Jekyll2023-09-13T17:19:23+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/atom.xmlCancourseCanfield Mountain ConcourseForward and Upward2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:002019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/12/06/forward-and-upward<p>It’s official: the appeal hearing originally scheduled for December 19, 2019 has
been canceled, and the appeal put on hold. The best part is that the Cancourse
will remain open, thanks to the City of Coeur d’Alene and the Cancourse owners
agreeing to create a formal cooperative agreement for recreation management.
Read on for details.</p>
<h3 id="background">Background</h3>
<p>In June, 2019 the Kootenai County Community Development Department received a
complaint regarding unpermitted site disturbance, lack of a conditional use
permit, and lack of parking. The county did not pursue the site disturbance
complaint. However, it did choose to interpret the county code in a way that
defines the Cancourse as a “privately owned outdoor recreation facility open to
public use”, which requires a conditional use permit. We disagreed over this
code interpretation and after careful consideration decided not to apply for a
conditional use permit. In September, 2019 came the notice of violation, and
our appeal followed in October, 2019.</p>
<p>If the threat of Cancourse closure to the public is news to you, you may want to
skim our now-obsolete <a href="/posts/2019/11/14/call-to-action.html">call to action</a>,
as well as background information regarding the <a href="/posts/2019/09/16/stop-work.html">Stop
Work</a> sign that signaled the start of public
proceedings. For the morbidly curious, there are hundreds of pages of related
documents to peruse, including the original complaint and a huge show of public
support for the appeal in the form of submitted comments (with a small minority
of dissenting comments mixed in).</p>
<h3 id="forward">Forward</h3>
<p>The Coeur d’Alene City Park called <a href="https://www.cdaid.org/742/departments/parks/all-parks/canfield-mountain-natural-area">Canfield Mountain Natural
Area</a>
directly abuts the Cancourse, and many people enjoy hiking through both in order
to reach the top of Canfield Mountain. Couer d’Alene has long had an interest
in preserving this access, with management goals that are practically
indistinguishable from those of the Cancourse owners. When Parks and Recreation
staff learned of this threat to continued access, they suggested we might be
able to collaborate in a way that transfers regulatory responsibility from the
county to the city and addresses many of the concerns raised, in particular
enforcement of safety concerns and management of public parking. For example,
camping and campfires are prohibited, and Couer d’Alene is much more capable of
enforcement than we are as private land owners.</p>
<p>There are only a few additional restrictions imposed by city park regulations,
none of which we consider onerous:</p>
<ul>
<li>No glass containers</li>
<li>No alcohol</li>
<li>No smoking</li>
<li>Solid animal waste must be packed out</li>
<li>Hours of operation are 5am-11pm</li>
</ul>
<p>The Cancourse will remain a productive timberland first and foremost. We will
continue to obliterate unsustainable trails as they are obsoleted, and
reincorporate these areas into the forest as part of ongoing restoration
efforts. Cancourse and Coeur d’Alene goals are very similar regarding trail
connectivity, sustainability, and maintenance. We expect this collaboration to
accelerate efforts to improve trail quality and variety, and forest health will
likely improve faster as well.</p>
<h3 id="upward">Upward</h3>
<p>When we, the current owners, purchased the land and named it the Cancourse, we
knew that we much preferred the vision of a healthy forest open to the public,
over an exclusive residential neighborhood with exclusive views. We weren’t so
naive as to think everyone would share this vision, but we were shocked to face
vehement opposition. For a time we had a nagging worry that we had made a
decision on behalf of the community that somehow missed the mark. Now we know
better.</p>
<p>Over 90% of people who commented on the appeal supported keeping the Cancourse open to the
public without additional regulation, and it is reasonable to infer that support
is even higher in the county as a whole. The Cancourse is just one piece in the
puzzle that comprises public access to the amazing geography that surrounds us,
and strong community support has clearly indicated that we collectively care
very much about access. To all of you who share this vision, whether
individuals, organizations, or governments, thank you for working hard to make
it a reality. To you who do not currently share this vision, we hope you will
come around, and perhaps even enjoy the view from the Cancourse.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/snowy_view.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/snowy_view_small.jpg" alt="Snowy view" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>It’s official: the appeal hearing originally scheduled for December 19, 2019 has been canceled, and the appeal put on hold. The best part is that the Cancourse will remain open, thanks to the City of Coeur d’Alene and the Cancourse owners agreeing to create a formal cooperative agreement for recreation management. Read on for details.Call to Action2019-11-14T00:00:00+00:002019-11-14T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/11/14/call-to-action<p>In September Kootenai County staff posted a <a href="/posts/2019/09/16/stop-work.html">Stop
Work</a> sign at the Shadduck Terminus entrance
to the Cancourse. Subsequently they doubled down on what we consider a case
without merit, and demands for corrective measures that are shocking. Most
critically, they demand that the Cancourse be posted no trespassing and public
entry prohibited. The Cancourse owners filed an appeal in October, and it it is
now time to take action and save the Cancourse from forced shutdown.</p>
<p>If you want to preserve access to the upper reaches of Canfield Mountain from
the edge of town, you need to take action.</p>
<ol>
<li>Submit a comment. Don’t wait, do it now.</li>
<li>Spread the word that access is in danger of being lost.</li>
<li>Attend the public hearing on December 19.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="instructions-httpcancoursenetsave-it">Instructions: <a href="/save-it/">http://cancourse.net/save-it</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/posted.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/posted_small.jpg" alt="Posted?" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Please don’t let this happen</em></p>In September Kootenai County staff posted a Stop Work sign at the Shadduck Terminus entrance to the Cancourse. Subsequently they doubled down on what we consider a case without merit, and demands for corrective measures that are shocking. Most critically, they demand that the Cancourse be posted no trespassing and public entry prohibited. The Cancourse owners filed an appeal in October, and it it is now time to take action and save the Cancourse from forced shutdown.Trails, barriers, and fences, oh my2019-10-14T00:00:00+00:002019-10-14T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/10/14/trails-barriers-and-fences-oh-my<p>Lots has changed on the Cancourse over the past few weeks! Read on for details
about our trail activities, fencing/barrier installation, and the trail work
party coming up on October 27.</p>
<h2 id="trails">Trails</h2>
<h3 id="new">New</h3>
<p>As described in a <a href="/posts/2019/09/23/working-it.html">previous post</a>, trail work
party 5 kicked off our work on a flow trail intended to traverse from the top of
the Cancourse down to the Shadduck Terminus. We did a bunch of excavator work
to form the first several turns. This was a lot of work, because the slope
drops off quite rapidly, and there was a deeply eroded trench we wanted to
eradicate by crossing it three times. So far so good. This trail section
promises to be fun and sustainable once the hand finish work is done. The lower
portion of the trail should require much less dirt moving, since we’ll have more
freedom to choose the line and take advantage of natural features.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/big_berms.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/big_berms_small.jpg" alt="Big berms" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Big berms. Much of the dirt came from a huge pile that appears to have been
placed there long ago either as a catchment or as an impediment to motorcycles.
There was a stump buried in the pile, which brought the big root ball removal
count up to three.</em></p>
<h3 id="refurbished">Refurbished</h3>
<p>The flow trail will continue southward along an existing ridge trail, but the
first part of that trail has been channeling water for several years, with all
the resulting erosion you might imagine. Evan has made good progress filling in
the gully and sloping the trail outward so that water will tend to flow off the
side of the trail, and we’re planning on adding a couple grade reversals. We
obliterated one fall line feeder trail this week, but there’s another critical
one that feeds into the bottom of the trail section we’re refurbishing.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/evan_excavating.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/evan_excavating_small.jpg" alt="Evan excavating" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Evan early in his crash course on excavator operation. It was slow going the
first day, but he did great work from the very start.</em></p>
<h3 id="obliterated">Obliterated</h3>
<p>As described in an <a href="/posts/2019/10/01/restoration-pilots.html">earlier post</a>, we
are implementing some restoration pilot projects to learn what works when
accelerating soil and plant recovery in heavily impacted areas. On October 6 we
had our first restoration work party, during which we obliterated trail, seeded,
planted, and generally enjoyed a perfect autumn afternoon. Daniel Collins of
<a href="https://nicoterratrails.com/">Nicoterra Trails</a> designed the pilots, did much
of the work on the upper pilots, and led the work party. It was a great
learning experience, and it will be really interesting to watch the effects of
our work.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_demo.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_demo_small.jpg" alt="Restoration demonstration" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Daniel demonstrating aeration, noxious weed removal, topsoil redistribution,
wood straw installation, and hand-broadcast seeding.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_weed_n_feed.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_weed_n_feed_small.jpg" alt="Weeding and topsoil redistribution" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Volunteers removing spotted knapweed in order to access topsoil next to the
trail. Once the trail was aerated, the topsoil was redistributed to help relink
the two sides and improve growing conditions for seed.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_planting.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_planting_small.jpg" alt="Planting" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Daniel demonstrating how to plant a shrub (a wild rose in this case). None of
us would have gotten this right without the demonstration.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_shrub.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_shrub_small.jpg" alt="Shrub on obliterated trail" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>A shrub on an obliterated trail that has been seeded and lightly covered with
wood straw.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_fencing.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/restoration_fencing_small.jpg" alt="Restoration fencing" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>An orange fence closes off all the fall line trails on the north side of the
Toilet Bowl, as well as the restoration pilot in Ocean Spray Bay below. Signs
(not pictured) also mark the restoration areas.</em></p>
<h2 id="barriers-to-entry">Barriers to entry</h2>
<p><a href="/posts/2018/11/09/plan-in-motion.html">Nearly a year ago</a> volunteers installed
T-posts along the national forest boundary, and as of today we have two strands
of smooth wire installed on the posts north of the three-bollard barrier we
installed a week ago. There’s still quite a bit of fencing work left, but the
main points of motorcycle incursion are now blocked.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/big_load.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/big_load_small.jpg" alt="Big load" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Fortunately we were able to haul the disassembled barrier close to the
installation point with the Mule; at over 300 pounds total, carrying these up by
hand would have been a major slog.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/barrier.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/barrier_small.jpg" alt="Three-bollard barrier" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>This barrier allows easy passage on foot. There are multiple bollards to ease
walking through one gap while pushing a bicycle through an adjacent gap. It
might be possible to ride a bicycle through without dismounting, but we don’t
recommend trying.</em></p>
<h2 id="last-trail-work-party-of-the-year">Last trail work party of the year?</h2>
<p>We have one more trail work party planned for this year, from 1pm-4pm on October 27.
We are going to finish shaping the top of the new flow trail. Take a look at
the <a href="/calendar/">calendar</a> event for a map and all the relevant details. Please
join us! Winter weather is going to arrive any month now, so this might be the
last time we can build trail until next spring.</p>Lots has changed on the Cancourse over the past few weeks! Read on for details about our trail activities, fencing/barrier installation, and the trail work party coming up on October 27.Restoration pilots2019-10-01T00:00:00+00:002019-10-01T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/10/01/restoration-pilots<p>The time is fast approaching for our first restoration-focused work party.
We’re going to start fixing the mess pictured below. Next year we expect to
finish some key new trails that will obsolete nearby unsustainable erosion
monster trails, and the experimental restoration work this autumn will help us
decide how to approach large-scale restoration over the next several years.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/hbike_it_and_weep.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/hbike_it_and_weep_small.jpg" alt="Mess" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p>Our experiments are structured as distinct restoration pilot projects so that
we can evaluate what works well and how much effort is required. Daniel Collins
of <a href="https://nicoterratrails.com/">Nicoterra Trails</a> first visited the Cancourse
this spring and has been planning the restoration pilots since then. Throughout
this week he will be busy on the Cancourse making the plans a reality, and on
October 6 he will guide us to completion.</p>
<p>Here are some of the activities for this work party:</p>
<ul>
<li>Loosen compacted soil to aid plant establishment.</li>
<li>Move coarse woody debris to camouflage decommissioned paths.</li>
<li>Distribute wood straw and fine bark to aid topsoil establishment and water
retention.</li>
<li>Broadcast seeds of various types in sparsely vegetated areas.</li>
<li>Plant trees and shrubs (~25 total). Potentially armor against animal
browsing.</li>
<li>Install signage and strategic fencing to deter human incursion.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/signs/restoration.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/signs/restoration_small.jpg" alt="Closed for Restoration" height="25%" width="25%" /></a></p>
<p><em>For internal use only. These signs will alert people to areas that need to be
left to heal. Debris, uneven surfaces, fences, and thorny plants will clarify
the message.</em></p>
<h3 id="your-help-needed">Your help needed</h3>
<p>We need your help to complete the pilot project ground work this week. Lend a
hand (green thumb optional) and learn something new too! We will work on
October 6 from 1-4pm. Plan to start your hike/bike up from the Shadduck
Terminus or the <a href="https://www.cdaid.org/742/departments/parks/all-parks/canfield-mountain-natural-area">Canfield Mountain Natural
Area</a>
trailhead at least 20-35 minutes prior to 1pm. See the <a href="/calendar/">calendar</a>
event for all the pertinent details.</p>The time is fast approaching for our first restoration-focused work party. We’re going to start fixing the mess pictured below. Next year we expect to finish some key new trails that will obsolete nearby unsustainable erosion monster trails, and the experimental restoration work this autumn will help us decide how to approach large-scale restoration over the next several years.Working it2019-09-23T00:00:00+00:002019-09-23T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/09/23/working-it<h3 id="trail-work-party-5">Trail work party 5</h3>
<p>On September 8 we had our fifth trail work party, during which we started on a
new flow trail. Carey Ward made an excellent name suggestion: Downward Dog (a
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adho_mukha_shvanasana">yoga pose</a>). This trail
is a companion to the Cats Up climbing trail, and it’s hard to imagine a better
name, so we’re going with it for now, and probably forever!</p>
<p>Check out these pictures of volunteers and their handiwork. They were so
efficient that we wrapped up work half an hour early.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/wp5_scalping1.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/wp5_scalping1_small.jpg" alt="Scalping" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>The upper portion of the trail crosses a deeply eroded gully twice. The berm
that starts at the second crossing utilizes the bank of a deep cut in the
mountainside that looks as if it was created by the previous owner in a failed
attempt to block motorcycle access.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/wp5_scalping2.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/wp5_scalping2_small.jpg" alt="More scalping" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>The lower portion of the trail won’t require much dirt movement, but there are
a couple large rootballs in the way.</em></p>
<hr />
<p>Alas, administrative overhead has <a href="/posts/2019/09/16/stop-work.html">increased as of
late</a>, otherwise the excavator work would
probably also be complete by now. Regardless, we’re getting close.</p>
<h3 id="on-the-fence">On the fence</h3>
<p>On September 22 a few volunteers got together and made great progress on the
fence that demarcates the eastern Cancourse boundary. We are scrambling to
complete the eastern border controls prior to the October 6 work party, since we
will be implementing soil restoration pilot projects, and ongoing motorcycle
incursion would make this work pointless.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/line_prep.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/line_prep_small.jpg" alt="Fence line preparation" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Don’t these trail runners look like a generally happy bunch? The fence line
they prepped is on a steep slope, which made just walking the line more than
once a serious workout.</em></p>
<h3 id="work-party-6">Work party 6</h3>
<p>As mentioned above, our sixth work party will focus on soil restoration rather
than trail building/maintenance. As we build high quality low maintenance
trails, we will be able to retire nearby low quality eroded trails, but we need
to learn more about what works before putting lots of time into restoration. If
you are interested in helping with this, please set aside 1pm-4pm on October 6
(plus roughly 20 minutes to hike to the work site). Details will solidify as
the date approaches.</p>Trail work party 5Stop Work?2019-09-16T00:00:00+00:002019-09-16T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/09/16/stop-work<p>On the afternoon of Friday the 13th, Kootenai County staff posted a Stop Work
sign at the Shadduck Terminus entrance to the Cancourse. News travels fast,
much faster than an accompanying notice that is presumably on its way to the
Cancourse owners via certified mail. We have heard concerned questions from
numerous Cancourse visitors over the past three days. Although we don’t yet
have all the answers, we can provide some context and likely next steps.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/stop_work.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/stop_work_small.jpg" alt="Stop Work" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Stop Work sign, posted at the Shadduck Terminus entrance to the Cancourse on
Friday the 13th. The sign template appears to be primarily designed for
construction projects; there is no “work” that the county is objecting to, and
as such, the scary verbiage regarding criminal prosecution is irrelevant.</em></p>
<h3 id="past-abuses">Past abuses</h3>
<p>The Kootenai County Community Development Department opened an investigation on
the Cancourse in late June or early July, purely as reaction to a complaint that
a resident filed. These are your county tax dollars working for the
complainant, and we have good reason to infer that the complainant does not have
county interests in mind.</p>
<p>We do not yet know with certainty the complainant’s identity because anonymity
is provided until the investigation is closed, but we do know that particulars
of the complaint match closely with an email we received from Don Crawford.
Given his repeated verbal abuse that preceded the email, we interpreted it as a
veiled threat to weaponize regulatory agencies unless we agreed to permanently
prohibit access to the Cancourse via the Shadduck Terminus. How did we get to
such a point?</p>
<p>Don Crawford’s driveway begins where the paved portion of Shadduck ends, and it
parallels a city public right of way. The driveway is inadequately
marked/fenced/gated to prevent people mistakenly using it as a public
thoroughfare, and encroachments remain routine (many of which are automobiles in
our limited observations). In late 2018, Don Crawford expressed concerns about
motorized access to the Cancourse, and as this was a concern of ours as well, we
agreed to contact the city and request signage to limit motorized access. Chris
Bosley, the Coeur d’Alene City Engineer, was very helpful, and he agreed to
place signage to prohibit motorized traffic on the unpaved portion of Shadduck,
as well as signage to prohibit parking near the end of the pavement so that cars
can turn around. He was conservative with the signage design such that it
addressed existing issues, but he made it clear that signage could be adapted if
usage changes significantly (your city tax dollars being responsibly put to
work).</p>
<p>Surprisingly, this is when Don Crawford escalated communications and started
with the verbal attacks. He deemed the signage unacceptably permissive, and he
repeatedly demanded that we coerce the city to put signage in place that would
meet his requirements. These demands became increasingly shrill, sometimes
mixed with demands to prohibit access to the Cancourse via the Shadduck
Terminus, and we eventually refused outright to harass city staff on his behalf.</p>
<p>This brings us to the aforementioned email we interpreted as a veiled threat.
Our <a href="/posts/2019/06/05/shadduck-terminus-open.html">response</a> to this threat was
to remove temporary fencing at the Shadduck Terminus, post the same signage that
already existed at several other Cancourse access points, and mount game cameras
to monitor mode, volume, and points of access. We had previously planned to
first build a barrier that would physically prevent motorcycle incursion, but we
rearranged our planning so as to defy the threat.</p>
<h3 id="a-perplexing-violation">A perplexing violation</h3>
<p>Our first meeting with the Kootenai County Planning Office was in late July, and
we learned then that if we did not either apply for a conditional use permit or
shut the Cancourse to public access, the Cancourse would be declared in
violation of county code. We have two unreconcilable objections to either of
these options:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Cancourse is a commercial timberland first, and a trail system second.
It does not fall within the code’s definition of outdoor recreation facility.
It has no capital improvements, nor is it a place of assembly, in stark
contrast to all the examples given in the definition.
<blockquote>
<p>8.9.304: DEFINITIONS - O:
[…]
OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES: Areas designed for active recreation,
whether publicly or privately owned, which may include, without limitation,
baseball diamonds, soccer and football fields, golf courses, tennis courts,
swimming pools, outdoor riding arenas, and similar places of assembly for
outdoor recreational activities. This definition shall also include private
recreational facilities accessory to single- or multiple-family dwelling
properties.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>The rationale provided for distinguishing the Cancourse from every other
private land parcel that allows limited access is “too much advertising”. In
particular, the signs posted at entry points and <a href="/">the very website you are
reading</a> are deemed in violation. To resolve the violation, we would be
required to remove the signs, take down this website, and presumably stop
communicating about the Cancourse in public! Put bluntly, we remain
incredulous that the planning office stood firm on this clear violation of
free speech despite our repeated attempts to clarify its absurdity.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="toward-a-better-future">Toward a better future</h3>
<p>We have not yet received paperwork from the Kootenai County Planning Office, but
office staff verbally described what to expect. Our current understanding is
that an appeal can be filed (for a nontrivial fee) within 28 days of notice, and
we have every intention of doing so. We do not know who has ultimate
responsibility for ruling on the appeal, but we worry that it will be
substantially the same staff as decided (mistakenly, in our opinion) to declare
the Cancourse in violation of county code. To deny the appeal would be to
perpetuate the misdirection of county and Cancourse resources (we’d rather be
rehabilitating the forest). We don’t want to continue down that path, and we’re
pretty sure that only a select few people in this county feel otherwise, county
staff included. Indeed the Planning Office staff has acted professionally and
courteously throughout this process, but their mandate has thus far come from a
complainant. We can provide a broader mandate, by reaching out to our elected
<a href="https://www.kcgov.us/487/Board-of-County-Commissioners">Kootenai County
Commissioners</a> and
expressing our concerns. In brief, we as the Cancourse owners have the
following concerns:</p>
<ul>
<li>County regulatory resources are being misdirected to harm the community.</li>
<li>The county code does not support classifying the Cancourse as a recreation
facility, and doing so would have far-reaching implications incompatible with
existing property rights, at both the county and state level.</li>
<li>The requirement to remove “advertising” (especially this website) has a chilling
effect, and is a clear violation of free speech.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you have these or similar concerns, we encourage you to <a href="https://www.kcgov.us/formcenter/Board-of-County-Commissioners-27/Contact-the-Board-of-County-Commissioner-74">write to the Board
of County Commissioners via an online contact
form</a>.</p>On the afternoon of Friday the 13th, Kootenai County staff posted a Stop Work sign at the Shadduck Terminus entrance to the Cancourse. News travels fast, much faster than an accompanying notice that is presumably on its way to the Cancourse owners via certified mail. We have heard concerned questions from numerous Cancourse visitors over the past three days. Although we don’t yet have all the answers, we can provide some context and likely next steps.Hints of a Master Plan2019-09-07T00:00:00+00:002019-09-07T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/09/07/hints-of-a-master-plan<p>We started the Cancourse project just over a year ago, and it has been a very
busy year! Through collaboration with over 50 volunteers we built an all-new
climbing trail this spring, and we are now building a companion downhill flow
trail, such that bicyclists will eventually be able to ride a loop with nearly
700’ of elevation gain. Trail building is a lot of work, but it is only one
small part of what goes into making the Cancourse as a whole sustainable
long-term. From a broader perspective, well built trails are a mechanism for
concentrating use onto resilient surfaces, thus reducing overall human impact.
We as hikers and bicyclists <em>want</em> good trails, but the forest <em>needs</em> good
trails if humans are to be part of the equation.</p>
<p>In many conversations over the past year, people have asked what the master plan
is for the Cancourse. We could only provide general answers to start with,
because we didn’t know enough about the current health of the forest, nor did we
know the details of current human use. Thanks to the efforts of Steve Bloedel,
an experienced local professional forester, we now have a forestry plan in
motion. Thanks to many conversations with community members, direct
observation, and data from cameras at the primary entry points, we now have a
general sense of usage type and volume. Some of what we learned surprised us.</p>
<h4 id="surprises">Surprises</h4>
<ul>
<li>Although the central portion of the Cancourse needs lots of trees planted, the
southern portion needs significant thinning, as well as sanitation harvesting
to remove ponderosa pines that are suffering due to a heavy parasitic dwarf
mistletoe burden.</li>
<li>Noxious weeds abound. We may may have knocked out the Canada thistle this
summer, but the houndstongue is obnoxious, and the spotted knapweed is
overwhelmingly pervasive. We have years of work ahead of us to get the weeds
under control.</li>
<li>The bulk of access is for hiking from town up toward the top of Canfield
Mountain, then back down.</li>
<li>The bicyclists are mostly experienced, though some children started trickling
in once we completed the CatsUp climbing trail.</li>
<li>A non-trivial contingent accesses the Cancourse multiple times per week.</li>
<li>The hikers strongly favor steep, straight-up climbs, but when they hike back
down the footing is poor and they create ever-widening braids. Indeed, one
hiker complained about a reroute that reduced the grade in the same breath as
complaining about unsure footing during descent.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/hbike_it_and_weep.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/hbike_it_and_weep_small.jpg" alt="Hike/bike it and weep" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Hike/bike it and weep. This mass of scars is mainly due to motorcycles and
mountain bikes. Elsewhere hiking has created braids wider than a road.</em></p>
<h3 id="master-plan-sketch">Master plan sketch</h3>
<p>Before reading over the plan, consider what the <em>goal</em> is. As you look up at
the mountainsides surrounding the Coeur d’Alene area, take note of all the
houses that have appeared over the past ten years, and consider that it’s only
an accident of circumstances that kept the Cancourse undeveloped for so long.
The Cancourse is in a special place, sandwiched between city limits at the edge
of the valley floor below and the national forest above. By remaining a
productive forest, the Cancourse can preserve a decades-long legacy of routine
community-wide access to Canfield Mountain in particular, and the national
forest in general.</p>
<p>Following are various salient facets of the master plan, with many incidental
details left out (for example, extensive surveying and mapping over the past 9
months). Even at this coarse level of detail, the plan will necessarily adapt
to changing circumstances.</p>
<ul>
<li>Thin the forest in the southern region (2020). Incrementally plant in the
central region (2021-2024). Likely perform a sanitation harvest of the
ponderosa pine within the next several years, with the caveat that right now
market conditions make it prohibitively expensive to do so.</li>
<li>Make incremental progress on weed control in 2020, and work toward large scale
treatment starting in 2021 or 2022.</li>
<li>Initiate erosion rehabilitation pilot projects in October (join us on October
6!), and use what we learn to progressively expand our rehabilitation efforts.</li>
<li>Complete fencing and posting along the boundary in 2019, and vigorously
discourage motorcycle incursion as a component of erosion restoration efforts.</li>
<li>Decommission incidental (not primary) eroded trails via brush placement and
fencing, in advance of comprehensive restoration efforts.</li>
<li>Work with the National Forest Service to link the northeastern corner of the
Cancourse with a non-motorized trail system as part of the <a href="https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=47e717bc0e7848ba90c309a800a159dc">Honey Badger
Project</a>.</li>
<li>Construct high quality trails that require minimal ongoing maintenance, then
decommission nearby existing primary trails. These new trails are optimized
for hiking, bike ascent, and/or bike descent. Trail design will naturally
reduce use conflict; for example, the CatsUp climbing trail makes a good
hiking trail, but it isn’t particularly exciting as a downhill trail, so
bicyclists will tend to prefer a different descent route.
<ul>
<li>Construct a top-to-bottom flow trail (2019-2020).</li>
<li>Continue from CatsUp to create a bottom-to-top climbing trail (2020).</li>
<li>Rehabilitate/harden/reroute the ridgeline hiking trail that connects the
<a href="https://www.cdaid.org/742/departments/parks/all-parks/canfield-mountain-natural-area">Canfield Mountain Natural
Area</a>
with the national forest (2020-2021).</li>
<li>Construct a technical downhill trail in the northern Cancourse, and complete
a climbing route that primarily utilizes existing road (2021-2022?).</li>
<li>Construct one or two hiking trails that climb toward the northeastern
Cancourse (2022-2023?).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="community-involvement">Community involvement</h3>
<p>People throughout the local community have been overwhelmingly supportive during
the first year of this project, and it is invigorating to see people enjoying
the Cancourse. This is a very large project though, and ongoing community
participation is critical to success. We are fortunate to partner with the
<a href="https://lakecitytrailalliance.co/">Lake City Trail Alliance (LCTA)</a>, which
provides expertise in trail design, construction, and maintenance, not to
mention all the hard labor. The LCTA is a powerhouse when it comes to mountain
biking trails, but we also have hiking-specific trails that we can forgive the
mountain bikers for placing a lower priority on. <a href="https://www.trailmaniacs.com/">Trail
Maniacs</a> has been a great help (even on mountain
bike trails!), but we need more hikers to get involved when we start tackling
the ridgeline trail in 2020. We also need community engagement for
erosion-related restoration, starting October 6.</p>
<p>Whew, that’s a lot of help we’re asking for, but of course no one in the
community has an obligation to get out there and maintain the Cancourse. That
said, many of us who have somehow stumbled into trail work have found that
working on the trails makes using the trails even more fulfilling than just
spending all our available time playing on the trails. We invite you to step up
your enjoyment to the next level, but the only obligation you have is to
minimize impact and keep each other accountable for respecting the forest.</p>We started the Cancourse project just over a year ago, and it has been a very busy year! Through collaboration with over 50 volunteers we built an all-new climbing trail this spring, and we are now building a companion downhill flow trail, such that bicyclists will eventually be able to ride a loop with nearly 700’ of elevation gain. Trail building is a lot of work, but it is only one small part of what goes into making the Cancourse as a whole sustainable long-term. From a broader perspective, well built trails are a mechanism for concentrating use onto resilient surfaces, thus reducing overall human impact. We as hikers and bicyclists want good trails, but the forest needs good trails if humans are to be part of the equation.Traffic Calming2019-07-29T00:00:00+00:002019-07-29T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/07/29/traffic-calming<p>Yesterday our trail work party focused on traffic calming at the national
forest boundary. There has long been an informal trail that crosses from
national forest land into the Cancourse, and over time that crossing has become
a braid of several heavily eroded strands. We have two challenges to surmount:</p>
<ol>
<li>The established strands are all so steep that hikers continue to expand the
braid because the footing is insecure during dry times. Left to the status
quo, the impacted area will continue to expand.</li>
<li>Motorcyclists continue to enter the Cancourse via this trail, despite
signage prohibiting entry. Thus additional inconvenience beyond mere
notification of illegal trespass is in order.</li>
</ol>
<p>Yesterday’s work was a significant early step in addressing these issues. We
are preparing to string wire on the already-placed T-posts, and install a
bollard-based barrier that allows hikers and bicyclists through while excluding
motorcycles. First though we had to slow down downhill traffic to avoid
creating a hazard at the boundary – all of the trail braid strands were steep
at the boundary, such that bicyclists were accustomed to carrying significant
speed downhill. We decommissioned most of the braid, while combining parts of
existing strands to create an arc that eventually parallels the boundary, at
the same time as transitioning from steep to approximately level. (Note: This
work was performed in cooperation with the <a href="https://lakecitytrailalliance.co/">Lake City Trail
Alliance</a>, which is authorized to perform
trail maintenance in this area. If you care about local trails, please
consider supporting the organization via membership.) As a precaution against
riders choosing new lines and hitting the fence, we installed temporary orange
construction fencing to make the boundary highly visible. We expect to
complete the fencing and barrier this year, but we don’t have a precise
timeline for erosion control and restoration on the Cancourse side of the
boundary.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/debris.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/debris_small.jpg" alt="Debris" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Placing debris on braid strands to decommission them.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/go_left.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/go_left_small.jpg" alt="Go left" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>The top of the braid, with only the leftmost strand preserved.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/go_right.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/go_right_small.jpg" alt="Go right" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Mid-braid; the remaining trail arcs to the right.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/debraid.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/debraid_small.jpg" alt="Debraiding" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Connecting strands to create an off-camber arc that eventually parallels the
boundary.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/slow_approach.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/slow_approach_small.jpg" alt="Slow approach" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>The final stretch of arc, with the boundary to the left.</em></p>Yesterday our trail work party focused on traffic calming at the national forest boundary. There has long been an informal trail that crosses from national forest land into the Cancourse, and over time that crossing has become a braid of several heavily eroded strands. We have two challenges to surmount:Cats-Up?2019-06-30T00:00:00+00:002019-06-30T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/06/30/cats-up<p>This morning we finished the Cancourse’s first all-new trail, thanks to the
efforts of 25 volunteers. This was the culmination of work that started in
April, with well over 50 people involved at various times, for a total of about
400 person-hours of effort. The trail is the cat’s meow, and will only improve
as it settles from use and rainfall.</p>
<p>Speaking of cats, this trail needs a name, and we tentatively propose “Cats-Up”,
in honor of the cat whose skull we found up there when designing the trail. If
you love/hate this name, or you have suggestions for this and/or future trails,
please let us know (email us, comment on this blog post, etc.). For future
trails, we think it will be fun to give the people who build the trails
collective influence over naming, but we still need to work out the details.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/kitty_corner.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/kitty_corner_small.jpg" alt="Kitty Corner" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Kitty Corner is the final resting place of a large house cat or perhaps
bobcat. Alas, we found the kitty years too late to help it.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/that_way.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/that_way_small.jpg" alt="That way" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>The trail goes that way!</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/pine_cone.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/pine_cone_small.jpg" alt="Pine cone" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Pine cone, for me?</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/french_drain.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/french_drain_small.jpg" alt="French drain" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Someone left a handsome French drain behind.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/almost_done.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/almost_done_small.jpg" alt="Almost done" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>Almost done, at the top of the trail.</em></p>
<h3 id="shifting-gears">Shifting gears</h3>
<p>We are going to, ahem, shift gears for the next few months, and take on smaller
projects while we make more detailed trail network plans. For example, we have
some erosion restoration pilot projects slated for autumn 2019, and it is
important to effectively eliminate motorcycle incursion and install signage
around the treatment areas. We also hope to do some small-scale trail repair of
some heavily eroded trail sections, so that we can gain experience regarding
whether the trails can be repaired rather than replaced. As autumn nears we
will likely design and build a new downhill flow trail as a mate to Cats-Up.</p>
<p>Our next trail work party will be 9am-noon on July 28 (see
<a href="/calendar/">calendar</a> event for details), close to the top of the Cancourse,
where we plan to do some minor rerouting that will naturally reduce speed as
riders approach a dismount point. If you join us, you’ll get a free hike/ride
just reaching the work site. Don’t miss this deal!</p>This morning we finished the Cancourse’s first all-new trail, thanks to the efforts of 25 volunteers. This was the culmination of work that started in April, with well over 50 people involved at various times, for a total of about 400 person-hours of effort. The trail is the cat’s meow, and will only improve as it settles from use and rainfall.Higher and Higher2019-06-17T00:00:00+00:002019-06-17T00:00:00+00:00https://cancourse.net/posts/2019/06/17/higher-and-higher<p>Calling all trail lovers: We need your help to finish an all-new Cancourse trail
before the dirt dries out! Our third trail work party will be 9am-12pm on June
30th (see <a href="/calendar/">calendar</a> event for details). We have been busy since
the <a href="/posts/2019/06/04/ready-to-roll.html">second trail work party</a>, striving to
bench the entirety of the trail while the dirt is still moist. Excavation is
continuing apace, and we are about 80% of the way to the top now.</p>
<p>Heavy rainfall shortly after we finished the lower trail segment helped firm up
the dirt, and the trail shed the runoff with virtually no puddling or
channeling. If we’re lucky, some thunderstorms will come along and help pack
the dirt after we finish the trail construction, which is why we really want to
finish before July.</p>
<p><a href="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/higher.jpg"><img src="https://cancourse.net/images/posts/higher_small.jpg" alt="Higher" height="50%" width="50%" /></a></p>
<p><em>A view from roughly 200’ above the valley floor (click on image for full
resolution)</em></p>
<p>The trail work party on June 30th may be our last chance before autumn to make
this new trail awesome. Please join us if you can, and spread the word far and
wide.</p>Calling all trail lovers: We need your help to finish an all-new Cancourse trail before the dirt dries out! Our third trail work party will be 9am-12pm on June 30th (see calendar event for details). We have been busy since the second trail work party, striving to bench the entirety of the trail while the dirt is still moist. Excavation is continuing apace, and we are about 80% of the way to the top now.