The Pine Nut Mountains Trails Association meets the first Tuesday of every month @ 7pm at the Round Table Pizza in the Topsy Lane shopping center 1 mile south of the intersection of US Highways 395 &50. This is just over the border from Carson City in north Douglas County.

Take US 395 to Topsy Lane light and turn west (to your left if you are traveling north and to your right if you are traveling south). As you turn onto Topsy Lane you'll see the Walmart on your right, but at the next light you turn left. As you head uphill you will see the Round Table Pizza on your left. We have the group meeting room reserved from 6:30 on so come early and take advantage of the $6.49 All you can eat Pizza Buffet.

Once Again the Pine Nut Mountains Trails Association is partnering with the Great Basin Institute on a Nevada Division of State Parks Recreational Trail Grant to promote motorized vehicle recreation. Pat Schmid joined with Dave Mensing to present the proposal for this grant to the Nevada State Recreational Trails Committee last October. In December we heard that the grant had been approved. The purpose of this grant will be to finish up the work of identifying and signing the back bone routes in the Pine Nut Mountains.

Through 2011 we will be working with Dave Mensing to develop a proposal for a 2012 grant. Hopefully we can work to identify additional dirt routes north of Sunrise Pass between the Carson River and Alt US95. Which routes are selected will most likely be determined by the BLM. We are in the process of building our relationship with Arthur Callan and the BLM. While we will propose many routes, we will settle on those the BLM is ready to adopt. In current discussions with the BLM we are establishing the principle that everything is open unless marked closed. We are working towards the goal of holding the hard discussions that will grandfather in the existing single track trails. One of the stumbling blocks we will need to navigate is the reality of the private holdings that checkerboard the Pine Nut Mountains. The BLM is not out to close trails that cross private lands, but they can't officially mark these trails.

One of our goals will be to find the means to purchase private lands so they can be added back to the public lands. We hope to leverage the model established by the Nature Conservancy to do this. We are also talking with Douglas County to see what can be done through a Lands Bill.

Douglas County has asked our Congressional Delegation to write a Public Land's Bill to help support the County's goal of preserving open space. Unfortunately our Congressional Delegation has told the Copunty they can not have a Land's Bill unless it inlcudes the creation of at least one Wilderness Area. The current proposal will turn the Burbank Canyon Wilderness Study Area into a Wilderness Area.

Based on our experience with Land's Bill process in Lyon, Esmerelda and Mineral Counties the PNMTA is willing to go out on a limb and state it is Senator Reid that is demanding the creation of a Wilderness Area in return for his support. This puts the county between the rock and a hard place. While our State Legislature has directed our Congressional Delegration not to include the proposal for WIlderness Areas without the backing of County Governements our Congressional Delegation is insiting the county include such a proposal if they want a Land's Bill.

While we support the gola of Douglas County to preserve open spaces, we wll not be able to support the creation of a Wilderness Area in Burbank Canyon. There are various problems with this proposal including the fact the mouth of Burbank Canyon runs along private property along Upper Colony Road, there is an easement for power lines to go through this area, there is a private airport that relies on the airspace about Brubank Canyon for landings and takeoffs, and there are grazing allotments. Our Congressional Delegation is telling us we must find something to sacrafice as a Wilderness Area, even if the area does not fit the defeinition of wilderness, if we want a lands bill and the PNMTA feels the only answer is to tell our Congressional Delegation to take a flying leap and to remember who is the boss.

Over the last year Doug Holcombe and Pat Schmid from the PNMTA have meet monthly with Dave Mensing from the Great Basin Institute and Arthur Callan, Recreational Planner for the BLM's Sierra Front Field Office to work out the details of the GBI's grant we have partnered on. The grant was to put up several new kiosks to establish OHV trail heads, provide gateway signs and sign what will become the backbone of the Pine Nut Mountains trail system.

Three new kiosks were added:

1. Dayton, on Como Road just past the Dayton High School.
2. Johnson Lane, at the Nevada DOT's gravel pit at the end of Johnson Lane. If and when NDOT reopens this pit for the building of the Carson Valley US 395 bypass this trail head may need to be re-located.
3. Ruenstroth, on Pine Nut Mountain road just across from the RC Airplane field. This is area we hope to set up as the play area for partents and there pre-teens.

This is in addition to the existing kiosks we have established at:

1. Sand Canyon Acess. This is on Mexican Dam Road in the Silver Saddle Recreation area. This provides access for both OHVs and Equestrians.
2. Stephanie Lane Equestrian Access at the end of Stephanie Lane in the Johnson Lane Area.
3. Single Tree Access on Pine Nut Road, approximately .8 miles beyond the new Ruenstroth kiosk.

While not signed, on the eastern side of the Pine Nuts we have established major access points on

1. Churchill Canyon Road.
2. Sunrise Pass Road (officially starts at Artesia Lake).
3. Red Canyon Road.
4. Rickey Canyon Road.
5. Minnehaha Canyon Road

The roads that will become the backbone of the trail network include:

• Brunswick Canyon Road, R06 (improved dirt road)
• Eldorado Canyon Road, P02 (4WD high clearance vehicle dirt route)
• Como Road/Back Country Byway P01 (unimporved dirt route)
  • Several miles east of the old mining camp of Como this becomes a 4wd high clearance vehicle dirt route)
• P03, connector from Como/Back Country Byway to Churchill Canyon (4WD high clearance dirt route
• Churchill Canyon Road, R04 (improved dirt road)
• Sunrise Pass Road, R09 (imporved dirt road)
• Pine Nut Valley Road, P14 (unimporved dirt route)
• Lone Pine Canyon Road, P12 (4WD high clearance vehicle dirt route)
  • P12 intersects with the southern terminus of P14, circles behind the east side of Mt Segal and continues out Red Canyon Road
• Pine Nut Road, R11 (improved dirt road)
  • At the "Y" you can take the left had fork and it becomes R12, turning into P12 as the road becomes rocky.
• Pine Nut Road P11 (unimporved dirt route)
  • Pine Nut Road turns from improved to unimproved as you past the last of the homes heading towards Sheep Camp
  • At Sheep Camp you cross the creek and head for Thompson Canyon, take the cutover to Mill Canyon and over the top to Wedertz Canyon Road, which becomes Ricky Canyon Road. Rickey Canyon is a 4WD high clearance vehicle dirt route.
• P10, unimproved dirt route from R09 to R12/P12
• Minnehaha Canyon, P15 (4WD high clearance vehicle dirt route). Ties into P11 near Eagle Mountain.

Once we have a digitized version of a map showing the route we will put this on our web site. Pat Schmid spent several weekends showing Dave Mensing these routes. This grant should result in a carsonite route marker being placed where ever a dirt road/route intersects one of these routes. This wil let folks follow these routes without getting lost. Will also allow folks to know when they have found one of these major routes during their explorations.

We are partnered with the Great Basin Institute in a $78,201 grant to:

• identfy the primary access routes in the Pine Nut Mountains.
• determine where to place 3 kiosks establishing OHV trailheads for the Pine Nut Mountains
• place 100 route signs along the primary access routes
• produce brochures to be placed at the kiosks that identify the primary access routes.
• determine where to place 6 gateway signs on the primary access routes as they enter the Pine Nut Mountains.
• place maps on the gateway signs identify the primary access routes

The grant of $96,106 covers:

• $17,354 for the materials to build the kiosk, gateway signs and 100 route signs.
• $1000 to print and laminate the maps for the gateways signs and kiosks.
• $1000 to print the brochures.
• $525 for rental of an auger to create post holes for the gateway signs and kiosks.
• $150 to purchase 2 flexible post pounders for the route markers.
• $5,588 to cover vehicle costs for the GBI to survey and transport crews.
• $27,853 for the GBI to adminster this project.
• $42,636 for the Crews that will do the do the work to place the kiosk, gateway signs and route signs.

To get this grant of $96,106 the GBI is matching $32,833 (roughly 70/30 split):

• $30,882 matching funds from those crews doing the work.
• $1,951 matching funds for 100 hours of work by the Pine Nut Mountains Trail Asscociation.

This put the grant proposal at $128,929, with roughly 30% of this being the matching funds from donated labor.

We have made two trips with the Dave Mensing of the GBI and Arthur Callan of the BLM to start the survey process to identify the major access routes, loacation of the gateway signs and kiosks. At this popint it looks as if we will add a kiosk in Dayton, Johnson Lane and one on the east side of the Pine Nuts. Dave Mensing is starting to realize the 6 gateway signs will not cover the all the major access routes, and the 100 route signs will just make a dent in marking the major access routes. There will need to an additional grants to finish out this first step.

In our two trips we have begun discussions with Dave and Arthur on how the BLM Travel Management Plan should address the dirt bike and quad trails that exist in the Pine Nuts. It looks hopeful that we will be able to get the Travel Management Plan to state that all existing routes are open unless marked closed. In this way Arthur will be able to create a Travel Management Plan without getting wrapped around the axle trying to identify all the exising trails. Indentifying which existing trails need to be closed will be done after the Travel Management Plan is released. This also helps to establish the legitimacy of the existing trail network. In our intial discussions we have al talked about the Pine Nut Mountains Management area being treated as an OHV area.

Hopefully we can turn this into a win-win for both sides, while avoiding the debacle that Sand Mountain has become.

WAHOO!!!!!!!!! We got that old abandoned Class C Motor home out of Brunswick Canyon. This was one of the goals we had set for the cleanup and it was something to see it being dragged out. With two days effort over 60 yards of trash, an additional dump truck of trash, over 9 tons delivered to the Carson City transfer station, a few truck loads of old tires, several rusted out old junk cars, that old Class C were removed from the Brunswick Canyon area.

In the two days we had many, many people that come out and helped. Juan Guzman, from the Carson Parks & Recreation Department was out there with the City's Clean Up trailer loaded with gloves, rakes, shovels, brooms, wheel barrows and other implements of destruction for us to use. Juan spent most his time helping folks unload their trash into the dumpsters and making sure the overflow went free of charge to the City Transfer Station. He kept asking how we managed to pick up all THAT trash and the answer he got was one piece at a time. Juan deserves a big hand for helping to make the cleanup a big success. I know I appreciated his unloading my truck while telling me to go sit in the shade and relax.

We had folks that worked the hill from the bridge back north towards the ComputerCorp recycling center. We had folks that came in from Johnson Lane with a backhoe and trailers to cleaning out a major squatter's camp (and congratulations to Matt Wright for winning the top raffle prize, a tubeless tire repair kit donated by Protech Trailers). Folks were out picking up trash everywhere. It is amazing how fast a 30 yard dumpster will fill. All weekend long we heard stories from people that had spent the odd weekend over the last several years to haul out trash on their own and how glad they were to see someone head up a major effort. On Sunday KOLO TV 8 came out and interviewed Terry, along with KOH Radio, giving the PNMTA its 5 minutes of fame.

Nate Littrell and family found enough tires to start a used tire shop.

Sasha Littrell found herself a new friend, someone happy to have a clean house again.

Truck after truck came out with full loads.

And we left Brunswick looking cleaner than it has in years.

A special thanks goes to Terry McTimmonds. He organized the cleanup, arranged for dumpsters, got the word out, found folks to donate the raffle prizes and made sure everyone that helped had plenty to eat and drink. Thanks Terry (that's the man standing in front of the door on his trailer).