"I Lit the Fuse"

Greg Mumm 

Feb 2004

So… I lit the fuse! Earlier this month, I had a meeting with the Forest Service about our proposal for establishing an official trail system in the Black Hills. The proposal was met with what I would describe as enthusiasm and exuberance! So much so that we have already scheduled the next meeting for the first part of February to begin the planning process.

As you may or may not know, in the presentation, I had originally offered that we identify the Jasper Elk Mountain Complex Fire Areas Travel Management as a pilot project for the trail system. However, in the initial meeting, the District Rangers and the Deputy Supervisor of the BHNF all agreed this concept needed to immediately go to the Forest Wide level.

The reasons for that are tied to timing of the presentation and immediate needs across the Black Hills.

To begin with, we timed this initial presentation to be right on the heels of Forest Chief Dale Bozworth’s national statement that unmanaged OHV travel is the "fourth greatest threat to our nations forests" and his subsequent "edict" for Forests to force folks to stay on established roads and trails. Now, while Bozworth is not some sort of king that can just make edicts like this (Note: We have forest planning processes that are established for this sort of thing over which Bozworth has no rights of superceding.), it does place pressure on those responsible in our Forest Management to deal with the issue. That pressure set the stage for someone to step forward and present a concept that provides the necessary solutions to consistent forest wide planning. Our conceptual plan dovetails well with what needs to take place.

Secondly, this is bigger than just us! This needs to include all forms of recreational travel both motorized and otherwise. In putting the concept together, we recognized this and included that important factor in the concept for the trails system. That means, the next step in the process is to identify and solicit the involvement of those involved with other forms of recreation. To that end I have already started working and that is the primary objective of the next meeting with the Forest Service in February.

As this all begins to develop (and I have a feeling it will develop quickly), we need to recognize that our involvement with all of this comes to an end- NEVER!! The reason something like this hasn’t happened in the past is because we didn’t make it happen. The Forest Service has a limited budget and limitation on manpower and in the past, that has caused them to have to deal with issues in ways we may not agree with but they feel forced into. They are willing to work with us to provide us with what we want and need, in fact, I would go so far as to say they want to provide that to us. It is crucial for us to work with them to make that happen and continue into the future.