The Ca 4x4 Community Is In Dire Straits

[offroadchef]

I got this email and just passing it on.........


*


THIS IS A CRUICAL TIME!!


*


PLEASE READ, ACT ON*AND PASS ON THIS INFORMATION ASAP!


El Dorado National forest will be losing over 1800 miles of trails PERMENTLY becuase of the Route Designation Project by the Forest Service.* ELDO is not only home to the Rubicon, but many other 4x4 trails and campsites.

The Forest Sevice had picked a map, "Perferred alternative D". This is the map of trails and routes they will keep open.* You must compare this to Alternative A, which is the complete inventory of trails in order to see what has been lost.* Not only could the Rubicon Trail lose EVERY spur route and by-pass, but the entire rest of the forest will lose THOUSANDS of miles and primitive campsites.* Please refer to the back page of the flyer for sample maps....

Starting July 20th, we have a 45 day public comment period to argue for these trails to be open.* This work CANNOT be left up to groups such as FOTR or BRC becuase and indiviauls input is given just as much credence as a groups.* We need a MASS response from the 4x4 community....NOW!

Here is what EVERY Club and person interested in using the forest MUST DO:

1. Have your ENTIRE club, and anyone else you can get to go, attend one of these meetings:

7/24 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Public Meeting
Draft EIS Release Placerville - Marshall Building El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA 95667.

7/25 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Public Meeting
Draft EIS Release Jackson - Civic Center, 33 Broadway, Jackson, CA 95642.

7/26 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Public Meeting
Draft EIS Release Markleeville - Turtle Rock Community Center, 17300 State Route 89, Markleeville, CA 96120.

7/31 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Public Meeting
Draft EIS Release Folsom - Lake Natomas Inn, 702 Gold Lake Drive, Folsom CA 95630.*


BAY AREA MEETING!!!
8/2 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Public Meeting
Draft EIS Release Concord - Pleasant Hill Recreation Center, 320 Civic Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.



In these meetings the FS will provide info on the Route Designation Project, and more importantly tell you HOW TO ARGUE FOR TRAILS TO REMAIN OPEN!!!

2. Pass out the flyer that I have added as an attachment to 4x4 and ATV enthusists, place them in your local 4x4 shops etc.


3. MAKE SURE that you argue for routes and trails to be open during the 45 public comment period which starts July 20th


4. PASS THIS INFO ON!!! It is imperitive that as many people know about this as possible if we want to save the future of four-wheeling!

THIS WILL HAPPEN IN EVERY NATIONAL FOREST!!! ELDO IS JUST THE FIRST!


PLEASE visit these links for more info:

The ELDO NF route des site:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/projects/route/deis/index.shtml
Route Des FAQ
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=596279

More info on Land-use
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18

If you are recieving this e-mail, it is becuase you are in a CA 4x4 club or a member of one where your e-mail was posted on the internet, if I have contacted the wrong person, I apologise. Please let me know if I should forward this to anyone else.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
KURT
KYBURZ KRAWLERZ

 

[stevenmd]

I will post this on other forums too.

 

[Clay]

Considering the actions of many of the people on the Rubicon the last time I was on it I am not surprised about this one bit. The Rubicon has had a target on it's back for a long time, it just sucks that the actions of the people that party on the Rubicon Trail will eventually close down the whole forest to vehicles. I've seen it coming for a lot of years, but this is what all of those people are asking for in reality.

Fordyce will get it in the end, too for the same reason. Too bad, so sad. If you plan on running either of these trial best do it soon, I fear.

 

[Clutch]

Sign of things to come. In the public's eye everyone is bad apple.

No more back road exploring, no more dirt biking, no more getting back to your favorite fishing hole, no more Overlanding, etc...

There was an article in one of the Arizona papers, our way of recreation is doomed. http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/192049Especially with the media clamping on to "Global Warming" and "Being Green". We are flat out @#$%ed!...doesn't matter if your vehicle runs on veggie juice or not, everything is closing down.

Now, why aren't McMansions being targeted?...hmmm...seems to me they take up way more space and cause alot more environmental impact that some trails...am I think oddly here?

 

[paulj]

There was an article in one of the Arizona papers, our way of recreation is doomed. http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/192049Especially with the media clamping on to "Global Warming" and "Being Green".

I don't see any connection in this article, or the California Forest Service action, and 'Global Warming'. The issue in the article is people driving off trails and other restricted areas. I'm sure all participants on this forum are responsible users, who wouldn't think of driving across a mountain meadow, or cross country in the desert just because their vehicle can do it. But evidently there are thousands of others who do that sort of thing.

Plus, this federal government does not believe in Global Warming.

paulj

 

[paulj]

Now, why aren't McMansions being targeted?...

I haven't seen any mansions being driven off trail. If they were, I'm sure the BLM rangers would issue a citation.

Would it be fair to ask how you voted on the pro-McMansions proposition (207)? Thankfully a similar one was rejected in Washington.

paulj

 

[Clutch]

I haven't seen any mansions being driven off trail. If they were, I'm sure the BLM rangers would issue a citation.


paulj

Sorry, I think I expect people to read in between the lines when I post. My ramblings in my head tend to hit the key board.

...anyway....that wasn't my point...vast areas of land are being plowed under, you see it, I see it. I don't see the developers being closed out of those areas. They don't even try to save the desert, they just plow it under.

Why doesn't the public reconized that? But, they'll point fingers at us. I don't condone off trail travel. What I don't understand one form of destruction is A.O.K. while another veiw as wrong doing. That was my point.

In the public's eyes ALL off roaders are bad, no matter if you practice fantastic trail etiquette or not. They want every off roader off public lands.

I mentioned "Global Warming" and being "Green", because the public are buying into those ideals, which down the road. Yes, more and more of the public will see the off road recreators as the "evil ones" ,thus wanting more land closures.

I mention McMansions, because I ride dirt bikes with guys who have grown up here. They always say, hey, I used to ride here and there...ahh, look at it now...bloody tract homes. Isn't it great!?

So why aren't the McMansions being targeted, while simple trails (which by the way has far less impact, than a couple thousand stucco huts)...are being shut down? It just confuses me, that's all.

You never see tract homes, making the paper, being shut down and being turned back into the environment, because of the destruction they cause. At least I haven't...

I am not being a ******************, just saying how I see it.

On a differnt note, Arizona is doing a trial program, so we can police ourselves. Which I think is a good thing.

http://www.azstateparks.com/partnerships/ohv/ambassadorprogram.html

 

[ZooJunkie]

Two words: Eminent Domain.

The stuff we do is recreation. No matter how much love we have for our overland adventures, it is after all an adventure. Closing trails down is easier than telling people that the 150 acres of land was mowed down for a strip mall and some houses.

 

[DaktariEd]

Eminent domain is when the government confiscates your land or property....
When the land is plowed under for tract homes, etc., it's strictly for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[ZooJunkie]

Eminent domain is when the government confiscates your land or property....
When the land is plowed under for tract homes, etc., it's strictly for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I totally agree. However, that wasn't the case locally here in San Mateo. Under the guise of eminent domain, they took about 2 square blocks of homes and demolished them to make room for an upscale apt. complex.

 

[paulj]

If the McMansions are being built on public land, they should be subject to the same constraints (or stronger) than off-trail use by vehicles, since their presence is more permanent. But if they are built on private land, there is little government can do except try to limit development through growth plans, water use controls, access control over public land. Yet it is things like those growth plans that these propositions try to thwart.

Do 4x4 clubs follow the lead of gun clubs and buy up private land, so they can use it with few restrictions? Conservation groups have also been known to buy up land to prevent further development.

paulj

 

[Clutch]

But if they are built on private land, there is little government can do ....


paulj

Yeah yeah, I know, it is real hard seeing the land being plowed under without thought of the future. If they weren't so money hungry, they could of designed the neighborhoods better. Too bad the lust fro profit wins in the end.

People have to live somewhere...I just think there is a better way of going about it.

I liked this plan in Boulder,CO seems like it is a smart way to go, even had profit restrictions.

http://wlarch.com/projects/poplar.html

Sorry for the thread hijack...me and my ramblings

 

[MountainBiker]

Back to the topic. This is a really big deal for motorized recreationists! Several of the best motorcycle singletrack trails I have ever ridden will be closed unless Option A or B are adopted. The "preferred" option D will probably make me give up riding my dual sport in the Eldo NF, I'm not exaggerating!

Even if you don't ride motorcycles, please write letters stating a preference for Option A and a tolerance of option B, if you think motorized recreation is an acceptable pasttime.

BTW, people who like to fish, hunt and climb will also be restricted to reaching their preferred destination by traveling lots of miles on foot.

 

[paulj]

New British Columbia law regarding off road recreational use, with penalties for 'mud bogging'

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2007FOR0106-000964.htm

" update the definition of environmental damage to include any change to soil that adversely alters an ecosystem."

 

[Westy]

Support

We all need to join together and support local and National coalitions that represent our recreational interests, including 4wheeling, fishing, hunting, etc. These are fighting to keep public lands OPEN...

Blue Ribbon Coalition
http://www.sharetrails.org
United 4wheel Drive Assoc.
http://www.ufwda.org/
Arizona State Assoc. 4wheel Drive
http://asa4wdc.org/