Thought you might enjoy this trail access article I wrote for TimberWest magazine

[gticlay]

The goal was to show the timber industry how well the public access to privately owned timberland is working in Whatcom County (near to Bellingham, but not in the city) and to hopefully promote this sort of arrangement with other private forest owners. Unfortunately, we do end up with unauthorized trail building in the area but the owners have been able to overlook the bad decisions of a few, for now.

TimberWest Magazine January/February 2013 - Private Land, Public Access

[Trail Ninja]

Well done. I've sent links to this article to several people including the local timber company I deal with. I have an agreement with them but it's all unofficial. During the 20 or so years I've been working on the land around here, ownership has changed hands several times. That always means me seeking out the new landowners and pitching myself all over again. My local bike club hasn't been much help and they are still of the "build it & hope they don't notice" way of thinking. This article may be just what they need.

[Ridnparadise]

It's a very good article. We deal with a government department, rather than a private LM and work in a national park, but the issues are very similar. Vehicle access, use of machinery, master planning and methods of communication are all issues in progress. Strangely, even change of manager has come up.

One step up the ladder, there is a meeting this week to advance the concept of a statewide MTB management master plan. Present will be representatives of various trail systems, local council, national parks, MTB clubs, state government (Sport and Recreation) etc. The aim is to develop a transferable system to facilitate the way all groups deal with the issue of MTB access and trailcare. Sort of like Bellingham taken to a general point of reference, I guess.

Thanks for letting us read about your area. It seems like yesterday things were looking bad for you. "In Good Company" - A film about the importance of mountain biking to a community - Pinkbike It's nice to hear things are not all sad.