From our Friends to the north, Santa Clarita Valley Trail Users:
Dear Friends,
Congressman “Buck” McKeon is holding a Town Hall meeting to discuss a proposal to designate approximately 40,000 acres just north of Castaic Lake as a federally protected Wilderness area. This proposed Wilderness area could potentially include the Fish Canyon, Salt Creek, Elderberry Canyon, Tule and Red Mountain areas on the northeast side of Castaic Lake. All of these areas are very close to Tapia Canyon where the majority of mountain biking occurs in Santa Clarita AND which will likely be lost to development in the not too distant future.
Even though many of us would support the protection and preservation of our public lands, it is important to note that the Wilderness designation severely limits recreation on such lands. Specifically, cycling or mountain biking is prohibited in Wilderness areas because they are “mechanized”. Access is only allowed on foot or horseback.
Already, the federal government has set aside very large Wilderness areas near Santa Clarita including the Magic Mountain Wilderness (just south of the 14 Freeway near Canyon Country), the Sespe Wilderness (just north of Fillmore and Santa Paula), and the San Rafael Wilderness (just east of Ventura and Santa Barbara). This is why you can’t ride a mountain bike in the mountains above Fillmore and why there are so few mountain bike trails in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area. We think these three Wilderness areas near Santa Clarita are more than enough.
For this reason, we encourage you to attend next week’s Town Hall meeting to let Congressman McKeon know that you object to the Wilderness designation of these additional areas near Castaic Lake because it would permanently prohibit mountain biking. The current designation of Backcountry – Non-motorized or something else more protective (such as a Special Conservation Area) would be preferred so long as mountain biking continues to be allowed.
Here are the details of the Town Hall meeting:
Date: Tuesday, August 19
Time: 10:30AM
Where: Santa Clarita City Hall, Century Room
Address: 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Thank you for your continued support.
SCV Trail Users
Safe and Equal Access for All Trail Users
Tags: Advocacy, Santa Clarita Valley
