HELP!!! Now’s the time! We need your emails and letters!
We’re entering the next critical phase to protect the Live Oak Equestrian Trail!
The County is preparing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the County’s Recreation Master Plan and have included the old "pilot project" that would allow bikers and hikers on the Live Oak Trail for future development in this Plan! We won’t accept that after all the work that’s been done.
Your letters are desperately needed this week. We must show our numbers and have our comments clearly documented in the EIR. It’s important for us to have the leverage if needed, to support future actions to keep the trail safe for trail riders.
You can help by cutting and pasting the e-mail below into a new e-mail or letter, add the DATE and YOUR NAME where indicated, then edit your response comments as you wish.
Submit Comments via email to: Jeff Lindgren, RecPlan@countyofsb.org OR
Via hard copy letter to: Community Services Department, Parks Division, 123 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
All responses are due on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The following message includes ideas to get you thinking about YOUR concerns. Please edit the message to convey your wants and needs. For example, some may be OK with hikers at Live Oak, some not. Make your ideas heard! Thank you for all you do!!!
Message for your use:
DATE
RE: Santa Barbara County Recreation Master Plan and NOP Comments - Equestrian Concerns and Edits
Dear Mr. Lindgren:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the County of Santa Barbara’s Recreation Master Plan (Rec Plan) and Notice of Preparation (NOP). I am submitting my comments below:
Cachuma Equestrian Trails Project and Equestrian Needs: The Cachuma Equestrian Trails Project proposed in the Rec Plan is the “Pilot Project”, a trail change briefly implemented by the County during the Pandemic that opened Live Oak Equestrian Trail (the Trail) to hikers, then was later to be opened to mountain bikes. That action was defeated in the courts and the trail was ordered to revert equestrian trail use.
Reviving the “Pilot Project” as included in the Rec Plan virtually ignores the work the equestrian community has done over the past 5 years with the Parks Division and our elected officials to educate them about equestrian trail safety needs and to include them in the Live Oak Equestrian Trail Project as the County’s last safe trail for equestrian trail riders in this Rec Plan. We have provided citations for documents, video and personal accounts of how dangerous and devastating incidents are when mountain bikes, E-bikes and horses mix. Steep drop offs, blind corners, incompatibility with on-going livestock grazing practices and fire abatement, along with other documentation we have submitted previously through public outreach process make the north shore of Cachuma inappropriate for mountain and E- bike riding activities.
Please revise the Project description to delete mountain and E-bikes [and hikers] from the Trail Project as community comments have dictated throughout the public meetings, events, and scoping process for this Rec Plan.
Equestrians need the following to continue to feel safe and have viable recreational opportunities on our trails and appreciate our ride in a safe and enjoyable manner.
I would like to see:
1. A separate, safe equestrian trial at Live Oak Equestrian Trail.
a. A safe trail as defined by equestrians means:
i. No bikes, mountain, or E-bikes
ii. No dogs, leashed or unleashed.
iii. A relaxing, enjoyable ride (recreation experience)
iv. Simple access and
v. Adequate trailer parking.
2. Separate trails as accepted trail policy to safely accommodate trail riding.
3. Equestrian’s input and concerns accepted, considered, and incorporated into trail design and acknowledged.
4. A transparent and inclusive process to develop a trail management plan for any new trails or proposed changes to existing trails.
If the Rec Plan truly intends to represent all public comments accurately and represents all recreationists equally, then the County must recognize equestrian (and hiker) safety concerns as valid, considered in trail planning and allow for separate trails to avoid conflict, injuries and in some cases, deaths.
One equestrian summed it up by saying: "I like trail riding, but it's not relaxing [with mountain bikes]. Given that a horse may spook at the sight of a deer, a few anxious moments per ride in the woods is the norm. Knowing that mountain bikes may be in the area ratchets up the tension level dramatically.”
The Rec Plan also needs to accurately describe existing trail uses and entitlements. For example, exclusive Bike Parks are located at Elings Park in the City of Santa Barbara, Riverview Park in the City of Buellton, and The Orcutt Hills Trails system (see Trail Palooza Videos from last the 2024 event) in Santa Barbara County. Currently, the Rec Plan incorrectly notes that there are no Bike Parks in the County. The statement must be corrected and revised and to also note that equestrians have but one trail considered safe to ride in the County, the Live Oak Equestrian Trail.
Public Equestrian Facility Project: Also, I’d like to see a campground (with individual campsites) re-established at Live Oak Camp. Please add the Live Oak Campground to the Public Equestrian Facility Project proposed in the Rec Plan. With the increases in horse camping and living quarters trailers, horse camping is increasingly popular and the revenue potential for County-owned equestrian facilities would likely offset the loss of the Lucidity Festival.
I encourage the County to consider and include my comments in the Rec Plan as they are necessary to accurately depict the current and future needs for equestrian recreation opportunities. Live Oak Trail is necessary to have adequate access to recreation opportunities comparable to other sports such as mountain biking. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
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