I walk in the foothills above Salt Lake City every week. With a biologist’s eye, I observe wildlife and watch the seasons unfold. Bicyclists are unfailingly polite and we have shared the trails for years.
The City has begun construction on a major reconfiguration of trails in the foothills (The Tribune, May 12). Part of the plan is to turn some of the small canyons (e.g. Dry Creek) into banked downhill runs for
bicyclists, and to place hiking trails on the sides above.
An aspect that was overlooked in the article and perhaps in the planning is that the canyon bottoms are narrow strips of distinctive habitat with high biodiversity and aesthetic value. These are important habitat corridors where moisture is higher, trees are larger, plant and animal species concentrate.
There are already at least two de facto downhill bike runs in the vicinity of Dry Creek, which should suffice. I strongly encourage the protection of the narrow valley bottoms as environmentally sensitive microhabitats. We should minimize construction in them, retaining their use for low-impact hiking and trail-running.
John T. (Jack) Longino, Department of Biology, Salt Lake City
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