Comment on Death Valley Backcountry routes

[karstic]

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=297&projectId=23311&documentID=29400

Click on the link to see additional planning documents and to submit comments electronically.

Description: The National Park Service is initiating a combined Wilderness and Backcountry Stewardship Plan for Death Valley National Park. The purpose of this Wilderness and Backcountry Stewardship Plan is to guide the National Park Service and to make decisions regarding the future use and protection of the park's vast wilderness and backcountry lands. This planning process addresses all Congressionally designated wilderness lands within Death Valley National Park. It also includes non-wilderness backcountry concerns, such as: backcountry road corridors and campsites, backcountry cabins near roads, and non-wilderness backcountry lands. It does not include the Furnace Creek, Scotty's Castle, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs developed areas or visitor attractions accessed directly from paved roads (e.g. Zabriskie Point), or short, graded gravel roads (e.g. Mosaic Canyon), developed campgrounds, paved roads, private inholdings or other non-NPS lands. It also will not include the Saline Valley hot springs and the non-wilderness lands surrounding them as this area will be addressed in the future in a site-specific plan as per direction of the Park's approved General Management Plan.
Date Document Posted: 09/04/2009
Comment Period: 09/04/2009 - 11/15/2009

Topic Questions Instructions:
We value your comments on any aspect of wilderness and backcountry at Death Valley National Park, but in particular would like to hear your thoughts on these questions.

All comments previously submitted during scoping for the Wilderness Stewardship Plan will be considered and people who previously commented may submit additional comments during this scoping period.

Topic Questions:
What do you value about the Death Valley Wilderness?

What are your issues or concerns regarding how the wilderness resource is used and managed?

What do you value about the park's non-wilderness backcountry lands and network of backcountry roads?

What are your issues or concerns regarding how these backcountry lands and roads are used and managed?

What are your thoughts and/or concerns regarding the relationship between wilderness and adjacent non-wilderness backcountry?

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

Steven

I've never wheeled Death Valley (though I have wheeled Panamint Valley) so I'm somewhat ignorant to what I should be answering to the questions.

I want to submit some meaningful answers that help the cause. Any suggestions?

 

[karstic]

Steven

I've never wheeled Death Valley (though I have wheeled Panamint Valley) so I'm somewhat ignorant to what I should be answering to the questions.

I want to submit some meaningful answers that help the cause. Any suggestions?

John, This is my response. The comment period closed Nov. 15th. Now that I have officialy submitted comments I should receive any further notification from the NPS in regards to this process. When I do I will post updates.

My comments:

Thank you for providing an opportunity to provide input on the Backcountry and Wilderness Stewardship Plan. I look forward to taking part in future planning efforts in Death Valley National Park.

Topic Questions:
What do you value about the Death Valley Wilderness?

What are your issues or concerns regarding how the wilderness resource is used and managed?
I cannot comment on these two topic questions because I do not visit DVNP because of the Wilderness areas. I believe that in many instances the Wilderness designation has been over-applied and has severely limited use of our public lands.

What do you value about the park's non-wilderness backcountry lands and network of backcountry roads?
Many of these routes create loop opportunities with routes on lands with other jurisdictions, for example the South Park/Pleasant Canyon loop connects with routes administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
These routes are essential for the safety of the back country traveler.
They also provide the DVNP visitor with a unique mode of travel not experienced at other National Parks.
Routes provide access to sites of historical, cultural and scientific value.

What are your issues or concerns regarding how these backcountry lands and roads are used and managed?
No loss of current backcountry routes should occur.
Continue to keep the routes open to street-legal vehicles.
Closure of the routes would essentially close a majority of the Park to visitation.
Volunteer help could be used to maintain the routes. Look at the volunteer hours donated to the USFS in the San Bernardino National Forest Adopt-A-Trail program. The SBNF Adopt-a-Trail Program generated $270,742 in Volunteer value in hours. 13,370 hours x $20.25/Hr.

What are your thoughts and/or concerns regarding the relationship between wilderness and adjacent non-wilderness backcountry?
Access to the backcountry, especially backcountry Wilderness Areas of DVNP is provided through the system of back country routes. Backcountry access would be dangerous and extremely difficult without the route system.

Route users are usually the eyes and ears of the area, often reporting illegal/unauthorized activity and the first to offer assistance to people in distress.

Routes would still need to be maintained to allow access and patrol by Park employees.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

Yeah, I noticed the period had passed.

Thank you for the information though. I think its important to see how to phrase these things when I don't have specific knowledge of the area.

 

[karstic]

Yeah some of those comments are pretty general.

Feel free to use them or the idea behind them when respoding to land use issues.