Demand Change: Flawed Data Used to Prohibit Multi-Use Access at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve

Flawed data is being used to prohibit equestrian and cycling use at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve (SMFP). Take action - attend the public meeting and/or send the email at the bottom of this page!

The San Marcos Foothills Preserve is a beautiful Santa Barbara open space comprised of grassland, oak trees, and fire road managed by Santa Barbara County Parks. It is located the base of the Santa Ynez Mountains near Highway 154. Managed properly, it would serve as a destination from the San Antonio Creek trail, could function as a link to the Eastern trails in the future, and it could provide low impact, low risk, and low conflict access to those in the community that would like to begin hiking, mountain biking and riding horses in the area. It could also serve as an educational opportunity for all non-motorized recreational users.

The County of Santa Barbara has decided to prohibit equestrian and cycling use in their San Marcos Foothills Preserve Long Term Open Space Management Plan (http://www.countyofsb.org/parks/default.aspx?id=7536) based on flawed data from a trail survey of Rattlesnake, Tunnel, and Cold Springs Trails. The management plan states:

“A recent trail use survey of the Tunnel, Rattlesnake, and Cold Spring trails performed by the Front Country Trails Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force (FCTMJTF 2011) found that 1,519 people used the trails during a two-day survey period and revealed that: 93% of trail users were hikers, 3% were runners, 4% were on bicycles, and less than 1% were on horseback.”

It goes on to state that:

“Given the trail user group statistics from 2011, which revealed that very few bicyclists and equestrians would make use of the trails on the Preserve, the County has decided to prohibit both activities from the Preserve public access areas.”

The flaw: Open space fire roads are not comparable to the technically advanced single track trails of Rattlesnake, Tunnel, and Cold Springs trails. These three trails severely limit access (throwing data askew) to equestrians and cyclists through the following characteristics: Rattlesnake trail prohibits cycling. Tunnel and Cold Springs trails do not provide equestrian (trailer) parking, almost eliminating these uses. All three trails are technically advanced trails further limiting equestrian and cycling use to only those who would be considered “expert riders”.

The San Marcos Foothills Preserve could provide the community with a different level of interaction with open spaces and trails than what Rattlesnake, Cold Springs, and Tunnel trails provide. It is an ideal location for those recreational users (hikers, cyclists, equestrians) who are not ready for technically advanced trails. For reference of a multi-user accessible open space, visit the Conejo Open Space page at: http://www.conejo-openspace.org/

If you would like to request that multi-use access be provided and the prohibition be reversed in this public space, you have two avenues: attend the last public meeting for comment this Wednesday the 26th or send the email below by Tuesday the 25th.

Notice of Public Meeting and Availability of Public Document
Santa Barbara County Community Services Department – Parks Division
San Marcos Foothills Preserve Long Term Open Space Management Plan
Wednesday, March 26, 2014 – 6:00 to 7:30

Office of Emergency Management, Incident Management Room
4408 Cathedral Oaks Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110

On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, County of Santa Barbara Community Services Department, Parks Division will hold a public meeting to present and receive comment on the San Marcos Foothills Preserve Long Term Open Space Management Plan. In 2007, the County of Santa Barbara received 200 acres (The Preserve) from the Trust for Public Lands to be protected as open space for its biological, scenic and archeological resources. The County also received 10 additional acres from the residential developer of the Preserve at San Marcos for future passive park purposes. County Parks has been managing the property under the guidance of an Interim Management Plan prepared in 2010. This new management plan builds on the Interim document and will be in effect for 10 years.

To review the document, please visit County Parks’ website at https://www.countyofsb.org/parks/parks03.aspx?id=13436

* Important Note for the use of the email below: Keep this brower window open! After you hit SEND for the first time below a “code” will be sent to your email address. You will need to enter this code at the bottom of the page and click “SEND” again. (PLEASE CLICK “SEND”, WAIT FOR THE RETURN EMAIL WITH CODE, ENTER CODE ON THIS PAGE AND CLICK “SEND” AGAIN!)

** Your address must be included for this email to be counted as “valid” with the County of Santa Barbara.

To:langland@co.santa-barbara.ca.us, jwolf@sbcbos2.org

Paddy Langlands, Deputy Director of Park Division
 Santa Barbara County Community Services Department, Parks Division
 610 Mission Canyon Road
 Santa Barbara, CA 93105
RE: Request of Multi-Use Access in the San Marcos Foothills Preserve Long-Term Management Plan
Dear Mr. Langlands,
As an avid recreational trail user and an active member of the outdoor community, I request that the San Marcos Foothills Preserve (SMFP) be managed to provide multi-use (hiking, bicycling, equestrian) trail access.
I believe the 2011 trail user survey data used by the County to prohibit equestrian and cycling recreation in the San Marcos Foothills Preserve is flawed and prohibition must be reconsidered. Because the three surveyed trails severely limit access to equestrian and cyclist communities they can not be used to accurately reflect use at the SMFP. Rattlesnake trail does not allow cycling and the trail head is a technical barrier to equestrian use. Tunnel and Cold Springs trails do not offer equestrian parking and can be only used by highly skilled equestrians and cyclists. These trails do accurately reflect the trail use by the multi-user trails community. The San Marcos Foothill Preserve can fill a community need by offering excellent equestrian parking and wide open, non-technical trails that appeal to and would be used by a broader spectrum of trail users.
Numerous preserves and open spaces in California are successfully managed as multi-use, contributing to public access and recreational activities while still preserving and restoring the environment and protecting cultural resources. The Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency in Thousand Oaks, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve in San Diego County are just a few examples of preserves successfully providing multi-use trail access and environmental preservation.
I believe the Santa Barbara community and San Marcos Foothills Preserve would both benefit from multi-use trail management. The local community will gain access to valuable outdoor recreational and low impact fitness opportunities, contributing to a happier, healthier, and more vibrant community. The San Marcos Foothills Preserve would also benefit by providing multi-use trail access, as a diverse group of trail users creates a larger community of stewards and volunteers as well as more funding and partnering opportunities.
I urge you to reconsider the prohibition of equestrian and cycling use based on flawed data and a community need for non-technical trails. Multi-use preserves and open spaces add immense value to a community. The recreational opportunities available in beautiful Santa Barbara open spaces are of utmost importance to me, and they are one of the main reasons I live in Santa Barbara County! Please continue to contribute to the health, enjoyment, and well-being of your community by managing the trails in the San Marcos Foothills Preserve as multi-use.

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