This is a Special Edition of news from the Curry Ridge Riders,
The club of the South Denali area.

We have important news to share with the membership – not all good news!

Those of you who have been active members know we are a small club, with a big task.  We have one of the largest and most popular trail systems in the state, in one of the most scenic areas.  The expense in dollars, and volunteer’s energy, has become more than the Club can sustain much longer.  Our membership dues have remained at the same low level for years, but we must raise (double) our membership fees at this time.  This increase, if we can maintain the current number of members, will help solve the next problem.

We absolutely need to have some help from our membership in administering the club.  We have an important position that needs to be filled.  Namely, we need someone to serve as our “administrative assistant” to handle membership applications, club mail, deposits, our checking account, and our annual tax filing.  This would be a person assisting the Secretary/Treasurer (actually doing the work).   We would love to have a volunteer take it on, but failing that, the club is willing to pay the person a nominal fee for what should only be a few hours of very important work each month.  If you are interested in assisting, please contact any of the Club Board members, either by email, phone, or in person.

Riders in the South Denali area are very familiar with the trail grooming the Club is responsible for.  For you that are not aware, we are provided with Grooming Grants, mostly administered through Alaska State Parks.  With the grants we contract an independent contractor to perform the grooming.  The amount of grant money, and the contractor’s price, has not increased over time to keep up with the increased miles of trails expected to be groomed.  This has become a critical issue.  Beginning next year, it is unlikely we will be able to groom all of the trails we groomed this year, and we actually expect there to be more trails brought into the system.  Something has to give.  We need more money from the state, or grooming will suffer.  The Club has provided some funding for grooming, but it is not enough to make a dent in the shortfall.

The grooming program the Club has provided over the past four years has been very successful given all the difficulties of such an undertaking. There has been some misinformation out there regarding which trails are groomed.  Of course, you can't please all the people all the time, and all trails can't be groomed all the time either.  In order for any trail to receive trail funding from the current grant programs they must meet the following:

 1. Be in a Trails Plan.
 2. Have easements, or land use permits.
 3. Be brushed and cleared wide enough for the groomer.
 4. And most importantly, they must have a dedicated trail crew who will spend their free time doing   all the work required by items 1-3.

Believe it or not it took over 8 years of meetings and letter writing, plus two years of hard labor clearing and surveying the trails, before any funds were available for the Curry Ridge Riders to start grooming. It also requires all of the above, each year, to continue grooming or expand to include other trails.

The question is not who is doing all this work but is who is not!  Are you an active member enjoying the trails who helps with the trail effort?  Are the businesses you support in the area members of the club and contribute to the trails that benefit them?  Important questions because the core group of club members who do contribute their time gets smaller every year, get to ride for fun less, and are getting tired.  At the same time, the funding amount remains the same but the expenses increase.  In some cases, the State has dictated which trails are groomed, and the Club has suggested others.  Most of the trails not currently being groomed are not recognized legal trails.  Also note that most of those who benefit from the grooming, both riders and area businesses, contribute nothing to grooming, not even a club membership.

 If we don't continue to do the work then there will be no more grooming and when I say "we" I also mean YOU!  If you don't help, then you can't complain, so please help us and yourself continue the good works of the Club.

The Club’s annual meeting will take place at the BBQ on March 29 this year.  You should have received a notice of this event by now.  There is still plenty of snow, and the trails are groomed: so please come on out!  The main order of business will be the election of Board members.  Anyone who wants to take an active role in guiding the club is encouraged to let us know you would like to be on the ballot.  We need individuals who will attend meetings, answer emails, and get involved!  This is not a passive position, so if you really want to make a difference, please get on the ballot, by contacting any of the current Board members, either by email, phone, or in person, before voting takes place.

The Club is what members make of it.  Club activities don’t just happen.  We need to hear from the membership what it is you expect from the club.  If you only want to have club rides, or the newsletter, or the BBQ, or nothing but groomed trails, we need to hear it from you.  Members can serve the club without being elected to the Board.  We can form various committees to address most issues and activities.  For example, we could have a Trail Ride Committee, a Membership Committee, a Newsletter Committee, etc.  These can be a committee of one.  Just let us know you are interested.

The club has a website, at www.curryridgeriders.com .  We will keep current events posted there.  Check the latest club news and schedules for work parties and rides. 

In addition to the website, keep current by checking the club’s Hotlines:  352-3669 in the Valley, and 689-7669 in Anchorage
 

Contact any of us through the club’s email at  curryridgeriders@hotmail.com to give us your ideas and comments to make the club better serve you.

See you at the BBQ!