Proposed El Paso County, CO
OHV Park
Controversy comes with the territory, anytime you start looking at public expenditures. Even though it has been made very clear that not a single tax dollar will be spent on this project, there has been some public comment opposing this project. We would like to respond to some of those comments here.
In referring to Corral Bluffs, "the artifacts/geology is one of the top 5 sites GLOBALLY and should be preserved. The CT fracture/exposure is of global significance."
Really? Top 5? Globally significant? Folks, I think we've lost some perspective. What about:
- The Grand Canyon
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- The Himalayas
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Arches National Park
- The Great Pyramids of Egypt
- Patagonia
- Glacier National Park
- The Grand Tetons
- Colorado National Monument
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Mesa Verde National Park
- ...shall we go on?
"Serious injuries can occur while riding motorcycles. The county could be named in personal injury lawsuits and that expense would fall on the taxpayers."
It's no debate that motorcycling can be dangerous. It's kind of like driving a car, walking a cross the street, shoveling snow out off of your driveway, etc. Anytime you step out of your "perceived" safety bubble of your house, you are exposing yourself to risk. But let's take a brief look at a more common sport here in Colorado - skiing. Here's an industry that actually plans for the fact that skiing can be dangerous. Ski resorts across the country have thousands of trained EMS/EMT personnel on their payroll, in the form of the National Ski Patrol. If that's not an admission of the fact that skiing is dangerous, we're not sure what is. Also, and possibly a less commonly known fact, most ski resorts actually operate on leased USFS land. So it's actually a pretty good analogy to the proposed OHV park - a public-private relationship. So, has the USFS ever been named in a ski resort related injury, where people buy lift tickets from a vendor and then use public land? Is the USFS going broke from these type of lawsuits? And are taxpayers burdened by this? We think not.
"Trying to keep motorcycles on designated trails would be a challenge." "...and we all know that motorcycles don't stay on the trail..."
Nothing could be further from the truth! Experienced off-road motorcyclists value true single-track trail as a prized possession. Staying on an 18-24" wide trail that weaves and winds its way up near rock outcroppings or through dense forest is much more fun than simply riding freely across wide open prairie. State-wide initiatives and educational programs are currently in place throughout Colorado to promote the "Stay the Trail" personal value system, and ultimately helps less experienced riders discover the enjoyment of true single-track.
"It would disturb Golden Eagles..."
According to http://www.aquilalp.net/EN/EN_SteinadlerVerbreitung.htm, "Golden Eagles are not very particular in their habitat demands", have "been able to adapt to a spectrum of environmental conditions" and can be found "throughout the entire northern hemisphere" of the planet. Perhaps that is why it is not uncommon to see them hunting for food in your backyard or hanging out on your neighborhood telephone pole.
"It would destroy native plant life..."
Wow! Hard to argue with that one. The truth is, anytime you buy a piece of property that has native plant life on it, and you make any type of improvements whatsoever, such as building a driveway, erecting a house, fallowing the soil to create a vegetable garden, etc., you are destroying the native plant life. Project opponents would like to buy this property and make it an open space park, complete with hiking trails, picnic grounds, etc. These activities would also "destroy native plant life" at an equivalent amount of the 18-24" trail proposed by this project.
"It would cause noise pollution..."
Aztec Family Raceway has been in existence since the 1960's. Nearby DragonMan's shooting range and Bike Park are already operating facilities. Some neighbors in the area even have their own personal dirt bike tracks on their own private property. And then there is the issue of the airport. That's right! This property is about 3 miles from the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and Peterson Air Force Base to the southwest. Visitors to the area already hear sounds from all of these facilities, including traffic from Highway 24 and 94. At this point, the siting of an additional OHV park is simply a matter of combining compatible land uses into one area of the county, instead of distributing them throughout.
