Tim Tait announced last week that the West End Trails Alliance (WETA) has added Jamie O’Hern to the board of directors. Tait said she’ll be an excellent asset to the nonprofit.
O’Hern is a mountain biking instructor who moved to the area in the last few years.
Tait said he appreciates that O’Hern is community-focused, and while she’s interested in the growth of mountain biking and trail use in the West End area, she wants it to benefit the community. Tait said she also wants to involve youth.
“Others might be wanting growth for tourism,” he said. “She also wants that here, but also for the youth and adults who live here to see and feel the benefits. It’s really important right now. We need to have people thinking this way on the board.”
WETA worked throughout the winter to make the most of their time not spent out on trails. Tait said the group has been asking each other about ways to make the information about recreating in the West End more accessible and easier to understand. Over the winter, WETA worked on updating trail signage maps at the Nucla Range and at Camp V.
Now, board members are in the process of installing some of those signs, which have gone through the processes of design and print.
Another milestone for WETA was putting the local trails system on an app called TrailForks. A popular mapping app, the tool helps hikers, bikers and other recreationists by providing information by phone.
Tait said the biggest advantage is the offline capability. Anyone can download the region, the West End region, on TrailForks for offline use. They can use the app to check to see if they’re on the trail or not. He said it’s a big step for having information at the tip of one’s fingers, especially with not having cell service. Still, users have to be sure and activate the app before they leave service. Tait said it’s come in handy for him several times.
Now WETA is working on growing its social media community. Approximately 100 people have joined the Facebook page in the last six months. There, people can access condition reports, have conversations about trails and also learn about upcoming events or rides.
Tait said he encouraged anyone interested in WETA to join the group.
Now WETA will work on getting ready for the Sawtooth project, which is gaining momentum. There’s been much internal planning, and Tait now expects the project to be taken on by the BLM to go forward. That means environmental studies and community meetings coming up in the future.
Tait said it would be a lengthy process because of the public comment periods.
The Sawtooth project is north of Naturita on Highway 141 on the way to Uravan. It’s the BLM land on the left side of the road. Tait said it has the name that it does because of the landscape and what are actually interesting canyons that look like teeth.
“It’s a pretty special place,” he said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to build trails there in the coming years.”
