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Thursday, June 19, 2008

'Trail Guy' Lays Out Vision of Interconnected System

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
      A plan to build a network of trails in the East Mountains may start with a plan to cut through a mountain of red tape.
    On Tuesday, 27 people from numerous branches of state and local government — including State Rep. Kathy McCoy, State Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort and Scott Rivers, who was sent by Santa Fe County Commissioner Mike Anaya — as well as local advocacy groups, neighborhood associations and even retail businesses gathered at the Sandia Ranger Station in Tijeras to talk about an integrated trail system for the East Mountains.
    “My vision is that this will become a square in a checkerboard of regional trail councils,” said Mike Madden, who did most of the presenting at the meeting. “We'd like to weave a nice cloth that is going to work generations from now.”
    He said his vision is for the group of “movers and shakers” to create an interconnected trail system within a 266 square mile area, bounded by the Sandia Mountains to the west and running 14 miles to the east, one mile past N.M. 344. The northern boundary would include the San Pedro Mountains and the city of Albuquerque-owned Golden Open Space to the north and run 19 miles south to end a mile inside the Torrance County border.
    Known as the “trail guy” for the East Mountain Coalition of Neighborhood and Landowner Associations, Madden said the idea is for the council to build an interconnected network of trails throughout the East Mountains that would connect to other trail systems in New Mexico.
    Madden has experienced extensive trail systems first-hand.
    He has hiked most of the so-called “Triple Crown,” three trails across the length of the United States, from Canada to Mexico, along the Continental Divide as well as the East and West coast.
    The idea of creating local trails seemed well-received.
    “I love the concept of a path system,” Beffort said. “I'm an outdoor person. I just love giving my commitment to projects such as these.”
    She said the group would be useful for doing background work and that it should be formalized, which could be done with documents such as a memorandum of understanding signed by the various agencies.
    Edgewood Mayor Robert Stearley offered to take the lead in getting the memorandum of understanding signed.
    “I'd like to have official recognition of the parties,” he said. “Rather than being perceived as some power play by somebody, which it isn't.”
    The next meeting was set for July 29 at 9:30 a.m. at the Sandia Ranger Station in Tijeras.
   

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