It's a Hard Time of Year

Greg Mumm 

September 2003

It is always so hard this time of year after the Challenge and the Classic to find a way to go back to the normal daily business of life let alone go back to normal club business. Unfortunately, it has to be done whether we like it or not.

These early days of summers end are always a time for reflection for me. I think about how things went this year, about what went right and what went wrong, and I think about what I can do better with my part next year. Perhaps more importantly, I think about why we do events in the first place. Aside from being fun (whether we want to admit it or not), we do all that work to raise funds for worthwhile and important things in our community and for the Black Hills.

That being said, I am reminded to turn our attention back to projects we have waiting for us in the wings. The groundwork has been laid for us to put the mapping project on paper and move it to the next level with the Forest Service. As you all know, through this we can preserve and maintain the trails we now have in the Black Hills. It is important to focus our attention on this to prevent misuse of those existing trails and to productively provide for new trails in the future. It is a different approach to preservation than any of us are accustomed to and some are just a bit uncomfortable or even outright opposed to it. That is a good thing for balancing out the effort. It will require a great deal of input from everyone to get it done right and I think we can.

Paralleling the mapping project, we also have another project that I think I have alluded to although not in any detail. I have been approached to help put together a brochure of trail use in the Black Hills. This has the potential of being used to help promote responsible recreational trail use and local club involvement to many who might be displaced from home in the military and others who are just moving into the area or even just visiting. The value of this effort will have far reaching effects. Aside from educating people locally to prevent unintended misuse, this project will help our sport be better recognized with the community and the Forest Service as the legitimate and responsible recreation that it is. There is also the side benefit of revitalizing our club with new people on the membership roster.

In both of these projects, I also believe we can develop a healthy forum in which we can work closely together with other local recreational groups and even those who promote the community. Look for more on these at the next meeting and think about where you might be able to best pitch in.

Finally, we can’t forget we need to continue being part of the planning processes of the Forest Service, not the least of which are: The Prairie Project (looking for final EIS), the Elk Bugs and Fuel Project (also looking for final EIS), The Travel Management Plan for the fire areas in the Southern Black Hills and the final planning for Phase 2 of the Forest Plan Revision. I will try to keep you up to date as more information comes my way.