To close trails that are ridden and
maintained by responsible riders, is not going to solve the knucklehead problem...it is like banning guns because people shoot people....you can ban every single gun out there, guess what, people are still going to kill each other. Or like Bloomberg banning Big Gulps...
It was the single track that they closed down...it was some of
the best in the Arizona. There was plenty for everyone to enjoy. I have been riding, hiking, and cycling those trails for 20 years...some of the most pristine trails were the moto ones... the most popular non-moto were/are blown out by hikers and cyclist. The reason most of the moto trails are in good condition, are because they are difficult....it keeps the average person away.
I know the Flag trails very well...it is amazing how well those trails have held over the years. If it does get blown out...we fix it. To say the moto guys are the bad apples, is clearly ignorance. The moto guys have built most of the trails in Flag over the past 50+ years...yet people have come in and claimed them as their own. To kick out only the moto crowd is complete BS.
We put a hell of a lot of work, time, and money into the CNF...just to get stabbed in the back.
So now instead of being able to ride single track in the Peaks area, dirt bikes are now forced to ride the Forest Roads...most people including myself have street legal dirt bikes...we went from being mostly away from people, not really bothering anyone, to pushed into a very public corridors. Bet that is going to go over well with the public. Like I said earlier...just because you take something away , doesn't mean people will stop.
Prescott doesn't get high enough in elevation...not cool enough during the summer. I know the Camp Wood area...where we hold one of the AMRA races there. The problem with Sheridan Mountain....very few trails up in elevation...they spill off the side real quick. Where in Flag there are (were,
now) trails that went the perimeter of the Peaks...stay in the cool air all day long. It was great trail...very upset, now that it is gone. I rarely saw anyone on that trail...it was not "trashed" as some might think. Absolutely no reason to close it, other than people not liking dirt bikes. But they sure as Hell will drive their Suby's up Schultz Creek Road...to the Weatherford Trail Head....motorized travel sure isn't a problem then...funny how that works