News

Forest Service Order Number: 03-04-20-10

PROHIBITION:

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551, and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a) and (b), the following acts are prohibited in the areas, and on the roads, and trails described in this Order and depicted below, within the Red Rock Ranger District, Coconino National Forest, in Coconino County and Yavapai County, Arizona.

1. Entering or using a developed recreation site or portion thereof. 36 C.F.R. § 261.58(b)

2. Being on a trail. 36 C.F.R. § 261.55(a)

3. Being on the road. 36 C.F.R. § 261.54(e)

Due to the current need for social distancing and reduced group numbers the board has determined it is in the best interest and health of all VVCC members that the 2020 Spring Picnic should be canceled. Updates will follow as the year progresses. Be safe and stay healthy.

Great social ride today and our 1st all girl group. Missing Sandy, Kelli and Pam.

Sending Rebecca off  to be a grandmother!

                        Prickley Pear shorts today!

The Coconino National Red Rock Ranger District Trail Crew

First Row From Left: Maya Rugg, Kyle Robb, Forrest Saville, Adan Garcia

Second Row From Left: Matt Barnes, Leslie Geiss, James Godwin, Brett Newcomer, Nick Kowall, Jamie Nickel, Noall Hillyard, Kenny Quillan

A few quick words from the crew about WHY here and where to NEXT in their lives.

Nick Noall            WHY – For the killer views of the Red Rocks!  NEXT – Wildfire crew in California.

James Godwin            WHY – For all the amazing biking!  NEXT – Over the Edge for the summer.

Brett Newcomer        WHY – Building new trails!  NEXT – Trail crew leader in Durango.

Nick Kowall                  WHY – The views!  NEXT – Trail crew in Flagstaff.

Kenny Quillan              WHY – Winter Hiking and Seasonal employment!    NEXT – Trail crew in Oregon.

Matt Barnes                 WHY – The Red Rock are everything!   NEXT – Wilderness Ranger in Oregon

Maya Rugg                    WHY – The beautiful mossy rocks!    NEXT – TBD.

Jamie Nickel                 WHY – This is the best life ever!   NEXT – River Ranger in Glacier NP.

Leslie Geiss                   WHY – Year round trail work!   NEXT – Trail crew in Glacier NP.

Adan Garcia                   WHY – Being from N. Arizona, I love this job because it helps be discover my backyard!   NEXT – Roosevelt Hotshots.

Verde Valley Rally Inaugural MTN Bike Challenge

April 4, 2020

Please join us as a participant or a volunteer for this special event. All net proceeds benefit Bikes for Kids as well as building and maintaining sustainable local trails! This is a family event, so bring them all!

The event begins and ends at Blazin’ M Ranch in Cottonwood, with three courses running through Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Coconino National Forest and Tuzigoot National Monument.

Event Website: https://www.verdevalleyrally.com/

The volunteer and participation signups are up and running so if you are interested in volunteering or participating, please sign up.

...to help staff the VVCC Booth and Beer Token Sales Tent and the Sedona MTB Festival March 5th thru 8th

Hurry as Limited Opportunities are Available

All volunteers receive one entry for $16,000 in prizes

Volunteers staff the VVCC Booth - located right next to the Beer Token Sales Booth.  This year, VVCC Booth volunteers will be selling raffle tickets to raise $s for Sedona's non-motorized trail system.

Pick the Volunteer Shift that Best Meets Your Schedule from the Below List

Please Note: volunteers are signing up faster than we can maintain this blog post. If your desired volunteer shift is filled when you go to sign up, please sign up for a different shift .

But Hurry! Volunteer opportunities are space limited and we'd hate for you to miss out on all the fun!

Thank you for volunteering. We couldn't do it without you!

Thursday March 5th

Tent/Booth Set Up

4 PM - 5:30 PM

Friday March 6th

Beer Token Tent

Three Volunteers Needed/Shift

Noon - 4PM (3 slots left)

3PM - 7PM (3 slots left)

VVCC Booth

Three Volunteers Needed/Shift

Noon - 4 PM (1 slot left)

3 PM - 7 PM (2 slots left) 

Mike Raney owner of Over the Edge Sports bike shop received the Excellence for Community Service Award from Keep Sedona Beautiful which is a non profit organization committed to protecting and sustaining the scenic beauty and natural environment of greater Sedona.

Mike and his wife Lauren moved here 9 years ago from Santa Fe, New Mexico for mountain biking and hiking. Mike has been working hard contributing to the trail fund, city council, affordable housing, his bike shop, the MTB festival which he started in 2015 and placing bike fix stands at trail heads. 

But none of this could happen without  maintenance, hard work and all the community support.

Mike is a founding member and serves on the board of director for the Red Rock Trail Fund which raises money for trail maintenance and creating new trails to make Sedona a world class trail network. If not for all our donations  this would not be possible.

Sedona MTB festival raised $25,000 dollars last year for the trail fund and is decreasing its footprint by reducing waste, recycling and encouraging people to ride not drive. 

Knowing all this will help the VVCC volunteer members at the bike festival this March sell more raffle tickets to all the visitor and guests who use the trails and will come back again.

We are so lucky to know Mike is building a better community for all of us here in Sedona.

We recently ran into Trail Crew Supervisor Kyle Robb at a volunteer trail work day.

Kyle - can you please tell our two loyal readers a little about yourself?

I have worked with the FS since 2010...wow how a decade has flown by. I worked in California, Colorado, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and here.

What do you see as the biggest differences between the Allegheny and Coconino National Forests?

The biggest differences from the ANF and CNF is really tourism. The landscaped is a given difference but the amount of use the Coconino (really Sedona) gets is soooo much larger to the ANF. To add to that, the ANF has a large reservoir and brings in a lot of boaters, different types of user groups. Lots of hunting and foraging as well. Here on the Sedona side of the Coconino is really land use. Very diverse but tons of tourism.

What are their similarities?

The similarities of the forests is that each forst has use for the whole family. ANF has boating and hunting with the DNF has hiking and biking. There is more to do than just those but both places are family oriented.

If you could be the Forest Service Chief for a day, what would you do - and you can't answer, "take the day off"?

If I was chief for the day, I would go out and work with the trail crew. Being in the office sucks.

We just received word that the Catena Foundation plans to award a $50,000 grant to Verde Valley Wheel Fun. 

The grant will be used to help achieve the five year goal of transitioning FUN from an all-volunteer based operation to one run by professional staff, augmented by volunteers, and governed by an all-volunteer board of directors.

The VVCC Youth Committee first reached out to the Catena Foundation on March 21, 2019 to thank them for the work they're doing in Northern Arizona and provide an introduction to the VVCC. That outreach resulted in a call in April and we have been working with Catena since then getting them comfortable with what we're doing.

Mike Wight, Catena Foundation's Restoration and Trails Program Officer, made a site visit in December 2019 to see the Youth Program first hand at Oak Creek Elementary School. Cottonwood Elementary School Superintendent, Steve King, and Oak Creek Principal Nayadin Persaud met with Mike and told him what the program means to them. Then, Mike went on a six mile trail ride with the kids who we know sold him.

The VVCC spun off the Youth Program to FUN on January 8, 2020.

The Catena Foundation is a private grant making organization founded by Sam R. Walton in 2017 and is headquartered in Carbondale, CO. The Catena Foundation focuses on making grants to environment, community development and education organizations in the Four Corners area of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

The Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition (VVCC) is pleased to announce the transfer of its youth program to Verde Valley Wheel Fun (FUN) effective January 8, 2020. The VVCC’s all-volunteer youth program currently operates eight after-school mountain bike clubs serving 90+ students each semester at the following public elementary schools:

• Beaver Creek Elementary (K-6)

• Camp Verde Elementary (K-6)

• Oak Creek Elementary (K-8) – 2 clubs in operation

• Dr. Daniel Bright Elementary (K-8)

• Mountain View Academy (K-8)

• Cottonwood Community (K-8)

• West Sedona Elementary (K-6)

Additionally, the youth program awards new mountain bikes each spring to students who must exceed school standards for conduct, attendance and citizenship; provides an annual grant to the local National Interscholastic Cycling Team and distributes kids helmets at the annual Sedona Celebration of Spring.

“With the Youth Program growing as fast as it is - we're adding our 9th club this spring at Clarkdale-Jerome Elementary School - and taking up over 70% of the VVCC's budget, the VVCC board had the wisdom to recognize that it was time that the program became independent” said Marty Glinsky, VVCC President.

“FUN’s three founders created the VVCC’s Youth Program, run its day-to-day operations and raised all the funds for the program” said Rich Leever, FUN President. We’re forever grateful to the VVCC for providing the infrastructure for the Youth Program to begin with an idea in November 2017 and grow to what it is today” Leever added.

There is no charge for students and schools participating in FUN’s programs.

As part of the transfer agreement, the VVCC agreed to provide back office support through April 8, 2020 as FUN develops its own internal back office capabilities.

About FUN. Verde Valley Wheel Fun is an all-volunteer Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization providing mountain bicycling opportunities for all Verde Valley youth, regardless of skill level. FUN empowers students through mountain bicycles, fostering values on and off the bike that prepare students for their future. Donations to FUN qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit.