Comments on: Stillwater’s Lake McMurtry Deals with Damage

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:37:20 +0000

Kris – have you seen the damage? The company doing the work misled the City of Stillwater with what their activities would entail. The City was told a couple of guys with ATVs and backpacks would be out there doing the seismic survey. Instead, the subcontractor brought out at least one gator and cut 15, 2 mile swaths that were 8' x 15' in dimension. They destroyed innumerable trees, damaged hundreds of streambanks, and pulverized the soils. This is not theory, we have GPS photodocumentation of the damage. Go out and see it for yourself, as it's not hard to find.

By: Scott Nutt

Scott Nutt — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:21:18 +0000

You are missing the point….there was no problem with the mineral company coming in and doing their surveying…if you have been to the lake, and walked the trails, you will see that there was absolutely no rhyme or reason as to where they drove their mammoth machines. There is a significant difference between wanton destruction and considering the rights of the community which owns the property.

By: Kris Biker

Kris Biker — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:14:12 +0000

SOOOO! It is the Bike Club with the agenda! Blaming the oil company for the damage it has made around the Lake. I have seen the deep ruts the bikes have made. Shame on you guys pointing the finger at someone trying to legally develop minerals for the owners of the oil & gas. Now we see ….

By: Scott Nutt

Scott Nutt — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:24:17 +0000

I respectfully disagree with you on this…I've been volunteering with the Red Dirt Pedalers for eight years working on the 27 miles of trails at Lake McMurtry. We have numerous times rerouted poorly placed tralsl that were subject to water erosion. We've sent representatives to nationally recognized trail building seminars, designed to preserve the trails for all uses, pedestrian and MTN biking alike.
Three of us confronted the vehicles being driven by contractors in the employ of Dawson Geophysical. They were busily destroying our trails on the Labor Day weekend of 2011. We stopped them and the Friends of Lake McMurtry took legal steps seeking reparation for the damage that was done. Not only did they destroy the trails in numerous locations, they also tore up several fragile stream beds and runoff areas. What keeps McMurtry so clean is that these areas are stable. Tearing them up leaves them susceptible to erosion…with an increase in erosion we will lose the pristine water quality of the lake.
We also encourage riders to not ride the trails when conditions are such that the trails might be damaged by cyclists. the IMBA has a solid set of recommendations on when to not ride your local trail…we urge cyclists to ride the road or paved urban trails according to those recommendations when the weather goes south.

By: Concerned

Concerned — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:59:48 +0000

How do you know they caused damage? It seems 27 miles of bikes continually rutting the trails causes more damage. Has anyone looked at the damage the Bike Club has caused? Is this a balanced or biased report?