Land Use Office > Regional Issues
Northumberland County will host a Public Input Session
Jeremy:
I just got home. This was a very preliminary meeting. It was a very full high school auditorium there is also some resistance and skepticism with in the community proper. I would encourage a much bigger club attendance for the next couple of meetings IF we want this to happen and IF it happens it becomes something we WANT it to be, NOW is the time to have your opinion heard. There were lots of attendance that are OTHER than recreational 4 wheeling such as snowmobile, ATV, "sportsman clubs" and equestrian, the horse back rider in particular want there own area. The ATV club got up and stated that there was 1200 miles of train for snowmobiling but only 260 was open to atvs in the commonwealth. That there are 0 miles open officially to jeeps right now was NOT mentioned. This is the huge part DCNR is paying very close attention to how this turns out, If this is a successful venture it may mean opening up more public land to our type of recreation, again, WE MUST get more involved in this NOW. We must make our presence felt at the next public meeting, I would suggest showing up in our STAFF show shirts as a show of solidarity.
Most near buy land owners are concerned with trespassing, and noise concerns. Two locals brought up the dangers of the fact this is old strip mine property and parts of it are still very dangerous especially if it is new to you. There was one attendant group that wants make 3900 of the 6000 acres into a "wilderness preserve", (he was not lynched, but the night is young yet, some of the locals ,did NOT like that idea at all. There was concern locally of "I have been doing blah blah blah activity on that property and so has my father and grandfather before me Why should I pay for it, stop it or do something different now, why do we have to share this with "outsiders"was also heard.
The point I made is that this trail system should not just be divided by FORMS of recreation but a lot is driven by the types and duration of the trails in the trail system. (one of the rules is you could NOT mention a subject that someone else already brought up, this was to keep the meeting moving, but you where to write down all your concerns and desires on a 5x7 card which would be codified and discussed. IN other words if you were NOT there your opinion may not be heard. If you get nothing from this post, NOW is the time to shiite or get off the pot, If you want 6000 acres to wheel on get active on this NOW.
Rick_Bear:
Well Jeremy...What you have past on to us is exactally what I had expected.
1) Locals that have been trespassing (cost free) for generations would rise agianst "The Machine" with NO care or concern for public safety or the economic benefits that they too would reap.
2) Conservationalists standing their ground to keep more involvement out.
3) Lack of attendance of those that would bring in considerable involvement...4x4 Vehicles
Yes, the plan is to have it a multi-recreational park. 4x4's - ATV's - Snowmobile - Equestrian - Camping...Yadda, yadda, yadda in order to draw diverse attention.
These ventures are NEVER pretty to an uneducated public (what we REALLY do) or those wanting to continue to venture as "OUTLAWS" creating havoc, safety concerns, and mayhem to all those around them.
You are correct in stateing that the 4x4 enthusiasts MUST show a larger attendance. If I hadn't just come off two weeks vacation I would have attended myself but that means nothing at this point.
What I would like to relay to our readers is this: DO NOT GIVE UP THE PROGECT...This is only one battle that even the County is NOT going to give up on.
Thank you for making your presence available while many of us were forced to be absence with unchangeable plans and passing on the information.
M + M Jeep:
Jeremy, Were there any future public meeting dates announced and did you notice many other specific 4x4 clubs there?
Jeremy:
There were some other clubs and other club members, (some former BMJA officers in fact), some came from as far as 3 hours away maybe even farther. We were NOT unrepresented. Honestly, I think it will go through. There is at least one county official that is against it, but my feeling is the crowd was guardedly for the park. We need to get more involved not only to see this through but the fact that DCNR is using this as a "study" for opening up state owned and controlled lands. We were told that the next meeting and any news would be posted to the counties web site. http://www.ohv.norrycopa.net/ take notice that the ATV crowd grabbed the spot light, I for one don't want a new ATV park I want a multiuse JEEP, and atv park.
Below is a news article:
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4350108
"(Source: The News-Item)trackingBy Justin Strawser, The News-Item, Shamokin, Pa.
July 28--COAL TOWNSHIP -- More than 300 local and out-of-town residents attended the Northumberland County Planning Department's first public meeting Tuesday night regarding the off-highway park with most positive feedback.
http://newsitem.com/
COAL TOWNSHIP - More than 300 local and out-of-town residents attended the Northumberland County Planning Department's first public meeting Tuesday night regarding the off-highway park with most positive feedback.
"This park is an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionize" off-highway activities, said Dave Miller after the presentation at the Shamokin Area Middle-High School auditorium.
Miller is the president of the Lehigh Valley ATV Association, of Allentown, who came to the public meeting to show his support for the county to develop more than 6,000 acres of county-owned property to create the park.
The park would provide responsible recreational opportunities for motorized recreational vehicles, such as 4x4s, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcross and snowmobiles, and for non-motorized purposes, such as hiking, biking, horseback riding, hunting and camping.
The goal of the meeting, said John O. Buerkle Jr., of Pashek Associates - a recreation planning firm hired by the county to create a master plan - was to gather questions, concerns and desires from the public. Each suggestion would be carefully considered and placed into the master plan.
"The master plan is not the means to the end, but a road map leading to the implementation," he said.
Lack of trails
According to Miller, there is a lack of trail-riding opportunities for ATVs in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. There are 2,400 snowmobile trails and 240 ATV trails in the state, and only 10 percent of those trails are in the eastern part of the state.
"We're hungry for additional trail miles," said Miller.
Miller believes that the increase in legal riding opportunities will decrease the illegal riding on public and private property that local police departments are not equipped to address.
Miller also said the coal lands being suggested in Coal Township and Zerbe Township have terrain and trail diversity, natural sites and scenery and geological diversity. It will also provide other opportunities for on-site camping and education centers.
"It will be a fantastic destination for families," he said.
Rather than traveling to other sites, people will be spending money in the local area and would attract riders from out of state, a point driven home by the people who traveled several hours to the meeting.
When Buerkle was done with the presentation, he spent a half hour addressing the concerns of the public. Each person had a minute to express any concerns verbally, or to hand in a note card with questions or suggestions.
Concerns included involving local rider enthusiasts and hunters/fishers in the planning process, the liability of the park, difficulty levels, the cost to the local residents, maintenance of current access points, the protection and preservation of local geological sites, the impact on wildlife and the strain on local police departments.
"It went well," said Buerkle after the meeting. "We had good impact from both sides. We need to make sure these are the right concerns."
The meeting had a large turnout, one of the largest he's ever seen for a public venue, he said.
It proves that "there's a demand not being met," he said.
Not only would the riders' needs be met, it would also provide secondary benefits, including a boost to the local economy through hotels, garages and restaurants.
"When people travel four to five hours, they're not going to stay an hour. They'll spend the weekend," he said.
The sites being considered have the opportunity to become not only a state attraction, but an east coast and possibly a national one as well, explained Buerkle.
Nearly 40 different vehicle clubs on the east coast are following the project as well as a national off-road club in California, he said.
"It's had real exposure even at the initial planning stage," he said.
Not everyone was keen on the county bringing the park to fruition.
"I'm totally against it," said Rich Lahr, of Coal Township, who worked at Fleetwood Enterprises, in Paxinos, for 30 years before it closed down.
He wants the commissioners to focus their attention on bringing larger, more industry-based jobs to the area instead of the current project.
"Is this the best the commissioners can come up with?" he asked.
An ATV rider and an avid hunter and sportsman, Lahr argued that local residents have used the land all their lives and the park project will require them to pay for off-road activities they've enjoyed for free.
"We took it for granted and now they're taking away our freedom," he said.
This was the first of two public input sessions being held during the master planning process of the park. A follow-up meeting will be held in the fall.
The master plan is being funded with grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The plan is being prepared by Pashek Associates, a landscape architecture and community planning firm located in Pittsburgh, in conjunction with Pennoni Associates, Mechanicsburg.
"This park is an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionize" off-highway activities, said Dave Miller after the presentation at the Shamokin Area Middle-High School auditorium.
Miller is the president of the Lehigh Valley ATV Association, of Allentown, who came to the public meeting to show his support for the county to develop more than 6,000 acres of county-owned property to create the park.
The park would provide responsible recreational opportunities for motorized recreational vehicles, such as 4x4s, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcross and snowmobiles, and for non-motorized purposes, such as hiking, biking, horseback riding, hunting and camping.
The goal of the meeting, said John O. Buerkle Jr., of Pashek Associates -- a recreation planning firm hired by the county to create a master plan -- was to gather questions, concerns and desires from the public. Each suggestion would be carefully considered and placed into the master plan.
"The master plan is not the means to the end, but a road map leading to the implementation," he said.
Lack of trails
According to Miller, there is a lack of trail-riding opportunities for ATVs in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. There are 2,400 snowmobile trails and 240 ATV trails in the state, and only 10 percent of those trails are in the eastern part of the state.
"We're hungry for additional trail miles," said Miller.
Miller believes that the increase in legal riding opportunities will decrease the illegal riding on public and private property that local police departments are not equipped to address.
Miller also said the coal lands being suggested in Coal Township and Zerbe Township have terrain and trail diversity, natural sites and scenery and geological diversity. It will also provide other opportunities for on-site camping and education centers.
"It will be a fantastic destination for families," he said.
Rather than traveling to other sites, people will be spending money in the local area and would attract riders from out of state, a point driven home by the people who traveled several hours to the meeting.
When Buerkle was done with the presentation, he spent a half hour addressing the concerns of the public. Each person had a minute to express any concerns verbally, or to hand in a note card with questions or suggestions.
Concerns included involving local rider enthusiasts and hunters/fishers in the planning process, the liability of the park, difficulty levels, the cost to the local residents, maintenance of current access points, the protection and preservation of local geological sites, the impact on wildlife and the strain on local police departments.
"It went well," said Buerkle after the meeting. "We had good impact from both sides. We need to make sure these are the right concerns."
The meeting had a large turnout, one of the largest he's ever seen for a public venue, he said.
It proves that "there's a demand not being met," he said.
Not only would the riders' needs be met, it would also provide secondary benefits, including a boost to the local economy through hotels, garages and restaurants.
"When people travel four to five hours, they're not going to stay an hour. They'll spend the weekend," he said.
The sites being considered have the opportunity to become not only a state attraction, but an east coast and possibly a national one as well, explained Buerkle.
Nearly 40 different vehicle clubs on the east coast are following the project as well as a national off-road club in California, he said.
"It's had real exposure even at the initial planning stage," he said.
Not everyone was keen on the county bringing the park to fruition.
"I'm totally against it," said Rich Lahr, of Coal Township, who worked at Fleetwood Enterprises, in Paxinos, for 30 years before it closed down.
He wants the commissioners to focus their attention on bringing larger, more industry-based jobs to the area instead of the current project.
"Is this the best the commissioners can come up with?" he asked.
An ATV rider and an avid hunter and sportsman, Lahr argued that local residents have used the land all their lives and the park project will require them to pay for off-road activities they've enjoyed for free.
"We took it for granted and now they're taking away our freedom," he said.
This was the first of two public input sessions being held during the master planning process of the park. A follow-up meeting will be held in the fall.
The master plan is being funded with grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The plan is being prepared by Pashek Associates, a landscape architecture and community planning firm located in Pittsburgh, in conjunction with Pennoni Associates, Mechanicsburg.
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Jeepnharleymomma:
Thanks Jeremy...I will make plans to attend the next meeting. I will post it as soon as I find out the date. I like the idea of us showing up in our staff shirts!
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