Please read the attached email from the Parks Dept. The language in the
original email may make offend you, but the important message is that
someone has taken it upon him or herself to start building illegal trails.
Not to mention they are building the trails incorrectly, which will result
in accelerated erosion. Both are unacceptable. We have really come a long
way with the Parks Dept over the last couple of years, but things like this
will certainly undermine any credibility we've gained. If you see people
building these illegal trails, tell them stop. We only hurt ourselves and
garner very bad publicity when this keeps happening.

Thank you for your cooperation.

----- Forwarded by Chris Case/TEPPCO on 02/19/02 12:19 PM -----

"Dewees, Rick - PR"
<Rick.Dewees@cityofho To: "Christina Case
(E-mail)"
uston.net> <ccase@...>, "Larry
Pruitt (E-mail)"
<lpruitt@...>,
"Cochran, Joe - PR"
02/19/02 08:58 AM
<Joe.Cochran@...>, "Wise, Anthony
- PR"
<Anthony.Wise@...>,
"Gonzales, Abel - PR"

<Abel.Gonzales@...>
cc: "Trent Rondot (E-mail)"
<trent@...>, "Claire
Caudill (E-mail)"
<jccaudill@...>, "Thomas J.
Keeling
(E-mail)" <TJKCPA@...>
Subject: FW: Unauthorized
Trail Construction





Joe: Can you please investigate this matter?
Tony, Abel: Can you please check this out also and see if it can be
repaired/barricaded. Also, can you please photograph it?
Christina & Larry: Do you have any way of influencing people who do things
like this? The master planning process is a bad time for such things to
happen...it may hurt your own position.

Thanks,
Rick

[Dewees, Rick - PR] -----Original Message-----
From: T.J. Keeling, CPA [mailto:TJKCPA@...]
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 8:39 PM
To: Dewees, Rick - PR
Cc: Garth - GHORBA
Subject: Unauthorized Trail Construction



February 18, 2002


Re: Unauthorized Bike Trail (Under Construction)


Rick,


These discoveries are those that really bother me as an ecologist. The
bikers building the above referred to trail have decided to further destroy
a major washout caused by Allison (I estimate a 100 feet of bank washed
away with a huge pine tree) at this location.


The biker's destruction is predicated by turning their Unauthorized Trail
ninety degrees to the bank, that remains, thus exposing the fragile
powdered sand or humus allowing the rain fall a 'straight shot' down a
slope. In less than a year, there will be a medium ravine coming down to
the washout. This will facilitate even more erosion to this turn on the
bayou.


To add insult to injury, the bikers are using a precipitous unsafe portion
of the former Bridle Trail in the Unauthorized Bike Area. This precipitous
portion is approximately 30 or 40 feet from the 'No Bike' Barricade that
turns the blue/purple south to Southeast or west to northwest. The bikers
are going to wrap their trail around to the top of the precipice and 'do
loops' in this Unauthorized Area of the Park. This precipice is far, far
more dangerous than what they called the 'roller coaster'.


Judging from the construction techniques being employed, this construction
is being done by persons well known to the Biking Community. Sadly, all
this destruction is for a very few bikers who are stupid enough to go down
the precipice.


In my opinion, this would be a good test for GHORBA. I happened upon Garth
and his girlfriend walking their dogs. Garth is a pleasant enough guy. I
described where the Unauthorized Trail is being constructed and told him
who I am sure is building the Unauthorized Trail. Garth knew exactly who I
was talking about.


Rick, ask GHORBA to encourage the bikers to stop the construction - they
know whose doing it. Note to GHORBA that if Civil Tech Engineering is
correct in its drawings (shown at the Park's Master Plan Meeting), this
Unauthorized Trail Construction is in the most delicate of locations.


I simply can not believe these bikers just want to destroy what little
'Green Area' we have in this City for maybe 5 bikers.