Bureau of Land Management Volunteer Feature

The Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol

Cooperation in Recreation Management

The Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol keeps an eye on things for the BLM and Forest Service in southern Utah. Here, a patrol member checks out the Green Valley loop near St. George, Utah.

The popularity of mountain biking is on the increase all over the country. Such growth can create new challenges for land managers to protect resources and provide a safe and fun recreational experience for all users. In Utah, the Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol is helping land managers by providing assistance and information to users while promoting user ethics.

This unique bike patrol was organized by Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) St. George Field Office and the Dixie National Forest. The first multi-agency sponsored patrol in Utah using Service First principles, it became the first BLM-FS sponsored patrol in the nation. The project is also multi-jurisdictional, encompassing three BLM field offices in southwest Utah and northern Arizona. The patrol is certified and nationally affiliated with the International Mountain Biking Association. It patrols BLM and Forest Service land from the Arizona strip through Washington and Iron counties as well as in Brian Head, Utah and many other places with highly colored rock and sand.

The mission of the patrol is to maintain and improve trail opportunities through education, visitor assistance, and information to trail users. Patrol members assist seasonally in the three regions - higher elevations in the summer and desert regions in the fall and spring. In addition, they provide volunteer support for organized events that take place on public and National Forest lands.

The Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol has assisted in several special events such as the dedication of the Gooseberry Trail in October in 1999. They will also be assisting with the Sand and Sprocket Festival and dedication of the Bear-Claw Poppy Trail in March. In addition, members have assisted with privately sponsored races in the St. George area.

Members of the Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol are required to receive training in topics such as first aid and CPR, bike repair, ecology and environmental issues, and the mission of the land management agencies. Currently there are 16 Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol members, with an additional nine others who are in the process of certifying to be patrol members. There is very high community interest in membership, but because of lack of funding for volunteer support, the number of members must remain limited.

Kent Traveller, Dixie National Forest recreation manager said, "I feel the Color Country Mountain Bike Patrol is a great opportunity to offer a service to all trail users. Bikes can negotiate most trails and can move fast enough to be effective. About the only place they cannot be used is in classified wilderness or some of the other restricted areas in National Parks. The benefit to having volunteer bike patrollers is that it will promote and support local mountain biking by providing a service which will improve opportunities, protect valuable resources, and inform riders."

-Amberlee Wright, BLM Intern. Photos by Cimarron Chacon.

"Service First" is the new innovative initiative that consolidates many programs of both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service. Since the program involves shared personnel, training and services, the role of the volunteer is an integral and significant adjunct to its success. With the combination and expansion of services offered by the agencies, an expanded volunteer program is essential. The reduction in duplicate tasks which is achieved through "Service First" gives the individual volunteer a greater appreciation of his/her role in preserving, protecting and maintaining the public lands. Also the variety of interesting volunteer tasks is greatly increased. Back to the article