To all.

Latest word is DFG will take over Mt Calavera, which was in hands of bankruptcy court for The Environmental Trust, which went belly up in 2005.

Key - its a preserve, not a ecological reserve. That means recreational use COULD be approved with concurrence of manager, secondary to primary purpose of habitat conservation.

The key is going to be getting involved responsibly, and getting permission first before doing any work out there.

Please tell the F&*%ing knuckleheads who build this 1200' of unauthorized trail on the south face of the mountain, smack in the middle of the largest undisturbed piece of remaining californial gnatcatcher habitat, for which this land was orinally mitigated for, for crying out loud, to KNOCK THE F&%*K OFF!

This is a nice trail, built well, but the sad thing is by breaking the rules and working in the night like a coward, on private property, you run the risk of undo-ing years of patient collaboration and hard-work by folks like SDMBA who have done so much to build support for multi-use and specifically MOUNTAIN BIKERS.

Didn't you GET IT? over Flightline?

Now, if you did it, or do know who did this, MAN UP, and admit it, and get ready to do the mitigation for this that any other illegal or accidental habitat removal done by a developer would have to do - at least a 3 to 1 mitigation for damage in land restored.

Thats what it is going to take to prove to the community that MTB riders can be trusted.

Theres lots of land out there and lots of unsustainable trails that need to be fixed, so if you are MAN or WOMAN enough to step up to the plate and actually DO SOME GOOD instead of WHINE, then post here or PM me and we can get started WITH PERMISSION, GOD-D*** IT!.

Skeej
AKA
Kevin Skjei
Malena Consulting
760-712-2590
kevin.skjei@gmail.com
2500+ hours of dirt-work on this land, including many many events co-sponsored with SDMBA, City of Carlsbad, DFG, and local schools

Here is how to help - pass the word:

Calavera Nature Preserve - in process of transferring to the state, to be included in the adjacent Carlsbad Highlands Ecological Reserve to the south. To get the word on when from Warren Wong, the land manager - I recommend ALL MTBers be patient just another month or so, and excercise leverage and focus by working as a group thru, and check in for updates with:

Erik Trogden, N County Liaison for SDMBA. He is putting together a SDMBA led trail repair effort on the Calavera Nature Preserve in 1Q09. He works for Turner, former mtb racer, also helping put together a youth league. etrogden@hotmail.com/951-677-1711. Erik is doing a tremendous job, and your support makes him that much more influential and effective.

BTW, no promises on state land, as the state has its own rules, but if MTBers show up, as they have for City events on City land, thats another chance to prove we can be trusted, as responsible users and role models, and remind the agencies that SDMBA is the "go-to" user group to help crack the code for more future access and to build sustainable trails.

Don't forget - the state and cities and land managers all need help, education, enforcement, and volunteer labor-wise, and its going to only get tougher for them in this fiscal environment, so proving we can be trusted, even more is what will earn the seat at the table to plan and create new trails.

Couple of other proofs for big ROI coming if MTB community keeps the effort going, especially here in Carlsbad:

New Rec Dept manager in Carlsbad just hired is Brian Albright, big believer in trails. Liz Ketabian is the Trails program manager, works for Brian. SHe has been sheperding the trail approval on City land north of Lake Calavera, and will announce when work is ready to begin, hopefully soon.

Even bigger is the 25 year update of the Growth Plan now just beginning in Carlsbad, to set plans for the next 50 years, including sustainable trails as part of the Sustainability = economic+social+environmental formula. Carlsbad is second only to San Marcos in great trails and leadership for multi-use so,

Again - MTBers in Carlsbad and users of Calavera - work via Erik and show Liz and Brian to prove how important responsible MTB use is for protecting habitat, promoting home values (numerous studies point out a positive correlation between trails and home values = taxes), healthy lifestyle, attraction of Carlsbad as a healthly living tourist destination, etc etc -

AND, that SDMBA is the counties proven leader in promoting "multi-use" which creates the model for collaboration, not conflict.

MOST IMPORTANT - MONEY WALKS, and in this case, MONEY IS FREE LABOR
and SDMBA and MTBs when they show up git-r-done like no one else can.

NOTE- A SHOUT OUT TO MINETTE OZAKI and SDMBA for positive work on Flightline - SDMBA also shows up at Council to lead polite, professional, proactive, and persistent public input - you cannot understand how powerful that is until you see it in action, so get your BUTTS DOWN AND SUPPORT SDMBA for that too.

I promise as a 9 year citizen of Carlsbad, that this is a unique place among governments - they listen, and if what you say makes sense, it will get done - if you are patient and work the system and trust the staff too.

Trust me, all the hard work so far has not gone unnoticed, and the fabulous work by SDMBA for CNLM down in RLC is another proof positive of huge win-wins for responsible use and habitat protection. Keep in mind that Markus S at CNLM is the go-to expert that other science based land managers and the agencies respect, so if you keep him your friend and
prove multi-use creates the most win-wins, and responsible use deters and drives out irresponsible abuse, then that understanding will continue to resonate and work again and again.

Erik will make sure SDMBA l gets out the good word on updates on the City of Carlsbad land north of Lake Calavera and the big trail plan thats just about to be finally approved.

Skeej, out.