http://www.cyclenews.com/urgent5.asp

for all you lazy fawks that can't click on the link above :D


ROADLESS RULE ALLOWS FOR MANAGED OHV USE
POCATELLO, ID -- An initial review of the Forest Service's Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) by an outdoor recreation group shows that the proposal will apparently allow for managed use of off-highway vehicles (OHV) on existing travelways located in roadless areas.

The FEIS also appears to have shied away from an unpopular concept of roads and trails that are "closed unless posted open." According to the Forest Service rule, this idea forwarded by many preservationist groups was not developed by the agency because "the limited data on off-highway vehicle uses in inventoried roadless areas have not demonstrated that this activity poses widespread or disproportionate risks of altering natural landscapes to the same extent as roads and timber harvesting."

According to Don Amador, the western representative for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, "I'm glad to see that the Forest Service has apparently recognized that managed OHV use can occur on recreational roads and trails that exist in roadless' areas."

"This rule also intimates that various trail maintenance activities will be allowed in the inventoried roadless areas. I hope that the finial rule published in 30 days will reflect this apparent commitment to multiple-use recreationists and protecting the trail system," Amador said.

"Although the final collective impacts of the Planning Rule, the Roadless Rule, and the Road Rule to OHV users have yet to be analyzed, I am glad to see that the Forest Service did listen to the concerns of many thousands of off-roaders, snowmobiliers, and four-wheel drive enthusiasts," Amador continued.

"The one glaring deficiency of the roadless rule is that it does not adequately address, nor provide remedies for, the growing potential for catastrophic wildfires and the effects of those events on existing recreational systems and programs. Some of the worst fires this year in California occurred in the Wilderness (roadless) areas of the Sequoia National Forest," Amador concludes.
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The Blue Ribbon Coalition is a national recreation group that advocates responsible multiple-use of public lands. It represents over 750 businesses and organizations with 600,000 members.


:usa:

thanks Peter for some reason i couldnt cut or copy it so i cut and copied the link

Well I gotta disagree with Blue Ribbion on this one. The problem I found with both the DEIS and the FEIS is that they didn't address the issue of converting open roadways to trails. The plans allow "Trail" usage, but prohibit "Road" rebuilding and reconstruction. Therefore unless an offroad trail is designated as such it cannot be maintained and thus will be eventually closed as conditons get extremely bad. If in future planning sessions, those roads are changed to "roads maintained as trails" they can stay open. Neither EIS addressed how these roads were to be considered for use as trails or ever addressed the issue beyond saying that "roads maintained as trails" were OK and other "roads" weren't.

Robert