Good News Guys...I read this in Sunday's San Antonio Paper in the Sports Section....
Off-roaders to have own park
Web Posted: 02/05/2006 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News Texans who ride off-road vehicles are getting a new park specifically for the use of ATVs, motorcycles and 4-wheel-drive vehicles.
Not yet named, the 3,324-acre park is in Crockett County, about 22 miles south of Ozona and 12 miles off Interstate 10. It was purchased for $1.36 million.
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission approved the deal and funding Jan. 26. The money, collected as part of the federal fuel taxes paid at the pump, was already in hand. The Legislature assigned the state agency the task of facilitating the purchase for the Texas Motorized Trails Coalition, a non-profit organization whose membership uses off-road vehicles as its primary source of recreation.
The West Texas park should open in summer 2007. It will be operated by TMTC, which already runs the 1,800-acre off-road park at Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area near Gilmer in Upshur County.
Carol Smith, a Medina Lake business owner and TMTC board member, has led the four-year effort to find and fund the new park.
The reality of any purchase, however, was that it would involve detailed environmental restrictions, and that made finding suitable land closer to urban centers difficult. When the real estate agent urged Smith to visit the property last summer, she drove out with her husband, Nick.
That one visit set Smith's wheels in motion. She saw the possibilities and started building the case for a purchase.
"Interstate 10 to Ozona is all-weather and well-maintained, and the road leading up to the ranch entrance is paved," Smith said. Only the last half-mile is gravel, and that road is used by oil companies and kept in good condition.
Good roads cut travel time and facilitate user access.
Inside the gate, "There's no live water on the property," Smith said, and that proved a plus. Having no streams and no springs eased many of the environmental concerns.
The ranch does have two water wells for drinking and other user needs, and it has the topographical elements that make an off-roader's heart race.
"The handlebar folks," as Smith calls ATV and motorcycle riders, "like a little elevation change with a lot of flat ground for touring. The 4x4 people (trucks, Jeeps, etc.) like a lot of elevation change, something to crawl on and over."
She estimates the property is split about 60/40, with the advantage to the handlebar folks.
TMTC board members joined Smith on her second visit to the property, and they were all but convinced to buy.
The concern, again, was that the property is so far from anywhere that its user potential would not be realized.
While the primary audience for the ATV park will be rolling out of San Antonio and Austin, TMTC research conducted last fall showed that the region included an additional 500,000 people, mostly in Del Rio, Uvalde, Midland-Odessa and San Angelo.
With the added potential, TMTC gave its blessing and two public hearings were conducted in Ozona before the commission's vote.
The park now moves into the design stage, which TMTC members, TP&W staff and people who developed the Barnwell Mountain facility will handle.
In its early stage, there will be a primitive RV camp and pads with picnic tables for tent campers. Electricity will be run into the property and eventually there will be a fully developed park with marked trails and a full-time staff.
The $1.36 million price tag covered only the land purchase, and that leaves park design and other work unfunded. Smith is working on that, too.
As for the labor to clear trails and do the heavy lifting, "(TMTC) is a family-oriented organization," Smith said. "We rely a lot on volunteer work. Every TMTC member is a part of this park. We'll get it done."
To be part of the effort, go online at texasmotorizedtrails.com.
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