Please read below:

----- Forwarded by Chris Case/TEPPCO on 08/31/01 08:19 AM -----

BikinGail@aol
.com To: MTBIN@..., ccase@...
cc:
08/31/01 Subject: Fwd: BVMBA We need your
Help!
08:11 AM







----- Message from Michael Kelsey <kelseym@...> on Thu, 30 Aug 2001
20:11:43 -0500 -----

To: bikejones@...

cc: bvmba@..., rider@..., clubinfo@...,
haba@..., info@..., ericgalen@...,
Desertrls@..., Walter.Brittain@...

Subject: BVMBA We need your Help!


Attention all Hikers and Mountain Bikers:

We have received notice from the Womble Ranger District that there is a
land
swap proposal that in our view will have a very negative impact on the
Womble
Trail. In short the proposal comes from Camp Ozark. Camp Ozark owns land
that
borders the National Forest. They hope to acquire 300 to 400 acres of U.S.
National Forest land to expand their commercial interests. If this were to
take place the section of the Womble Trail from Hwy 275 to Fs Road W56
would be
lost. Also the trail section from 298 Trailhead to Hwy 275 would become a
dead
end.

Camp Ozark states that if this proposal is successful that they will help
develop an alternate route for the Womble Trail and bear the cost of
relocating
it. They also state that they would preserve a buffer strip of
undeveloped
land along the highway.

We feel that this proposal is not acceptable for many reasons.

1. With this land swap deal, we loose recreation land, in exchange for
land
elsewhere that probably only has only timbering interest.
2. We have been given only a few weeks to review this proposal. This
does
not give us enough time to evaluate all implications and options available
to
us.
3. Any reroute around this 400 acres will require at least 4-5 miles
of
trail, mostly through undesirable terrain that would detract from the
character
of the Womble Trail.
4. Any reroute also would require that the trail run close to the
proposed
new property boundary of Camp Ozark. There is no mention of a buffer on
that
side of the proposed property boundary. I am sure many can remember the
days
when the Womble Trail was much closer to the Camp Ozark Facility, and how
loud
the summer activities were with the music blaring and the kids screaming.
Hey
I am all for this kind of activity, but I feel that most hikers and bikers
are
getting on the trail to get away from blaring music and screaming kids.
5. Any reroute will also make the Womble Trail even more accessible by
ATV's and Equestrians as it will provide easier access entry points.
6. Over the past 5 years, hiking and biking clubs have worked hard to
develop this new section of trail from the bottom of Mauldin Mountain to
Highway 298 in order to avoid interaction with the activities with Camp
Ozark.
We hate to think that all our hard efforts are to be so easily discounted.

7. Once the land is in private hands there is no limit on its use.
The
land could be sold rapidly become a housing development for example.


Over the past 14 years the popularity of the Womble has grown with the
hiking
and mountain biking communities. Many hours of volunteer efforts have gone
into maintaining and improving the trail. The end result is a trail that
has
been ranked by a popular National Mountain Bike publication as one of the
"Top-Ten-Trails" in the Nation. We believe the popularity of the Womble
trail
stems from the consistent nature of the trail as well as its remoteness.
We do
not want to loose this.

If this kind of action can happen on the Womble Trail, then we must
consider no
trail in the National Forest to be safe from commercial interests. This
land
swap deal has nothing to offer us but a loss of public recreation land and
a
corruption of the Womble trail and a degradation of our outdoor experience.


The Womble Ranger District is preparing an Environmental Assessment for the
proposed land exchange. If you have any questions or site specific comments
concerning this proposal, please contact The District Ranger, Robert Raines
at
(870) 867-2101 or address written comments to District Ranger, 1523 Highway
270
E, Mount Ida, AR 71957 or e-mail to raraines@... by September 14,
2001.

They have not given us much time to respond to this proposal. Please
notify
all concerned clubs and members. We must not let this happen!

You can E-mail the District Ranger at raraines@... The Deadline is
September 14th, 2001!!!!!

You can also find information about this proposal at www.bikearkansas.com.

Concerned Arkansas Hikers and Mountain Bikers

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