Sherwins Working Group - 2009

Project Description: Building on the success of work completed as part of the Town of Mammoth Lakes Trail System Master Plan Update and the Sherwin Area Trails Special Study (SATSS), the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML), and MLTPA invited the community to form an independent working group in the spring of 2009 to collaboratively identify a preferred alternative for trails, public access, and recreation facilities for implementation in the territory immediately to the south of the Town of Mammoth Lakes, best known simply as the Sherwins. The group came to be known as the Sherwins Working Group (SWG).

Background

Seventy-one people attended at least one of the SWG's 26 total meetings, held between March and November 2009, with approximately 25 to 30 individuals making up the core work group. These community members represented a broad spectrum of recreation, business, and agency interests in the Sherwins area and worked intensely and collaboratively to craft the SWG's ultimate deliverable: seasonal recreation proposals for the Sherwins area to be delivered to the TOML and the USFS in the fall of 2009.

The group met its target date on November 3, 2009, coming to consensus on not only the Winter and Summer proposals, but also the accompanying framework document, preamble, and appendices. Collectively known as the Sherwins Area Recreation Plan, or SHARP, this document represents the road map for project implementation by the Inyo National Forest, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, and their partners. SHARP was adopted by the Town of Mammoth Lakes as part of the Town's updated "Trail System Master Plan" in October of 2011. The programmatic CEQA analysis was completed with funding from a grant to the Town of Mammoth Lakes from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC).

Implementation

In the Summer of 2013, the first SHARP trail - #12B - was completed by volunteers working with the Summer of Stewardship Trail Days program and also in the summer of 2013, the Town contracted with the Inyo National Forest through a Challenge Cost Share Agreement using Measure R funds to begin the multi-year process to complete the environmental analysis necessary to begin building additional SHARP trails. In 2017, the Mammoth District Ranger authorized construction of two new trails in the Sherwins – the Mammoth Rock Trail Connector (SHARP ID S13) and the Meadow Trail Connector (SHARP ID S18) and the Town initiated contract efforts for field studies to inform NEPA and CEQA analysis on an additional 20+ SHARP projects.

Mammoth Lakes Recreation Grant Award - 2021

In December 2021, Mammoth Lakes Recreation was awarded two grants from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy totaling $1,460,000 to fund additional SHARP project implementation efforts. A $510,000 planning grant for SHARP Trails and Trailhead Expansion will fund the environmental analysis on approximately 20 miles of new trail and an expanded trailhead area. The second award is a $950,00 implementation grant for the Sherwins Trailhead to provide a paved parking area and several new amenities including a double vault toilet.  Get the latest updates from Mammoth Lakes Recreation on their Sierra Nevada Conservancy Grant Updates Page.

SHERWINS WORKING GROUP MEETING SCHEDULE AND MATERIALS

Meeting #8: Tuesday, November 3, 2009: Westin Hotel, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Meeting #8 agenda
Meeting #8 draft summary
SHARP Outline, 10/30/09
SHARP preamble,_10/30/09
Winter Narrative: Group Revised Draft,_10/28/09
Summer Narrative:_Group Revised Draft,_10/28/09
Winter Map,_10/30/09
Summer Map,_10/30/09
Meeting #8 photo gallery

Meeting #7: Tuesday, October 13, 2009: Sierra Meadows Ranch; 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Meeting #7 agenda
Meeting #6 draft summary
Community Feedback Compilation, 10/07/09
Winter Concerns
Summer Concerns
Dog Concerns
USFS Feedback Primer
USFS FAQ
Meeting #7 photo gallery

SHERWINS WORKING GROUP COMMUNITY FEEDBACK PROCESS: In the fall of 2009, from September 11 through October 1 and in between their regular meetings, the SWG offered the community an opportunity to review their work efforts to date and to provide feedback via a "Sherwins Working Group Community Feedback Process." The SWG had already been hard at work for about five months crafting draft proposals for summer and winter recreation opportunities in the Sherwins area and felt the timing was ripe for community input and feedback.

Community Feedback Compilation, 10/07/09
Winter Concerns
Summer Concerns
Dog Concerns
USFS Feedback Primer
USFS FAQ

Meeting #6: Tuesday, September 22, 2009: Sierra Meadows Ranch; 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Meeting #6 Agenda
Meeting #6 photo gallery