mudfanatic
1/2 ton status
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Smith [mailto
[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2000 12:10 AM
To: skid marks - posting
Subject: Skid Marks #27
SKID MARKS
ISSUE #27 November 10, 2000
Skid Marks, Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads' (usually) biweekly e-mail
newsletter, reports on activist efforts to challenge roads and motorized
recreation nationwide. Skid Marks shares instructive and precedent-setting
successes and failures in the campaign to halt motorized abuse of wildland
ecosystems.
---
CONTENTS:
1. FOREST SERVICE RELEASES FINAL PLANNING REGS
2. BLM REPORT DESCRIBES LAWLESSNESS IN CALIFORNIA DESERT
3. ELKO COUNTY REJECTS JARBRIDGE SETTLEMENT OFFER
4. JUDGE HALTS OKANOGAN ROAD REMOVAL
5. IOWA SLOW TO ESTABLISH NEW ORV RIDING PARKS
6. CARIBOU MUDFEST REPEATED
7. FOREST SERVICE USES PLANES TO STOP WILDERNESS TRESPASS
---
FOREST SERVICE RELEASES FINAL PLANNING REGS
The Forest Service yesterday released its final regulations on National
Forest planning, which constitute new guidance for implementation of the
National Forest Management Act, the federal legislation that mandates the
creation of management plans for all National Forests and Grasslands. Mike
Anderson, a forest policy expert with The Wilderness Society, commented:
"Overall, we are pleased with the new regulations. Most important, the
regulations assign first priority to ecological sustainability, protecting
and restoring the ecological values of the forest for present and future
generations." However, environmentalists expressed grave concerns over
other components of the new regulations, including the elimination of the
administrative appeals process for forest plans. "Taking away the
opportunity to appeal will make it more difficult for the public to
challenge agency decisions and is likely to result in more litigation," said
Anderson.. Skid Marks expects a wealth of summaries and analyses of the new
regulations to make their appearance in the coming weeks.
---
BLM REPORT DESCRIBES LAWLESSNESS IN CALIFORNIA DESERT
A just-released internal evaluation by the Bureau of Land Management
describes "unsafe" and at times "near riot" conditions in the BLM's
California Desert District. The Law Enforcement Special Evaluation report
found that the area is "unsafe" for the public and that agency law
enforcement personnel are at times subject to "life threatening situations."
The report, completed in February of 2000 but only now released, documents
extensive legal violations including assaults on BLM rangers, possession of
firearms and explosives, and drug-related activities. The report concurs,
for example, with a Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association letter
contending that "the public lands have become unsafe for family recreation
activity due to the use of drugs and alcohol, and the problems with
lawlessness that occur with such use."
The District spans from the Mexican border to the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Three weeks ago the BLM issued a temporary off-road vehicle ban for one part
of the District, the 48,000 acre Glamis Dunes. The BLM report can be viewed
at: www.peer.org/press/136.html.
---
ELKO COUNTY REJECTS JARBRIDGE SETTLEMENT OFFER
The Missoulianreported today that the Elko County Commissioners rejected a
settlement offer in the ongoing Jarbridge Road battle. The Justice
Department is seeking an injunction to close the South Canyon Road on the
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Jarbridge, Nevada. The move was
prompted by concerns about road impacts to the federally-listed bull trout.
The settlement agreement would have granted the county a right-of-way but
not ownership of the road, and would allow rebuilding only if an
environmental analysis concluded that it could be done without causing
environmental damage. However, the county maintains the federal government
has no jurisdiction over the road because it was established prior to the
designation of the National Forest.
---
JUDGE HALTS OKANOGAN ROAD REMOVAL
A county judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the Washington
Department of Natural Resources, temporarily halting a road removal project
in eastern Washington's Okanogan County. The Department rebuilt the Touts
Coulee Creek Road after it washed out in 1998, but was fined for failing to
follow environmental review procedures before doing so. The Spokane
Spokesman-Review (October 25) also reports that scientists and officials
conducting a Forest Practices Act review determined that the road should be
removed in order to reduce impacts to a nearby creek, but local residents
sued and camped out on the road in order to impede the removal effort. The
Department of Natural Resources promises to build a replacement road but
concedes the plan is contingent on securing adequate funding.
---
IOWA SLOW TO ESTABLISH NEW ORV RIDING PARKS
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has encountered difficulty in
finding sites for new public off-road vehicle riding areas, the November 6
issue of WILDLines reports. The Department has been seeking sites for new
ORV parks since the Iowa Legislature several years ago established an ORV
registration fee, in part to provide funding for new ORV facilities. ORVs
are currently permitted only on private property and in a few designated
public riding parks.
The state's Natural Resources Commission charged a task force of ORV clubs,
public agencies, and environmental groups with developing criteria; the
Commission adopted the resulting guidelines last June. The guidelines
include a provision encouraging the DNR to avoid areas containing viable
native plant communities, cultural resources, or critical habitat for
protected species, and to protect fragments of these communities when only
fragments remain.
---
CARIBOU MUDFEST REPEATED
Five 4WD trucks offered an encore performance of September's "Mudfest" near
Caribou, Colorado. The vehicles became stuck in the same mountain bog that
attracted an estimated 200 four-wheelers on September 23. Several of the
drivers reportedly stopped to help other drivers already stuck in the mud,
subsequently becoming stuck themselves. Although a fifth driver remains
unidentified, Boulder County law enforcement officials issued citations to
four individuals for defacing private property and trespassing.
---
FOREST SERVICE USES PLANES TO STOP WILDERNESS TRESPASS
The US Forest Service announced plans to patrol wilderness areas in the Lake
Tahoe Basin this winter with airplanes, according to a November 8 Associated
Press report. Agency officials cite the difficulty of enforcing snowmobile
bans as the impetus for the airborne patrol effort. Snowmobiles are
prohibited in designated wilderness and in Meiss Country and Freel Peak,
both formal primitive areas. Several hundred snowmobile riders are thought
to venture into the motor-free area every season. A first-time offense can
garner a $150 fine, while repeat offenders face fines of up to $5,000 and up
to six months in jail.
*********************************************
Please keep in touch with us about your roads and motorized recreation work.
Questions about Skid Marks should be directed to Jacob Smith at
[email protected]. Please send e-mail action alerts to
[email protected].
TO SUBSCRIBE
If you aren't already subscribed to Skid Marks and you would like to be,
send an email to [email protected] with the following command in the body
of your email message:
subscribe skidmarks [your email address]
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
Likewise, if you would like to remove yourself from our listserve, send an
email to [email protected] with the following command in the body of your
email message:
unsubscribe skidmarks [your email address]
Skid Marks is brought to you by the friendly road-rippers at Wildlands CPR.
Thanks for your support and all of your efforts on behalf of wild places and
imperiled species.
*********************************************
Jacob Smith, ORV Policy Coordinator
Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads (Colorado office)
P.O. Box 2353
Boulder, Colorado 80306-2353
(303) 247-0998
[email protected]
Marnie Criley, Roads Policy Coordinator
Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads (main office)
PO Box 7516
Missoula, MT 59807
406/543-9551
[email protected]
http://www.wildrockies.org/WildCPR/
<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
From: Jacob Smith [mailto
[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2000 12:10 AM
To: skid marks - posting
Subject: Skid Marks #27
SKID MARKS
ISSUE #27 November 10, 2000
Skid Marks, Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads' (usually) biweekly e-mail
newsletter, reports on activist efforts to challenge roads and motorized
recreation nationwide. Skid Marks shares instructive and precedent-setting
successes and failures in the campaign to halt motorized abuse of wildland
ecosystems.
---
CONTENTS:
1. FOREST SERVICE RELEASES FINAL PLANNING REGS
2. BLM REPORT DESCRIBES LAWLESSNESS IN CALIFORNIA DESERT
3. ELKO COUNTY REJECTS JARBRIDGE SETTLEMENT OFFER
4. JUDGE HALTS OKANOGAN ROAD REMOVAL
5. IOWA SLOW TO ESTABLISH NEW ORV RIDING PARKS
6. CARIBOU MUDFEST REPEATED
7. FOREST SERVICE USES PLANES TO STOP WILDERNESS TRESPASS
---
FOREST SERVICE RELEASES FINAL PLANNING REGS
The Forest Service yesterday released its final regulations on National
Forest planning, which constitute new guidance for implementation of the
National Forest Management Act, the federal legislation that mandates the
creation of management plans for all National Forests and Grasslands. Mike
Anderson, a forest policy expert with The Wilderness Society, commented:
"Overall, we are pleased with the new regulations. Most important, the
regulations assign first priority to ecological sustainability, protecting
and restoring the ecological values of the forest for present and future
generations." However, environmentalists expressed grave concerns over
other components of the new regulations, including the elimination of the
administrative appeals process for forest plans. "Taking away the
opportunity to appeal will make it more difficult for the public to
challenge agency decisions and is likely to result in more litigation," said
Anderson.. Skid Marks expects a wealth of summaries and analyses of the new
regulations to make their appearance in the coming weeks.
---
BLM REPORT DESCRIBES LAWLESSNESS IN CALIFORNIA DESERT
A just-released internal evaluation by the Bureau of Land Management
describes "unsafe" and at times "near riot" conditions in the BLM's
California Desert District. The Law Enforcement Special Evaluation report
found that the area is "unsafe" for the public and that agency law
enforcement personnel are at times subject to "life threatening situations."
The report, completed in February of 2000 but only now released, documents
extensive legal violations including assaults on BLM rangers, possession of
firearms and explosives, and drug-related activities. The report concurs,
for example, with a Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association letter
contending that "the public lands have become unsafe for family recreation
activity due to the use of drugs and alcohol, and the problems with
lawlessness that occur with such use."
The District spans from the Mexican border to the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Three weeks ago the BLM issued a temporary off-road vehicle ban for one part
of the District, the 48,000 acre Glamis Dunes. The BLM report can be viewed
at: www.peer.org/press/136.html.
---
ELKO COUNTY REJECTS JARBRIDGE SETTLEMENT OFFER
The Missoulianreported today that the Elko County Commissioners rejected a
settlement offer in the ongoing Jarbridge Road battle. The Justice
Department is seeking an injunction to close the South Canyon Road on the
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Jarbridge, Nevada. The move was
prompted by concerns about road impacts to the federally-listed bull trout.
The settlement agreement would have granted the county a right-of-way but
not ownership of the road, and would allow rebuilding only if an
environmental analysis concluded that it could be done without causing
environmental damage. However, the county maintains the federal government
has no jurisdiction over the road because it was established prior to the
designation of the National Forest.
---
JUDGE HALTS OKANOGAN ROAD REMOVAL
A county judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the Washington
Department of Natural Resources, temporarily halting a road removal project
in eastern Washington's Okanogan County. The Department rebuilt the Touts
Coulee Creek Road after it washed out in 1998, but was fined for failing to
follow environmental review procedures before doing so. The Spokane
Spokesman-Review (October 25) also reports that scientists and officials
conducting a Forest Practices Act review determined that the road should be
removed in order to reduce impacts to a nearby creek, but local residents
sued and camped out on the road in order to impede the removal effort. The
Department of Natural Resources promises to build a replacement road but
concedes the plan is contingent on securing adequate funding.
---
IOWA SLOW TO ESTABLISH NEW ORV RIDING PARKS
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has encountered difficulty in
finding sites for new public off-road vehicle riding areas, the November 6
issue of WILDLines reports. The Department has been seeking sites for new
ORV parks since the Iowa Legislature several years ago established an ORV
registration fee, in part to provide funding for new ORV facilities. ORVs
are currently permitted only on private property and in a few designated
public riding parks.
The state's Natural Resources Commission charged a task force of ORV clubs,
public agencies, and environmental groups with developing criteria; the
Commission adopted the resulting guidelines last June. The guidelines
include a provision encouraging the DNR to avoid areas containing viable
native plant communities, cultural resources, or critical habitat for
protected species, and to protect fragments of these communities when only
fragments remain.
---
CARIBOU MUDFEST REPEATED
Five 4WD trucks offered an encore performance of September's "Mudfest" near
Caribou, Colorado. The vehicles became stuck in the same mountain bog that
attracted an estimated 200 four-wheelers on September 23. Several of the
drivers reportedly stopped to help other drivers already stuck in the mud,
subsequently becoming stuck themselves. Although a fifth driver remains
unidentified, Boulder County law enforcement officials issued citations to
four individuals for defacing private property and trespassing.
---
FOREST SERVICE USES PLANES TO STOP WILDERNESS TRESPASS
The US Forest Service announced plans to patrol wilderness areas in the Lake
Tahoe Basin this winter with airplanes, according to a November 8 Associated
Press report. Agency officials cite the difficulty of enforcing snowmobile
bans as the impetus for the airborne patrol effort. Snowmobiles are
prohibited in designated wilderness and in Meiss Country and Freel Peak,
both formal primitive areas. Several hundred snowmobile riders are thought
to venture into the motor-free area every season. A first-time offense can
garner a $150 fine, while repeat offenders face fines of up to $5,000 and up
to six months in jail.
*********************************************
Please keep in touch with us about your roads and motorized recreation work.
Questions about Skid Marks should be directed to Jacob Smith at
[email protected]. Please send e-mail action alerts to
[email protected].
TO SUBSCRIBE
If you aren't already subscribed to Skid Marks and you would like to be,
send an email to [email protected] with the following command in the body
of your email message:
subscribe skidmarks [your email address]
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
Likewise, if you would like to remove yourself from our listserve, send an
email to [email protected] with the following command in the body of your
email message:
unsubscribe skidmarks [your email address]
Skid Marks is brought to you by the friendly road-rippers at Wildlands CPR.
Thanks for your support and all of your efforts on behalf of wild places and
imperiled species.
*********************************************
Jacob Smith, ORV Policy Coordinator
Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads (Colorado office)
P.O. Box 2353
Boulder, Colorado 80306-2353
(303) 247-0998
[email protected]
Marnie Criley, Roads Policy Coordinator
Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads (main office)
PO Box 7516
Missoula, MT 59807
406/543-9551
[email protected]
http://www.wildrockies.org/WildCPR/
<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
