Sand Township Clerk David Kallio has offered his land to help remedy a
Blueberry Ridge Pathway user conflict. Photo by Frida Waara.
The price of popularity
Skiers, horseback riders look for solutions on Marquette, Michigan's Blueberry trail system
by Frida Waara For nearly three decades skiers have been coming to Marquette County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to glide the many trails at scenic Blueberry Ridge Pathway. What Michigan's Department of Natural Resources started in 1977 as a five-mile-long double-loop cross-country ski trail on the west side of County Road 553
just south of Marquette has turned into a 19-mile seven-loop trail system on the east side of the road.
"It's the reason I retired here from Highland Park, Illinois," says Domenic Ori, an avid cross-country skier who chose a home just minutes from the trailhead.
The state's premiere cross-country ski trail didn't happen overnight. It developed from years of teamwork
launched in 1986 after a DNR land swap with Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. The deal relocated the trails across the road on approximately 800 acres.
That's when Dr. Don Hurst of Marquette remembers volunteering with other local skiers to build trail. "The bulk of the earth moving was done by DNR machines and operators," Hurst says, "but skiers provided the manpower to cut and haul trees and then shovel and rake the clearing into trail."
That first year, the trail system grew to three loops totaling 5.7 miles, and a year later a fourth loop was cleared for more advanced skiers. By 1988 the trails were widened to include groomed skating lanes. As the trails improved, so did donations. By 1993, seven years after the relocation, the Marquette Board of Light and Power donated power poles and lights to illuminate 1.7 miles of trail for nightly classic and
freestyle skiing. Now skier visits to Blueberry average 22,500 per winter, according to DNR data.
But these seven well-designed loops are not just popular for winter recreation. Since 1997, the department has also reported an increase in warm-weather traffic. Spring through fall people come to run, hike, bike and ride horses on the varying pitches of forested topography.
Two to three times a week you'll likely meet up with Paul Hannuksela of Marquette. When the red pine
needles poke through the snow base, he puts his skis away and takes his Brittany spaniels there to run.
"The mix of terrain that makes it so beautiful for skiing also makes it great for trail running," says Hannuksela, a member of the Superiorland Ski Club and volunteer trail maintenance worker.
Blueberry is also a favorite for Laurie Neldberg-Weesen of Marquette. She's part of a growing group of equestrian users.
"Like skiers and bikers, horseback riders like loops rather than up and back trails." She adds, "In the UP there are very few designated horse trails, and Blueberry is ideal because it's nonmotorized and wide so it adds confidence to a rider needing room to maneuver a horse or ride side by side with a friend."
The parking lot is large enough for horse trailers. Best of all, the trail system is just six miles south of Marquette, Neldberg-Weesen says.
Without a doubt, Blueberry is the perfect playground for a variety of users, but are so many users good for Blueberry?
Hannuksela doesn't think so, and he's been voicing his concern for the past 10 years. "I'm not a 'Johnny come lately' to this problem," he says. Hannuksela is a retiree from the DNR Fisheries Division.
As a regular visitor to the Blueberry trails, he's watched erosion carve away the thin layer of fragile
vegetation covering the sandy slopes. "I used to mountain bike the trails, particularly in the early season because the sandy soil means Blueberry is quick to dry out. But I stopped five years ago when I realized the damage and didn't want to exacerbate it," he says.
Janet Koistenen, a skier, runner and mountain biker from Gwinn, has also stopped biking at Blueberry and
she's asked other mountain bikers to do the same to protect the integrity of the trail for skiing. "The erosion damage is significant and we don't want to add to the problem," Koistenen says.
While sand makes for tough biking, running and hiking, it doesn't have the same impact on horses. "Sandy soil is actually better for horses if you choose not to shoe them," according to Neldberg-Weesen.
Sand has a negative effect on a ski trail's ability to hold snow. Alpine ski areas work hard to cultivate grass and improve a slope's base for snow. The same is true for laying a foundation on a ski track.
"In August there used to be patches of knee-high grass on the trail," recalls Hannuksela. "It was actually a nuisance if you were out early in the morning because the dew would get your pants wet. But now it won't
grow at all. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see something isn't right."
Bill Brondyke, supervisor of the DNR's Forest Management Unit for the area, recognizes the erosion problem and has been trying to remedy it. But netting laid on the most damaged slopes has not held up to the traffic.
And it's not just foot and bike tire traffic. Horse hooves have taken a toll.
"A horse weighs as much as a small car," says Doug Colbeck, who runs Trails.com in Seattle, Washington. "And all that weight is distributed on a small footprint. I've seen the damage firsthand." Colbeck's Internet company offers 35,000 trail descriptions and maps from coast to coast.
Hannuksela also contends horses make the paths unsafe because the deep divots left by their hooves can cause hikers and runners to trip or fall.
He wants to limit use of the trails to foot traffic only. "I'm thinking first and foremost about the resource. I don't think anybody has the right to degrade a resource at the expense of other users on a developed facility."
So far no nonmotorized traffic has been banned from Blueberry. "We don't want to alienate any of the user groups. They're all legitimate users of state land," Brondyke says.
In the past, however, the DNR has prohibited horse traffic from established cross-country ski trails downstate. "In 2003 we had to ban horses from the Cadillac Pathway," says Mike Paluda, the DNR's UP forest manager. "Riders weren't happy about it but we couldn't keep doing damage control. Besides, other horse trails were already well-established in that part of the state, some even looping through campgrounds."
In late June, the DNR held a public hearing and formed an advisory committee to explore options, a move that Pam Gluck says is a step in the right direction.
As executive director for American Trails in Redding, California, she advocates finding common ground and promoting cooperation among all trail interests.
"These decisions have to be made locally," Gluck insists. "You need to get people communicating to explore the options."
Koistenen, a member of the new committee, was encouraged by the options presented at the first meeting. "Some great alternatives were put on the table, including offers from private landowners."
One of those was David Kallio of Sands Township, another committee member, who owns 225 acres adjacent to Blueberry. "I can't help be concerned about the horse activity," says Kallio, who questions the compatibility of all the trail users.
While some committee members discussed cutting a parallel horse trail, others thought the area was too small and it would end up compromising the aesthetics of the trail. "Sometimes when you try to make a lawn mower into a snowblower and then a tiller, you end up with a really crummy machine," Kallio says.
To help he has offered a land trade with the DNR to create a link from Blueberry to a neighboring state
acreage that could become a separate equestrian trail in the summer and a sled dog trail in the winter.
"I've done three different land trades with the DNR in the past," Kallio says, "and I think by accessing this additional 760 acres, you could create a trail system almost the same size as Blueberry."
Building new trail takes money, however, money that the department doesn't have, or at least, "not in hand,"
according to Paluda. "But I do have the commitment from Lansing to seek grant support for next year. A lot of the recreational development we do is through federal grants to the state."
Paluda expresses some concern for linking the two trails because access would be through steep terrain at Cedar Creek. But he and Brondyke are encouraged by the committee's cooperation and the developing options.
"I told Bill that this spring I spent 40 hours in the seat of a John Deere tractor," Paluda says. "I've got a better understanding from that experience and I think 12 to 15 miles of trail could be easy to develop if you have the labor to work with you."
As with any conflict resolution, a long-term solution for Blueberry will take time and compromise, but the committee is making progress. Trail systems are a priority in Marquette County. Ski clubs here have
demonstrated how to build trails with volunteer manpower. By sharing that knowledge with horse owners in the Michigan Trail Riders Association, Marquette should become an even better silent sport destination.
Frida Waara writes about skiing from Marquette, Michigan, where she serves on the boards of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and the International Ski History Association.
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