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PIMA TRAILS ASSOCIATIONProtecting Pima County’s Trails since 1987

www.pimatrails.orgVol. 28, No. 1 Spring 2015

President’s Message

Sue Clark, President

Imagine Hiking 5700 Miles!Southern Arizona Hiking Club hikers have hiked over 5700 miles of the Arizona Trail (AZT) in the past year.

In January of 2014, the SAHC board of directors instituted an award program for SAHC hikers who complete 50, 100, 200, 300 and 350 AZT miles between the Mexican border and the northern end of Passage 20 at the Lone Pine Trail Head. Individual patches are given for the 50 to 300 mile distances and a plaque award for 350 miles completed. All AZT miles must be completed on official SAHC hikes and have led to an explosion of interest in the Arizona Trail.

SAHC is not only hiking the trail but helping to maintain the trail on AZT sanctioned events, through stewardship of Passage 8A and adoption of a section of the Itailan Trap trail on Passage 10.

The AZT in Pima County is a result of public private cooperation with the strong support of the Pima Trails Association. Thank you PTA for helping to make this Arizona hiking gem a reality.

— Jim Terlep

Our 2014 annual meeting and dinner was lots of fun and informative. Read about it and all of our accomplishments last year in this newsletter.

2015 will bring continued consulting with Pima County about Loop projects and we will continue to have a representative on the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Bike/Pedestrian committee.

If you have not renewed your membership for this year, it’s not too late. Just go to our website pimatrails.org and follow the easy directions. You can pay with PayPal or print out the renewal form and mail it to our PO Box 35007, Tucson AZ 85740. You can also clip the form on the back of this news-letter and mail it in. We count on your support to continue what we do for trails in Pima County.

If you have any concerns or questions about trails, you can contact us at email@pimatrails.org or leave a message on our voice mail at 520 577-7919.

Please join us and enjoy the miles of trails we’ve worked so hard to protect in Pima County.

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PTA Statement of PurposePima Trails Association is a nonprofit, 501(c)3, all-volunteer trails advocacy

organization comprised of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers working together to protect and preserve trails in Pima County.

PTA Goals 1. Establish an integrated multi-

use public trails system.

2. Assure permanent access to trails on public lands.

3. Promote cooperation with land owners and developers to preserve access to traditional-use trails on private lands.

4. Foster cooperation and communication among all trail user-groups.

5. Communicate and cooperate with government agencies on trail matters.

6. Keep the community informed about trail issues and opportunities.

7. Facilitate the safe and harmonious multi-use of trails through trail education, community programs and fund-raising activities.

8. Encourage the development of new recreational and historic trails.

9. Expand the effectiveness and influence of Pima Trails Association.

2014 PTA Board Members Sue Clark, President

Terri Gay, Vice President Bev Showalter, Secretary Chuck Cook, Treasurer

Directors Daphne Madison

Jon Shouse Mike Studer Jim Terlep

Sharon Urban

Pima Trails Association Newsletter

is a publication of Pima Trails Association,

P O Box 35007,Tucson, Arizona 85740 Phone 520-577-7919

www.pimatrails.org

Story copy reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily

reflect the views of PTA. Story copy is subject to editing as needed.

Editor: Terri Gay Contributors: Sue Clark, Chuck Cook, Jim Terlep

© Pima Trails Association 2015 All rights reserved.

Articles or parts thereof may be reproduced with permission if acknowledgment is given to

Pima Trails Association.

PTA Events

To our business and organization friends:Due to the expense of printing a six-page newsletter, we are now opting to remove ads and reduce page count to four. All supporting business and organiza-tions will still be listed in our Members and Supporters column. We appreciate your support and hope you can understand our need to economize.

Find PTA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimatrailsassociation and watch your email for our E-News. These tools will keep you informed and up to date on trails in our area!

Welcome, new members!Mari Jensen & Karl Flessa

Michael MillerKathy Polucci

The PTA Annual Meeting dinner was concluded with brownies for dessert. Just one more reason to be sure you attend the 2015 meeting!

Business & Organization Members

County Line Riders of CatalinaEpic Rides

Fair Wheel BikesGentleman’s AcresThe Magic Garden

Town of Marana ParksPima Co. Sheriff’s

Mounted PosseSaddlebrooke Hiking Club

Sonoran Desert Mountain BicyclistsSouthern Arizona

Hiking ClubSummit Hut

Tucson Saddle ClubWhite Stallion Ranch

We endeavor to include every new member and current

business/ organization in this listing, and we apologize if we have missed you or misspelled your name! Let us know and we will correct the spelling and acknowledge your membership in

the next newsletter.

March 2015 Sat. March 6 & Sun. March 7

Visit our table at Summit Hut Sale & Expo Speedway At Rosemont

Tuesday, March 24, 7 pm PTA BOARd MEETInG

REI, 160 W. Wetmore at Tucson Mall

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Trails UpdateRillito River PathPlans are at 60% completion for the bridge over Camino de la Tierra on the south bank to eliminate crossing the road at grade. This is for bikes and walkers. Horses will probably stay in the riverbed.

Pantano River PathThe paved path from Kenyon to Broadway on the east bank will probably be completed by this newsletter’s publication. Plans for the section from Craycroft to Tanque Verde are complete and construction should start this spring or summer. A paved path, soft path and staging area at Glenn and Sahuara will be built. There are also plans to connect the existing path from 5th Street wash to the existing path at Speedway.

Santa Cruz River PathPlans are at 60% completion for a trailhead on Coachline near Silverbell for car parking.

Tangerine Road GreenwayThe latest iteration of these plans is not what we discussed in the early planning stages three years ago with Marana so we are in the process of discussing these changes with the design team.

PTA Annual Meeting ReportPima Trails Association’s Annual Meeting and Elections convened november 18, 2014 with many members attending to enjoy dinner and hear entertaining guest speaker dan davis, a career national Parks Service ranger. Election of the 2015 board officers and members resulted in all officers and board members remaining in their same duties as in 2014.

Following is a summary of PTA’s accomplishments for 2014:

● Pima Trails Association gave a grant of $257 to Pima County natural Resources, Parks and Recreation to have updated county trailhead guides printed. They are available tonight and also from Pima County Parks and Recreation.

● PTA provided trail information and outreach at a booth at the Summit Hut sale in March and the Arizona Feeds Expo in May. The La Canada road widening project from Ina to River is almost complete and the trail along the west side looks good. PTA requested better footing than was put on the section from Ina to Calle Concordia. There are push buttons at the intersections at the standard 6 ft. height for equestrians to cross as well as the usual pedestrian push buttons.

● Pima Trails continues to have a representative on the RTA bike/ped sub-committee which provides input on greenways and river parks.

● PTA is on the design team for the Canada del Oro river park from La Cholla to La Canada. There will be no bank stabilization so the paved and soft paths will have a more rural feel. An equestrian staging area will be at Overton just west of Rancho Feliz with a car parking area on La Cholla and one on La Canada.

● Pima Trails was also asked to consult on the staging area at Glenn and Sahuara for the Pantano River Park project from Craycroft to Tanque Verde. That project is still in the early planning stages.

● Two projects PTA has asked for are the Hope Camp Trail connection through Rocking K ranch and a trail along Cienega Creek from Colossal Cave Road to the Gabe Zimmerman Davidson Canyon Trailhead. The County Administrator’s office has said they are working on an agreement with don diamond for the Rocking K trail. Flood Control owns the Cienega property and that project is still undetermined.

● The Arizona Trail crosses Marsh Station Road at the Three Bridges area in Vail and passes under the Union Pacific railroad tracks. This was a dangerous crossing so PTA met with the director of County Transportation and asked her to approve a cut in the guardrail there so that users (especially equestrians) could get across the road and leave the train area quickly. The guardrail has now been cut and retrofitted and signs and striping along the road to alert traffic of the trail crossing are in place.

PTA is grateful for the support our members and organizations provide for our work in protecting and providing trails access across our area. Help keep these trails safe and enjoyable by becoming involved in PTA’s important and urgent work.

CDO PATH MOVING TOWARD COMPLETIONAn unofficial report by Chuck Cook

The path along the Canada del Oro wash is is on its way to connecting Oro Valley Marketplace (Tangerine and Oracle) with the Santa Cruz path west of I-10.

The section between La Cholla and La Canada is set to go to construction bidding. It will include a paved path and soft path just outside the wash with no bank protection. Primary parking will be at the water tank on La Cholla and a smaller parking area will be at the water tank on La Canada. Horse trailer only parking area is planned on Overton. From the parking lot on Thornydale, the Cristina-Taylor Green section will go under Thornydale, cross a bridge over a small side wash behind Sportsman’s Warehouse and continue on the south bank. Like the south bank of the Rillito path, it will go under I-10 and the railroad tracks and connect with the Santa Cruz path.

due to space restrictions, this part of the path will be paved only. PTA observes all stages of construction to make sure the trail meets county standards. One early catch made by a board member was that the bridge over the wash at La Cholla did not allow enough height for horse riders to pass under. The bridge was redesigned to accommodate this.

PIMA TRAILS ASSOCIATIONP.O. BOX 35007TUCSON, AZ 85740

10-143-15

New multi-year memberships are available. Save time and effort! 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARSTrail Booster................... …$15 ...$45 …$75Trail Booster, family....... …$20 ...$60 …$100 Trail Advocate* ..............…$50 …$150 …$250 Trail Guardian* .............. …$100 …$300 …$500 Any membership over $100 receives a PTA t-shirt. Please indicate size desired: M L XLTrail Supporter*………………..$_____________

Name(s): _____________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________ City: ________________________ State: ___ Zip: ___________ Phone: _______________________________________________

____ *Please list this Trail Advocate/Guardian/Supporter membership as a business/organization membership. Business/organization name:__________________________ Website : _________________________________________________

Support Pima Trails...become a member or renew!PIMA TRAILS ASSOCIATION is a nonprofit trails advocacy organization of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers work-ing to protect & preserve trails in Pima County.

Yearly membership runs Jan 1 - Dec 31. No memberships are prorated. Join online or print this form and return to the address below.

1. MEMBERSHIP: …NEW …RENEWAL2. Date: ______________ 3. E-mail: ______________________________________ Please be sure e-mail address is current!

You’ll receive your newsletter digitally at the e-mail address above. If you need a print copy, please notify PTA. We do not sell or share our membership list. 4. …Yes, I will volunteer5. I use the trails as a …Hiker …Mountain Biker …Equestrian …Other____________ (please check all that apply)

Join online and pay with PayPal or return this form with check payable to: Pima Trails Association. Mail to: PTA Membership, PO Box 35007, Tucson, AZ 85740