Top Of ‘Bump And Grind’ Trail Closes
The Department of Fish and Game is shortening a popular hiking trail in our local mountains.
The department fenced off the last half mile of the Bump and Grind trail Monday morning.
The goal is to protect the big horn sheep that supposedly roam the area, said a department spokesman.
Mark and Laurie Mallory hike the trail everyday. They haven’t see a sheep once in the area in the last 2 years.
“Yet we’ve seen lizards and snakes and birds and everything else in the ecosystem is very strong up there. We don’t see anything happening in that area,” said Mark Mallory.
According to Andrew Hughan, spokesman for the department, the reason hikers don’t see sheep is because there are too many people at the top.
“There are no sheep right now. People say, ‘Oh I haven’t seen a sheep in 12 years.’ Well there are no sheep because there are people there. And now we hope the people go away and sheep will come back,” said Hughan.
The department has not conducted a study to justice the closure, said Hughan. He adds, they don’t have to conduct one because they own the land the trail is on.
Hikers like David Salas want the department to prove the closure is needed.
“A study would prove the information I’m giving you is correct. That’s why they don’t want to do the survey because they’re going to find that out. So what they’re doing is premature,” said Salas.
The 3 1/2 mile loop along the trail is still open.
Anyone found past the fence could face trespassing charges and fines. The department also has plans to install more security, like cameras, in the future, said Hughan.
In the meantime, the Mallory’s said they’ll follow the rules so they can keep hiking.
“We don’t want them to close the whole thing off. We love doing this so obviously we’re going to do what they ask us to do,” said Laurie.