The Ranch Road Gate

Project Description: Before there was MLTPA, there was the Ranch Road Gate. A difficult, sometimes wrenching chapter in the history of Mammoth Lakes, the conflict over a private gate being built on a public road without a deeded public-access easement became the inciting incident in the formation of MLTPA: the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Foundation. Valuable lessons were learned -- lessons that need no repeating anytime soon.










DELIVERABLES: Take a winter trip through the Sherwins with this photo essay designed to illustrate a typical Sherwins backcountry adventure.

GRAPHICS: Have a look at these flyers, which were distributed in support of the petition drive to overturn Town Council's decision to vacate a public right-of-way without a pedestrian easement:
Ranch Road Gate Flyer #1
Ranch Road Gate Flyer #2
Ranch Road Gate Flyer #3

MAPS: These rough maps were prepared for Town Council to help explain the routes that backcountry users were taking as they came out of the Sherwins:
Ranch Road Gate_SW Mammoth Aerial Map
Ranch Road Gate_Town Council Map Part 1
Ranch Road Gate_Town Council Map Part 2

PHOTOS: Photos of the Ranch Road Gate, open and in the wintertime.

PRESS: There was a lot of press at the time -- read the coverage in The Sheet, the Mammoth Times, and Powder magazine:
The Mammoth Times,_01/12/06
Powder Magazine
The Sheet,_12/17/05
The Sheet,_01/07/06
The Sheet, 01/28/06, p. 2
The Sheet,_01/28/06, p. 3
The Sheet,_02/04/06
The Sheet,_08/19/06
The Sheet,_09/27/08

REPORTS: Review Town Council's orginal resolution (December 2005) to vacate the public right-of-way on a section of Ranch Road for the construction of a private gate. Now read the revised resolution passed more than eight months later (August 2006) after a successful petition drive delivered close to 800 signatures in support of a vacation of the public right-of-way of a section of Ranch Road with a deeded public access easement.