Staff of the Tonto National Forest’s Globe Ranger District, along with members of the Tonto Recreation Alliance, met with off-road enthusiasts and other community members Saturday morning at the Pipeline OHV area east of Globe, to share plans and get feedback on improving the popular spot.

District Recreation Management Specialist Sheryl Cormack said they had received $200,000 from the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 for improvements at Pipeline. “Right now we have a bunch of social trails, which means they’re not legal routes per our travel management rule. We’re technically supposed to either rehab the area or include them into our system,” she said. “With the funding, we want to get feedback from the public on what they think about this area. What do they like about it, what do they not like and what changes need to be made?

“We’re going to take this information and  compile it, get an idea of what everybody’s thinking and then go back to our regulations and what we can do with the people we have. Maybe we could do something like improve the ramadas, put in a bathroom or maybe add some trees for shade. We have to use the funding this fiscal year, and then we’ll start the contract next year. It needs to be completed by August-September 2023, hopefully sooner.”

The event enjoyed a good turnout, as a number of visitors stopped by to meet with District staff and Alliance members and leave suggestions. Their ideas included adding a bathroom, sprucing up the area around the current ramadas and installing more ramadas farther in, away from the highway.