chasinternet
03-03-2009, 05:20 AM
This is the possibly the longest post ever done. :shaking:
You want to learn a little about how/why we are being trail jacked - read on.
Trails, no more than that, a way of life for some is under threat of getting flushed. I have gone through a lot of emotions over the past year or so. Bad times for anyone with a civil liberty bent.
Ecclesiastes says "increasing knowledge results in increasing pain" and I have always found that to be true. There is beauty in simple things.
I have looked into what is going on and I wish it was as "simple" as being about erosion, fish, and lack of trail maintenance. At least those things are fixable. No one wants to believe reason is being abandoned, compromise has little chance, and the Romans have come to town.
I'm just an individual out here in California. I'm not a land use guru. Other people here have spent years doing land use. I'm just shooting my big mouth off about my observations of a small piece of a complex problem. Who asked me but :flipoff2:
Thousands of miles of roads are in process of being closed in areas I drive. Many are old mine roads that have been driven since the invention of the automobile. Some even have street names on maps. Even the Rubicon Trail is under siege.
How did this happen? That would take a book no doubt but let's look at a little piece.
I'll use California but I have no doubt if I took the time to search for Forest Service documents in the Tellico area I'd find them there to.
California is Forest Service region 5 - known as the Pacific Southwest Region.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/spotlight/motorvehicletravel.php
"Motor Vehicle Travel on National Forests in California
Marlene Finley, Regional Director for Recreation, Wilderness and Heritage
The use of motor vehicles, particularly off–highway vehicles, is one of the fastest growing forms of outdoor recreation on National Forest land in California. This use — and its effects — has largely gone unmanaged until now.
Motor–vehicle recreation needs to be balanced with the many different uses of our National Forests, as well as ensure the protection of the land, wildlife and other recreational visitors. A new federal travel management rule provides the framework for management on public lands of off–highway vehicles, including ATVs and trail bikes. We have changed motorized recreation on hundreds of thousands of acres by eliminating unauthorized routes used by off–highway vehicles, and by this spring, we will be managing this use on nearly 14 million acres, by restricting use to designated roads and trails.
We recognize that this rule will change the way some people access and experience their National Forests. Our goal is to provide opportunities for public enjoyment and protection of natural and cultural resources. For example, we close roads in the winter to reduce sedimentation and maintain water quality, which leads to healthier fish populations......"
This "Marlene Finley" statement was posted January 2009 but some of it is a "copy and paste" from mid 2008 statements by other FS officials.
So what is this "new federal travel management rule"? http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/final.pdf
Under the federal Travel Management Rule, they have to identify the minimum number of roads needed to manage the forest and provide public access. You can read in the document what "objective of minimizing" really is and different ways to interpret it.
From the Finley statement we learn that the national directive in the Forest Service is to eliminate "unauthorized routes" and close authorized roads in the winter. As a matter of fact - what makes a road "unmanaged" appears to be it is unclosed, and "a managed road is a closed road" at least some of the time.
We need to also understand that if there are fish anywhere in the watershed - there will be winter closures because (as far as the Forest Service is concerned) it is beyond question that the fish need closures. Forget any scientific data you have to the contrary - the bureaucracy has decided and it will be a rare FS manager that is going to defy it.
So, we need to understand what "unauthorized roads" are. Hopefully something to do with those evil people that drive cross-country and off established trails?
Back to the FS web site
“Unauthorized road or trail: A road or trail that is not a forest road or trail or a temporary road or trail and that is not included in a forest transportation atlas”
“Designated road, trail, or area: " A National Forest System road, a National Forest System trail, or an area on National Forest System lands that is designated for motor vehicle use pursuant to §212.51 on a motor vehicle use map."
The Motor Vehicle Use Map - cool getting closer to the answer, I'm still on board with stopping those nasty unauthorized roads.
Oh wait - the MVUM is in process. So how are they figuring that out anyway? Well, rather than post pages of regulations and links - remember all those road inventories you probably read some blurb about over the past few years? Well that information is taken and then the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) identifies what is authorized and what is not. If a road is not inventoried it is deemed an illegal road.
Well... the DEIS is written by Forest Service and they say what they wish to be authorized. The DEIS gives alternatives but it is up to the FS - they don't have to follow public input. DEIS is what is being generated now in many areas across the USA.
So you discover the term "unauthorized roads" has absolutely nothing to do with anything but what the FS decides. Remember above - the FS decided "management" means closure. So everything is closed unless there is a reason to keep it open and then there is "minimized" opening.
Roads that been used since the beginnings of motorized vehicles get called "unauthorized" and are presented in press releases as clamping down on those bad ole OHV people. I have seen environmental group propaganda brochures with pictures of "illegal roads" caused by OHV, however, I no longer scratch my head trying to understand how a mine road I recognize as being over 125 years old became a propaganda piece for illegal roads.
So ... you want trails open and expect the various 4X4 groups to keep them open. What are the odds that a Forest Service person, especially if they went to our modern university system taking courses in things like environmental sociology and the radical environmental movement, is going to defy federal directives that want roads inventoried and closed/minimized? Would your best friend really put their job on the line just for your recreation?
I'm giving you an idea of what the 4X4 groups are up against. Wrist slashing, forget it, go hide under the bed, depressing yet? So why do anything? Why not just give up?
Bureaucratic systems change all the time. Today's edict and directive are tomorrow's despised activity. A professional poker player doesn't always mind a game of cheaters - they stay in the game and take advantage of it. A good player knows they can still win if they learn the cheaters system - and if one other player is willing to help - then you clean up. But you have to stay in the game because you either keep your skills up and look for opportunities - or go home broke and cry in your beer.
This is a nasty time. Its a rigged game. You should get behind the land use people and support them as they go to the meetings, make presentations, and take their best shot at keeping some things open. These are great times to learn about land use and become involved because mistakes probably don't matter as much because even the pros are going to get burned right now. If the land use people were not already there it would of been game over months ago with little chance of getting anything back open.
Don't be whining about land use "should have, could have, would have". If you do you aren't paying attention. You are forgetting this wave of closures is not about erosion. It is about directives. The is the CEO coming in and ordering things that all us employees have to do even though we think the CEO is on crack. You tell the CEO that and you are ejected from the building - it is not an option.
So what you want to do - sit around and cry because some ninja came and ripped your junk off? You know the rules - put on the camos, get tactical, and wait it out til you take them out - no kiss, no vaseline.
Support the land use people. There will be some mistakes and misuse - but they are doing you good not harm. Get through these bad times and don't do stupid things (like take my allegory literally or wheel through gates). Also, money drives change - I know that is disgusting and inefficient and we all complain about how it is spent - but there it is. I never have given a dollar to anything political in my life. I'm not rich. It is nasty economic times but I'm doing OK and thankful. Can't send $100 so send $10. Look at it as doing something better than wasting your life reading my posts.
You want to learn a little about how/why we are being trail jacked - read on.
Trails, no more than that, a way of life for some is under threat of getting flushed. I have gone through a lot of emotions over the past year or so. Bad times for anyone with a civil liberty bent.
Ecclesiastes says "increasing knowledge results in increasing pain" and I have always found that to be true. There is beauty in simple things.
I have looked into what is going on and I wish it was as "simple" as being about erosion, fish, and lack of trail maintenance. At least those things are fixable. No one wants to believe reason is being abandoned, compromise has little chance, and the Romans have come to town.
I'm just an individual out here in California. I'm not a land use guru. Other people here have spent years doing land use. I'm just shooting my big mouth off about my observations of a small piece of a complex problem. Who asked me but :flipoff2:
Thousands of miles of roads are in process of being closed in areas I drive. Many are old mine roads that have been driven since the invention of the automobile. Some even have street names on maps. Even the Rubicon Trail is under siege.
How did this happen? That would take a book no doubt but let's look at a little piece.
I'll use California but I have no doubt if I took the time to search for Forest Service documents in the Tellico area I'd find them there to.
California is Forest Service region 5 - known as the Pacific Southwest Region.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/spotlight/motorvehicletravel.php
"Motor Vehicle Travel on National Forests in California
Marlene Finley, Regional Director for Recreation, Wilderness and Heritage
The use of motor vehicles, particularly off–highway vehicles, is one of the fastest growing forms of outdoor recreation on National Forest land in California. This use — and its effects — has largely gone unmanaged until now.
Motor–vehicle recreation needs to be balanced with the many different uses of our National Forests, as well as ensure the protection of the land, wildlife and other recreational visitors. A new federal travel management rule provides the framework for management on public lands of off–highway vehicles, including ATVs and trail bikes. We have changed motorized recreation on hundreds of thousands of acres by eliminating unauthorized routes used by off–highway vehicles, and by this spring, we will be managing this use on nearly 14 million acres, by restricting use to designated roads and trails.
We recognize that this rule will change the way some people access and experience their National Forests. Our goal is to provide opportunities for public enjoyment and protection of natural and cultural resources. For example, we close roads in the winter to reduce sedimentation and maintain water quality, which leads to healthier fish populations......"
This "Marlene Finley" statement was posted January 2009 but some of it is a "copy and paste" from mid 2008 statements by other FS officials.
So what is this "new federal travel management rule"? http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/final.pdf
Under the federal Travel Management Rule, they have to identify the minimum number of roads needed to manage the forest and provide public access. You can read in the document what "objective of minimizing" really is and different ways to interpret it.
From the Finley statement we learn that the national directive in the Forest Service is to eliminate "unauthorized routes" and close authorized roads in the winter. As a matter of fact - what makes a road "unmanaged" appears to be it is unclosed, and "a managed road is a closed road" at least some of the time.
We need to also understand that if there are fish anywhere in the watershed - there will be winter closures because (as far as the Forest Service is concerned) it is beyond question that the fish need closures. Forget any scientific data you have to the contrary - the bureaucracy has decided and it will be a rare FS manager that is going to defy it.
So, we need to understand what "unauthorized roads" are. Hopefully something to do with those evil people that drive cross-country and off established trails?
Back to the FS web site
“Unauthorized road or trail: A road or trail that is not a forest road or trail or a temporary road or trail and that is not included in a forest transportation atlas”
“Designated road, trail, or area: " A National Forest System road, a National Forest System trail, or an area on National Forest System lands that is designated for motor vehicle use pursuant to §212.51 on a motor vehicle use map."
The Motor Vehicle Use Map - cool getting closer to the answer, I'm still on board with stopping those nasty unauthorized roads.
Oh wait - the MVUM is in process. So how are they figuring that out anyway? Well, rather than post pages of regulations and links - remember all those road inventories you probably read some blurb about over the past few years? Well that information is taken and then the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) identifies what is authorized and what is not. If a road is not inventoried it is deemed an illegal road.
Well... the DEIS is written by Forest Service and they say what they wish to be authorized. The DEIS gives alternatives but it is up to the FS - they don't have to follow public input. DEIS is what is being generated now in many areas across the USA.
So you discover the term "unauthorized roads" has absolutely nothing to do with anything but what the FS decides. Remember above - the FS decided "management" means closure. So everything is closed unless there is a reason to keep it open and then there is "minimized" opening.
Roads that been used since the beginnings of motorized vehicles get called "unauthorized" and are presented in press releases as clamping down on those bad ole OHV people. I have seen environmental group propaganda brochures with pictures of "illegal roads" caused by OHV, however, I no longer scratch my head trying to understand how a mine road I recognize as being over 125 years old became a propaganda piece for illegal roads.
So ... you want trails open and expect the various 4X4 groups to keep them open. What are the odds that a Forest Service person, especially if they went to our modern university system taking courses in things like environmental sociology and the radical environmental movement, is going to defy federal directives that want roads inventoried and closed/minimized? Would your best friend really put their job on the line just for your recreation?
I'm giving you an idea of what the 4X4 groups are up against. Wrist slashing, forget it, go hide under the bed, depressing yet? So why do anything? Why not just give up?
Bureaucratic systems change all the time. Today's edict and directive are tomorrow's despised activity. A professional poker player doesn't always mind a game of cheaters - they stay in the game and take advantage of it. A good player knows they can still win if they learn the cheaters system - and if one other player is willing to help - then you clean up. But you have to stay in the game because you either keep your skills up and look for opportunities - or go home broke and cry in your beer.
This is a nasty time. Its a rigged game. You should get behind the land use people and support them as they go to the meetings, make presentations, and take their best shot at keeping some things open. These are great times to learn about land use and become involved because mistakes probably don't matter as much because even the pros are going to get burned right now. If the land use people were not already there it would of been game over months ago with little chance of getting anything back open.
Don't be whining about land use "should have, could have, would have". If you do you aren't paying attention. You are forgetting this wave of closures is not about erosion. It is about directives. The is the CEO coming in and ordering things that all us employees have to do even though we think the CEO is on crack. You tell the CEO that and you are ejected from the building - it is not an option.
So what you want to do - sit around and cry because some ninja came and ripped your junk off? You know the rules - put on the camos, get tactical, and wait it out til you take them out - no kiss, no vaseline.
Support the land use people. There will be some mistakes and misuse - but they are doing you good not harm. Get through these bad times and don't do stupid things (like take my allegory literally or wheel through gates). Also, money drives change - I know that is disgusting and inefficient and we all complain about how it is spent - but there it is. I never have given a dollar to anything political in my life. I'm not rich. It is nasty economic times but I'm doing OK and thankful. Can't send $100 so send $10. Look at it as doing something better than wasting your life reading my posts.