DCNR SCORP - 2009/05/22 15:08Check out the website for all the details http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/news/resource/res2009/09-0520-scorp.aspx but there will be a meeting on June 2nd, 4:30 to 7 at the Ramada Inn here in State College, one of three across the state. Honestly I have not extensively reviewed the report but according to Frank, its pretty pro multiuse with regards to trails. So its not as if we are really trying to fight for anything, however Frank is putting together some "talking points" and giving favorable feedback for the things we feel that are good can go along way in helping our causes in the future.
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/05/28 10:47Please read each of the 4 recommendations. They don't directly pertain to mtn biking but contain many good ideas. It is good food for thought.
HO
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/05/28 11:25If you read between the lines, one of the major thrusts of the document is that there needs to be overall coordination between the different state agencies. Specifically, the PGC is being pressured to admit that they are in the recreation business and that they will benefit from coordinating with other agencies. As usual, this document can't force the PGC to do anything, but it will be good to get as many comments related to access to SGLs into the public record as possible.
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/05/31 19:05I'm going, Would it do any good to suggest that if the PGC would allow people to ride, & under their guidance, build trails, & charge us a yearly fee for each biker, like they do for hunters, with the restrictions of staying out of the woods during Deer season. They would make a lot of extra money & it would be great for the Pa economy....people would come from all states to ride all the extensive trails, spending money in PA. Let me know before hand what ya think, before we bring it up??? Rob
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/05/31 19:19the concept has certainly been brought up to them in the past. They have different reasons why that won't work that we don't need to get into right now. Unfortunately this meeting is with DCNR, not PGC directly. I think the best tact at this point is to just agree and support DCNR's general idea that gamelands should be used for recreation as well as hunting and let them figure out the details. At this point getting bogged down in details probably wont accomplish much in my opinion.
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/06/02 09:58I'm going to try to make it to the meeting, but I'll be late...as I work until 5 in Bellefonte. Hope to see you guys there.
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/06/02 22:53What did anyone else think of the meeting?
I found it to be the same old stuff. They "asked" for public input, but if it didn't align with their action points they didn't really want it. Also, they mentioned "state forest land" twice in the entire presentation. Twice!
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/06/03 09:25I would agree its alot of the same old, but I think the fact that they really seem to be working together with so many different agencies as a positive step. also the fact that they want to keep the tech advisory committee together is also a positive step as we will still have Frank in the mix. with regards to matt's comment about mentioning state forests, i guess it doesnt really surprise me that it wasn't mentioned more as this plan is for over all state wide outdoor recreation and while the state forest is our main playground, its just not a big draw recreation wise for the general public outside of "pleasure" driving. There seems to be an attempt at making "trails" a priority but i got the feeling that they are not 100% sure what that really means. according to their surveys people want "trails" but does that mean paved bike paths, rail trails, atv trails, single track etc? They are going to try and put together a state wide inventory of trails as well as attempt to assign a level of difficulty. supposedly this website will have some kind of user update type function. I think its a nice idea but will never be very useful past a few big trails, midstate etc, but who know, maybe ill be pleasantly surprised. I also made the suggestion of having links on a site like that to local clubs/groups like us that have more detailed local knowlege/info.
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Re:DCNR SCORP - 2009/06/03 09:47They did seem to be throwing around a bunch of terms, but they had no clue how to define them. It scares me that the people putting together this plan can't define terms such as trail and "green".
I also asked them many times about the inter-agency cooperation and they had no specifics. I hate to say it but at this point it feels like an empty idea. I also questioned them about intra-agency cooperation. How many times have we seen DCNR take an action (I'm thinking mostly bulldozers and chainsaws) that has had a dramatic impact on a recreational opportunity? How can they work within themselves to fix those issues?
What bothers me about the lack of mention of state forest land is that they are not even giving it the opportunity to be a central part of recreation. Isn't most of this plan based on a survey of state park users? In their book state forest land is a place for them to extract resources. And until it is viewed by a lot of people in some other light, it is going to stay the same course. Fostering some further use of those lands can be nothing but positive for future protection. But maybe this would run against their objectives for the land?
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