November 19, 2003.
At an unprecedented and exciting meeting in Los Altos MROSD staff and concerned members of the public, with mountain bikers present in force (many sporting the new ROMP jersey), achieved a new level of understanding and partnership towards the redesign of the ECdM trail system and the restoration and protection of the watershed. MROSD planner Matt Freeman entertained the crowd with an excellent power point presentation illustrating the salient points of the urgent need to repair roads and trails to prevent siltation of Steelhead Trout and Salmon habitat downstream, and how in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQB), and the Department of Fish and Game the District plans to mitigate erosion and siltation issues using progressive trail and road design and maintenance techniques. A period of public oral commentary followed, dominated by mountain cyclists, which affirmed the recommendations made by the district. Cyclists lead by ROMP applied to the District to ensure that new alternative realignments be constructed prior to the closure of certain trail sections. The more immediate trail section closures affected in the likely sequence of work are Cross-Over, Disneyland, and the steep section of Blue Blossom trails. When and how this goes into effect is still to be decided. The MROSD Use and Management Committee, a panel of three MROSD Board members, attended the meeting and subsequent to the comment period and a round of questions moved and voted to approve the draft plan for presentation to the Board. Highlights of the draft plan include reducing a lot of logging road to a four foot width, construction of IMBA spec handbuilt singletrack in cooperation with ROMP, and the hardening of the Giant Salamander Trail. See the MROSD website: openspace.org for more details.
