Part of R. Hawk closed during turkey season...

[DoctorJD]

From March 21st (Saturday) through May 15th the "Model-T" trail and the "22-Orange" trail will be closed for turkey season. These are the two newly constucted trails that start at the end of the "Green" trail and end at the beginning of the "Orange" trail.

Wanted to let everyone know, because I'm not sure if there will be signage out this weekend and I don't want anyone to get ticketed. Everything else will be open as usual.

[Jag3]

JD-
I believe there are times that we will be permitted to ride. I'm checking on that right now. In the past, before 10am and after 5pm we were asked not to ride certain areas. I'm not completely certain that they can even hunt on those trails regardless of whether its hunting season or not.

Post more later.

[MootsMan]

Lemme see if I've got this right. Mountain Bikers built the trails....but the same crew could go out and ride them today and get ticketed? What am I missing? Gives another whole meaning to multi-use trails, indeed.

[DoctorJD]

Lemme see if I've got this right. Mountain Bikers built the trails....but the same crew could go out and ride them today and get ticketed? What am I missing? Gives another whole meaning to multi-use trails, indeed.
Bud,
To truly follow this saga, go to SORBA and check out the "Not so good news about Rock Hawk" thread. Grab a cup of coffee and spend a couple hours reading it ;).

Actually, there has been a great outpouring of support for the Rock Hawk crew, in fact, Joe got a call from the governor's office yesterday afternoon :eek:.

[Benny]

http://www.sorba.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26444

[Jay]

I rode there today. They have a sign up at the kiosk that states what and when the restrictions are during turkey season. The trail is restricted for riding from 10-2 until the middle of May. They also still have some "NO BIKING" signs up on some of the trails. Go figure.

Jay

[Jag3]

Still waiting on the "written" new rules.
As I here it-
they will follow the other rules currently in place on other WMA's around the state but for the first (2) weeks of Turkey Season which are "Quota Hunts".
Apparently theHawk is a spillover site for registered hunters that have been on a list for a long time and not been allowed to hunt yet. :confused:

Anyhow-the story told to me was that theHawk would follow the below listed restrictions.

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Assets/D ... g_Regs.pdf <http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Assets/Documents/Hunting_Regulations/08-09_Hunting_Regs.pdf>

Blue Ridge WMA (Bull and Jake Mountain trails)
Closed all day: Oct 23-25, Nov 26-29, Dec 17-20
Closed before 10AM: Sept 13-Oct 17, Mar 21-May 15

Cohutta WMA (Bear Creek, Pinhoti 1, Mountaintown, Windy Gap, Milma, Tibbs)
no mention of trail closures, but be aware of these dates
Firearms: Oct 9-12, Dec 3-7
Archery and Turkey (usually means trails closed until 10AM): Sept 13-Oct 7, Oct 13-17, Mar 21-May 15

Pine Log WMA
Closed all day: Nov 19-22, Dec 11-14
Closed before 10AM: Sept 13-Oct 17, Mar 21-May 15

Rich Mountain WMA (aka Stanley Gap)
Closed before 10AM: Sept 13-Dec 7, Dec 26-Jan 1, Mar 21-May 15

NOTE-THERE IS NO 10-2 RULE POSTED IN THE ABOVE RESTRICTIONS.
BUT-to reiterate, I've not received it in writing.
They have further stated that we will not have to have contracts with the DNR to hold events or races as the property belongs to Ga. Power.
For now, that's all I've got.

[C.U. Allezter]

What's the latest word on the Hawk? May 15 is the end of huntin' season, is it open season on singletrack after that? I've got lots of people asking about the trails up there, and I just want to make sure they get the most current info.
I also want to express my gratitude for the lobbying a number of people have been doing on this issue. Joe- thanks for spearheading the effort and constantly vocalizing the desire of so many for sweet singletrack in our region. Benny, Carl, Jake, Jay, J.D.- you guys deserve much credit for not storming the Hawk guerrilla-style after being denied access to the trails you have sweated and bled over for more hours than any sane, non-rider could comprehend. Thanks for all the work that's been put in, on the trail and behind the scenes.

[DoctorJD]

What's the latest word on the Hawk? May 15 is the end of huntin' season, is it open season on singletrack after that? I've got lots of people asking about the trails up there, and I just want to make sure they get the most current info.
I also want to express my gratitude for the lobbying a number of people have been doing on this issue. Joe- thanks for spearheading the effort and constantly vocalizing the desire of so many for sweet singletrack in our region. Benny, Carl, Jake, Jay, J.D.- you guys deserve much credit for not storming the Hawk guerrilla-style after being denied access to the trails you have sweated and bled over for more hours than any sane, non-rider could comprehend. Thanks for all the work that's been put in, on the trail and behind the scenes.
Joe and I met with Don Mcgown and Chris Canalos of the DNR last Friday and had (I think) a rather productive meeting. While the main reason for the meeting was to finally establish (once and for all) the bounaries of Ga. Power/WMA property, both sides kinda layed their cards on the table. First off, we have been working off of a mistaken boundary lines, and as such, have taken the "guard shack" trail as well as the top of the "hawks head" onto state property. Joe has already started roughing in the re-route which will now cross on the park side of the guard shack.

We are petitioning the state to allow the intrusion onto their property on the top of the hawks head and a small portion of the mclean. It looks positive as both pieces of trail are in a "safe zone" and, honestly, there is no other reasonable way to connect the trails without crossing state property. Ga. Power is lobbying for us as well.

The hunting closure deal is still very ambiguous to me...actually to DNR as well. There are still various closure dates depending on who you talk to. When we posed this to Don, the dates he stated weren't consistant with what they are inforcing out there. Hopefully, before next hunting season we'll have some closure on this issue as well. Otherwise, we are free to roam starting Saturday.

Don, on behalf of DNR, expressed his gratitude and appreciation of what our crew has done out there and actually used the word "partners" when speaking DNR's relationship of our group:) Again, I think it was a productive meeting and, yes, we were called on the mat for a couple of things, but I think they finally understand who they are dealing with, and know that any "wrongdoing" at the hawk was a result of ignorance and misinformation, not a disreguard rules/regulation.

As far as the trails themselves, the hiatus has not been well for the trails, particularly the new stuff. Starting this weekend, work parties are starting to rid the trails of weeds and deadfall. Not sure of an exact time or day yet. We'll keep you posted, but until then, get out there and ride, the trails need some rubber on them!
JD

[Jag3]

Well said JD-
JScott & TBaker started the clean-up today. 22Orange loop.
I'm trying to squeeze in a spare moment to tackle some of the clean up as well. This weekend is still up in the air but Jake has a crew lined up to assault the trails.

As quickly as I can, I'll get the new routes posted, suffice it to say we did have some single track on the state property. The large majority has been rerouted already. AND-its narly. Furthermore, the lower end of the Hawks Head is ripe for some additions once the "easement" is authorized.

Speaking of easements-HH (maybe 60-80 yds on the original layout) probably an additional 20 yds on the reroute that I thought got us off state property. McLean Loop is a different story altogether-pray for a grandfathered easement cause the property line on that side of the guard shack hugs the back of the bathroom and several campsites. We'll loose several hundred yards of trail including Jakes Bridge.

Anyhow, I'm staying on top of GP to push for the easement.
Also-I've suggested to the DNR that we "quarantine" certain trails during hunting seasons while still allowing access to others. With GP's approval, we could still have a significant amount of trail open and within the safety zone during hunting season. Provided the parties accept this. Basically, the Orange & Red are the areas of contention and we can easily bypass those areas during hunting season. It's a work in progress, sorry to have been slow in reporting, seems everytime we report, the rules change.

Hopefully this time will be different. Thanks for the words Adam.
J

[C.U. Allezter]

Awesome! Glad to hear there has been positive development, particularly in regard to DNR's acknowledgement of trail users (well OK, MTBers;)) as "partners." It's a shame that the trails have been missing some much needed traffic. Hope to rectify that soon. Once again, thanks for all your hard work.