May 10th, 2024
7:00 PM
Vantage Point Brewing Company
1st Annual Taps & Trails Fundraiser
Join us as we come together to support the future of mountain biking trail system in our community. Your presence at this event will make a significant impact as all funds raised will contribute to crucial initiatives, including:
Building & Maintaining Trails
Buying Trail Building Equipment
Renting Excavation Equipment
Building A Parking Lot at Blue Creek Trail Head
Purchasing Proper Restroom at Blue Creek Trail Head
Your support is necessary to the success of our mountain biking community. So, let's unite for a night of camaraderie, purpose, and fun!
2023 Season Kick Off Party!
Join us on April 24th from 5:30 - 8:30 for our Pre-Season Kick Off Party at Trails End in CDA. We are stoked to get the community together under one roof to crank in the 2023 riding season.
Trails End will be donating $1 to LCTA from every pint sold! Come thirsty!
Not only will we have a raffle for some awesome prizes but will also introduce the public to what is going on behind the scenes when it comes to new trails, work parties and LCTA board changes.
356 W Bosanko Ave, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815
Board Positions + Committees Application for 2023
As discussed at the January 18th meeting, we are accepting applications for board members and committee members. You can find a PDF of the application here:
Our next meeting will be Feb. 15, 2023 at the Cherry Hill Fire Station’s conference room at 7pm.
Honey Badger Project
We’re excited to share news about the new “Honey Badger” project on the north side of Canfield Mountain. A new set of trails for bikes, hiking and motos are planned and here is a brief from the Forest Service:
Overview
The Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District is in the initial stages of developing the Honey Badger Project, aptly named from local landmarks of Honey and Badger Mountains within the project area boundary.
Although the project area encompasses approximately 52,600-acres, activities are currently being considered only within the 42,000 acres of National Forest System lands. The project is located within Kootenai County. Approximately 85% (45,500 acres) of the project area is within the wildland urban interface (WUI). The project area also encompasses the Canfield Mountain Trail System, which is designated a Primary Recreation Area.
Project Vision
Intent of the project is to improve ecological and social conditions to meet desired conditions described in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land Management Plan, including but not limited to improving forest health, reducing high-intensity wildfire risk, maintaining/improving water quality and aquatic species habitat, and providing sustainable recreational opportunities.
Timeline
SPRING-FALL 2019
Refine location/design of activities through data collection and pre-scoping recommendations by interested stakeholders. This is not a formal comment period—the intent is to share existing condition information, to hear ideas for improving conditions, and wherever possible to incorporate those ideas into the proposed action as it is developed.
MARCH 2020
Present the preliminary proposed action for public review through a formal comment period.
WINTER-SPRING 2020
Analyze effects of implementing proposed activities.
SPRING 2020
Present analysis findings in an environmental assessment (EA) through a formal comment period.
SUMMER 2020
Release of a draft decision notice subject to an administrative review (objection) process.
FALL 2020
Release of a final decision notice.
Why Here, Why Now?
Throughout the Honey Badger project area, a combination of root disease, blister rust and historic selective harvest and other environmental factors has reduced the diversity of the overstory and made the landscape less resistant to insects, diseases, drought, and fire.
A combination of commercial timber harvest and non-commercial vegetation treatments will be proposed to help move forested ecosystems within the area toward improved health and increased resiliency to disturbances such as fire, insects, diseases, and drought.
The continued loss of species such as ponderosa pine and western larch has led to forests that are less resilient to fire, with an increased probability of crown fires that would likely be more expensive and more difficult (and dangerous) to suppress. Approximately 86% of the project area is within the wildland urban interface, with significant infrastructure that would be at risk, including homes, a powerline, and electronic communication sites.
The proposed prescribed burning and timber harvesting would help to reduce flame lengths and lower fire intensity, resulting in the type of fire behavior that can be more easily controlled or suppressed, with safer conditions for firefighters and the public. Prescribed burning (in both harvested and unharvested areas) would also help return fire to the landscape, maintain or enhance forest resilience, and manage wildlife habitat.
Outdoor recreation is the fastest growing use within the national forests and grass-lands. Some trail segments and recreational resources in the project area were not designed for the types and amount of uses occurring, and cannot sustain such uses.
A variety of trail work will be proposed to improve long-term sustainability of trails, including rerouting, rehabilitation, development of loop trails, and decommissioning of unauthorized trails that are causing degradation of natural resources.
Unmanaged recreation and the existing road network in the Hayden Creek watershed are contributing factors to watershed health conditions that do not meet goals and desired conditions in the Forest Plan.
The Travel Analysis Process is being used to determine which roads pose a risk to resources. Some roads not needed for long-term management will be proposed for decommissioning to help reduce impacts to water quality and reduce maintenance costs. Roads identified as needed for long-term management (but not having any foreseeable use anticipated in the next 20 years) will be proposed for storage. Other activities will be proposed to stabilize and decommission illegal user-created motorized routes.
Where feasible, culverts on open travel routes that pose a barrier to aquatic organism passage (AOP) would be replaced with culverts that allow passage. AOP barriers located on stored or decommissioned roads would be proposed for removal by excavating the stream crossing and reconstructing the channel. Restoration activities will likely be proposed in several stream segments in the project area, and could include adding large wood (trees) to the stream and across the floodplain, bank stabilization, riparian planting, and the construction of meander lengths. These treatments help to reduce sedimentation, diversify streamflow and channel morphology, and accommodate flood flow in the riparian area, ultimately resulting in improved aquatic habitat and more resilient systems.
Public Involvement During Project Development
The planning area is important to a diverse number of user groups with different values, perspectives, and interests. Early in the project development process, we initiated open and ongoing communication with individuals and organizations interested in or affected by our actions.
The intent of this early communication was to:
Increase public awareness, interest, and engagement
Identify preliminary issues
Discuss development of the proposed action
Seek ideas for resolving specific concerns related to recreation uses
Interested members of the public were contacted through news releases, emails, telephone calls, and social media. Project team members attended the meetings of a variety of organizations for the purpose of introducing or providing an update on the Honey Badger project area and proposal.
On August 27-29, 2019, open-house meetings were held in Athol, Hayden, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to share information and answer questions about the Honey Badger project. A total of approximately 80 people attended the three meetings. District Ranger Dan Scaife, Deputy Forest Supervisor Kim Pierson, and several members of the project team were available to share information and answer questions about forest health, fire and fuels, recreation, scenery, wildlife, hydrology and fisheries, and the project process and timeline. Displays of maps, photos, and other information helped describe current conditions in the project area.
The overwhelming majority of discussions were very positive. Many people said they understood the need to improve forest health through vegetation management, as well as the need for fuel reduction and protection from catastrophic wildfire. One individual was supportive of the need for prescribed burning, but had strong concerns with impacts of smoke in the Hayden Lake basin, stating logging residue should be chipped rather than burned.
The predominant topic of interest was related to recreation, including management and maintenance of existing trails, potential new trail opportunities, and user conflicts. Some were concerned with water quality in the watershed, including effects of recreation/trail use and shooting along Hayden Creek Road.
In regard to potential effects to scenery, some people supported the need for forest management and felt that activities could be designed to reduce effects to scenery. Some were concerned with the appearance of harvested areas adjacent to private lands. It was also suggested that harvest could help open some viewpoints from trails in the area. There were few questions about wildlife habitat in the area, and those were primarily related to the effect on public motorized access.
Open communication will continue throughout the process, with formal opportunities to comment during scoping, review of the environmental assessment, and the administrative review (objection) period.
The purple line is the proposed non-motorized trail on the north side of Canfield Mountain.