Letter to the editor: trail work good for community

As a homeowner living within walking distance to the Beardance Trail I have long been aware of the bike features along the trail. I was first surprised, then impressed, by the effort, and then thankful for the many improvements to the trail. I also noticed the complete lack of garbage and debris that sadly often comes with the recreational use of our lands.

Being as the Beardance Trail was originally built as a working trail and not for recreational use, it leads only to Crane Mountain road, no summit or real destination. It doesn’t get used by hikers or back country horsemen nearly as often as many of our other awesome recreational areas. It seemed to be the perfect place for mountain bikers.

To make a long story shorter, it led me and my family of five out to outfit ourselves at our local bike shops, so we to could share in the positive effects of mountain biking.

Then I read about Mr. Cron’s efforts to make use of the back side of Crane Mountain for mountain biking. I was surprised by the negative feedback. It seems to me the community would only benefit from such an effort. The area in question seems abused and neglected, getting little use other than a poor place for a shooting range.

Anyone who has been there can attest to the seemingly endless supply of broken glass and other trash littering the lower pull out along the road, as well as the Estes Lake trail head parking area. It would be nice to see the area cleaned up and used by a dedicated, family-fun generating group of people, like the mountain biking community. Not only would it be another feather in the hat of a tourism-based economy as cyclists would come to enjoy such a great location, but it would also serve as an opportunity for our local business and our youth as well — a win-win situation.

Jack Wallace

Bigfork