BlackDiamondBound
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There were 42 beautiful trails that were closed last year in el dorado national forest such as Deer Valley Trail, and Strawberry Pass. Local groups have been fighting to keep these trails open, and today is the last day to get your comments in. You can get send them in here: http://cal4wheel.com/action-center
It can be short and sweet, as long as they hear our voices.
below is a post from a local forum with more information.
“We hope the Eldorado is finally moving toward defensible authorization of historical access on these treasured high elevation trails,” said Don Amador, BlueRibbon Coalition Western Representative. Pro-recreation intervenors including the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, California Enduro Riders Association, American Motorcyclist Association District 36, and BlueRibbon Coalition have participated in all aspects of the planning process and earlier litigation starting back in 2002.
The groups were generally pleased with the May, 2011 decision of the federal court for the Eastern District of California that rejected the majority of challenges brought against the Forest by preservationist groups lead by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation.
As part of that decision, the court remanded analysis of 42 routes to the Forest which the court found bisected “meadows” as defined by the Forest Plan and therefore required further analysis. The initial proposed action in the Forest’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“SEIS”) would restore access to the vast majority of the 42 routes. However, the recently-released revised SEIS contains a “preferred alternative” which would designate a smaller portion of the routes for initial use and conditionally designate some of the routes for vehicle travel, based on the finding that specified trail maintenance or mitigation projects must be completed before the public can resume vehicle travel.
“We believe conditional designation is an appropriate and potentially valid travel management tool. It has been used successfully on the Sierra and Inyo National Forest’s to reopen important routes. We are concerned that this will be perceived a step backwards by the Eldorado. We are committed to working with the Forest and other partners such as the California OHV Division to ensure that the specified actions are expeditiously completed and travel restored on these iconic routes,” noted Jim Bramham, Northern Resources Consultant for the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs.
“We appreciate the challenges the Forest faces, particularly in light of recent legal developments. However, it is essential the Forest return here to basic tenets of active and effective recreation management,” concluded Amador.
View the list of routes and maps: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=STELPRDB5362046
It can be short and sweet, as long as they hear our voices.
below is a post from a local forum with more information.
“We hope the Eldorado is finally moving toward defensible authorization of historical access on these treasured high elevation trails,” said Don Amador, BlueRibbon Coalition Western Representative. Pro-recreation intervenors including the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, California Enduro Riders Association, American Motorcyclist Association District 36, and BlueRibbon Coalition have participated in all aspects of the planning process and earlier litigation starting back in 2002.
The groups were generally pleased with the May, 2011 decision of the federal court for the Eastern District of California that rejected the majority of challenges brought against the Forest by preservationist groups lead by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation.
As part of that decision, the court remanded analysis of 42 routes to the Forest which the court found bisected “meadows” as defined by the Forest Plan and therefore required further analysis. The initial proposed action in the Forest’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“SEIS”) would restore access to the vast majority of the 42 routes. However, the recently-released revised SEIS contains a “preferred alternative” which would designate a smaller portion of the routes for initial use and conditionally designate some of the routes for vehicle travel, based on the finding that specified trail maintenance or mitigation projects must be completed before the public can resume vehicle travel.
“We believe conditional designation is an appropriate and potentially valid travel management tool. It has been used successfully on the Sierra and Inyo National Forest’s to reopen important routes. We are concerned that this will be perceived a step backwards by the Eldorado. We are committed to working with the Forest and other partners such as the California OHV Division to ensure that the specified actions are expeditiously completed and travel restored on these iconic routes,” noted Jim Bramham, Northern Resources Consultant for the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs.
“We appreciate the challenges the Forest faces, particularly in light of recent legal developments. However, it is essential the Forest return here to basic tenets of active and effective recreation management,” concluded Amador.
View the list of routes and maps: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/home/?cid=STELPRDB5362046
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