Uwharrie, Tellico, Private Parks, and more...

DRaider90

DRaider90

Uwharrie Off-Road Volunteering
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Location
Weddington, NC
I will be stirring the pot just a tiny bit, but hopefully it will spark some discussions among everyone on here.

Tellico had a lot of issues facing it, some even from the very beginning. 1 of the major ones was the Forest Service wasn't too thrilled about the idea of the OHV System. So they let the trails go without proper maintenance for many years, and then SFWDA and other groups dump 100s of thousands of dollars into the place trying to play catch up.

At Uwharrie we are very fortunate that Ranger Deborah Walker is very supportive of the OHV group, and the other recreation groups. And with her we have Terry Savery that has an extensive background working with OHV systems, and is willing to work with us to help keep the OHV system up. Combine them with Pete, Rodney, Janet, Drew, Mellisa, and the others and we have a good group of Forest Service to work with. This is a big plus over what the community had to deal with at Tellico.

And on top of that we aren't too far behind in maintenance. Through stimulus funds Rocky Mountain Loop has gotten work done, and Falls Dam. Last year we were able to put a nice sized dent in the work needed on Dutch John, plus help out on other trails. But there is a LOT of work left to do(and more work is added every day the trails are open), and from what I heard the Forest Service is working with a 4 year old budget minus thousands of dollars. So the Forest Service will be relying on the volunteers even more than ever this year.

I see a lot of threads about the prices of private OHV parks. About how people would be willing to pay much more than $5 A Day/$30 a Year to support them. Which I am all for, I for one hope we can get Callalantee back, a place I have enjoyed wheeling many times. But at the same time I don't think this means we should neglect our public lands. There might not be "extreme wheeling" like some private parks offer, but its a place you can take the family/friends and enjoy a weekend away from it all and hit the trails.

We actually have an opportunity to improve the OHV trails at Uwharrie, heck the Forest Service is trying to get new/old trails open/re-opened. Instead of just closing the Saw-Mill trail they put in a re-route so we wouldn't loose the entire trail. Before I go too far let me say the Forest Service isn't perfect, like any other Government program. But Deborah and the rest of the Forest Service are willing to listen to us, and work with us so we should take advantage of it. 2012 is a new year, and who knows we may have a new trail open for this new year.

We have our foot in the door, lets see what we can get done. :driver::beer:
 
Count me in on any work needed - I can't run heavy machinery, but I can pick up trash (I do every trip) and I can use a hammer, shovel, whatever.
 
Eli, you know I will be helping when I can. With the economy, empty pockets, Calla closed, LONGER Club rides, Uwharrie gets more economical; & who knows what will happen to Fuel prices:popcorn:
 
You brought up the money aspect of it, something that I wanted to bring up on your other thread. I just didn't want to kill anyone's buzz. I think realistically it is going to take more money to maintain and take Uwharrie to the next level. I know money is tight for most everyone but we have had Uwharrie on the cheap. I think it will take a combination of volunteering and cash to keep and further advance what we have. It is a terrific thing that the Rangers running things are supportive so this is a good opportunity to make things happen with a combination of volunteer work, treading lightly and if we can make things cost effective for the Forest Service even better. All the tree huggers have to do is bitch to start the process to closing things down. Bottom line and I know it is not popular but a bump up in yearly and daily fees might be needed if the money goes to Uwharrie. I know our tax dollars go towards this but it is being cut and the dirt bags we elected couldn't care less. Uwharrie is the only public OHV park most of us have that is affordable and a day trip.
 
question, I only go a few times of year (mostly work) but I would say that I would pay more for a pass. Like $10 a day and $40 a year if it would help with the trails. Also the times I go I see allot of rif-raf and like anything else maybe if it came out of their pocket more they would respect it more. Just saying. Anyway in the past I have not been able to come to any work days but this year Im going to try harder to work it out.
 
I'm continuously amazed that it's only $5/day and $30/year.

I'd gladly pay twice that.
 
Exactly. There is no reason anyone on here is buying day passes and cannot afford $30 for a year pass. If that's too expensive, then cancel your internet for a month.

I am still waiting to see trail passes wrapped around a horse's ear....
 
I am still waiting to see trail passes wrapped around a horse's ear....
:stupid:
 
Some very good points.... I hope to get to URE more this year.
 
Is three a way folks who wanted donate money could do so and have it dedicated to a 'new trails' fund that can only be spent to (re)open trails?
 
ya I must say for alot of us to go to ure for a weekend doesnt cost much, but it seems all the maintance done to the trails lately is a waste of funds on pointless projects, (tell me that bridge was cost efficent...) Seems like no one I know understands why they remove all the fun spots, but with that being asked/said , I still would gladly pay 10$ a day for ure, the FS is always respectful if you are and nothing like a day trip to get outta charlotte.

Edit: another idea is charge $5 per person in the rig. Instead of vehicle

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
 
yager said:
Is three a way folks who wanted donate money could do so and have it dedicated to a 'new trails' fund that can only be spent to (re)open trails?
Click to expand...

I have been thinking about this for a while. And as best I can tell we would have to set up an account to hold donations, then when we had a sizable sum the money then could be donated to the Forest Service marked for "Trail Opening/Re-Opening Use". And if people wanted these donations to be tax deductible we would have to use a NFPO.

Cory said:
ya I must say for alot of us to go to ure for a weekend doesnt cost much, but it seems all the maintance done to the trails lately is a waste of funds on pointless projects, (tell me that bridge was cost efficent...) Seems like no one I know understands why they remove all the fun spots, but with that being asked/said , I still would gladly pay 10$ a day for ure, the FS is always respectful if you are and nothing like a day trip to get outta charlotte.

Edit: another idea is charge $5 per person in the rig. Instead of vehicle

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

The thing about the trail system is its a balancing act between providing fun/challenging trails and keeping the trails open through keeping their environmental impact in an acceptable range. Runoff/Erosion/Stream Sedimentation (or hydrology really) is the biggest issue.

When the OHV Trail System was established most trails started off similar to Wolfs Den in difficulty/etc. As the trail erodes more rocks are exposed making the trials more fun/challenging. But as the trails get eroded (and more difficult/challenging) they cause more run off etc that would end up in them being closed. So to create a happy medium what we consider fun/challenging obstacles have to be filled in/maintained on a regular basis so the trails don't end up in a state of closure.

For more in depth reading on this:

http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97941

As far as the Horse people are concerned, they are making progress. Terry Savery is working with them on developing a workday system. I still think they should pay to ride, but supposedly there is a law somewhere about Horses being allowed to ride just about anywhere. I can't find this supposed law, but at the same time I can't find any law against it (unless its private property).
 
sungoesdown said:
Exactly. There is no reason anyone on here is buying day passes and cannot afford $30 for a year pass. .
Click to expand...
might want to back up there a little in your statement.Some of us go MORE times than what the cost of the year pass covers yet still pay the daily fee.So the way I see it if you pay 30 for a year pass(which is 6 days) and go let's say 8 days,kind of shitten them out of 10 dollars.Multiply that by the number of year passes sold and it adds up a bunch.I refuse to buy a year pass on that account.
 
ord.sgt.26NC said:
might want to back up there a little in your statement.Some of us go MORE times than what the cost of the year pass covers yet still pay the daily fee.So the way I see it if you pay 30 for a year pass(which is 6 days) and go let's say 8 days,kind of shitten them out of 10 dollars.Multiply that by the number of year passes sold and it adds up a bunch.I refuse to buy a year pass on that account.
Click to expand...

Surprised but glad to read that... I usually wheel 3-4 days a year at Uwharrie but always buy a year pass the first time I go whether I think I will use all the days or not.
 
Maybe we could work out a system when buying passes this year. I could talk to Chris owner of the Outpost and put together a system for the year.

(Keep in mind I have to talk to Chris about this)

How about this, every time you buy a day pass or a season pass you buy a 2nd pass that you don't use. You write down the number of the trail pass that you are not using, and Chris keeps the 2nd pass. At the end of the year we will do a drawing from the day passes and the season passes and give away a prize for each? I think that is a good deal.

The more extra passes you buy, the better chance you have of winning. The money goes straight into the Forest Service for the OHV System, so you know where you money is going. And working with Chris and a couple others we can get a couple sweet prizes for the "raffle".
 
I noticed the thread got quiet suddenly. I talked with Deborah Walker head ranger, and Chris Cagle Outpost owner about this, and they both support it. We just now have to get some prizes together. So hopefully there are some vendors out there willing to donate some cool stuff. :driver:
 
Just got off the phone with Eli, We'll be throwing in a prize off the cart! Thanks Eli for letting us help out!
 
ord.sgt.26NC said:
might want to back up there a little in your statement.Some of us go MORE times than what the cost of the year pass covers yet still pay the daily fee.So the way I see it if you pay 30 for a year pass(which is 6 days) and go let's say 8 days,kind of shitten them out of 10 dollars.Multiply that by the number of year passes sold and it adds up a bunch.I refuse to buy a year pass on that account.
Click to expand...

No, I really don't wanna back up, lol... I spend 6 days a year at URE just on WORKDAYS...But I am shitting them out of money?
 
Still working on getting the prizes together on this, beyond that everyone is on the same page. Just have to get with Chris to lay out some details, and get some flyers together etc. If all goes well this will help a good bit with the Forest Service having more money in the budget for the trails. :beer:
 
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