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After three years of negotiations with the Cook County Forest Preserve District (Chicago Area), it appears that a mainstream consensus has been reached with various trail users and environmental groups (including the Nature Conservancy, Serria Club, Illinois Trail Riders and The Palos Restoration Group). The District owns and maintains some 67,000 acres of Forest Preserve, which accounts for more than 11% of the land in Cook County (that holds most of the biodiversity in the Northern part of the Illinois).
1) In Deer Grove, the environmentally sensitive ravine area will be closed to bicyclists and equestrians. However, an approximate six mile looped trail system for those users will be marked open and redeveloped and maintained as a designated trail by the District. TURF (Trail Users Rights Foundation; a RIDE Chapter) will be involved in future plans for volunteer maintenance and patrol.
2) In Palos Area (the largest heavily wooded, moraine dotted park in a large metropolitan area) will have 32 miles of Designated Trails and some 26 miles of Proposed Trails, some of which will be marked open with special signs. All trails will appear on a map with the Proposed Trails marked as a dotted line and the Designated Trails as a solid line. Included in the Open Proposed Trails will be the highly desirable single track trails of Dynamite Road, Three Ravines and Siwinski Connector. Proposed Trails will have a three to five-year window of opportunity to be included into the Designated Trail System. All trails not indicated as Designated or Proposed will be considered closed and subject to enforcement methods, including fines. TURF will be involved in future plans for maintenance and patrol.
3) IMBA and RIDE will assist in offering their expertise and the expertise of master trail builders to help the District make an assessment of the cost of implementing the Proposed Trail System. RIDE will continue to solicit financial support from a Partnership of the bicycle industry, bike dealers and bicycle riders. We already have a commitment of $25,000 from Sram Corp. (Grip Shift) and CABDA (Chicago Midwest Bicycle Dealers Association). TREK has offered assistance with a combination map/educational pamphlet and trail signs.
4) The Trail Committee will continue to function to alleviate conflicts and to form Task Force Committees as necessary to suggest solutions for specific problems and tasks.
5) The organizations represented on the trail committee will be committed to finding solutions that are of benefit to the entire trail community and where appropriate support efforts to influence the budgets of the Cook County Board and Forest Preserve District to implement the Trail System.