Kever
Thanks for the response. I know you're just the messenger but the message certainly is illuminating! It's like I feared. Mark views himself as being the gatekeeper (or boss if you want to be ungenerous) of all trailwork on the Shore. The actions of Sharon and I in doing trailwork and building trails without his knowledge or input threaten that. I hope I'm not putting words in your mouth. If this is a fair characterization then this is a problem in so many ways.
The biggest problem I see is that the NSMBA doesn't take Mark Wood's stance. You can see in NSMBA 101 and the Townhall discussion about NSMBA 101 that the NSMBA takes the position that they're a steward in a Metro and DNV where there is an active land manager (but acknowledges that independent builders can do work outside the NSMBA - eg Jaclyn has a permit to work on Ridgerunner independent of the NSMBA. This is what Vince said to me and its in NSMBA 101. This begs the question; why does Mark have a monopolistic attitude towards trailwork that's so counter to the NSMBAs more inclusive outlook?
You can see why this is so confusing and why I would just as soon be left alone.
I'll reply to your other points later - sorry some other questions from other people I should answer.
OK, I don't want to make things too personal as I do respect the amount and type of trail work that both you and Mark do. Mark and I have talked about some of these issues in the past so I'll do my best to share his perspective. That being said, I don't want to make a habit of being his little birdy, I just think his side of the story needs to be shared so it's not so one sided.
Re: Part 1 Asian Adonis
Mark has a vision of what he wants the lower seymour zone to look like and was peeved that a trail was built outside of his vision. I'm not saying his vision was the only one that matters, but I am saying that the trail was put in without consulting the NSMBA, and he feels this is done in poor taste. He has told me that metro van has used the building of asian adonis as an excuse to put off or nix other projects in that area. Why metro van is concerned about happenings in land not managed by them is a mystery to me.
The changing of the description and negative reports are on him.
Re: Part 2 …
Mapbook. Mark is pissed that the NSMBA logo was used in the mapbook despite his asking not to. Although you started the NSMBA, at present you have chosen to operate outside of that umbrella and he feels that including the NSMBA endorsement is unwarranted for that reason. I'll have to ask him specifically about his reason for sending that private message, it seems unethical.
The "lies to land manager" seems to be a he said she said situation so I don't want to touch that. The crux of the Marks argument is that he sees new trails being built on seymour as a detriment to the good will the NSMBA is trying to establish with land managers. Bigger picture, he sees any new trail that is built on Fromme or Seymour (light side) as a threat to the relationship with active land managers. Hence why new trails need to remain secret, but never do because there are few secrets in North Vancouver. Matthew Bond said in a town hall meeting 2 or 3 years ago that the biggest threat to the organization was the proliferation of "loamers", due to trying to be good neighbours with land managers. Mark's intense hate of you and Sharon (which is not shared by me) stems from his view that your work is at odds with his and jeopardizes the future of his work and vision.
Re: yelling at Sharon, I observed things escalating quickly at the town hall meeting and that seems to be a two way street. Other than that I can't comment.
Mark is the first to admit that he's a bit of a hothead who can let his passion and temper get the best of him. I don't think you, Sharon and him will ever fully resolve the deep dislike for each other, but I do hope that both parties can ignore each other enough to carry on working on trails. Your solution of leaving each other alone does seem to be the best possible option. Leaving each other alone means both parties stopping the mud slinging and focusing on making the best trail network for the community.
Mark is a community minded builder who probably puts in more building hours than anyone except digger. Everyone who builds needs to have thick skin, as most praise is silent and everyone negative opinions are loud. Let the little things bounce off. I'll continue to try to keep Mark accountable as we do build and ride together occasionally.
Not sure how helpful this response was as you probably knew all this already but it needed to be said.