Council approves local trail management plan

BY RYAN FAUGHNDER
DAILY SOUND CORRESPONDENT

Tensions eased yesterday as the Santa Barbara City Council unanimously approved the Front Country Trails Task Force’s plan to foster multi-agency unity while improving the network of popular hiking routes.
The Front County trails, which begin in Montecito and Santa Barbara and stretch into Los Padres National Forest, have been the subject of hot debate among hikers, bikers, and horse riders, all of whom compete for use of the trails.

All discussions at the meeting remained cool-headed, especially compared with the debates that have recently surfaced between trail users. One speaker at yesterday’s meeting compared the old controversy to a “turf battle.”
The task force, which formed in 2006, called for the creation of a “memo of understanding” so public services will agree to work together to solve the trail issues. They also recommended the development of a “multi-agency Front Country Trails Strategy” and the drawing up of a new funding plan to deal with the lack of money available to parks services.
Additionally, the task force recommended the creation of a new FTC coordinator position to oversee improvements, and also said the city needs to foster development of an “umbrella nonprofit organization” to support the work.
Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Jill Zachary said that there was limited funding for such improvements, given nationwide cuts to parks services.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” she said.
Steve Dougherty of the Santa Barbara chapter of the Sierra Club voiced his strong support for the recommendations, saying that the trails are important to many locals.
“The trails are enjoyed by hundreds of people,” he said, "yet, the trails have never been consistently and actively managed.”
Mayor Marty Blum credited the task force for helping to calm animosity between different groups of trail users.
“At least you have a plan and you’re working together now, and it’s really wonderful,” she said.
Councilmember Grant House also compared the new style of dialogue with the old, which he described as an “adversarial” argument between groups trying to carve out their own territory.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the recommendations on May 20.