Ledger-Dispatch

By Jim Reece (jreece@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

The Amador County Recreation Agency = last Thursday=20 opened a public comment period on the Mollie Joyce Trail System, = part of a=20 six-year improvement project at the Pioneer park.

-- Photo = courtesy=20 of ACRA

By Jim=20 Reece

jreece@ledger-dispatch.com

A small turnout = attended the=20 first of two public input meetings with the Amador County Recreation = Agency in a=20 new effort to attain a $700,000 California Trails Project grant to build = and=20 improve trails at Molly Joyce Park in Pioneer.

Liz MacLeod, grant = writer=20 for the project, said that the matching portion of the grant of 12 = percent was=20 met by the donation of the land for use as a science camp park, while = the grant=20 being sought would start a trail system and park upgrade plan that would = cover=20 the next six years, until 2014.

ACRA Executive Director Tracey = Towner-Yep=20 introduced the park and told of her five-year odyssey to get the gift of = the=20 76-acre park from the Joyce Family of Pioneer and Fred Joyce, a = long-time school=20 board member of the Sacramento City School District.

Towner-Yep = said she=20 sent her first letter regarding the Molly Joyce Park in her first week = of duty=20 as the Recreation Czar, the executive director of ACRA, in 2004. Weekly = letters=20 to the school district finally got a response, as the property had been = a=20 science camp beginning in 1985, when Joyce and his family gave the = property to=20 the Sacramento school system.

A neighbor of the property who = attended the=20 meeting said she and her husband saw the science camp for the first five = years,=20 when campers came from the capital city and used the Molly Joyce Park=20 facilities. Towner-Yep said that teacher retired and no other teacher = took over=20 the science camp.

Fast forward 20 years to February and Joyce and = his=20 attorney used the out clause from inactivity at the park and then he = deeded the=20 76-acre park to ACRA. MacLeod then took over to write a grant = application for=20 state trails funding for "The Mollie Joyce Trail System."

The = Amador=20 County Recreation Agency is seeking public input on a proposed multi-use = trail=20 project called The Mollie Joyce Trail System. The trail will be located = on the=20 property known as Mollie Joyce Park or The Mollie Joyce Environmental = Center,=20 near Pioneer on Highway 88.

This proposed trail system south of = Highway=20 88 is one phase of larger improvement plans for the site, called The = Mollie=20 Joyce Park Enhancement Project. In an effort to ensure that this trail = system=20 meets the needs and desires of the local community, ACRA is inviting the = public=20 to share suggestions and insights during a 30-day public comment period, = which=20 opened May 29 and closes June 30.

"We at ACRA are excited to have = the=20 opportunity to bring outdoor recreation facilities such as this to = Amador=20 County," MacLeod wrote in a presentation.

MacLeod showed several = maps of=20 the project and its different phases and told of the trails, a portion = of which=20 would be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, with five-foot wide = or=20 bigger trails that would be entirely wheelchair accessible, while the = system=20 could have interpretive trails with descriptions of native foliage. The = trail=20 would be on the south side of Highway 88 and make a loop around a = seasonal pond=20 there. Other loops would be hiking and horseback riding trails, which = would loop=20 further south into the wildland of the park.

The Mollie Joyce = Park=20 Enhancement Project, 2008-2014 included:

- Renovate of two = existing=20 baseball fields, the snack shack and a gravel parking lot

- Make = the=20 ranch house building ADA-accessible and install a darkroom facility =

-=20 Construct an interpretive multi-use trail system south of Highway 88 =

-=20 Design and install a ropes course facility, with "High Elements" and = "Low=20 Elements"

- Construct trails on the north side of Highway 88 to = connect=20 existing and future facilities

- Build a restroom/shower facility =

- Build an environmental interpretive center

- Pave a = new=20 parking area with better access off of Highway 88

- Construct = facilities=20 associated with an overnight science camp, including dormitories and a=20 kitchen/dining hall

"The Mollie Joyce Trail System will have = multiple=20 uses: pedestrian, equestrian and crosscountry skiing in the winter," an=20 informational brochure stated. "Dogs will also be allowed on the trails = when on=20 leashes. All trails will be open to everyone at no cost and measures = will be=20 taken to ensure that the trail system is as wheelchair accessible as = possible.=20 In fact, we plan on making both lower loops completely=20 ADA-accessible."

Restroom facilities will be available near the=20 trailhead. The trail system will be dotted with interpretive signs = displaying=20 information about local plant and animal species, as well as their = historic uses=20 by local cultures of the past, such as that of the Miwok American = Indians.=20

Through these signs, visitors to the trail can take a = self-guided tour=20 where they may learn more about our local ecosystems and history. The = trails=20 will be unpaved and geologic processes such as erosion will be kept in = mind in=20 determining the final design of all trails and choosing materials, so as = to=20 reduce the impact they have on the local environment.

A staging = area=20 will be established on the northeastern side of the trail system for=20 truck/trailer parking and the short-term containment of horses in = corrals.=20

"Picnic areas will also be established as well as several = resting=20 points. with benches," MacLeod wrote. "We are also exploring the option = of=20 turning a seasonal pond on the site into a fishing hole."

MacLeod = said=20 that ACRA will have the trail plans, information and maps on display for = the=20 public to view during business hours at the Amador County Recreation = Agency's=20 new office, 10877 Conductor Blvd., Ste. 100 Sutter Creek, 95685. = Conductor=20 Boulevard is a new street, off of Ridge Road, between Sutter Creek and = Ione,=20 just past Sierra Pacific Industries.

Public input on the plans = for the=20 Molly Joyce Park can be submitted at the ACRA office or at the next = meeting, to=20 be held 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 27 at Pioneer Veterans Hall, = 25000=20 Buckhorn Ridge Rd., Pioneer.

For more information about the trail = system=20 or the public comment period, contact Liz at ACRA, 223-6359.

Jim = Reece