He urged staff to try to be as thorough next time but do so more expeditiously. He said the end result is respectable and he supported it. Bill noted inconsistencies in the Springbrook area regazding dog management. The on-leash and on-trail requirement for trail 13 is a departure from the VMP which designates that as a no-dog area. Trail 14 restricts dogs which is a double departure from the VMP. He suggested building the trails incrementally and then designating both as on-traiUon-leash trails. Bill stated that the HCA is still being respected even with the construction of the Goshawk Ridge trail. He explained that the irony about miuiinizing habitat fragnentation is that the railroad runs right through the HCA. He supported building the Goshawk trail and that horses should be allowed on that trail. He said that a big opportunity is being missed by not building the Flatiron Vista Rim trail and stressed tk~at since it is a natural azea technically people can go all over. This trail would take pressure off the Springbrook azea. The Doudy Draw Plateau tnil should be reconsidered and could be a good nodog trail. Bill said equestrians should not be excluded from the pernut process and suggested imposing restrictions, if needed, as part of the approval process. The TSA plan must be cleaz about no closures before trails aze built or the permit system is implemented. The plan is noncommittal about pazking problems at trailheads. He suggested adding trailhead pazking to the list of monitoring projects. Regazding implementation, Bill said there aze a lot of ways to accommodate mountain biking on these trails by using adaptive management techniques or by using a daily system similaz to Betasso. He recommended avoiding an outright ban on mountain biking. Joe Mantione explained that habitat fragmentation in We azea is a result of the vast network of social trails and the goal is to reduce that fragmentation as much as possible. Mike Patton clarified that staff would be conscientious about leaving social trails open until designated trails aze built but said staff reserves the right to close newly developed social trails or for situations that warrant trail closures in other parts of the system. Ken Dunn took informal votes on the more contentious issues to give staff clear d'uection: Prohibit the use of lights by mountain bikes at night on Vails 13 and 14. majority (yes) Pemut dogs on trail 13 (on Vail and on leash) but not on trail 14. 3-2 (yes) Construct the Flatiron Vista (trai13 aka Mesa Rim trail) as aligned on map. 2-3 (no) Construct the lower poudy Draw loop (trail 1). 2-3 (no) Construct Goshawk Ridge trail (trai125) which allows horses on trail. 3-2 (yes) Allow equestrians to be eligible to apply for off-trail pernuts in this HCA. 2-3 (no) ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m These minufes were prepored by Cecil Fenio. o~, z~ 2006 DATE APPROVED BY: ~~~ 1~~.C~ Bruce Bland Vice Chair AGENDAITEM IA PAGE H