rond..@spiritone.com
If you enjoy riding dirt near Portland, PLEASE send a positive email as per request from fellow OBRA racer and NWTA president Kelsey Cardwell below. For me this is not just about racing, but about being able to take care of our environment by riding close to home and providing a place where people without the economic means to travel great distances, can go ride their bike....and get the bug and thus become fellow racers. The science is on our side in many, many ways.
thanks much,
ron strasser
From: Kelsey Cardwell
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2016 9:04 AM
To: rondot@spiritone.com
Subject: RE: pls write your councilors, asap
Some readers see this part of your email after the subject line in the inbox. Write something brief and catchy, compelling them to open the email.
Ron,
This just in! In three hours, protesters plan on lining up outside of Metro offices to quash the community-driven plan to protect and promote natural areas north of Forest Park.
We need your help, because every single email sent to Metro councilors will make a big difference. These are public properties, funded by taxpayers who want to see preservation, protection and access in our natural areas. It's not up to a handful of neighbors to decide!
Send a quick email to councilors and let them know:
a.. We strongly support Metro's plan to include shared use trails on the Burlington property. These family-friendly trails will help grow healthy lifestyles, create environmental education opportunities, and provide close-in access to nature for all urban communities.
b.. We appreciate that the current plan considers cycling on the McCarthy property if and when there is compelling evidence that it is safe for the elk habitat. We believe the trails on Burlington will act as a great pilot to assess whether environmental and recreational goals can complement one another.
Send your note to: tom.hughes@oregonmetro.gov; sam.chase@oregonmetro.gov; bob.stacey@oregonmetro.gov; kathryn.harrington@oregonmetro.gov; shirley.craddick@oregonmetro.gov; carlotta.collette@oregonmetro.gov; craig.dirksen@oregonmetro.gov and CC the project team, parksandnature@oregonmetro.gov.
Thank you for your continued support,
Kelsey
P.S. As a reminder, here's what we sent to councilors last month. You can also learn more about this issue in a recent BikePortland.org article.
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Dear Council President Hughes and Metro Councilors,
After more than a year engaging community members, Metro has recommended that two of the four sites in the North Tualatin Mountains be open for public access, to include a mix of hiking and off-road cycling trails. However, in a knee-jerk response to a campaign by neighbors, Metro removed a primary cycling trail from the plan reviewed in late 2015, despite having provided no further science or data suggesting it was necessary to do so.
A voter-approved levy foots the bill for community planning efforts that will formally welcome visitors to the North Tualatin Mountains northwest of Forest Park. In 2013, NWTA galvanized support for this levy among our 1,000 dues paying members and within our community at large with the understanding that access to nature would be integral in the planning. We understand that visitor improvements are designed to protect water quality and wildlife habitat while creating opportunities for people to connect with nature in areas where it makes sense. Access, education, recreation and outreach, when appropriate, are important elements to the long-term protection and preservation of natural areas. For that reason, we recommend:
a.. Include the cycling trail that was originally planned for the McCarthy property, and further supported by the Advisory Committee members in the latest meeting, subject to further evaluation of potential environmental impacts.
b.. As written in the current version of the draft plan, keep all trails on the Burlington property open to cyclists, knowing that further study at McCarthy could significantly reduce the length of the trail system, even with the addition of these Burlington trails.
Northwest Trail Alliance anticipated engaging with Metro as an active partner by recruiting volunteers and by pursuing grants and other funding sources for youth involvement, trail stewardship, education, construction and maintenance. In 2015, our volunteers dedicated 6,000 hours to building and maintaining our region's mountain bike trails. We are also a regular recipient of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant funding. It will be very difficult to engage our members and garner support for the project in its current form.
Before the sudden change to remove trail from the McCarthy property, there was widespread support of the plan within the cycling community. There are a number of options for addressing habitat concerns other than an outright ban on trails in sensitive areas, including seasonal closures as was mentioned by representatives of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. NWTA would support these options if they are supported by science and implemented in a fair and reasonable manner.
Thank you for considering our recommendations.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Cardwell
President
Northwest Trail Alliance
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Northwest Trail Alliance, P.O. Box 1846, Portland, OR 97207
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