Pisgah Area SORBA
Chapter Membership Meeting Minutes
11 June 2012, Beef O’Brady’s 

President Karen Into called the general membership meeting to order at 1835, then asked attendees to introduce themselves.

Our guest speaker was Angela Brown of the North Carolina Arboretum.  Angela, a mountain biker since 1995 and on the Arboretum staff for 16 years, suggested that PAS members consider adding Arboretum trails to their Bent Creek rides.  The Arboretum’s well-groomed trails would be especially inviting to beginning riders.  REI volunteers and Warren Wilson volunteers have contributed to the Arboretum’s trail system.  While the public can ride or hike onto the Arboretum campus free of charge, Arboretum memberships (Student $25, Individual $45, Household $60) include free on-campus parking, reciprocal privileges with more than 270 American Horticultural Society gardens nationwide, discounts on Arboretum programs and classes, etc.  Because the Arboretum is a non-profit, your membership fee is tax-deductible.  Arboretum parking is patrolled by campus police, offering some vehicle protection while parked on-site.  If you’d like to ‘test drive’ the Arboretum, every first Tuesday of the month is free.

Karen reviewed recent and upcoming events:

–PAS was well-represented at REI’s CycleFest, speaking with many attendees and building a significant email contact list.  We gained a couple new members at CycleFest

–At Asheville’s Mountain Sports Festival PAS also generated a significant email contact list.

–At the June 2 Dupont Trails Day, 15 PAS volunteers completed a 600+ foot relocation of Holly Trail near the Lake Imaging parking lot.  The new construction replaces a steep, eroded trail segment with a sustainable trail segment, and the old route was very effectively closed and revegetated.

–PAS will sponsor an aid station for the July 22 Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell (ORAMM) near mile 42 of the event.  Gordy (gordyj2000@yahoo.com) is coordinating PAS aid station efforts, and is looking for 4-10 volunteers.

–PAS will host a Bele Chere booth July 27-29.  Rick Schrader is coordinating the effort—contact Rick through our website.

–The PAS Save the Trails (STT) Challenge is scheduled for August 25, with an August 26 rain date.  Jon Cartwright is coordinating the effort, and needs volunteers for course marking a couple days before the event, aid station volunteers the day of the event, and sweep riders the day of the event.

Karen reminded the group that PAS has a significant list of volunteer needs, including grant writing, article writing, PAS-USFS liaison, etc.  Check the website for more detail, and contact the Board with your offers of assistance.  Board nominations open today, with elections in our August meeting.  We will experience considerable Board turn-over this fall, and need PAS members to consider serving as president, vice-president, advocacy, and events positions.

Chris Strout, who has been working with SORBA at the regional level for a couple years, has been nominated as PAS president and distributed an idea sheet to the group.

Chris Strout, Clay Faine (absent) and Woody Keen have been attending the USFS ‘traill strategy’ meetings;  Chris and Woody updated the group on recent developments. Most PAS members know that a similar effort called CoTrails was initiated in Georgia’s Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest a couple years ago.  In early 2012, Pisgah National Forest hosted a series of regional meetings, then hosted user meetings in which users discussed trail concerns and objectives.  While many users talked about cohesion across the districts in the Forest (via the Supervisor’s office direction), the next steps and many outcomes in the process all occur at the District level.  More recently, the process facilitator (in the Supervisor’s office) announced her transfer to another National Forest, and her duties will be turned over to the project intern.  SORBA, meanwhile, has continued its activities at the Regional level, and just announced the signing and formal adoption of an MOU with USFS Region 8 and parts of Region 9.  That MOU may result in sponsored agreements between SORBA chapters and the USFS which would replace the individual Volunteer Agreements currently in place for PAS trail crew members.

Stephen Janes reminded us that many things are happening in the ‘Trips for Kids’ program—check the website, and get your tickets for the I-9 wheelset raffle!

Karen adjourned the meeting at 1930.