Some perspective from someone close to the sitch...
Having worked with the Morris County Park Commission for over 10 years on trail access issues and trail building initiatives, and as JORBA's Morris County rep, I agree with the points of view by Mergs, Bob W, and several others. They are spot-on, so I will not belabor the points they so eloquently have stated. I also have to disagree with the statements made regarding the Park Commission and the lack of progress we have supposedly made with them, and invite those of you who would like to discuss in a more effective forum (such as over the phone, or over a ride, or even a post-ride beer) to PM me and we'll get in touch. I can provide MUCH more perspective verbally than I have the time to detail in a web post.
I would like, however, to provide some perspective specific to the Tourne and Morris County in general. First some background: The MCPC's objective when it comes to trails is to achieve a state in which they are sustainable (meaning they require little to no ongoing maintenance), applying methods as defined by IMBA. Officially sanctioned trail work is done under a partnership arrangement with the MCPC and Morris Trails Partnership, using 100% volunteers (most of which I might add are MTB'ers). This work requires a formal trails plan for the park, which are in place for Lew Mo and Pyramid - hence the monthly trail construction and maintenance program we have in place for these parks. Similar efforts are foreseen at Tourne, Mahlon, and Schooleys once resourcing issues are resolved and a formal trails plan can be developed, approved and implemented. These take time, so in the meantime some minor trail remediation is being accomplished through MCPC's Adopt-a-trail program, which is the auspices under which the recently enlisted and hard-working Tourne MTB volunteers have been working. It is also hoped that by getting volunteers involved at these parks now, it will make it easier to begin any major trail work under the formal trails plans at these parks given that volunteer momentum would have been established. We are starting to see this in Mahlon, as well, with a new core group of dedicated MTB volunteers that have signed up to AAT.
Now, on to the Tourne. The problems there are:
a) The unsanctioned trails are unsustainable. The trails go straight down the fall line and if left as is will develop into a complete mess, both environmentally and from a safety aspect. Unfortunately, and despite rumors to the contrary, there are no magic trail building elves in our woods to maintain them (Maybe Allamuchy eh Bob?
but not Morris), nor is there a big ol' pot of gold at trail's end to fund our efforts or supplement the already sparse county budgets. Yes, there are unsustainable trails at all parks, including those with a trails plan, but as mentioned above, the current and future efforts will remediate these. But Rome wasn't built in a day. It's going to take time and patience. A lot of it. Creating new problem trails just makes the task that much more daunting, and delays our ability to build the good stuff.
b) the log/rock features pose a liability risk and also widen (or create new) trails. Someone asked if there were any documented lawsuits in regarding trails. Indeed there are. In fact, among the most infamous was brought by a mountain biker who fell on “uneven terrain”
in Lewis Morris in 2000. While the judge eventually threw out the suit, it required close to a year or more of effort on the part of MCPC to defend itself, costing a bundle of time, energy and money. This was featured in Bike Magazine, the local NJ papers, and references to it can be found in this article by IMBA, which documents many other incidents:
http://www.imba.com/resources/trail_issues/you_play_you_pay.html
c)The trails and stunts are not authorized. Yeah, you could argue the “tree fell in the woods so I rode it”, but anything that takes you off the established and sanctioned trails is not authorized. More importantly, especially with things can only be attributed to MTB'ers – such as log ramps and transitions - this type of activity has the potential to undo all the success we have had in overcoming the unwarranted and inaccurate image we used to have as Mountain Dew-swilling, mud-puddle blasting, animal-scaring yahoos. Thanks to our collective efforts in Morris and across NJ, we are now seen by even the die-hard skeptics in counties like Essex (where the infamous South Mountain is located) as being responsible, engaged, civic-minded and environmentally conscious partners at the table advocating for more and better trails.
d) Tourne is a small park, in a crowded urban area, with heavy trail use, which shares a border with a town (Mountain Lakes) that does not allow biking. It is not suited to an extensive network of trails
in the way that Mahlon – and to a lesser extent Lew Mo – is. Ever notice that on most MCPC literature (e.g. Brochures, maps, etc) Tourne is not designated as a MTB park? While it is legal to ride there (at least in the MCPC-governed areas), it is not MCPC's intention to promote it as a “destination” park for this activity for all the reasons above. Some of you may remember that Tourne was temporarily subjected in 1998 to a complete ban on MTB'ing, until the local population got involved, JORBA called in the IMBA Trail Care Crew and a dialog ensued. I can tell you that if the unsanctioned trail/stunt situation continues at the Tourne, it has the potential to take us back to 1998 all over again. This is not a threat, mind you, it is just THAT sensitive of a situation. I think you'd agree it is better to work with what we have and be a part of a solution, than to let it ride (no pun intended) and lose it all.
So, my recommendation is to get involved! Join us for a trail date or two, get to meet the people who are getting things done, find a way to get your voices heard constructively through this network of contacts. Spread the word among local Tourne users. Be an advocate. You will find that, contrary to the opinions expressed by some on this forum, the MCPC is an excellent group of people to work with. Even in the early 90's when counties were struggling with how to address this then new-fangled sport, Morris didn't give in like some other counties, which banned MTBing and forced its riding citizens to use Morris' trails and those of other counties. Rather, they reached out to us, engaged us, listened to us. Sure, there have been missteps from time to time, but the relationship has gotten stronger every year. Case in point: the two gents you all came across (referenced in one of the above posts) were once ARDENT anti-bike folks, die-hard hikers. They are now two of our strongest advocates. Both of them have even joined us at meetings with South Mountain to show how they – as hikers – stand side-by-side with mountain bikers in advocating shared use trails and validating how both user groups can get along.
Once again, I invite those that are concerned about the recent developments in the Tourne to get in touch with me by PM if you want to discuss further. There will be a trails plan for Tourne. Your input will be heard. You just have to be willing to get constructively involved.
Thanks for listening. Now go ride!
Greg Murray
