Action Coalition for Equestrians (ACE) member, Stephanie Williams, attended the recent Foresthill MAC meeting and sends this update:
"Thank you ACE and all who came and wrote letters in support of public access to public lands and public trails! Special Kudos to Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association and Gold Country Trails Council for demonstrating the larger community’s commitment to recreational trails and for pressuring the County to be part of a solution to the current problem of public access to the White Oak Flat staging area. And kudos to ASRA Superintendent Michael Schneider, whose presence showed State Park’s concern.
The good news is that the chair of the Foresthill Forum, Larry Jordan, who is well-aware of the land the history of White Oak Flat, has committed himself to leading an ad-hoc committee under the Forum. The County Supervisor would not let the Forum make a formal recommendation at this time, but Mr. Jordan will keep on it and promises the public will be advised of the committee’s work.
In the meantime, it was entered into public record that: the homeowners at the end of the street are themselves divided as to what they want and their views of public access; the privatizing of the end of the street occurred 25 years ago but that none of the homeowners started the process of trying to restrict public access until this spring despite continuous use by the public; and that White Oak Flat is a special place of historic and practical value for the general public as well as the local community.
All of us need to keep watch, keep up the pressure for solutions and constructive County involvement, and keep using the trails."
"Thank you ACE and all who came and wrote letters in support of public access to public lands and public trails! Special Kudos to Loomis Basin Horsemen’s Association and Gold Country Trails Council for demonstrating the larger community’s commitment to recreational trails and for pressuring the County to be part of a solution to the current problem of public access to the White Oak Flat staging area. And kudos to ASRA Superintendent Michael Schneider, whose presence showed State Park’s concern.
The good news is that the chair of the Foresthill Forum, Larry Jordan, who is well-aware of the land the history of White Oak Flat, has committed himself to leading an ad-hoc committee under the Forum. The County Supervisor would not let the Forum make a formal recommendation at this time, but Mr. Jordan will keep on it and promises the public will be advised of the committee’s work.
In the meantime, it was entered into public record that: the homeowners at the end of the street are themselves divided as to what they want and their views of public access; the privatizing of the end of the street occurred 25 years ago but that none of the homeowners started the process of trying to restrict public access until this spring despite continuous use by the public; and that White Oak Flat is a special place of historic and practical value for the general public as well as the local community.
All of us need to keep watch, keep up the pressure for solutions and constructive County involvement, and keep using the trails."
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