The U.S. Forest Service denied some Pine Valley homeowners’ request to move the Rabbit Ears Trail near their neighborhood in the Village of Oak Creek based on environmental issues.
“The major deciding factor in placing it where it currently is located, and keeping it there, is sustainability and the ability to keep it protected from future erosion,” Coconino National Forest Public Affairs Officer Brady Smith said. “Though we appreciate the desires of some residents to move the trail to a different location, our first responsibility is to the public land we have stewardship over — and the environmental analysis dictated the route be placed so as to be sustainable.”
Earlier this year, the Pine Valley Property Owners’ Association requested roughly a half-mile section of the trail be moved to take away trail users’ visibility down into the neighborhood.
The USFS revamped the Rabbit Ears trail, formerly known as the Dairy Springs trail off of Jack Canyon Road, in February 2021. Previous to any construction, the USFS sent out memos and held a public comment period for concerned residents. But according to the USFS, they never received any comment from the PVPOA.
“The original Pine Valley and Dairy Springs trails were some of the most eroded trails in the district,” Red Rock District Ranger Amy Tinderholt said. “Some sections were cupped so bad they were essentially ditches as deep as two feet. The trails sat on top of the sloped mesa and generated fall lines which eroded the trail so poorly we couldn’t fix the damage and had to reroute the trail off the mesa.”
These issues contributed to the significant rerouting of the trail. Through these renovations, the trail also expanded from four miles to over five miles.
Specifically, these reroutes put the trail above the property owner’s backyards.
“The scoping and resulting decision memo for this trail was done in early 2018 as part of a much larger trail construction project, including systems such as the Western Gateway and Camp Verde Loops,” PVPOA President Randy Barbour said about the request earlier this year. “Pine Valley residents first became aware of the Rabbit Ears trail in February 2021 when construction abutting the community began, reporting their concerns about the noise and visual impact of the trail to the Pine Valley Property Owners Association.”
After feeling like their voice was not heard during the initial trail reroute plans, PVPOA went through multiple discussions and trail investigations. The homeowners also verbally committed their own funding for their request to reroute the trail again.
But now after the USFS informed PVPOA of the results of the environmental study, no action will be taken regarding the homeowner’s concerns.
According to Tinderholt, more than 1,500 hours were put into rerouting trails all around the Sedona area since 2018. Currently, the half-mile that the homeowner’s requested to be moved serves to shed water off of the trail. If moved, the forest would be concerned that the trail would fall victim to erosion yet again.
“Any time one lives near or surrounded by a national forest, there is a good chance they will see trails nearby or people recreating,” Smith said. “Trails are near residential areas throughout the national forest — especially in the Sedona area. These trails will benefit those residents in some cases and will create conflict and concern in others. However, the forest service has no intention to expect that trails will not be located near private land, and we will not be able to avoid all negative impacts on private landowners.”
The PVPOA did not respond when reached out to regarding the USFS’s latest decision.
