Trail users ask about importance of their input1 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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Sun shines on Bell Rock Pathway on July 17. The trail was one of the first and is still the most popular for hikers in the Red Rock Ranger District.
Jeff Bear/Larson Newspapers

The plot thickened at the U.S. Forest Service sponsored trail planning meeting Dec. 20 in the Village of Oak Creek. More than 50 residents of Sedona and the Village attended the meeting — some who wondered aloud about how much influence their opinions would have.

It was the third monthly meeting sponsored by the Red Rock Ranger District, in partnership with the city of Sedona and the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council, with the expressed purpose of gathering information concerning trail user needs, patterns, trends and expectations within the district from those who know the most about it — the local trail users.

A question was posed to the facilitators as to what percentage the public’s opinion would count in the final recommendations made by the Forest Service for the project. Neither Red Rock Ranger District Recreation Staff Officer Jennifer Burns nor Forest Service Landscape Architect Cate Bradley would place a “percentage” on the matter, but Burns said the public’s opinion did indeed carry weight, just as it did during the same process in 1998.

For the full story, see the Friday, Dec. 28, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.