The Palisade Community Center was buzzing with anticipation Thursday evening as the Bureau of Land Management hosted a forum for public comment on the Palisade Plunge – a proposed 30-mile singletrack mountain bike trail that descends 6,000 feet from the top of Grand Mesa to Palisade.

At this point, most of the excitement stems from the trail itself. Local mountain bikers are giddy about the prospect of a having a trail with a vertical drop on par with Moab’s The Whole Enchilada right here in the Grand Valley. But even non-riders should view the trail as an exciting development for its economic development potential.

As the Sentinel’s Amy Hamilton reported Friday, a completed trail is expected to infuse nearly $2 million annually into Palisade’s economy and $5 million a year into the Grand Valley.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.