WHATCOM ? After a month of protests and pleading, mountain bikers will have to find another course to ride in the area. The Nooksack River?s prized Slide Mountain was officially closed on April 2, despite letters sent to the state Department of Natural Resources to try to keep it open.
At a meeting held May 3, DNR decided to keep the trails closed. Recreation Program Communications Manager Diana Lofflin said that although there was heavy outcry from community members to keep the trails open, the DNR had no choice but to shut down access.
?The trails were built without the DNR knowledge,? Lofflin said. ?When we found out, there was a huge liability risk for personal injury and environmental damage, so we had to close it down.?
In early April, Sen. Doug Ericksen of Ferndale sent a letter to Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, asking him to suspend the DNR?s plan to decommission the trail system. In that letter, Ericksen asked for the DNR to review all the factors in the decision including neighbors? complaints and environmental problems.
Ericksen said that Slide Mountain is the only type of trail open to bikers in the area, and closing it down would be a mistake.
?There are no authorized recreational areas on DNR land in Whatcom County,? Ericksen wrote in the letter.? ?The user-built mountain-bike trail system is a reflection of the need for such recreational opportunities.?
Lofflin said the DNR?s stance was that there are plenty of recreation trails and plans for the future to fit the needs of those who frequented Slide Mountain. Lofflin said these trails include Blanchard Mountain in Walker Valley in Skagit County.
As for mountain bike trail access right in Whatcom County, Lofflin said the DNR is in the process of developing plans, but there?s one thing in the way.
?Right now we don?t have anything in the budget, so we?re working on getting something funded for it to move forward,? Lofflin said. ?We will find an area for the recreation plan that can support whatever trails or facilities are built. We go through a lot of environmental and landscape design processes.?
Lofflin added that the DNR?s goal is to develop a plan that will involve plenty of feedback from members of the community.
Email Braulio Perez at sports@lyndentribune.com.
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