Frederick Watershed Update
A local rider enjoying one of our sanctioned re-routes of the Catoctin Trail at the Watershed. Photo courtesy Joe Whitehair.
Recently, a few anti-mountain bike voices have been putting out some misleading information about the planning process MORE’s engaged in at the Frederick Watershed. Rather than get into the details of the bad info, below is some background and an update on the planning process and MORE’s role in it.
In the spring/summer of 2014 the Mayor of Frederick put out a request for interested parties to submit their resumes in order to be considered for inclusion on a committee tasked to revise the recreation section of the Frederick Watershed Forest stewardship plan.
The Mayor and his staff reviewed resumes and selected the committee, which began meeting in August to outline the revision process. This Frederick News-Post article provides a solid summary of the effort. The committee includes representatives from the board of the Frederick Bicycle Coalition, MORE’s local trail liaisons, and MORE/IMBA staff in addition to representatives of other user groups, Frederick DPW and Maryland DNR staff, local business owners and residents.
Overall, the committee is a great group, and members have a very real understanding of the Watershed’s value. Thanks to the efforts of MORE and our partners in advocacy at FBC and IMBA, the mountain bicycling community is an integral part of this process, and a respected voice for conservation and recreation at the Watershed.
The committee’s work is expected to last at least a year, and any changes to the management plan recommended by the committee must first be open to public comment and then be voted on by the board and Mayor before implementation. It’s a long trail ahead, but we’re confident this will result in positive outcome for riding in Frederick. If you haven’t had a chance to take the survey, please take the time to do so. It’s open till tomorrow (11/19/14), and every voice for responsible recreation in the ‘Shed counts!
Courtesy of Frederick Bicycle Coalition, below you can find:
- The most recent Watershed newsletter from DNR discussing recent committee meetings. DNR Frederick Watershed Fall Newsletter
- The original call for committee members with the Mayor put out describing the purpose of the committee. media release 4 21 2014 – Watershed Ad Hoc Advisory Committee
- Meeting minutes from previous committee meetings. Meeting Minutes from the First Ad Hoc Committee meeting