Sustaining communities with trails and open space

Celebrating one of Redlands’ new trails

By Roger Bell

The Redlands Conservancy recently held the first of this spring’s “Trails at Ten” events.  Over 100 people, including a lot of kids, attended to learn more about the flora and fauna of Oakmont Park and Trail, hear about the importance of “leave no trace” from an Eagle Scout, and to hike several miles on a beautiful day in a scenic, preserved environment.

It was a special day indeed.  As a Board member of the Conservancy and one of the founders of the Redlands Sustainability Network, I came back from the event asking myself a pertinent question:  just how do our trails and open spaces contribute to sustainability?

Land Conservation is one of the topic groups created by our Network and that group, headed up by Sherli Leonard, has offered up a number of key ideas, which will be written about in a future article in this series.  The Emerald Necklace concept, envisioned as a greenbelt around the City of open spaces and connecting trails, has been one strong focus of the Conservancy and something fondly endorsed by our citizens.

Studies have shown that getting into the natural environment in a convenient way nearby where one lives contributes to community health by offering a recreational opportunity, tends to reduce what Richard Louv has called “nature deficit disorder” (Last Child in the Woods), and builds a sense of stewardship in which citizens want to preserve special places where nature is celebrated.  That commitment helps create an ethos of sustainability, pride in our special character, so Redlands doesn’t just meld into surrounding communities where the automobile is king, development overrides quality of life, and a sense of place is diminished.

As a retired trailbuilder, I know the value of creating pathways that lie gentle on the land, are built in such a way as to reduce erosion by providing good drainage and keeping grades less than 10% so they are fun to use and don’t degrade the land.  It is also important to build and interpret trails such that endangered plants are protected, wildlife is not disturbed, and where the opportunity for aesthetic appreciation and historical connections are highlighted.

Too often we have allowed urban sprawl to squander open spaces in the short-sighted rush to develop and expand housing into pristine hillsides. I like the Oakmont approach where, even in a hillside community, the houses are clustered rather than made into large scale properties that fence off and privatize all the land, where, instead, developers are required to preserve significant open space and enable public access with adequately funded and well constructed trails.  I see that as a win/win solution that recognizes and makes clear the community value of sustainability.

For more information about Redlands Sustainability Network, go to http://www.sustainableredlands.com…

Roger Bell, PhD, a former college administrator and retired trail contractor, has lived in Redlands for over 40 years.

Trails are linking our world

Foreign students on new Zhongshan Greenway in Guangdong Province, China

We usually think of trails as an American concept, an outgrowth of our vast landscape, mountains, and public lands. However, greenways and trail systems are a growing interest in many countries: from mountain bike trail systems to urban river corridors to long-distance pathways. Just as technology is shared around the world, we are exporting our trail concepts as well as learning from other countries.

As we have learned from the European tradition of footpaths and dedicated bikeways, other countries are learning from our explosion of community trails and rail trails. England has served as our example for public rights of way, and how canal towpaths could serve walkers and cyclists. Other countries have learned from the American experience with rail corridor preservation.

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, Forgotten World Highway, New Plymouth, New Zealand (photo: Kennett Brothers)

Asian and Pacific countries are also finding that trails benefit both tourism and transportation. In the upcoming Spring edition of American Trails Magazine, readers will find articles and photos of a remarkable new bicycle touring trail system in New Zealand, as well as a new and expansive greenway system for southeast China.

Americans should be proud of our contributions to world health, recreation, and conservation through our ambitious development of many concepts of trails. But we should also be eager to learn from the many ways trails are being re-invented and re-created throughout the world.

Visit our International Trails page for articles, projects, studies, organizations, and links to trails around the world. We welcome your suggestions for trails and resources to add to our international collection.

— Stuart Macdonald, Editor, AmericanTrails.org

Great images of America’s great trails

A man, a bike, a camera: Jonathan Voelz on Tunnel Hill Trail, IL

Rolling on the Richard Martin Trail, AL - photo by Beth McCreless

In 2003 somebody came up with the idea of a photo contest for pictures of National Recreation Trails. It has become a fascinating annual event for those of us who watch the entries come in, and then try to sort out some winners from the remarkable collection of images.

Because American Trails is the lead nonprofit for promoting and nurturing the NRT recognition program, we’re always looking for ways to make more people aware of these great trails. We’re also involved because of our role in representing ALL trails interests, from urban to Wilderness to motorized to water trails. The National Recreation Trails include the same variety of activities among the roster of designated trails.

Since these trails are so different and cover the entire country, we came up with 19 categories for our winning pictures. We’d like to recognize Rob Grant, State Trails Coordinator for Alabama. Because he has made a point of promoting the NRT program as well as the contest in his state, close to 100 of the 275 photos show trails in Alabama.

A special thanks also goes out to our friend and star volunteer John Ansbro, who has pored over every one of the contest photos since the first year. John, a city planner in Evansville, IN, cheerfully finds ways to complicate the process while making it all more fun.

See this year’s great photos at Winners of 2011 National Recreation Trails photo contest…
If you haven’t glanced through all the entries, they are displayed in 14 galleries with information about the trails…

We’d like to see some new trails, so check out the NRTs when you’re heading outdoors, and bring your camera!

— Stuart Macdonald, National Recreation Trails program manager for American Trails

Great images of America’s great trails

A man, a bike, a camera: Jonathan Voelz on Tunnel Hill Trail, IL

In 2003 somebody came up with the idea of a photo contest for pictures of National Recreation Trails. It has become a fascinating annual event for those of us who watch the entries come in, and then try to sort out some winners from the remarkable collection of images.

Because American Trails is the lead nonprofit for promoting and nurturing the NRT recognition program, we’re always looking for ways to make more people aware of these great trails. We’re also involved because of our role in representing ALL trails interests, from urban to Wilderness to motorized to water trails. The National Recreation Trails include the same variety of activities among the roster of designated trails.

Rolling on the Richard Martin Trail, AL - photo by Beth McCreless

 

Since these trails are so different and cover the entire country, we came up with 19 categories for our winning pictures. We’d like to recognize Rob Grant, State Trails Coordinator for Alabama. Because he has made a point of promoting the NRT program as well as the contest in his state, close to 100 of the 275 photos show trails in Alabama.

A special thanks also goes out to our friend and star volunteer John Ansbro, who has pored over every one of the contest photos since the first year. John, a city planner in Evansville, IN, cheerfully finds ways to complicate the process while making it all more fun.

See this year’s great photos at Winners of 2011 National Recreation Trails photo contest…
If you haven’t glanced through all the entries, they are displayed in 14 galleries with information about the trails…

We’d like to see some new trails, so check out the NRTs when you’re heading outdoors, and bring your camera!

— Stuart Macdonald, National Recreation Trails program manager for American Trails

 

http://www.americantrails.org/photoGalleries/photocontest2011/11photowins.html

http://www.americantrails.org/photoGalleries/photocontest2011/11photowins.html

A man, a bike, a camera: Jonathan Voelz on the Tunnel Hill Trail, IL

Rolling on the Richard Martin Trail, AL - photo by Beth McCreless

In 2003 somebody came up with the idea of a photo contest for pictures of National Recreation Trails. It has become a fascinating annual event for those of us who watch the entries come in, and then try to sort out some winners from the remarkable collection of images.

Because American Trails is the lead nonprofit for promoting and nurturing the NRT recognition program, we’re always looking for ways to make more people aware of these great trails. We’re also involved because of our role in representing ALL trails interests, from urban to Wilderness to motorized to water trails. The National Recreation Trails include the same variety of activities among the roster of designated trails.

Since these trails are so different and cover the entire country, we came up with 19 categories for our winning pictures. We’d like to recognize Rob Grant, State Trails Coordinator for Alabama. Because he has made a point of promoting the NRT program as well as the contest in his state, close to 100 of the 275 photos show trails in Alabama.

A special thanks also goes out to our friend and star volunteer John Ansbro, who has pored over every one of the contest photos since the first year. John, a city planner in Evansville, IN, cheerfully finds ways to complicate the process while making it all more fun.

See this year’s great photos at Winners of the 2011 NRT Photo Contest…
If you haven’t glanced through all the entries, they are displayed in 14 galleries with information about the trails: http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/photocon.html

We’d like to see some new trails, so check out the NRTs when you’re heading outdoors, and bring your camera!

— Stuart Macdonald, National Recreation Trails program manager for American Trails

~ OPDMD: coming to a trail near you?

It has been almost a year since the Department of Justice (DOJ) created a stir in the trails community about “other power-driven mobility devices” (OPDMD). While the rules had been open to public comment during the previous year, many of us shared the same thought: “do they really mean what I think they mean?” And yes, the DOJ rules mean that anything with a motor that can be driven, regardless of size or horsepower, is allowed on your trails and open areas if it is driven by a person who says they have a mobility related disability.

Segways are just one kind of device or vehicle that can be considered an OPDMD

You may not have noticed a sudden surge of electric ATVs or monster trucks on your nature trail. We have seen a rather modest number of trail assessment and policy documents, and I suspect many people are hoping that somebody, somewhere, will come up with “the right answer.” But trail managers who don’t address this issue are open to a very wide interpretation of what a mobility device can be.

American Trails hosted a webinar on OPDMD last spring with Janet Zeller of the U.S. Forest Service helping trail managers understand the rule. The result of 700 people listening and talking about this issue was a deluge of questions. With more help from Janet, we compiled a huge Q and A list. But there were still many questions that simply had no clear answer or precedent in other ADA law. So the DOJ received a list of the toughest problem areas, like animal-powered vehicles, federal funding implications, trail gates, requiring permits, and much more.

We have not yet heard answers from DOJ, who have also had inquiries from many other people concerning their own specific situations. However, part of their job is to help make sense out of what many would call “unintended consequences” of the OPDMD rule. So we have been assured that we’ll be hearing from DOJ in the form of some technical assistance in the not too distant future. When the DOJ issues that guidance we will alert you and make copies available. This is an opportunity for land managers to take a fresh look at their policies and decision-making processes on trail use in general– and to see how people with disabilities might be better accommodated.

Please keep this issue in mind. We’ve assembled the most complete guide to the rule, along with many questions and answers, and examples of local and state OPDMD policies. Here’s a good place to start: Introduction to DOJ rule on “other power-driven mobility devices” and their use on trails.

— Stuart Macdonald, National Trails Training Partnership program manager for American Trails

~ Working together: taking the long view of funding

The current crisis in funding for trails and other bicycle-pedestrian programs has created another big partnership problem. Why is one trails program funded but Enhancements are not?

At American Trails our goal is to build common ground among a wide array of interests, even those who don’t have much to do with trails. Why? Because we believe we are all part of an important movement to create healthier communities, to improve accessibility, to reduce dependence on cars, to promote freedom as well as safety for children, and to conserve public lands and linear parks.

The new House transportation bill specifically attacks programs for bikeways, walking, state bike programs, rail trails, and safe routes to school. The reason the Recreational Trails Program seems to be spared (this week, anyway), is probably because it is tied to a specific aspect of the federal fuel tax: gas burned by OHVs, snowmobiles, hunters, and others driving off-highway on our public lands.

However, an important legacy of the Recreational Trails Program is that it brings both motorized and nonmotorized trails people together. It’s the recreational vehicles that fund the RTP, but most of that money is going to nonmotorized trails. It took the whole spectrum of trail enthusiasts to make the program politically viable. In the same way, we believe the long-term success of the other vital funding programs will be ensured only by maintaining the partnership among many diverse interests.

So we urge you to take the long view, to recognize that there is more strength in greater numbers. Please count yourself as part of the movement for a healthier planet. That’s why American Trails is supporting Safe Routes to School as well as Wilderness hiking; active transportation as well as rail trails; and bridges to public transit as well as preserving access to our public lands. Read more about supporting trails and bicycle/pedestrian programs…

— Stuart Macdonald, American Trails website and magazine editor

~ We lost a friend and a legend: Hulet Hornbeck

"The Hulet Hornbeck Trail" Dedication Ceremony in 2005

See comments left by family and friends below.

Hulet passed peacefully away on the morning of January 7th. Recently Hulet successfully beat esophageal cancer and was recovering contentedly when he came down with congestive heart failure this past week. He had been living at his daughter’s lovely and loving Assisted Living Home in Pacific Grove since July. She was by his side when he died.

Hulet loved his family and friends, and as you know, was passionate about trails, parks, and the preservation of greenways. As he rested, he enjoyed reading about trail happenings throughout California and the country.

READ HULET’S OBITUARY ~ provided by his Family

Hulet Hornbeck’s Service – February 26, 2012, 11:00 a.m.
(click here for directions)
East Bay Regional Park District’s Tilden Park
Wildcat Canyon Road at Shasta Road, Berkeley, California
Brazilian Room

Hulet’s family can be reached at: Hornbeck Family, 1229 David Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.

Read more about Hulet’s life in the “In Memoriam” section of our website.
Here is the direct link to his page: http://www.americantrails.org/resources/memorial/Hulet-Hornbeck-memoriam.html.

We would love to add your stories, articles, memories, photos, quotes, etc., if you would like to pass them on to us. Items can be emailed to trailhead@americantrails.org or you can call the office at 530-547-2060.

Feel free to link to these pages and to share them with others.

Below you can easily post comments, memories, tributes, as well as thoughts for Hulet’s family.

Hulet, the trails community both mourns your loss and celebrates your life! Thank you for lighting our way…

~ Spiritual journeys: the light on the trail ahead

This is the time of year that most of the world celebrates life, the passing of the old, birth and rebirth. In our country, amid the holiday hoopla, we also seek the spiritual connection that is at the heart of our religious traditions. For many of us, that includes a brisk walk under the bare trees in the wan winter light, or braving the slopes to feel the crunch of snow and a glimpse of distant hills. From frozen meadows to salty sandscapes, this season is a time to be with people we love while savoring our beautiful natural world.

This is also a good time to reflect on the spiritual dimension of trails and pathways. There are so many ways that people find a sense of joy and renewal on trails of many kinds. Whatever the terrain or type of trail, there is that sense of anticipation, of looking ahead. And that reminds us how in every season of human existence, we still see glimmers of hope, and the light of joy ahead of us.

Ian Bradley, who wrote Pilgrimage: a spiritual and cultural journey, notes that the number of Europeans making pilgrimages is steadily rising, even as church attendance has slipped. “Many people, uncomfortable about sitting in pews and uneasy with institutionalized religion, find it easier to walk rather than talk their faith,” he writes.

For at least a thousand years, pilgrims have walked the Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago) to reach the cathedral dedicated to St. James at Santiago de Compostela. There are many other pilgrimage trails from Turkey to Tibet where people seek a spiritual connection. In Japan, the pilgrimage route around the island of Shikoku reaches 88 Buddhist temples and sacred places. In New Mexico, pilgrims walk a few hundred yards or a hundred miles to reach El Santuario de Chimayo during Easter week.

Many of you will have seen the Associated Press story about the “Gospel Trail” in Israel. The 39-mile hiking route runs from Nazareth across the hills and through Jewish and Arab towns. The project was supported by the Israeli Tourism Ministry to help visitors have a more intimate journey through Biblical landmarks and landscapes. You can download the brochure on the Gospel Trail…

Another interesting exploration of spirituality is Ronald Bearwald’s “Twenty life lessons of the trail.” He writes about the serenity and rigors of trails that put us in touch with our own capabilities and sensibilities. You will find more articles about the spirituality of trails on our website…

We wish you all a happy holiday season, and joy at the end of your own pilgrimage!

— Stuart Macdonald and the American Trails staff

~ Trails are making a difference

We had a great conversation with Nancy Desmond of Cleveland Metroparks, who told us how trails had made a difference in her life and career. Nancy is Partnership & Planning Assistant with the park district:

“I’ve been a mountain biker and trail runner for years but I worked in park interpretation and education. I came from a history museum background, so didn’t think much about trails, I just used them.

“A few years back our park planner asked me to substitute for her presenting at the American Trails Symposium in Little Rock. Not knowing what to expect, I quickly discovered these trail folks were “my people”!  I’d never thought about trails as the asset they are, offering a thousand different experiences to a wide diversity of people.  Not many other things we do in this line of work serve so many people in so many positive ways.

“Since then, I moved from interpretation into planning at my organization, Cleveland Metroparks, and learned as much as I could about the art, science and culture of trails. I became a passionate advocate for all trails, but sustainable, natural surface trails in particular.

“Cleveland Metroparks owns 22,000 acres of parkland and forest, but did not put a priority on natural surface trails. It showed in an eroded, outdated trail system. But through the effort of many employees, the sustainable trails movement finally took hold!

“I recently coordinated the volunteers on a major mountain bike trail building effort here as our organization learns about sustainable trail building.  We used the student Conservation Corps leaders to help build the trail and train our staff and invited surrounding park districts to learn too. We decommissioned poorly designed trail and flagged nine miles of flowing single track for bikes, hikers and runners. We’re about to hire a trails coordinator to oversee all future trails projects and expect several more redesign and rehabilitation projects next year.

“Thanks American Trails for changing the course of my career and for the work you do to benefit all!”

Learn more about Cleveland Metroparks trails program…