Sounding (the silent sports) Alarm
Causes for concern & action
SAWYER COUNTY OKS FIRST CAMBA TRAIL
The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) has built and opened many miles of trails throughout northern Wisconsin in the last seven years but had yet to reach Sawyer County.
But on May 3, the county forestry commission approved a new 8-mile shared-use trail through the forests of Hatchery Creek Park. CAMBA also expects the trail to be a popular snowshoe route.
The trail's route
through the county forest will roughly parallel the Birkebeiner Trail heading north to Mosquito Brook Road before looping back to Hatchery Creek Park.
CAMBA Executive Director Ron Bergin said the new singletrack would draw riders and "lighten the impact on some other trails" including the Birkie Trail, the Sawyer County Record reported.
According to the newspaper, Bergin told the forestry committee that CAMBA plans this new trail to be the first phase of a singletrack trail system
stretching from Hatchery Creek Park to Highway OO.
Currently CAMBA's Hayward Cluster has 13 miles of bike trails while the Seeley Cluster has 31 miles – 21 miles of which are on town roads and the Birkie Trail.
(For a more detailed description of CAMBA's work, see Bergin's article "Now and then: CAMBA singletrack initiative expands MTB trail options" in the June issue.)
FUTURE OF ATV PARK HURT BY $25,000 EMBEZZLEMENT
Marathon County in central Wisconsin will not
build an intensive-use area for ATV riders, according to the county's new snowmobile and ATV coordinator.
Between his duties as the new coordinator and a county park ranger, Jon Daniels does not have time to pursue development of an ATV park, according to the Wausau Daily Herald.
"Future growth of the sport in Marathon County remains largely in the hands of those wanting to hit the trails," the newspaper reported.
Daniels was hired part-time to replace Dave Marg who resigned last
October after admitting he stole about $25,000 in state snowmobile grants. Marg is charged with 11 felonies and faces up to 40 years in prison if conviced on all counts.
Before he resigned, Marg had secured a $300,000 state grant for an ATV park he hoped the county would develop in the town of Cleveland. The land and money are no longer available.
As a result of a subsequent state audit, Marathon County may not receive all of the money it has requested for trail maintenance.
There
may be broader consequences of the embezzlement by Marg, the newspaper reported. The state will require more county scrutiny of reimbursement requests by local ATV and snowmobile clubs for the trail maintenance they do.
"Now that the trust has been broken, there's going to be ramifications to the state, to the counties administering the programs and the clubs that do the work," said Bill Duncanson, director of Marathon County's Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department, according to the
Daily Herald.
NPS RIVERS AND TRAILS UPDATE
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has reported receiving a tremendous amount of help from bike clubs and individual riders last month in its campaign to protect the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program from budget cuts. (See "Sounding Alarm," June issue.)
IMBA officials expressed appreciation for all those who called their U.S. senators. As a result, 20
senators in all signed a "dear colleague" petition showing support for RTCA. Signing on as senators representing upper Midwestern states included Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both Michigan Democrats.
BIKES BELONG AWARDS CHICAGOLAND BICYCLE FED
Bikes Belong has awarded the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation $10,000 for its community outreach and coordination to make some Chicago streets car-free on select Sundays.
Sunday Parkways, modeled after a unprecedented program
in Bogota, Colombia, will devote major boulevards to nonmotorized travel, enabling Chicagoans of all ages to cycle, skate and stroll on safe, inviting streets. It is hoped the initiative will encourage more people to ride for recreation and exercise, while enhancing the sense of community in Chicago.
The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation was founded in 1985 to improve the bicycling environment and quality of life in the Chicago area. The organization's work on behalf of bicyclists in the
Windy City includes $100 million worth of trails, bike lanes and racks as well as a diverse array of programs designed to increase ridership.
Since the Bikes Belong grants program began in 1999, the group has awarded more than $1 million in cash and leveraged more than $450 million in federal, state and private funding. Facilities grants alone have helped finance more than 1,300 miles of bike paths and trails that link nearly 5,000 miles of trail facilities.
MAYOR DALEY HONORED FOR BICYCLE PROGRAM
Mayor Richard Daley was toasted on June 4 at the U.S. Conference of Mayors with an award for leadership in making Chicago more livable. Daley was given an award for the Chicago Bicycle Program, which has helped establish 100 miles of bike lanes and 50 miles of off-street bike trails. The bicycle program was recognized as a model for urban bicycling.
City agencies, particularly the Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Transit
Authority and the Chicago Park District, have incorporated bicycling into their mandates and programs. Citizens now have the option of bicycling – not only as a form of healthy recreation, but as a viable means of transportation.
BIKE LAWS UPDATE
In the American Bicyclist Update, a publication of the League of American Bicyclists, the league erroneously reported that three states have "safe passing laws" requiring motorists to pass cyclists and pedestrians at a set
distance.
The organization did not account for Wisconsin, the first with a safe passing law and a penalty for violators, dating back to 1974. A similar Minnesota law passed several years ago. So there are at least five states with safe passing laws, including three that legislate penalties.
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