(Mission Times Courier, San Diego, CA) - Reaction has been swift and negative to the apparent demands from federal and state wildlife agencies that access to Mission Trails Regional Park be severely curtailed, and in some cases completely blocked.
According to a letter from both the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, trails that have been created since the 1985 Master Development plan for the park must be blocked off, closed and returned to natural habitat.
Many of the people involved in the initial creation and subsequent development of the park are outraged at what they feel is governmental overreach in what should be a local and regional matter.
Former San Diego City Councilmember Judy McCarty summed up the reaction of many of the park stakeholders.
“It makes my blood boil!”, McCarty said. “Public access to public parks is my motto. Their motto is command and control. It’s not a preserve, it’s a park. We ran and won a campaign on that point. I hope the City will fight for our regional park. It would have the support of the people, that’s for sure.”
All this came to light as the city embarked on the needed master plan update required by law.
The wildlife agencies claim that unauthorized trail construction over and above those trails authorized back in 1985 are endangering a whole list of animal and plant life that falls generally under the protection of the Multiple Species Conservation Program.
As a general picture, the wildlife agencies say the city has lost control of the park.
“Based on our site visits, we believe construction and use of unauthorized trails has far exceeded the level of impact anticipated by the Multiple Species Conservation plan which would qualify human recreation as a “compatible use,” has directly and adversely impacted sensitive biological resources, and threatens Mission Trails Regional Park’s function as a core biological area and regional wildlife corridor.”
The agencies say the main problem, although not the only one, is that not enough city resources have been brought to bear on the problem. They cite a lack of staffing in the numbers of city park rangers, a lack of control over access and egress to and from the Park.
What the agencies see as the solution, or at least a good starting point, is to crack down hard on the way things have been done.
“The unauthorized construction and use of trails should be immediately addressed and effectively controlled prior to moving forward with plans to redesign or construct new trails in Mission Trails Regional Park. In order to achieve this goal, the City should demonstrate the following:
“All unauthorized trails and redundant trails/utility roads have been cloased and are in the process of being successful restored.”
“Effective enforcement or other substantial measures have been initiated to curtail unauthorized trail construction and use.”
“Measurable progress regarding the effectiveness of the enforcement or substantive measures.”
The letter goes on to cite what the agencies call major problems in specific areas.
Fortuna/Mission Gorge
An unauthorized trail that runs through the Fortuna Mountain/Mission Gorge area, specifically through the Grassland Loop Trail that impinges on a growth of San Diego ambrosia, an endangered species.
Cowles Mountain
The Cowles Mountain area is suffering from “a very high level of public use, and substantial damage is occurring to habitat outside of the designated trail system. Given the deteriorated trail and habitat conditions observed on the south side of Cowles Mountain, at this time the Wildlife Agencies do not support the City’s proposal to construct a new parking and and staging area on the east side of Cowles Mountain as we believe that this would only exacerbate the situation by promoting additional uncontrolled access.”
East Elliott
The trail network within the East Elliott core area should be closed until the City can identify and implement an effective strategy to control the construction and use of the unauthorized trails throughout the area.”
“We are concerned with the City’s proposal to establish a new trail within the (Lake Murray) area’s last remaining high quality habitat located on the west edge of the lake, which is occupied by the coastal California gnatcatcher.”
The San Diego Mountain Biking Association, which is a heavy user of the biking trails throughout the park, is among a number of such groups, riding and hiking, who are more than a little upset about this.
“SDMBA adamantly opposes the current plan to close off all recreational access to to trails. We will work diligently with the City and the wildlife agencies to support a better alternative plan. Trail closures rarely work as intended, often resulting in negative consequences, such as unauthorized trail building and use in previously un affected areas.”
Is money the answer?
At some point, it’s generally believed that money is going to come into play here. Specifically, money from the city to hire many more park rangers to enforce whatever changes may be dictated by the master plan update talks.
Both sides acknowledge that Mission Trails Regional Park has changed significantly over the years since 1985.
What they can’t seem to agree on is whether those changes have all been for better or worse.
Doug Curlee is the editor of Mission Times Courier and a regular contributor to all Mission Publishing Group's papers. Reach him by email at Doug@MissionPublishingGroup.com
