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Don Potter
On Monday, the new executive director of the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association started her first day on the job, but she brings with her an extensive knowledge of the Western Slope community and its many mountain biking trails. Faith Rodriguez has lived in Grand Junction for the past five years. She served as the executive director of United Way of Mesa County before being hired on by COPMOBA. Previously her career had been in health care.
Read MoreWe have been busy interviewing several qualified candidates for our ED position. Thank you for your interest, we are no longer accepting applications at this time.
The ideal candidate has strong communication skills and has experience in nonprofit management. This is a hands-on leadership role—perfect for someone who thrives in a dynamic, community-based environment and wants to make a lasting, positive impact on the organization.
Read MoreTake Action: Stop the Senate’s Plan to Sell Off Public Lands
Senator Mike Lee just introduced a new proposal to sell off public lands—this time targeting BLM lands near communities across the West.
His previous attempt to force the sale of 3.3 million acres was rejected earlier this week, following massive public outcry. But he's back with a plan to require the sale of up to 1.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, focused specifically on areas close to population centers, putting your close-to-home recreation in the crosshairs.
Outdoor Alliance's GIS Lab is analyzing the bill, and our preliminary review shows significant overlap between recreation areas and lands that could be sold. From hiking trails to climbing crags, from mountain bike routes to rivers, the places we love could be at risk.
The outdoor community has already shown that public lands sell-offs are a losing proposition—and Senator Lee just won't take no for an answer. Now we need to raise our voices again.
Read MoreCOPMOBA’s 2024 Annual Report is here! Building on the momentum from 2023, this year has been one of continued foundation-building for COPMOBA. Some of the highlights include:
Hosting one of our most successful RAT Races yet
Organizing multiple Stoke Nights and social events across all four chapters
Grand Valley Trails (formerly Grand Valley Canyons) completing a successful rebrand
Completing 50 Dig Day/Trail Building events and contributing over 3,000 volunteer hours
Facilitating 8 miles of new, purpose-built singletrack, improving trail experiences across the Western Slope
A key achievement has been the near completion of the RAT expansion—nearly 5 miles of trail completed through a combination of volunteers, conservation corps members, and professional builders, supported by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife and the Ridgway community. We also supported trail expansion efforts at 18 Road and Kokopelli, including the groundbreaking of the K2 Play trail at 18 Road, named in honor of our former coordinator, Kristina Kittelson, who was instrumental in promoting cycling in the Grand Valley. We are also thrilled to see the Delta Area Mountain Bikers chapter rejuvenated, and we are incredibly proud of these accomplishments and the hard work from all involved.
Read MoreBLM Colorado published a new supplementary rule Dec. 19, 2024, to help protect natural resources such as those found in Dominquez-Escalante National Conservation Area. This area includes the remote Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, recreation along the Gunnison River, and a network of off-highway vehicle trails. The conservation area allows for a wide variety of activities including hiking, boating and wildlife viewing. The area also provides excellent heritage tourism opportunities, and the rugged canyons and bluffs that hold geological and paleontological resources spanning 1.4 billion years. (BLM Photo by Bob Wick)
Read MoreThere is still time to submit comments for the Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office’s Proposed Business Plan!
Read MoreWe received notification from the USFS that the revision of the management plan governing the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG) is completed.
COPMOBA and many recreation focused partners (and many other interests) were involved in extensive information submission, evaluation, and comment to the USFS staff throughout an extended planning period. The USFS works to balance the multi-use nature of public lands management.
The Ridgway Area Trails (RAT) team is thrilled to announce that the construction of new trails will begin this summer. This expansion project has been in the works for several years, with RAT collaborating with the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office to design and plan the addition of new trails. With more than 30,000 trail users at the RAT during the 7-month operating window annually, the construction of five new miles of trail will greatly improve the user experience and enhance safety on the trails. At completion, the RAT will feature nearly 30 miles of connected trails.
Read MoreCOPMOBA’s 2023 Annual Report is here! This was a year of foundation building for COPMOBA. We are proud to have navigated the organization through a brand and website refresh, added 26 newly trained Crew Leaders across our chapters, and hosted one of the most successful RAT Races yet. We also hosted multiple Stoke Nights and social events across our four chapters. In the field, we hosted 51 Dig Day events, contributed 3500+ volunteer hours, and facilitated 8 miles of new, purpose-built singletrack.
Read MoreWe are a fun and enthusiastic group of mountain bikers and professionals that are passionate about singletrack trails. All COPMOBA (Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association) directors are volunteers working together to serve our mission to advocate for mountain biking in western Colorado. Board service is a great way to give back to your local biking community and to support sustainable trails.
Read MoreCOPMOBA is thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new website, developed by Karen Overn of KO Web Design. KO Web Design is a long-time partner of COPMOBA, having built the previous version of our website and is one of our generous business members.
Read MoreThe Board of COPMOBA is excited to introduce COPMOBA’s new visual identity and tagline. Our new logo reflects our updated mission, vision, and values statements after nearly 12-months of planning efforts. The “RIDER BUILT TRAILS” tagline encompasses these core tenets, is a hat tip to our prior tagline “build, maintain, and advocate,” and also helps us remain closely connected to our rich history of 34+ years of trail building and community development across Western Colorado.
Read More2022 was a year of transition for COPMOBA. The Board of Directors updated our mission and vision statements to better reflect our connections with and commitments to our local communities.
Read MoreHello fellow Western Slope mountain bikers near and far! Seeking comments and support for the recently proposed BLMs Travel and Transportation Management Plan for Jumbo Mt. Trails in Paonia, CO.
Read MoreCOPMOBA has been awarded $242,000 from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) through the State Trails Non- Motorized Grant program to complete the Electric Hills trail system.
Read MoreRAT, Ridgway Area Trails, seeks public comment on proposed trail maps that are the result of our 2020-2021 regional trail planning efforts. Click read more to view the maps and submit comments (through June 30, 2021).
Read MoreColorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association and partners are excited to announce the opening of Phase I of the Palisade Plunge for public access on Saturday, May 29, 2021. Once both Phase I and II are complete, the Palisade Plunge will connect the top of the Grand Mesa (10,700') to the Town of Palisade, CO.
Read MoreWinter has been a slow time as far as Palisade Plunge activities go. As we head into warmer weather and things are drying, this is a good time to share a couple of very important points…
Read MoreOur friend Kristina passed away on March 27, 2021, but her presence remains with many of us, and echos into the future. Kristina shared her passion and vision for biking in many forms and for trails and the connections that they create.
Read MoreWith all of the recent activities around Mars and the recent landing of the Perseverance rover, COPMOBA is hoping to capitalize on the excitement by opening up a new chapter on the red planet.
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