As a result of the process that resulted in the county’s vacation of the right-of-way of the county road at S 21.5 Road also referred to as Jacob’s Ladder, the Mesa County Public Works Department has proposed some amendments to the existing code that hope to address some of the issues that came to the front. They are seeking comments from the public and will provide the opportunity for the public to testify at two hearings.

Download and Review the Document

Text proposed to be added is shown in red font and text proposed for deletion is shown in strikethrough font.

ROW Notice Text Amendment For Web (41.3 KiB)

You may also download the file directly from the Mesa County website: http://www.mesacounty.us/planning/landcode/proposed-text-amendments.aspx

Testify

There will be two public meetings where the public can testify:

Mesa County Planning Commission hearing date: June 27, 2013 at 6 p.m.
Mesa County Board of Commissioners hearing date: July 16, 2013 at 9 a.m.

The public is welcome to testify at the public hearings held on the dates and times shown above; however, written comments submitted in advance or requests for a meeting with staff before the hearings to discuss issues is always preferred.

Comment

When commenting, please remember to provide productive feedback and to keep all communications respectful and on topic. The S 21.5 Road vacation is settled and not under consideration in this public process.

Submit comments via email to: Linda Dannenberger <linda.dannenberger@mesacounty.us>

Submit written comments via mail to:

Submit comments via the following online form:

GRAND JUNCTION, CO — Grand Valley Trails Alliance has an opening to join the Board of Directors.

The Grand Valley Trails Alliance is pleased to announce the opportunity to join the Board of Directors. This dynamic organization has undertaken some exciting projects to help ensure that the Grand Valley remains the Trails Capital of Colorado™ into the future and has opened up the opportunity to help lead this effort.

We are seeking community members to join the Board of Directors to help the Grand Valley Trails Alliance grow and expand on the foundation it has built. We are looking for individuals who can contribute some unique skills and experience to the organization and will be leaders in the trails community and in the organization.

Applications will be collected online or by mail to be postmarked no later than Wednesday, May 15th. For more information, qualifications and to apply online or download an application to be mailed in, please visit:
http://gvtrails.com/about/board-of-directors-application/

Applications should be mailed to the following address: Grand Valley Trails Alliance, ℅ BOD Team, PO Box 1032, Grand Junction, CO 81502. Questions regarding the application process may be directed to applicant-support@gvtrails.com.

Applications will be accepted through May 15th, 2013 and the board will be seated on or about June 15, 2013.

Members of the media may contact Dave Grossman, Executive Director at (970) 462-7151.

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The mission of the Grand Valley Trails Alliance is to support, enhance and sustain a world-class multiple-use trail network in western Colorado’s Grand Valley by facilitating trail planning, education, construction, maintenance and management between trail user groups, communities, and land managers.

Already with a lot of construction completed, the trail is nearing completion and this two-day build project will be an important push toward completion. Since it is a two-days in a moderately remote location, the project includes free meals from Saturday breakfast to Sunday’s lunch and free camping.

Once complete, this flowing, amazing singletrack trail will be accessible to mountain bikers, motorcycles, horses and hikers providing an important framework for future expansion above Fruita in the Bookcliffs.

Sign up for the project and help build the next great trail system in Fruita.

Contact: Dave Grossman, Coordinator, Grand Valley Trails Alliance (970) 462-7151

COPMOBA to Launch New Trail in Fruita Colorado

GRAND JUNCTION, CO — COMPOBA, in partnership with the BLM’s Grand Junction Field Office, the City of Fruita and a variety of businesses and organizations, will host a Grand Opening and launch event for an exciting new trail in the North Fruita Desert.

For just over two years, the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) has worked with the Grand Junction Field Office of the BLM, the City of Fruita, a variety of supporting organization and more than 50 volunteers to build an exciting new trail in the bicycle emphasis area of 18 Road in the North Fruita Desert. This unique trail project will showcase an exciting new riding style pioneered in the 18 Road trail system with the popular PBR trail built spring of 2012. Featuring multiple built features integrated into the flowing natural terrain that makes Fruita riding so special, the new trail features rollers, berms and jumps that are targeted toward an intermediate or advanced rider that is looking to ride a fun, fast, exciting trail filled with fast corners and exciting jumps.

COPMOBA and the project partners will have a brief ceremony where the trail will be officially named, a ribbon will be cut, and the first offical rides will happen on the new trail.

The ceremony and ribbon cutting will take place at 12pm, March 17th 2013 at the 18 Road Parking Lot in the North Fruita Desert. Interview opportunities, action footage shoots and more will be available during the event.

Members of the media may contact Kris Cox of COPMOBA at (970) 216-2075 or Dave Grossman of the Grand Valley Trails Alliance at (970) 270-3133.

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COPMOBA is a group of mountain bikers dedicated to the development and maintenance of regional mountain bike trails on the Colorado Plateau. Our main trails include Kokopelli’s, Tabequache, and Paradox, and we also work on all mountain bike trails in the area and are always working to get new trails built.

The mission of the Grand Valley Trails Alliance is to support, enhance and sustain a world-class multiple-use trail network in western Colorado’s Grand Valley by facilitating trail planning, education, construction, maintenance and management between trail user groups, communities, and land managers.

March 6, 2013

Contact:  David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 876-9008

BLM extends Grand Junction RMP comment period, schedules additional public meeting on travel management.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management has extended the public comment period on its Draft Grand Junction Resource Management Plan until June 24, 2013 and has scheduled an additional community meeting to discuss the RMP’s travel management alternatives.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people want to review this draft in detail so that they can provide us with specific, effective comments,” said BLM Grand Junction Field Manager Katie Stevens. “This feedback will be critical to the success of this long-range planning effort, and we want to make sure the public has ample opportunity to be involved.”

When finalized, the plan will provide a framework to guide subsequent management decisions for the next several decades on more than 1 million surface acres and 1.2 million acres of subsurface mineral estate in Mesa and Garfield counties, with small amounts in Montrose and Rio Blanco counties. BLM released the draft plan for public review on Jan. 14, 2013.

BLM is extending the public comment period on the draft an additional 60 days in response to requests from the Mesa County Commission and others.

BLM has scheduled the additional community meeting April 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Two Rivers Convention Center, 159 Main St. in Grand Junction, to facilitate a broader community discussion about its draft travel management plan. Written comments will be accepted at the meeting.

“Since we made the draft plan available in January, we have heard a lot of good questions about our alternatives for managing roads and trails in particular,” Stevens said.  “We are holding this additional opportunity to continue to discuss the alternatives with the public and help answer questions.”

More than 500 people attended the five public open houses BLM held in January and February to kick-off the public review and comment period of the draft.

“We genuinely appreciate this high level of interest within the community about how public lands will be managed in the Grand Junction Field Office,” Stevens said.

Following the close of the public comment period, BLM will use the comments it receives to help develop the Proposed RMP and Travel Management Plan, which are currently expected to be completed in winter of 2014.

For additional information including how to provide comments or to view a copy of the Draft RMP, including the draft travel management plan, visit http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/gjfo/rmp/rmp.html.

Before including address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal identifying information in your comments, be advised that your entire comment, including personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While individuals may request BLM to withhold personal identifying information from public view, the BLM cannot guarantee it will be able to do so.

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Building a vision for Monument Road

(Grand Junction, CO – February 20th, 2013) Mesa Land Trust, the award-winning western Colorado land conservation organization, announces the Building a Vision for Monument Road project.

The Mesa Land Trust will host public meetings, provide an interactive on-line website, and meet with public groups to hear community input on support for a potential off-road bike path from downtown to the Colorado National Monument; safe crossings along Monument Road; potential for connecting neighborhoods, schools, and recreation areas by bike/pedestrian paths; protect existing view sheds; the potential to acquire additional open space along Monument Road, and more.

“We think the Monument Road Corridor is a world class resource offering scenic views of spectacular landscapes for Colorado National Monument visitors, visitors to the Grand Valley, locals and recreationists as well as providing opportunities that promote healthy lifestyles and economic activity,” states Rob Bleiberg, Executive Director, Mesa Land Trust.

The Mesa Land Trust, City of Grand Junction, Mesa County, the Colorado National Monument, and the BLM are partnering to convene a public dialogue about conservation and recreation goals for Monument Road. The Mesa Land Trust will work collaboratively with land owners, as it has over the past 30 years, to explore voluntary tools of conservation including Conservation Easements, Trail Easements, and land purchases to achieve opportunities presented by both landowners and the community.

We know from the amazing community support received for the preservation of the Three Sisters that recreation, landscapes, and scenic views are important to the community.

Rob Schoeber, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Grand Junction stated “We at the city are very excited about the acquisition of the Three Sisters and all the great new trail opportunities on that property for the public.”

“There are few places where downtown businesses are so close to beautiful recreation resources like the Colorado National Monument and Tabeguache trail area. Should part of the vision for Monument Road include safe off road trails that allow residents and visitors to ride bikes from downtown shops, restaurants, and hotels up along Monument Road to recreation destinations?” queried Bleiberg.

Mesa Land Trust will convene the public dialogue on trail connections, public safety, school accessibility by bike/foot, impact of recreation and conservation on Monument Road on downtown businesses, and more to contribute to a vision and implementation plan for project partners to utilize in determining planning priorities.

As Steve Gunderson, Western Slope Region President for US Bank, sums this project up well, stating that building this vision “strengthens the community by bringing people together to develop a stronger asset for our local residents and local economy.”

How to voice your input for the Monument Road vision

Attend public meetings listed below. These meetings will target specific stake holder groups. However, please attend a meeting that fits your schedule and your voice will be heard!

February 26th, 6-8 pm, Redlands Middle School (Glade Park Residents, Monument Road landowners, Redlands area residents)

February 27th, 12-2pm, Whitman Building (4th & Ute) (General Public, local business, downtown vendors)

February 27th, 6-8pm, Redlands Middle School (Recreationists)

Also, please go to our interactive website to provide input: www.monumentroadvision.com

The Grand Mesa Nordic Council

The Grand Mesa Nordic Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to managing and operating the cross country skiing trail network atop the Grand Mesa and promoting nordic skiing in our community. They groom for classic track and skate skiing 32 miles of trails in three areas and host multiple events on the trail system including instruction for kids, fun events and races. The high elevation and the prodigious snowfall allow for early and late skiing, positioning the Grand Mesa as an important and popular destination for nordic skiers from around the region.

A donation and member supported organization, the Nordic Council spends 80% of the money they collect on grooming and maintaining the trail system. The work they do allows thousands of people to enjoy the skiing, the trails, the exercise, the camaraderie and the fun nordic skiing promotes. Consider supporting this great organization with a donation via their website at GMNC.org

At the end of the show I talked briefly about the Draft RMP including information about an upcoming Travel Management Plan focused meeting to be held in March by the BLM.

March’s Show

Next month I hope to have representatives from the winter trail activities that are part of life in the Grand Valley. Tune in March 13th at noon on KAFM 88.1 FM.

Listen Here

If you missed today’s show, you can listen to the show right here. gvta_unitedOnTrails-021313

The flyer for the 2013 Walking and Biking Trails Summit is out. Special thanks to the Mesa County Health Department for their efforts in creating this flyer for distribution online and in print. Look for the flyers in windows around town and make sure to register for the event! And help spread the word by sharing the flyer with your friends and colleges.

]]> http://gvtrails.com/2013/02/register-for-the-walking-and-biking-trails-summit/feed/ 0 http://gvtrails.com/2013/02/tune-in-today-to-trails-radio-with-the-nordic-council/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tune-in-today-to-trails-radio-with-the-nordic-council http://gvtrails.com/2013/02/tune-in-today-to-trails-radio-with-the-nordic-council/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:46:59 +0000 Dave http://gvtrails.com/?p=121126 Tune in today to Trails Radio with Annie Murphy of the Grand Mesa Nordic Council. We will learn about the efforts of the Nordic Council to maintain and operate an extensive set of nordic trails on the Grand Mesa.

You can listen to today’s show at noon on KAFM 88.1 FM in the Grand Valley or online at KAFM. I’ll post a recording of the show on this site tomorrow.

About United on Trails

United on Trails Radio show is a monthly radio show focused on conversations about trails. Each month on the second Wednesday, we bring together trail users, trail user groups, businesses and land managers to talk about trails. If you would like to come on the air and contribute to the discussion, please contact us and arrange a date.

This week on Trails Radio we speak with Annie Murphy, the president of the Nordic Council, and information about all the latest trail efforts in the Grand Valley including the latest information about the Draft Resource Management Plan.

Nordic Council

The March edition of Trails Radio features Annie Murphy of the Nordic Council. With the Grand Mesa leading the rest of Colorado in snow totals for most of the winter, we are going to talk about the Nordic Council and their efforts with trails on the Grand Mesa. The Grand Mesa Nordic Council is a community-based nonprofit organization of people who love to cross-country ski. We are dedicated to promoting fun, safe, diversified cross country skiing experiences on the Grand Mesa for skiers of all ages, abilities, and interests. The Nordic Council grooms 54 kilometers (32.4 miles) of trails on the Grand Mesa with funds donated from skiers and snowshoers.

In addition, we will highlight some recent efforts on a variety of trails in the Grand Valley and share opportunities for the public to comment on, participate in and support these diverse efforts.

Catch the show Wednesday at noon on KAFM 88.1FM or listen in online at kafmradio.org. If you miss the live broadcast, we will have a recording of the show on the GVTA website in the next day.

About Trails Radio: United on Trails

United on Trails Radio show is a monthly radio show focused on conversations about trails. Each month on the second Wednesday, we bring together trail users, trail user groups, businesses and land managers to talk about trails. If you would like to come on the air and contribute to the discussion, please contact us and arrange a date.