FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/9/08

Contact:

Jacquelyne Theisen

theisen@starstream.net



Friends of Greenhorn

friends-of-greenhorn@googlegroups.com

http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-greenhorn



Local Recreation Group Says Land Use Planning Must Be An Open Process


FOLSOM, CA - A Nevada County Recreation group is concerned that closure directives were crafted in a recent secret meeting between the Bureau of Land Management Folsom Field Office, the Tahoe National Forest, Nevada County Sheriffs Office, and Hansen Brothers Enterprises (HBE). The Friends of Greenhorn (FOG) believes Orson Hansen provided a letter to the Nevada County Sheriffs office requesting assistance in keeping recreationists out of the Greenhorn Creek OHV area.



A stipulation in the Mining Permit HBE holds at the pleasure of Nevada County clearly states HBE must provide access for “lawful recreation”.



It appears that FOG was purposefully excluded from any meaningful participation by the aforementioned agencies and businesses on how to manage recreational access in the affected area



“Our group has strong concerns about how decisions are being made in an apparent vacuum by land management agencies, county government, and local businesses.” said Jacquelyne Theisen, Friends of Greenhorn Member and spokesperson for the group. “We’ve put over 250 volunteer work hours into the area last year alone. I believe the recreation community deserves better treatment and a seat at the table.”



“In the beginning they have appeared to have a willingness to work with us and other stakeholders to come up with solutions to some of the issues that occasionally crop up in the creek bed”, Theisen goes on to say “Sadly e-mails sent to BLM Folsom Field Office Director Bill Haigh go unanswered and our issues are ignored. I suppose it’s time for us to demand a response.”



Confirmed with a Nevada County Sheriffs Office representative, the Greenhorn area is still legally accessible from Buckeye Road. “I encourage people to get down there and keep recreating!!” said Theisen. “Until there is an (obviously predetermined) closure order, and a Record of Decision is filed on Tahoe National Forests Travel Management process, this area will remain open for another couple of years. If you don’t use it, you will definitely lose it.”



FOG believes that users should unite with local government officials and other stakeholders to petition the BLM to start a plan amendment process, which could allow for legal OHV use in the areas now closed. FOG believes this is the best track to take but the group wants to reserve the right to investigate other options if the petition process fails



FOG is encouraging everyone who recreates in the Greenhorn area to speak up and speak up now. Write to Congressman Doolittle, State Senators Sam Aanestad and Dave Cox, Assembly members Ted Gains, Dick LaMalfa and Rick Keene, Nevada County Supervisors, BLM FFO Director Bill Haigh, Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn, and Hansen Brothers Enterprise’s owner Orson Hansen. Let them know you want open meetings and dialogue. Tell them how your family recreates in the area, and how long your family has recreated in the area. Let them also know how you use the area, panning, rock hounding, OHV, ATV, 4WD, SUV, Motorcycle, camping, touring etc.”







For information friends-of-greenhorn@googlegroups.com or contact
http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-greenhorn




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I knew Hansen's would try screwing us sooner or later.

Anyone hear about wildfires down in Greenhorn from a lightning strike? One of my CDF friends said he fought a fire down in Greenhorn while i was up north fighting the Lime Complex.

Well, as far as I can tell, they are. But we still have some fight left in us, right?

The Tahoe side is still open from Buckeye. Spread the word.

I'm hoping everyone will write letters and make some phone calls.

I'll post up email addresses in a bit.

I will write a letter. I have wheeled Greenhorn 3 times when i was stationed at Beale AFB (I owe a dent in my tub to that place).

Do you have the e-mail addresses to send the letters to?

Here they are:

Supervisor Owens ted.owens@co.nevada.ca
Supervisor Horn sue.horne@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Beeson nate.beason@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Sutherland robin.sutherland@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Spencer john.spencer@co.nevada.ca.us
Congressman John Doolittle doolittle@mail.house.gov
State Senator Dave Cox senator.cox@sen.ca.gov
State Senator Sam Aanestad Senator.Aanestad@sen.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Rick Keene Assemblymember.Keene@assembly.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Doug La Malfa Assemblymember.lamalfa@assembly.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Ted Gaines Assemblymember.Gaines@assembly.ca.gov

Ya BeBe I went up to try to play, we find out almost the hard way that the area was closed, atleast that was said to us my the local sheriff anyanys, that really sucks!!!

Well, the area upstream on the Tahoe is still open, you just need to access it from Buckeye.

:mad:

Dear (Elected Official)

I am writing to bring your attention to something that is of great importance to my family and myself. We live in Northern California, and spend more than a couple of weekends a year recreating in the Greenhorn Creek OHV Area. We have been riding in this area for over 15 years, and have had many great family experiences there.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has closed their OHV trails in the area in a Land Use Planning Process that did not include OHV groups in the process. Currently an appeal has been filed, asserting that not one OHV group was notified, or participated in the process.

Hansen Brothers Enterprises (HBE), a locally owned mining outfit, which operates a gravel plant downstream of the Greenhorn Creek OHV area has at the behest of both the Tahoe National Forest and BLM, begun putting up no trespassing signs (and asking the Nevada County Sheriffs Department to begin enforcement) in the OHV area without notifying the public, and violating their land use permit which requires HBE to “Provide Access for Lawful Recreation” under the Navigable Waterways rule.

Tahoe National Forest (TNF) has already met with the above-mentioned businesses and announced their plan to close their portion of the area, even though the appropriate NEPA process has not been released for public comment. The TNF Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement has yet to be released at the time of this letter.

Clearly, OHV recreationists are being targeted by the BLM and the National Forest Service. The Greenhorn Creek OHV area has being utilized under both Federal Statute, State Statute and County Permit. Because of the hyperfocus on OHV use of public lands, we are losing thousands of miles of trails across the the West.

Please direct the BLM and NFS to not only involve the public in their processes, but also stop making de-facto wildernesses out of areas by closing down every trail in the area. All we have in the entire BLM Folsom District (9 counties) is 74.0 miles of “County Roads”.

In addition, I would request that you hold firm against any legislation that would reduce public access to public lands, I would like to see you propose legislation that would or support OHV access to Public Lands, and the appropriate management and collaboration required for successful protection of our resources and our liberty.

Thank you for allowing me to bring this urgent and controversial matter to your attention. A reply providing a clear understanding of your position on public access to public lands for OHV use would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely yours,
Your Name


Here a sample letter of the issues. Use all of them, some of them, or include some of your own. Please try to keep the tone and format however, (I've been doing some research on effective activism and letter writing :p )

Thanks all,

Bebe

Here they are:

Supervisor Owens ted.owens@co.nevada.ca
Supervisor Horn sue.horne@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Beeson nate.beason@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Sutherland robin.sutherland@co.nevada.ca.us
Supervisor Spencer john.spencer@co.nevada.ca.us
Congressman John Doolittle doolittle@mail.house.gov
State Senator Dave Cox senator.cox@sen.ca.gov
State Senator Sam Aanestad Senator.Aanestad@sen.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Rick Keene Assemblymember.Keene@assembly.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Doug La Malfa Assemblymember.lamalfa@assembly.ca.gov
State Assemblyman Ted Gaines Assemblymember.Gaines@assembly.ca.gov

I'll email and try and help out, but i think i'm done collecting parts for a buildup. There's not much point anymore it seems, once i'm done i will have no where to go anyways. How did we end up with BLM and forest people that want to close the forest? And how do we give their job to someone on our side?

I will always believe the tides will turn one day.

I'm not giving up.:D

I'll email and try and help out, but i think i'm done collecting parts for a buildup. There's not much point anymore it seems, once i'm done i will have no where to go anyways. How did we end up with BLM and forest people that want to close the forest? And how do we give their job to someone on our side?

The ease at which people can now travel the trails due to the advances made in suspension and tire technology has allowed thousands of people to hit the trails that wouldn't have even bothered before. This has lead to a larger percentage of idiots whose only desire is to tear things up, as well as a lot more people who feel it is not manly to stack rocks or use a winch, so they dig in at an obstacle until they gain traction or break. As a result the trails are are being torn up from these morons as well as all of the extra traffic on the trails has lead to increased human waste contaminating the area and water ways.

We can't give their jobs to someone on our side, because a lot of them are on our side, they are just trying to balance the two sides, unfortunately the wheeling community isn't as politically organized as the tree huggers, and we don't have the money like the business interests due. Right now our industry's interest is scattered all over the map, those in one area are basically only considered w/their particular favorite place, the business side is only considered with selling products, there isn't any cohesive plan, not even between the larger groups like the BRC, SEMA, CA4WD, etc., everyone is working their own little battle, which is highly ineffective. What is needed is to bring everyone under one big organization, w/one name, that means the same thing all over the the nation and is recognizable at all levels of gov., something along the lines of the NRA.

The ease at which people can now travel the trails due to the advances made in suspension and tire technology has allowed thousands of people to hit the trails that wouldn't have even bothered before. This has lead to a larger percentage of idiots whose only desire is to tear things up, as well as a lot more people who feel it is not manly to stack rocks or use a winch, so they dig in at an obstacle until they gain traction or break. As a result the trails are are being torn up from these morons as well as all of the extra traffic on the trails has lead to increased human waste contaminating the area and water ways.

We can't give their jobs to someone on our side, because a lot of them are on our side, they are just trying to balance the two sides, unfortunately the wheeling community isn't as politically organized as the tree huggers, and we don't have the money like the business interests due. Right now our industry's interest is scattered all over the map, those in one area are basically only considered w/their particular favorite place, the business side is only considered with selling products, there isn't any cohesive plan, not even between the larger groups like the BRC, SEMA, CA4WD, etc., everyone is working their own little battle, which is highly ineffective. What is needed is to bring everyone under one big organization, w/one name, that means the same thing all over the the nation and is recognizable at all levels of gov., something along the lines of the NRA.

You'd figure these larger groups would share information...

it's kind of an irony that there are billions of dollars in the offroad market, yet the minority of citizens are able to rally to close land.

the real problem here is morons tearing the land apart.

I went camping at Gold Lake last weekend and I can personally tell you that I reported a couple of idiots to the USFS when he came through for developing their own road and driving right over the bushes to park at their camp. It is stuff like that that boils my blood and hurts us all and it isn't that the other side is more organized, it's that many people are abusing the land.

what it is really time for is standing up and taking back our land by reporting those that abuse it.

Not Greenhorn, But BLM related......

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming out of the Forks of the Butte yesterday with Yacker when we passed 3 BLM rigs going in....

They claimed they were going to close the gates and bring in a dozer to put a ditch across the road....

There goes a good swimming hole...

And

another trail closed!