CORBA Palos Verdes Trail Work 7-8-06

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**July 8th Trial Work Day Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve**
**Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy ♦ Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association ♦ REI**
More photos The CORBA PV & REI sponsored trail workday at the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve on July 8th was a huge success. We had 50 volunteers contributing over 150 hours to remove invasive tumbleweed and fennel. Becky Harper, Project Manager for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, directed the work with energetic enthusiasm and a much-appreciated smile. Alaina Cunningham, Outreach Specialist for REI brought a group of volunteers and provided lots of free goodies, including volunteer T-shirts, energy bars, and a free lunch. A great big thank you for your support and encouragement! Bryce Trevett gave an informative talk on snakes. He did a great job of helping us understand our local snakes, including the Southern Pacific rattlesnake. Most bites come from people trying to capture or kill rattlesnakes. Bryce debunked the myth that snake bit victims should suck out the poison or apply a tourniquet. It is important to promptly get medical attention while minimizing exertion. It may be better to call 911 and have medical assistance come to the victim. Please go to this site for practical guidelines on rattle snakebites, California Poison Control System. Again, cyclists have demonstrated that we are committed to the preservation of open space and trails. Well maintained and sustainable trails will serve to protect the environment while allowing everyone to enjoy our open space. Our goal is to support the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and the City of Rancho Palos Verdes maintain and repair trails for everyone to equally share. Cyclists are responsible members of the trail family .

**Bikes Banned from Trails - Not Exactly**
The RPV City Council voted on the the trail access portion of the Forrestal Nature Preserve Management Plan on Dec. 4. Bikes are temporarily restricted from trails A-14, A-15, A-16, and L-1 because of safety and stability (map). As soon as a revised map is available, we'll post it on this website so you can understand exactly what trails are involved. Here is the city statement. At first, we were disappointed the council did not adopt the Forrestal Steering Committee Management Plan as proposed, but we realize the council’s approval of any mountain bike use in the preserve is a success for our efforts. Remember that bicycle use was not even considered before we became involved. The city council’s vote was premised on putting a high priority on improvements to the upper trails. CORBA-PV will focus our efforts on getting these improvements started as soon as possible. We hope you will volunteer for the trail work involved. A big thank you to everyone who attended meetings, volunteered for trail work, and demonstrated responsible riding on the trails. You made this possible. You’re continued support will make a difference. No date has been set for actual implementation of the plan. We will keep you updated. We did make a difference. The concept of multi-use trails was accepted. We have confirmed that our volunteerism is essential for the management plan to work. Trail safety and stability were the reasons for closure, not habitat destruction or user conflict. We know the closures can be reversed by physical means. The city council has agreed to place a high priority on making trails suitable for multi-use. The city will allow CORBA guided rides while work is done to open trails to the general biking public We need your support. This year we learned that volunteerism is our strongest asset. We are deeply grateful to all of you who made the effort to come out and work. You are our heroes. If we maintain this level of commitment in 2005 we can achieve all of our goals.