ElDorado Forest Trail Closures

[Mike1331]

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5362068

Sierra Fest contingency plan...?
List of the closed roads
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5362062.pdf

and some stuff i stole from pirate narrowing down the closure to districts in map form.

Placerville district
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5362053.pdf

Amador District
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5362056.pdf

Pacific District
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5362054.pdf

edit; looks like the forest service site killed the map links already.

Very sad

 

[the_weirdo]

The BOD is aware of the impact to Sierra Fest and is discussing it.

Another thread in the Sierra Fest folder: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1081520

 

[Mike1331]

ok thanks didn't see that.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

wait what trails might get closed?

 

[blondejoncherokee]

OMG deer valley , strawberry and pardoe?
WTF?

 

[kcjeep6]

wait what trails might get closed?

There is no might about it!!! There are 42 on the list but this will affect 98 trails
Read them and weep:
8N23B Prothro Headwater
8N35 Upper West Panther
9N01 blue lake to meadow lake
9N04 Mud Lake 4WD
9N08 Stockton Camp
9N15 Leek Spring Valley
9N54 Leoni
9N82 Pardoes 4WD
9N83 Dear Valley 4WD
9N95 Cosumnes Head
10N01 woods lake area?
10N03 Devils Gate Summer Home
10N06 Pebble Ridge
10N13 Schneider Camp 4WD (know as Strawberry 4WD)
10N14 Mule Canyon
10N21 Long Canyon 4WD
10N26 Scoits Creek
10N32 South Beanville Creek
10N98 Jim Quin Spring
10NY04 Middle Long Canyon
10NY05 Rocky Road
10NY06 Upper Long Canyon
11N09A Bryan Creek
11N22 Strawberry Creek
11N23F North Shanty Spur
11N26F Barrett Lake Jeep Trail
11N70 Mcmanus
11NY32 47 milestone
12NY06 Crystal Shortcut
12NY15 West Robbs Peak
13N24 Dry Lakes
14N05 Mckinstry Lake
14N27 Bunker Meadow
14N39 Richardson Lake 4WD
14N58 Jerre
17E12 motorcycle trail strawberry to Lovers leap
17E16 motorcycle trail behind little round top
17E17 Buck meadows motorcycle trail
17E19 motorcycle trail out of Allen camp
17E21 motorcycle trail north of Silver Lake
17E24 Mud lake trail
17E28 motorcycle trail south of mud lake
Ben thanks for the membership, now we need everyone to sign-up

 

[Mike1331]

OMG deer valley , strawberry and pardoe?
WTF?

yep sucks:gonnablow

 

[KTMqdracer]

Such BS. This will only make things worse. There will be those who won't follow the rules and will still use these trails during the closure, creating more fuel for the fire. And having this year closure will give those who don't like offroaders momentum for future trail closures.

Hopefully this might turn out something like Carnegie and only be a very short term closure, but thats probably too optimistic. In the end everyone is to blame. Everyone needs to learn to be more pro-active and less re-active, including myself.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

ill donate money to corva and stuff. and then i will go to law school and figure out how to fight back .

i feel like the greenies should focus on what really is ruining the environment"
power plants
cities
civilization in general

it seems so pathetic to focus on our recreation of driving on some dirt and rocks in probably like .05% of the total overall forest, instead of the fact that we have deforested every area that is now a city or a highway and built manufacturing and power plants, and they focus on this stuff.

and yep, once people start making their own trials it will only get worse. they need to open more trials, not close the current ones.

I'm up for uprooting the highways and having to 4x4 to work everyday.

 

[Ben H]

Hey all...Now is the time to get active with organizations that will fight for land rights.

NOW is the time to start opening up your wallets to orgs like CORVA...and get out there to the public meetings and protest this shit. They will need money to buy better lawyers. Call your representatives everytime you get a chance...spread the word to friends that use the trails, but are not active on forums. This needs to get blown way the hell up.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

so who do we contact ?
ill do some research on it later tonight.

 

[Ben H]

Here is a good long thread on pirate...thumb through all the bickering and there is some real meat and potatoes in there.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1055643

 

[chicoserspecv]

just great

 

[frontman]

Not 100% certain but doesnt there need to be some kind of public notice before things like this happen? Can the government and or a judge just close trails? IDK but sounds fishy to me.

 

[NorCalChris]

Hey Mike, thx for bring this over to the chapter. Good move. Guys, this is real. We're loosing desert and were loosing forest. We can't wait any longer for your help. The Forest Service was ordered to shut down these trails by a judge. This all happened because a judge believed they had not done what they were required to do in a certain amount of time. It doesnt matter if they did it or not, the judge didn't think what they had done was adequate. This is the time to quit complaining about the "greenies" and to start helping. Donate, volunteer, spread the word like it's a STD. If you can't help to fight the fight then don't complain about them. In fact, I don't even want to see you on the trail. Let me set it this way people....

Think about how much you spend on your morning Starbucks, or how much you spend on weed every month, or how much you spend annually on a porn subscription... It's all just personal pleasure. I eat out a decent amount. I validate this by telling myself I work too much and cant find the time to go home and cook. If I just eat out one less meal a week thats saving me over $30 a month and over $360 a year. Thats enough for a lifetime membership for CORVA! SO guess what I'm doing guys.....I'm making changes in my personal life. We all should. If you can't help, get out of the sport.

Thank you to everyone who does help. I appreciate it, as does everyone else who understands the situation we all face.
-----Chris

 

[frontman]

Signing up for corva soon. But doesnt look good for 2012. Who is Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation? I couldnt find any info about them on the net except that they are the plaintiffs in the case against the forest service.

 

[the_weirdo]

If you've ever wanted to help keep trails open, this is the time. I joined CORVA and BRC this week. Like Jeeping and camping? Then its time to put your money where your mouth is.

There's a meadow at Slick Rock - guess when that gets closed. There are "wetlands" in Rubicon and Fordyce - guess when those are getting closed. Its well past time to do something.

 

[#S194]

Then its time to put your money where your mouth is.

I just signed up for an annual CORVA membership. If we don't band together and fight for what we have we'll slowly lose access to the trails that are open.

 

[NorCalChris]

Keep it up guys and gals.

 

[DrvOvrIt]

The "Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation" is one of the two or three groups responsible for the law suit against the forest service. The group "Center for biological diversity" and the "Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation" seem to be working together on their agenda. To get an idea of what us pro-access folks are up against lets dissect some of their literature starting with this recent press release on the Eldorado trail closures - straight from the Center for Biological diversity's web site:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/eldorado-05-27-2011.html

Notice the "spin" in the language, from sentence one:
"A federal court has rejected the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to increase off-road vehicle use ..." (plan to increase, huh?)

Fact is that since their inception the travel management plans the Forest districts have been been forced to draft have reduced the number of trails open to ohv's. I don't see how this is "increasing" ohv use, concentrating it on what is left - yes.

Next head over to another section of the centers website on off road vehicles:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/off-road_vehicles/index.html

Again notice the "spin" in the language ... notice that according to the center ohv's have ... "become the scourge of our public lands." It's ironic that these conservation groups feel they will have "nothing left" if folks are able to drive into an area, while many (I would argue most) feel that we will have "nothing left" if we can't access the areas by taking a friendly drive into them - on trail of course.

The centers take on travel management planning:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/off-road_vehicles/travel-management_planning/index.html

Scroll down to the last paragraph and read:
"Motorized recreation may have a legitimate place on the forest ..."
"May" have, really? I am guessing we would state that Motorized recreation does have a legitimate place. This kind of writing highlights where the group is really coming from. They don't believe ohv's belong on the forest public lands at all. Read the rest of the site and the stories how they have won lawsuit after lawsuit closing down access.

The way I see this the only way this will be solved unfortunately is via courts because you have two parties with differing philisophical standpoints that just don't agree:
- one group arguing that the mere presence of human footprint on a wild land spoils it, such as a road. Ecosystems and species are of primary focus on public lands (just not human species)
- one group that believes an access road into an area is not going to spoil an entire eco system and ruin the landscape, it's not an ugly thing. An eco system includes the human species and balanced usage

I am like everyone else on this board am absolutely shocked and upset at judge Judge Lawrence Karlton's ruling, this has gone too far. The 40+ trails closed are WELL established ohv trails, most with great history. I plan on supporting the organizations fighting legally for our access rights. I appreciate the posts mentioning these organizations so that people can join them. The FAQ on the forest service web site here details the upcoming process during the closure and key milestones / meetings we will have to be looking for to make our voice heard:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5362065.pdf

I will abide by the closures and encourage all to do the same as it seems it will give the forest service team space to work on and complete the required "Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)" necessary for the lawsuit. This being said, I do NOT in any way agree with the closures or the direction of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. While I recognize the need to care for our environment, shutting down access is going to far.

These "centers" are highly organized and are experienced legal advocates for their agenda. We've got to step up and support the groups that can take them on in the courts. I have been complacent about this in the past, but no longer.

:flamemad: