The Lassen National Forest will be holding an open house on July 7th regarding the Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for designating wheeled motorized vehicle travel.

An open house will be held Tuesday, July 7th, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Chico State University at the Bell Memorial Union, Room 210.

Here is a map of the campus, with Bell Memorial Union being in the southeast corner on W. 2 nd Street of West Central Campus. Room 210 is second floor

http://www.csuchico.edu/community/map/

Floor plan of BMU is here

http://www.csuchico.edu/fms/map/pdfs/BMU-2w.pdf

This open house will provide an opportunity to view large maps and to learn about the different alternatives concerning wheeled motorized vehicle travel, also known as Route Designation or Access and Travel Management. The open house format will demonstrate the development of each alternative and how to provide comments on the proposals outlined in the DEIS. Comment cards will also be provided for use during the open house.

This is a drop-in open house, and you can come any time from 3:00 to 6:00 to talk with the L.N.F. team members, and view the large maps and see what the DEIS proposed, in each of 5 alternatives and ask specific questions, and leave comments.

If you use Lassen National Forest, for wheeled motorized travel and are closer to Chico than Susanville this is a must-do open house.

Written or email comments on the DEIS are due July 20th, with a final decision on a designated system of wheeled motorized vehicle routes due around September 2009.

Ken

Between 5pm-6pm

Between 5pm-6pm

I spent Monday in Susanville with 6 RDP / TMP people.

Here's what is very important to find, and comment on, if it is important to you (as it is to many) and the only major flaws we've found that matter a lot on our end of the Forest:

26N74, 26N74B going to / from Snag Lake have issues. Three issues in "fighting" to keep open. Issue #1 is that it goes through an "owl pac", which if that were the only issue wouldn't necessarily close it, # 2 is that it crosses some private land, who doesn't want it to be crossed, and #3 is that it has a Raparian zone. The Forest is working very hard to solve #2 & #3 because both ROC and FOTHL stressed the absolute importance to those roads. They went back to the drawing board to see if a re-route could happen to solve those issues. That is being worked on, very hard by the staff.

250503UC01 also was dropped from the inventory... but I forget exactly what their issues was there, but as above they are going back to re-try to add it back in.

In addition, comments about allowing multi-use (green stickers & licensed) on 25N05 from Philbrook Y to Lotts lake "T"; as well as 26N27 between the two County Roads out of Jonesville.

The above three trails absolutely need to be commented on, plus the two needed downgrades from ML 3 to ML 2, or allow multi-use / combined use by any and all at the Work Shop and investigated by staff, who is aware of our needs, but great pressure needs to happen, and very strong , and great quantity of letters of substantive substance need to be written on or before July 20, 2009. Emails are fine, but NO bulk, carbon-copied, mass all-exactly-the-same, petitions, even letter generators or anything but well written in one's own words email to: LTMRD@fs.fed.us Fax to: (530) 252-6428
or letter to:

Kathleen S. Morse
Forest Supervisor, Supervisor's Office
Lassen National Forest
2550 Riverside Drive
Susanville, CA 96130

Look those route numbers up on the maps at the open house, and formulate your opinions and thoughts, then prepare to write your comments.

The only seasonal closure appears to be for OHV use is part of the Soda Ridge to Lotts Lake during December to April - and for a wheeler very little use and too much snow anyway. Zero changes to the High Lakes OHV area in total! And RDP / TMP is NOT about anything to do with or about sledders, only wheeled motorized. Sledders will be dealt with separately.

There is much more I'd like to say, but am very hesitant to say in such a world-wide open forum.

Ken

Where you at the Eagle Lake ranger station while you were in Susanville? I work there.

Where you at the Eagle Lake ranger station while you were in Susanville? I work there.

No, at SO, and stopped in at Chester on the way back.

Ken

This open house is about the entire lassen National Forest, so even if you don't go near the High Lakes and prefer Front Country, or near Ishi, or Mineral, or even farter north or east, THIS is the only chance you have to have your needs, wishes, hopes and desires to be met before the Final EIS.

I went way out on a skinny limb to convince the Susanville powers that we had hundreds of people who needed to hear, speak and be heard, concerning their needs for trails, roads, dispersed camping, loops, and riding opportunities for all genre of OHV use.

Please make every effort to show up, view the maps, which are a lot easier to read than from the CD, and ask the tough questions... "why isn't MY favorite trail, road, camping spot still on the map"?

Why can't I drive off road to collect a game animal I shot ? , Why can't I drive my quad or green stickered Truggie legally from Lake Philbrook to Lotts Lake? Why can't I drive from Butte Meadows to the High Lakes? Why can't I go from Bambi Inn to the High Lakes, and not be on an illegal road?. Why can't I go from Snag Lake to Lotts Lake? How can I get from Jonestown County Road, to County Road because a connector is only for street licensed vehicles?

These are just a few of the reasons, and there are more way more further north in the Forest that should matter to you, too.

So, be there, ask, define, teach them, make polite noise, and be heard. This isn't one of those deals where someone ELSE will do it for YOU.

We need crowds ... lots of crowds.. asking lots of questions, and finding YOUR issues on the maps.

Ken

It doesn't seem to many ppl know whats going on with this. I didn't even know till I picked up a flyer at Chico Motorsports.Then came on here hoping to find more info. They need to keeep all of these roads open. I ride up there all of the time and for them to close these roads will do more harm than good to everybody and the local economy's in Inskip and Butte Meadows will suffer from it.
Fernando Give me a call, I wanna go to this open house.

Ill be there between 4 and 5. Hope to bring a few others along as well.

Looked like a decent turnout early on. Hopefully it really picked up after the 5:00 hour. It almost looked like they had more people on hand then we did, I hope it didnt stay like that all night.

Actually, Susanville was very pleased with the turnout. One told me it was a better turnout than they had IN Susanville.

It worked very well to have most of the key players that are involved in the Travel Management Plan to be there, as a great many things fell into place just by talking with them.

There were several opportunities to get some more things "put to bed" beside and beyond just which trails / routes talk. I think much progress was made, on several fronts.

This is yet but one step in the ongoing process, although an important one, that has been ongoing for three years, and has a few more years to go as we move from route designation, to implementation then on to camping, recreation, and more site specific plans.

Route designation isn't yet cast in stone. You still have until July 20 to make further comments on routes, trails and then even after that deadline, and study, if something very important was missed, it can still be dealt with. Even over the next year things can be added, if mitigation of existing issues and importance can be shown. This process isn't actually an ending plan, but more of a beginning of, and basis for the rest of the ongoing plans.

I thank each and every one of you that did show up, study maps, and especially leave comment cards. Please also consider writing letters also, in your own words. Addresses above in an earlier post in this thread.

Thanks for your participation.

Ken