Family Potluck at August Meeting
Our monthly meeting in August on the 13th, will include a family potluck at the Courthouse Cafe Courtyard. People are asked to bring plates, utensils and a dish to share. As always, the meeting begins at 6pm and ends at approximately 7:30.

Tevis 100 Mile Ride - July 19th
Imagine 1000 people (with horse trailers) trying to get in and out of Michigan Bluff in a hurry on race day. Since there are only a few places to park a horse rig in Michigan Bluff, traffic control is a necessity and this is the task that the FTA has taken on this year. We are still in need of a couple more people to help. We have to set up barricades at Chicken Hawk Rd and direct most rigs to the park at the Community of the Great Divide. Larry Jordon will be providing a shuttle service in and out of Michigan Bluff. We are to let Michigan Bluff residents through (ask to see driver's license). Some local residents also allow guests off-street parking priviledges and we will be provided with a list to let in. As horses are pulled from the Ride, rigs will be allowed in to quickly pick them up. It has been recommended that we have 3 - 4 volunteers at the barricade and 1 - 2 volunteers at the turnaround at the Leland Stanford monument in Michigan Bluff. Larry Suddjian is working on getting some handheld radios for us to use to coordinate between the barricade and the turnaround. Traffic control is challenging work, but the bigger challenge will be to try to make this a positive experience for ourselves and the stressed out crews that will be coming and going. Any suggestions for how to do this would be appreciated. We get t-shirts and hats for our efforts and the satisfaction of being a part of the first endurance Ride in the world and the volunteers that make it happen.

Notes from Mark Lambert's Presentation
Mark is the ranger in charge of the trails in the Forest Service land around Foresthill. His service area extends to the Tahoe National Forest and Grass Valley. He has put $200,000 of Federal funds into trail maintenance in the past 4 years. He is responsible for more than xxx miles of trails and is the only person working full-time on trails. He has to rely on volunteers to maintain trails. This year the New Years floods did extensive damage to the trails. For example, the stream took out the trail near the Poppy Campground at Lake. All trails are multi-use in the Forest Service lands, except the Granite Chief Wilderness is closed to bikes and motorized vehicles. The Western States Trail above Michigan Bluff is multi-use.

$1.5 million from green sticker fees has been invested in the two OHV parks in our area. Statewide green sticker fees provide $10 - $20 million annually for OHV facilities and trails. There are 65 miles of trails in the Sugarpine OHV system. While these trails were funded by green stickers, they are on public land and can be used by other trail users. Often there are few motorcyclists up there during the week. Maps of the trails are available at the Forest Service Station. At China Wall there are restrooms and easy places to park and access the trails.

Some of Mark's highly recommended trails were:

Foresthill Trails Alliance                      PO Box 468, Foresthill, CA 95631
http://foothill.net/fta/                        email: fta@foothill.net