MD Parks in Danger of Closing

[Kalidurga]

Closing the park doesn't necessarily mean closing the road through it. I'd bet that it means taking away funding so that it's no longer designated as a park and maintained as such. Which means that it's either left to sit and rot, full of trespassers and who knows what else, or it's opened up to developers.

I've been hiking those parks and visiting the historic monuments in them for 20years and I don't care if this is a hoax or some MTB-centric hoo-hah. If there's the slightest chance of the places I love and that my taxes pay to preserve being shut down, I'm gonna open my big mouth and let the powers-that-be know I'm not in favor of it.

[Zen]

From the Washington Post-

"Afterward, some lawmakers accused O'Malley of overdramatizing the situation to build support for passage of his plan in a high-risk special session that starts Monday."

That about sums it up.

[bmccasland]

Just a stray thought...
Does the local MTB community do anything to help build warm fuzzy relationships with the parks? Like volunteer to do trail maintenance, pick up litter, and any other list of odd jobs that parks desparately need volunteers to do because most are understaffed? Or do they just want to go for a ride and expect someone else to do it? Coming from a parks background it always helps if a user group volunteers at the park.

[7rider]

Just a stray thought...
Does the local MTB community do anything to help build warm fuzzy relationships with the parks? Like volunteer to do trail maintenance, pick up litter, and any other list of odd jobs that parks desparately need volunteers to do because most are understaffed? Or do they just want to go for a ride and expect someone else to do it? Coming from a parks background it always helps if a user group volunteers at the park.

There is absolutely a huge component of the local MTB community who put in many, many hours doing volunteer work, trail maintenence and such. Each area has a liaison to the park headquarters to coordinate voluteer efforts, schedule trail days, and - importantly - keep cyclists OFF the trails when conditions are bad.

I agree with Tam.....even if it is a cry-wolf, it's best for those in Annapolis to know that the state park system has a vocal, involved, user group.

[Kalidurga]

Does the local MTB community do anything to help build warm fuzzy relationships with the parks? Like volunteer to do trail maintenance, pick up litter, and any other list of odd jobs that parks desparately need volunteers to do because most are understaffed?

MORE, Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts:

The Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE) is a 501c (3) non-profit with almost 500 members representing thousands of area mountain bikers. With a 13 year history of trail advocacy, MORE maintains over 250 miles of natural surface trails in 25 parks around the region. Members contribute over 3,400 hours of volunteer labor annually, and have opened or constructed over 80 miles of new trail since 1995. The club also leads hundreds of rides each year at local parks, ranging from beginner to advanced levels.

MORE is committed to environmentally sound and socially responsible mountain biking, facilitating recreational trail cycling, educating about the sport of mountain biking, maintaining local trails, and advocating for increased multi-user trail access.

[bmccasland]

I'm glad to see they're involved, but it also helps to do Friends of the Park stuff in an area that isn't directly related to their specific area of interest. More of "for the good of the park" than keeping up trails they like to use. Of course ANY volunteer time is way better than no volunteer time.