This sucks. . .


http://www.fs.usda.g...STELPRDB5362068

Court Order Prohibits Motorized Vehicle Travel on 42 Popular OHV Routes
Release Date: Apr 4, 2012   Placerville, CA
Contact(s): Frank Mosbacher

Forty-two off-highway-vehicle routes that cross meadows in the Eldorado National Forest may be closed to motor vehicle travel this recreation season while the Forest Service completes an environmental analysis, announced Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Kathy Hardy.
The potential travel prohibitions are the result of a February 2012 court order by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton. The order said the Forest Service failed to comply with the National Forest Management Act in 2008 when it designated “open for public motor vehicle use” portions of 42 routes that cross meadows. Judge Karlton ordered the Forest Service to “set aside” the decision that designated these segments as open and to reconsider the decision.
A final court order with further direction to the Forest Service is pending. In the interim, Karlton ordered the 42 routes remain closed to motorized public use. The final order will identify specifically where travel will be prohibited until a new environmental decision is made.
“I know that prohibiting travel on these routes will be a big disappointment to forest visitors, but we have to be responsive to the order.” said Hardy. “I have a team of people lined up to complete a supplemental environmental impact statement as quickly as possible.”
The SEIS is scheduled to begin in April or May 2012 and to be completed by April 2013.
Hardy says many popular high county routes may be affected by the closure. Some of these routes include: Barrett Lake Jeep Trail; Squaw Ridge Four Wheel Drive Trail; Clover Valley/ Deer Valley Trail; Strawberry Four Wheel Drive Trail; Carson Emigrant Trail; Allen’s Camp Motorcycle Trail and the Bucks Pasture Motorcycle Trail. The Rubicon 4wd Trail is not affected by this court order.
 Maps and a complete list of the routes affected by the court order will be posted on the Eldorado National Forest website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado. These maps will be modified to reflect the final court order once it is received. A free-of-charge motor vehicle use map that shows the routes that are open to wheeled motor vehicle use will be available at all Eldorado National Forest offices in June 2012 reflecting the final order.
“I intend to close the routes where it makes sense to do so if the final order prohibits travel on routes that cross meadows,” said Hardy. “A route may be closed near a meadow or some distance away depending on how difficult it is to turn a vehicle around.”
Some routes will also be closed indirectly because they branch off closed routes and will not be accessible.

closing it to Johnny Public so the scofflaws can have more territory...and Johnny Public can fund the chasing around in the hills of said scofflaws

Meadows aren't affected either way, they grow back

Edited by Slackkinhard, 04 April 2012 - 09:51 PM.

"I intend to close the routes where it makes sense..." I see no sense in closing any off road areas ever. I don't ride these places but it's still gay.

Edited by 2SiX, 05 April 2012 - 06:15 AM.

I use these trails as well as moto trails. If we don't band together, we are going to lose everything. The greenies will be trying to close the riding trails next.

The greenies took away 2/3rds of our local riding trails in 2004. Prior to then, you could ride out my driveway and access hundreds of miles of National Forest singletrack.  Not now and it all started with a "temporary closure" just like this one.  Your absolutly right. . . They will be taking out motorcycle trails next and just did.  All these routes are OHV. . . Which includes us.  Some of the trails in the order were "motorcycle only" trails. . .

If your not involved now. . . . You need to find a way to get involved or it will all go away. . .

Sent to all of our local (Calaveras/Tuolumne County) newspapers/news web sites. . .

This should be of interest to us all. The Deer Valley Trail connecting Hermit Valley to Blue Lakes (Hwy 88 area) has been closed for a minimum of 1 year by court order. *The general feeling among pro-access users is the closure will become permenant. *This is yet another blow to our local economy as the popular off-highway road attracts many users to the area. *These users will no longer purchase goods or services, stay in hotels or plan vacations in the Hwy 4 corridor. *We have already experienced a significant loss of tourism due to the USFS winter closure of OUR national forest and now our summer tourism will be affected. *

http://www.fs.usda.g...STELPRDB5362068

Please cover this developing story as it affects our local economy, our way of life and our childrens ability to enjoy the wilderness in our own backyard. *Donations to help fight the permenant closure and develop long-term solutions for muli-use access to our National Forests can be sent to The BlueRibbon Coalition.

Thank you for your consideration

Edited by Wheelin4, 05 April 2012 - 06:38 AM.

Certainly not "big time" coverage but  it's a start.  One of these trails (Blue Lakes) is very local to our community and the closure will have an economic impact on our town (as has the current winter closure).

http://thepinetree.n...ew&ANN_id=29682

I guess what I meant to say they want to take all of what we have left. How many of these so called environmentalist's  do you think actually go out into the woods?

"Play by the rules and we will be left alone..."

That worked out just fine - didn't it!

All these trails are in my back yard - I ride them all the time in the summer.
This is the biggest bunch of crap since the inventory process.

They have been trying to get Deer Valley closed for years - I don't think that one will re-open after all this.

The Strawberry 4wd trail - really?
I can take mt Dodge across that.
Bucks Pasture - one of teh best trails ever.

Screw it - I ride.
I don't care what all you play by the rules we will be OK guys say - IT DIDN'T WORK!!!

Here's the list:

Cosumnes Head
Dear Valley 4WD
Pardoes 4WD
Leoni
Leek Spring Valley
Stockton Camp
Mud Lake 4WD
blue lake to meadow lake
Upper West Panther
Prothro Headwater
Jerre
Richardson Lake 4WD
Bunker Meadow
Mckinstry Lake
Dry Lakes
West Robbs Peak
Crystal Shortcut
47 milestone
Mcmanus
?
North Shanty Spur
Strawberry Creek
Bryan Creek
Upper Long Canyon
Rocky Road
Middle Long Canyon
Jim Quin Spring
South Beanville Creek
Scoits Creek
Long Canyon 4WD
Mule Canyon
Schneider Camp 4WD
Pebble Ridgw
Devils Gate Summer Home
woods lake?
motorcycle trail strawberry to Lovers leap
motorcycle trail behind little round top
Buck meadows motorcycle trail
motorcycle trail out of Allen camp
motorcycle trail north of Silver Lake
Mud lake trail
motorcycle trail south of mud lake

I say we try to get the pacific crest trail closed to environmental concerns,erosion caused by human foot traffic,see how the sierra club commies like that.They're not green,they're red.At least bikes are harder to catch......hmm..camo backgrounds

Edited by d1rider, 05 April 2012 - 08:12 AM.

ElDorado650, on 05 April 2012 - 07:47 AM, said:

That list includes almost every worthwhile high Sierra trail in the ENF that wasn't already closed in the Travel Management process.

This gives further meaning to "TREAD LIGHTLY" for me this summer.

Edited by OldeDude, 05 April 2012 - 08:28 AM.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.


Replace above with "motorcycles", "boats", "fishing", "hiking", etc.

I want to know what a scofflaw is  --  and if I am one.  

I feel for you guys.  Although I'm not in that area, you have my solidarity.  And of course my advice.....

Ride em anyway!!!


Playing by THEIR rules with THEIR stacked deck will leave you bankrupt.  When you're dealing with back room criminal deals and inside political agenda's, there is only ONE way forward - civil disobedience.  

So Cal deserts are at the leading edge of the closures but it will happen in Nor Cal, also.  Nevada is close behind.

I have no ideas how to prevent the eradication of single track.  Obviously, going along with the program doesn't work.

I have a director at work, big lib,  that I really get along with and we were talking about my new love of riding dirt bikes and he said, "I was out your way one time and did a big loop on my bike(street bicycle). I passed by Carnegie and, I don't know dude...even I was really struck by how unsightly it was to have trails all over that land."

He is an avid skiier so I asked him if he has ever seen a ski resort in the summer? Ski resorts are large amounts of acreage with enormous paths cut, blown and stripped into the ground for personal recreation. Ski resorts dynamite large chuncks of "pristine mountaintops" all the time to make way for terrain parks. If an OHV did that.......whoa boy!

He agreed to the point timidly, but what it comes down to.......we use engines.

But if he doesn't think it will start with motorcycles, then move to boats, snowmobiles....then to mountain bikes, hikes, fishing, skiing. I think he is not thinking it through.

First they came for the.....

Bill_P, on 05 April 2012 - 08:36 AM, said:

Scofflaw - "I scoff at your law, braaaaaap"

I'm too old to listen anymore...turned 40 and I'm on the down slope. I'll be derned if I wanna ride somewhere and somebody tells me I can't. Catch me if ya can, I can pay the ticket. No big deal.

/\/\/\ You should ask him if it's really that big of a deal that we only have 1500 acres surrounded by 10s of thousand of acres that are not ridden on. What about the thousand miles of hiking trails all over the Bay area. Is 1500 acres really that big of a deal. Probably half of that 1500 acres is closed off anyway.
I swear to God every time I go there I see more stuff closed off for rehab. Its a damn motorcycle park. Along with an army of rangers that are pissed that they have been put in Purgetory instead of some nice county park.

When reading through all of this about the trail closures, please realize that the Eldorado NF had designated these routes as OPEN.  It is the law suit by  CENTER FOR SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVATION that is closing them down.  The Eldorado NF is suggesting that it will take them about a year to do the needed environmental reports and trail corrections to get them reopened.
The Eldorado NF is on our side in this case!
The original law suit called for closure of all of the routes in the Eldorado NF that did not have a full EIS done on them.  The judge ruled that only those routes specified in the law suit would be considered.
  Part of Judge Karltons ruling:

2. The Forest Service is directed to submit a proposed order that will set aside only that portion of its decision that designates the 42 roads to the degree they go through meadows, and not affecting the sections of those same roads that do not go through meadows, unless they cannot otherwise be reached.

Ride on
Brewster
CERA...LAO

Edited by brewster, 05 April 2012 - 10:36 AM.

cag33, on 05 April 2012 - 06:27 AM, said:

Remember when you vote, greenies are democrats.