SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY GRANT UPDATES
It’s been a bit since we announced the incredible award Mammoth Lakes Recreation received from Sierra Nevada Conservancy to enhance the Sherwins Area located adjacent to the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML). The two grants – totaling $1.46 million dollars – will provide funding for the environmental analysis of approximately 20 miles of new trails in the area and construct a new trailhead with paved parking areas and several amenities.
The $510,000 planning grant to perform the environmental analysis is an extremely valuable award not only for the possibility of new outdoor recreation opportunities, but to preserve and protect the abundance of natural and archeological resources in the vicinity by creating a formal network of system trails in the area. The TOML Office of Outdoor Recreation has a Non-Funded Challenge Cost Share Agreement with the Inyo National Forest to perform maintenance on U.S. Forest Service system trails and day-use recreation facilities within the TOML’s planning area. You may not know this, but if a trail is not recognized by the U.S. Forest Service as a system trail, maintenance cannot be performed on it. Currently, there are about 15 miles of user-created trails (non-system) in the project area. The trails in the area that are part of the system that the Mammoth Lakes Trail System performs regular maintenance on are Mammoth Rock Trail, Mammoth Rock Trail Connector, Meadow Trail, and Meadow Trail Connector. MLR hopes that with proper analysis, mitigation, and sustainable design there will be several other public trails that can be managed and cared for. TOML has contracted with Stantec to perform the environmental analysis for the proposed project. Stantec began working closely with the Inyo National Forest in Spring and is hoping to be doing field analysis in the coming weeks.
Progress is also being made on the design and infrastructure for the new Sherwins Meadow Trailhead. MLR is working closely with TOML to engineer designs and finalize amenities at the trailhead. There will be paved parking with spaces for trailers, bike parking, ADA accessible double vault toilet, trash service, bear box, bike maintenance station and a dog waste station. It is anticipated the project will be bid in the Fall 2023 with construction anticipated in Spring of 2024.
We are so thankful to Sierra Nevada Conservancy and excited to partner with Inyo National Forest and Town of Mammoth Lakes on this project to improve an area that is used year-round for so many different types of outdoor recreation. You can follow the project and updates on the Sherwin Area Trails + Trailheads page on the MLR website.
About Mammoth Lakes Recreation
Formed in 2014, Mammoth Lakes Recreation’s mission is to deliver cutting edge sustainable recreation, mobility, and arts & culture opportunities and infrastructure for the benefit of the community and natural environment of Mammoth Lakes. For more information, go to www.mammothlakesrecreation.org.