Eldorado National Forest closures

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kurtuleas
Posts: 166
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 10:34 am
Location: Disco-Bay CA
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Eldorado National Forest closures

Post by kurtuleas »

THE ISSUE:

In 1997 Eldorado National Forest (Home to the Rubicon trail) under went "Route Designation" meaning that like ALL public lands, they designated which routes would be open to the public and which would be CLOSED.

Most of the 4x4 trails were left alone, but over 1,200 miles of routes were closed. The Rubicon was only slightly effected becuase it is a county road... (However, many spur routes were lost, as was the ability to drive off trail into campsites)

This past year, the Anti-OHV folks SUED the forest service over 42 routes that were left on the maps saying the FS should close them because of meadows and water crossings. The MAIN problem with this is that the 42 routes were HANDPICKED by the Anti's because they make up the majority of all the other 4x4 routes in the forest. (Barrett Lake Jeep trail, Strawberry jeep trail, Deer valley Jeep trail etc.)

This past spring, a Judge ordered ALL of the 42 routes CLOSED until the FS could go back and look at them again..


The Eldo forest service JUST released their "Preferred Option" which would open up 40 of the 42 closed routes next summer. :-bd THIS IS A MAJOR WIN FOR US!

However... the Anti-OHV crowd is still fighting to keep them closed...


WHAT YOU CAN DO

Using the info below, please either send an e-mail, or if you are local go to one of the Forest Service Meeting.


MORE INFO:

ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST UPDATE
Eldorado NF Releases Preliminary EA On Re-opening Routes Closed via Court Order
The Eldorado National Forest has began an environmental analysis that will determine whether portions of 42 travel routes that were closed by court order will be re-opened to public wheeled motor vehicle use. The Forest Supervisor's decision is expected in July 2013.

The portions of the forty-two routes that are affected have been closed to public motorized use by court order since July 2012. This analysis will be limited to addressing the 42 routes in the judge's order as they pertain to meadows and Standard and Guideline 100 of the ENF LRMP, as amended by the SNFPA.

As a first step in preparing the Travel Management Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (TM SEIS), the Forest Service has prepared a Proposed Action, which serves as a point from which to begin a dialog with the public about the routes. The proposed action, maps and other SEIS information are posted on the Eldorado National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/ ... RDB5362046.

Three public open houses are scheduled for people to meet with the Forest Supervisor and other Forest Service employees. The drop-in opportunities will be hosted on October 22 from 4-7 p.m. at Turtle Rock Community Center in Markleeville, on October 25 from 3-8 p.m. at the Placerville Inn in Placerville and on October 29 from 3- 8 p.m. at the Civic Center in Jackson.

If you have issues (points of dispute, debate or disagreement regarding potential effects of the Proposed Action) or suggestions on how issues might be resolved, please send these in writing to "Kathryn D. Hardy, Forest Supervisor; Eldorado National Forest Supervisor's Office; 100 Forni Road; Placerville, CA 15667; attn.: Travel Management SEIS" on or before November 7, 2012. Comments on the proposed action may also be sent electronically to comments-pacificsouthwest-eldorado@fs.fed.us.
If you have any questions about this proposal, you may contact Diana Erickson at (530) 622-5061.
CRAWL MAGAZINE
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