eska trail improvements

[ryantowry_81]

there has been alot of talk about improving the eska trail as most of you know, and there is even a grant trying to get that will help fund the project.

the main part now is convincing the comunity there in sutton it is a good idea.

well the meeting of the sutton community council was last night and scott (snowbear) was able to make the meeting and so was the matsu trail council's vice president so he is up to speed on the project for when scott has to leave town for work. overall the meeting was pretty good. most of the council was very receptive to scotts proposal and plan and they really liked the sperate hiking trail idea and were really shocked to hear of the volenteer support offered by the OHV community. I was the only one i recongnized from the OHV community there but was not able to comment at the time because i was a little late and did not get the beginning of the discussion. overall there was only one person strongly apposed to the idea and many that were very intruiged by the effort and supprot given by the 4x4 community that pledged to help volenteer to build the dedicated hiking trail, and a couple members that seemed on board and even stated they used the trail with motorized vehicles and would not like to see it closed to vehicles.

also they voted to reinstate a trails council for sutton to make a plan and talk further about their management strategy and i fell this is good because this allows us more time to show them our dedication to the trail and helping the communnity keep the trail open. They also are planning a project on flattening and improving the parking lot that is used as a camp area up there and possible in the future instating a charge to help pay for further trail and community improvements. i feel this is good to not only becuase it means they are open to improvements in the area but they also voted to allow the use of mine tailings in the area for the improvements and this is also what scott is looking for to help make the trail hardening affordable.

I would not like this meeting goign well to make any of us relax and assume it will stay open though. it could still ahppen and i personally am going to try and make every sutton community council meeting until we know if we got the grant or not and then we can go from there.

After attending the meeting i did see why scott had asked not to overwelm the council with people and only a couple show up because this is an extremely small venue, in fact i got the last seat open last night. I plan on making every meeting i can, if any other meetings pop up besides the december 13th meeting i will be in touch with scott and let you all know


Ryan

[TonyM]

Good info Ryan. Keep us updated, and let us know a few days prior to any other meetings, and we'll put an announcement up to remind users to check this thread out. It will be important to post up the venue size so we don't overwhelm the location (Which at this time does not seem to be an issue... :banghead:).

[ArcticMania]

As long as we inform them well ahead of time they can setup for the meeting to take place in the school instead. I know one of the council members and have been discussing their concerns with her for the past 5-6 months. She is now much more receptive to us than before. I will try to keep everyone updated if there are any major meetings in Sutton coming up.

[TonyM]

As long as we inform them well ahead of time they can setup for the meeting to take place in the school instead. I know one of the council members and have been discussing their concerns with her for the past 5-6 months. She is now much more receptive to us than before. I will try to keep everyone updated if there are any major meetings in Sutton coming up.

There seems to be a problem with notification. Many members say they forget, or get the times/dates mixed up, ect. If you guys can keep this forum with good info in it, I will make reminders for all users of this site to check a certain thread. I think 2-3 days before an event, with a perpetual reminder would be pretty effective in keeping people on track for these things.

It was unfortunate the turnout last night for this meeting (Although, it turned out to be a good thing because the venue was so small). If we can get more people to commit to going to these things, like you said, we could give them a heads up to use the school instead.

[chris112lee]

There seems to be a problem with notification. Many members say they forget, or get the times/dates mixed up, ect. If you guys can keep this forum with good info in it, I will make reminders for all users of this site to check a certain thread. I think 2-3 days before an event, with a perpetual reminder would be pretty effective in keeping people on track for these things.

It was unfortunate the turnout last night for this meeting (Although, it turned out to be a good thing because the venue was so small). If we can get more people to commit to going to these things, like you said, we could give them a heads up to use the school instead.

Would it be possible to have a pop up come up when the forums are accessed for 3 days prior to an important event?

[TonyM]

Would it be possible to have a pop up come up when the forums are accessed for 3 days prior to an important event?

Thats exactly what I'm proposing. Everytime you login, you'll be hit with a notification to check a thread/forum (it would be in the form of a link), with brief details regarding the notification. Meeting place/time, etc.

[ryantowry_81]

or even a mass PM to everyone a week before with dates times and short detail. would be really easy to do just write one and mass send it.

[ArcticMania]

We need to plan now so that Sutton Community Council can arrange for the school for the next meeting. If we are going to do a showing for this meeting it needs to be well planned. The other reason they would want advance notice is so they can have time to include residents' input from the area. I will continue to work with Jan for their support.

[ryantowry_81]

We need to plan now so that Sutton Community Council can arrange for the school for the next meeting. If we are going to do a showing for this meeting it needs to be well planned. The other reason they would want advance notice is so they can have time to include residents' input from the area. I will continue to work with Jan for their support.

when i was at the meeting they had mentioned setting up a meeting between now and january to have a meeting open to the public at a bigger venue but they reinstated their trail coincil and thought it would be better for them to get together before going to the public so they had a more established management plan to present.

I would like to know if you hear of when the trail coincil they set up is getting together and if they would be open for visitors, i would a ssume only a couple for a meeting like that but i would really like to listen in.


I would also like to say if we have any local sutton wheelers that would like to go to thew meetings and voice their opinion i feel that would make the greatest impact on the council. i feel if they saw support from their own community it would be a great incentive for them

[ArcticMania]

I will continue to keep in touch with Jan. She keeps me informed on how things are going. Just a side note for those that don't know this, there are 1296 people in Sutton and more in the area.
when i was at the meeting they had mentioned setting up a meeting between now and january to have a meeting open to the public at a bigger venue but they reinstated their trail coincil and thought it would be better for them to get together before going to the public so they had a more established management plan to present.

I would like to know if you hear of when the trail coincil they set up is getting together and if they would be open for visitors, i would a ssume only a couple for a meeting like that but i would really like to listen in.

[ryantowry_81]

maybe we should find some of the local wheelers up in the area and make sure to inform them if and when the larger public meeting takes place.

[ArcticMania]

maybe we should find some of the local wheelers up in the area and make sure to inform them if and when the larger public meeting takes place.
That would be strongly advised. That is something to work on now while they are organizing their trail committee.

[ryantowry_81]

definately anyone on here live in that area or know of anyone?

[TonyM]

I know a guy who has a couple buggies out in the area... however, he doesn't use them on the local trails. I'm sure I could get him to possibly put something in writing, the meeting time will for sure break into his drinking time....lol

Another thing that maybe a good idea... is to hit the local bar there, by the fire station. I'd be down to go have a few drinks and attempt at talking to some people...? Maybe we find some people who do access the local area that are not aware of whats going on...

Just a thought... and an excuse to go drink....

[ryantowry_81]

I know a guy who has a couple buggies out in the area... however, he doesn't use them on the local trails. I'm sure I could get him to possibly put something in writing, the meeting time will for sure break into his drinking time....lol

Another thing that maybe a good idea... is to hit the local bar there, by the fire station. I'd be down to go have a few drinks and attempt at talking to some people...? Maybe we find some people who do access the local area that are not aware of whats going on...

Just a thought... and an excuse to go drink....

that could be a fun way of getting the word out, might be kind of funny walking up to guys in a bar asking about wheeling though...lol:cheers2:

[ArcticMania]

I was talking to Jan Mulder about the eska trail grant yesterday and they seem to be slipping the other way now. She said she was surprised Scott did not specifically ask for their approval which would have gone a long ways. One of the big things I'll need to know is whether individuals or clubs will help with a hiking/non motorized alternate trail or not. Supporting that will increase their support for the motorized route tremendously. They are working at reorganizing their trail committee and with meeting with their state representatives to discuss options. Another area that they are strongly opinionated in is whether vehicles should be going past the bog. I recommend treading lightly when discussing that area. Another key thing to keep in mind with them is that even though that area does belong to the state/Borough it still is their back yard. Showing that you respect that will also go a long ways. Another focus is on the surrounding camping areas and with maintaining facilities even though we don't have much to do with the actual ongoing maintenance we can help with ideas to get the existing ones repaired.

[TonyM]

I'll help. I've got a chainsaw... and I'm sure if there was something official planned, we could get a good turnout if there is enough notice.

Is there anything in the plans besides clearing? Is there going to be any ground/terrain manipulation (Removing/moving rocks, re-routing streams, bridges, etc.)?

[ryantowry_81]

i know scott started a poll on the 4x4 net and he had the poll results at the meeting that he showed to everyone showing the support offered. i have also started a similar poll on benali offroad to show proof of support to the council, i thought that part was pretty well comunicated at the meeting.

and i believe scott was only presenting the proposal at this date and was hoping for approval at a later dated meeting?

and tony i am under the impression the majority of the work will be clearing and maybe a little leveling. i am pretty sure they want to leave as little impact as possible.

[ryantowry_81]

sorry it has been a while since the last update but our case has gone down hill.

The sutton CC, at the last meeting, has reviewed the proposal by the matsu trails council and has deemed it a bandaid approach and voted to not support the trail improvements because they feel making the trail easier to travel will only make the situation worse with more traffic.

here is the letter the SCC wrote to bill luck of the alaska trails program:
http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p357/ryantowry_81/SCCltrtoDNRreEskaTrailsGrant-page11.jpg

looks like they are still up for work on the trail they just want a plan first. i will let you know more when i can.

[TonyM]

So have there been any official restrictions put on this trail yet? (Besides the 10k lbs)

[ryantowry_81]

no restrictions at this point they still want to have it open at this point just want to decrease the wear on the trail.

[BLB]

Thanks for keeping us up to date man. I hope a solution can be found to make everyone happy. Its a great trail, just sucks that there are those out there that have the need to abuse crap:6:

[TonyM]

Just got this in an email... the document is attached


FYI-Attached is an updated project facts sheet for the Eska Creek Falls trails. Priorities this summer/fall are to construct a rerouted hiking trail (SCA crews will begin work on this July 20), reconstruct/upgrade the lower portion of the ATV West Trail that lies within the existing easement, expand the parking area near the trail, and upgrade/improve the existing access road.

Bruce Paulsen
Land Management Specialist
Matanuska-Susitna Borough
(907) 745-9867