Carson City Supervisors discuss the future of Prison Hill, including off road vehicle use
The Carson City Board of Supervisors heard a presentation on the Prison Hill Master Plan draft Thursday, with much of the discussion revolving around the use of off-road vehicles within a 47 acre parcel of the 900 acre OHV zone.
Prison Hill covers over 3,200 acres, and most of it is managed by the Carson City Open Space Division.
Five parcels make up Prison Hill including the Prison Hill Recreation Area which accounts for 2,515 acres, the Golden Eagle Open Space at 19 acres, the Mexican Dam Open Space at 64 acres, the Koontz Parcel at 114 acres, and Silver Saddle Ranch at 808 acres.
One issue within the community is whether or not to allow the continued use of the Prison Hill OHV area for motorized recreation.
For several decades, the area has been popular for motorized recreators, including dirt bikers, atv-users, side by side users, off-roading with cars and trucks, and rock crawling.
When the OHV area was conveyed to Carson City in 2015, motorized use was permitted in the Conservation Easement.
Mayor Lori Bagwell said the OHV area needs to be discussed further, as the area has been the subject of many public comments, both for and against further restrictions within the area.
Carson City Trails Coordinator Gregg Berggren said that, as far back as the 1970s the entirety of Prison Hill area has been open to unrestricted motorized use.
Now, the OHV has been limited to 47 acres. A number of other open space which was historically open to motorized vehicle use, such as along the Carson river corridor, has been completely restricted.
“We’ve closed down motorized access to a lot of places, but we are trying to provide an opportunity at the south end of Prison Hill to provide that access that is being requested by a good deal of the public,” Berggren said.
Berggren said that they do acknowledge there are impacts to any motorized land usage, and that they continue to monitor the area, and a new Natural Resource Specialist will be beginning on June 1.
“We want to be responsive and try to minimize those impacts and address them as best we can,” Berggren said.
Chris McClung, an avid rock crawling participant, said during public comment in the morning that the group of rock crawlers and off-roaders often hold clean up days in the Prison Hill area which are very popular.
Bagwell said she commends the group of OHV users, and hopes to see them become even more involved in the preservation of the area.
“I want to give a shout out to the group that comes out — I see like a new Muscle Powered group, right?” Bagwell said. “I do believe it’s your job to help keep the area as right as it can be. I hope the users of the OHV area become our absolute stewards. That they’re the ones helping to police it and are educating users when they’re going on trails they’re not supposed to.”
Some guidelines from the plan regarding the OHV area include:
- Better travel management
- Offer variety of recreational opportunities in a family-friendly environment
- Reduce user conflict and trespassing into adjacent residential areas
- Monitoring and maintenance
- Recommends creation of Carson City Municipal Codes specific to OHV operation which would enable Park Rangers to cite for non-compliance of OHV registration; require spark arrestors; and limit sound to 96dbA
Supervisors unanimously approved the draft for the Prison Hill Master Plan, which can be viewed here.