Re: Tahoe National Forest DIES published - meetings, comment period...
Tahoe National Forest (TNF) Draft Environmental Impact Study (DIES)
Public Meeting 10/9/2008
Auburn, CA
I had never been to a meeting put on by the forest service regarding trail use or anything of this type before, which I regret, but here are my thoughts and notes from the meeting.
Important people to the meeting and DIES program:
Tom Quinn – TNF Forest Supervisor – the person ‘in charge’ of this process (currently) and the one who’s final decision is the important one.
Dave Arrasmith – The main presenter of the DIES and its implications, also a person VERY knowledgeable on the area of TNF, and the issues at hand in the area.
Dave Michael – Trails coordinator of TNF.
The main goals of the Route Designation / DIES process were to determine 2 main points of motorized recreation in Tahoe National Forest –
- Where it should be allowed / legal
- How much (seasonal restriction… etc)
Presentation:
There were 3 main objectives for the Travel Management Process
- Protect Forest Resources (trees, vegetation, wildlife, scenery, soil, water…)
- Provide a challenging & Diverse & sustainable motorized trail & road system
- Provide access to the forest for a variety of recreation. (Rock crawlers, fishermen, backpackers, trail riders, bird watchers, photographers…)
The DIES Addresses:
- Prohibition of cross country travel
- (Currently, cross country travel, or trail blazing, is legal in portions of the forest – I did not know this, and as a responsible wheeler, who cares about the future of the sport, and cares about the environment, I had never taken advantage of this, but I found it interesting that cross country travel is legal in parts of the forest)
- Addition if currently ‘Un-authorized’ motorized routes, to establish them as part of the maintained trail system
- Note: Un-authorized trails are not ‘illegal’ trails currently – they are trails that were not designed by the forest service to be used for long-term permanent motorized recreation. These trails are not currently included in the system of trails and roads. These generally fall into 3 catagories:
i.Historic mining roads - TNF is in gold country, and as mine claim holders got access to their mining sites, trails and roads were created
ii.Logging / Fuel roads – the forest service and logging companies cut roads in to provide access to the forest and fuel control places, and these roads and trails were made – however they were not intended for long term – permanent use, and were not designed for that need – so some of them might not be able to support long term uses.
iii.User created trails – cutting of switchbacks, bypasses to mud holes and difficult obstacles, and completely new trails cut by users without authorization or consent from the forest service.
- Changing the season of use on existing routes and routes that are to be added to the trail system.
- Possible seasonal closures
- Changing the types of vehicles that can be used on certain trails.
- Changing some roads and trails from “Street Legal Vehicles only” to “All vehicles”, and determining the ability to do that.
General Notes about the meeting:
Currently all alternatives include ALL the trails currently part of the trail and road system. TNF was VERY clear that they weren’t closing any trail that is currently part of the road and trail system – the issue at hand is the ‘un-authorized’ trails and roads that aren’t currently part of the system, and that are being considered to be added to the system. There are approximately 1400 miles of ‘un-authorized’ roads and trails in the forest, that at the end of this process may be illegal to drive / recreate on.
TNF (particularly Tom Quinn and Dave Arrasmith) seemed very open to wheeling as a hobby, and promoting the responsible use of motorized recreation within the forest. A couple of times, they mentioned the want to create and maintain a challenging, diverse, and sustainable system of roads and trails. They talked about changing current trails and creating new ones to serve the markets for the family of ATV users with 7 year old kids, and meeting the needs of rock crawling buggies (as examples).
I felt like there was an expectation on TNF’s part for us as four wheelers to have closed minds to any ideas of trail closures, and they really seemed to go out of their way to explain that of the currently included system of roads and trails – NONE were looked at being closed or removed from the system.
TNF really had no idea that there were OHV users that participated in ‘snow wheeling’ with our green sticker vehicles, and doesn’t really have a good plan to keep that around, and doesn’t really understand that demographic. Their proposed blanket seasonal closure in some of the alternatives would close down the forest to wheeled motorized traffic from January 1 through May 1 (Bebe – comment here if I got the dates right). Their main concern is when the vehicle break through the snow and spin tires while stuck, and the slush with the increase in elevation before reaching full snow pack – and the VERY wet, VERY saturated earth there.
This is of particular importance, because the seasonal closure can be lengthened on a whim with an emergency closure notice (that is currently allowed), but is REALLY REALLY hard to shorten and ‘open early’ because to open early would require a full report on the possible effects of recreation, and by the time the report is finished, it would be the end of the closure anyhow.
Question and answer section of topics that struck my interest:
How to get a trail added to the system that was missed, or is important –
Circle the trail on a map, give the ‘point A and point B’ locations, and give a good reason for why that trail is important, and send all this information in during the comment period.
Keeping ‘old’ trails – (all trails in the forest are subject to review, and could be closed – EVEN if they are already part of the trail system) Give a good reason why that trail should be kept open –
Good fishing spot at XXX lake at the end of the trail
Great wheeling
Great photographic spot along the trail
Etc…
Would TNF consider different closure dates than the Jan 1 to May 1?
Yes – currently there are no seasonal closures at all (with small exception to the sugar pine area where it’s a deer protected environment)
They would also entertain different closure dates for different elevations – the higher elevation areas might have less closure because the snow is deeper, and the impact on the ground is negligible compared to a lower elevation that may have snow melt earlier or slush / snow in some areas.
How are comments about this process evaluated?
Submitted comments are categorized and grouped.
Each comment letter is given a number
Each thought or paragraph is grouped in with the appropriate category
Responses to each group or category will be in the final EIS.
Is it possible to have specific routes exempt from seasonal closure –
YES! That is possible.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) published in 2005, had 2500 miles of un-authorized trails included in it, the DIES has 1400, where did the other 1100 miles go?
The NOI was very in-complete, and had approx 900 miles of trails on Private lands within the external boundaries of TNF – and as TNF has no control over private land, those miles were discounted in the DIES. Also the NOI miles number listed some trails that were actually already part of the system, and even a country road and an un-authorized trail.
How can I comment effectively on snow closures?
Discuss different areas of closure
Discuss reasons to keep trails open (Example – there are no current blanket snow closures, and TNF doesn’t appear to be suffering greatly, therefore they are not needed.)
How can we modify the routes / roads that are currently licensed vehicles only and get them to green sticker approved?
These roads are being evaluated for safety (proverbial 7 year old on an ATV VS a passenger car at 40mph in a blind curve) – though it would be possible to get a special designation for a road – such as “Licensed vehicle only, OR Green sticker with driver having a valid drivers license”. Another idea would be “Street Legal vehicle only, OR Green sticker vehicle with seat belts (Green sticker Jeeps, Side by Side ATV’s, )”
Sierra Chapter Vice President
