USFS is trying to close more in Slade KY

[yjwrangler95]

any news? Wanted to bump this to the top, don't want people to think things like this just go away.

DH

[OffTopic]

I posted in the region area. I too would like to know what's going on. I ve heard from a few people that they are going down there and its not closed. And a few telling me it is closed. What's the real word. And I will volunteer to do what ever it takes to keep it open.

Sent from a Android on Tapatalk..

[wayneraintree]

Hey fellas,

The USFS is waiting on funds to do an EIS or basically conduct a study. All things are on hold right now, so it is "open" but really, there are only "user created" routes there.

There is no chance of an official trail system as no new systems are allowed in the region the DBNF exists. We are having an opportunity to amend the MVUM's per the district ranger but it is not high on his list.

Best we can do at this time is build a volunteer database and show them we are organized, serious about our access, and we are not going away.

Email savesandlick at gmail with your contact info so I can add you to the volunteer database

[wayneraintree]

UPDATE ON SANDLICK: The project slated to improve the road management at Sandlick/Bigbend Watershed has not been "selected for analysis" at this time. This means that they are not presently working on the project but sometime in the future it will be selected and their process will take place (I get the feeling it will be soon!). This also means that the area is open to licensed, insured, and registered vehicles to the routes on the 2011 motor vehicle use maps (http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/maps/mvum.shtml). Please tread lightly!

Follow the project here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/planni...?project=18901

CLEAN-UP TIME! Please join the Trailkeepers and Zoe Volunteer Fire Department in a day of stewardship. The trail clean up is on May 8th in Slade, Kentucky from 9am-6pm. Volunteers need to meet at the Zoe firehouse. Please pack a lunch and supper will be provided by the Trailkeepers Foundation.
If you have any questions or plan on attending email me at amanda@trailkeepers.org

EMAIL YOUR POLITICIAN! Now is the time to contact your state politicians and encourage them to join us in support of OHV access in the Slade area as well as other areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF). Feel free to write in your own words or copy and paste the letter below as well as use the provided links to find your politician's email address. It is absolutely critical that the politicians see how important OHV access is to local economies and the OHV enthusiasts.

"Dear Politician, please support off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation on our public lands in eastern Kentucky. Specifically, please join our local and nationwide enthusiasts in encouraging the land manager, USFS District Ranger Dave Manner, to recognize our present OHV access and include our OHV access in any action he puts forth regarding the Sandlick/Bigbend Road Management Improvement Project. The local economies depend on funds generated from OHV recreation. The public depends on OHV access to provide equal opportunity recreation on our public lands. It is imperative that the USFS respect OHV access and manage for recreation.

Please contact District Ranger Dave Manner at the following email address:
James D. Manner <davemanner@fs.fed.us> or
James D. Manner at the
Cumberland Ranger District - Daniel Boone National Forest
2375 KY 801 South
Morehead, KY 40351
606-784-6428 in support of OHV access in the Sandlick/Bigbend tract of public land as well as other areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest."

Email Addresses:
http://governor.ky.gov/contact.htm
Find your congress folks: http://www.congress.org/stickers/?di...fficials&lvl=C
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/public/i...?p=ContactForm
http://paul.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm

Feel free to forward this email to anyone and everyone who will help. Feel free to email other politicians in support of our cause. Please send email addresses or lists of email addresses to savesandlick@gmail.com to be added to the volunteer database and receive these email updates. Take action before it is too late! We are right on time with this request to contact politicians so please do not waste this opportunity.

Stay well,

Jeffrey Dozier
Land-Use Coordinator DBNF for SFWDA
SFWDA.org
sharetrails.org

[jkruby]

Bump for the trail clean up may the 8th hope to see everyone there

[wayneraintree]

Word up!

Thanks for the bump

[wayneraintree]

Correction! The clean-up is the 14th!



The Trail Keepers Foundation will be hosting a trail clean up on May 14th at Slade in preparation for the Zoe Fire Department ride the following week.

We will meet at the Fire Department at 9:30 am. Please back a sack lunch. Dinner will be provided around 4:30pm at the fire department.

Raffle prizes will be given away including a 3000lb winch, gift cards, tshirts and possibly more.

Those that attend both the spring and fall cleanup will be entered into a drawing for an 8000lb winch.

We encourage everyone who is interested in saving this area to attend. Please email amanda@trailkeepers.org with the number in your party.

Thanks!

[jkruby]

glad to see the organizer of the clean up have been posting the wrong fucking date for 3 months! organization at its best.

can't make it i've got to work that weekend.

[jkruby]

i was a little chapped earlier. hopefully our guys can still get down there. i know there is always a good turnout for the zoe ride/clean up

[duncanstives]

This may get me banned but I don't care:

This situation is absolutely outrageous. I live in Zoe (on Derrick ridge just off shoemaker) in a house I purchased largely because of the offroading available in the area and absence of restrictive zoning laws and general government intrusiveness. Since I have lived there (about 2 years) I have ridden literally almost every weekend and some week days all over this area on both sides of 11. I have driven my jeep (88 grand wagoneer on 33s with soa and shackle flip... Nothing special), 4 wheelers, dune buggies and even my grand Cherokee (stock... Lol). Recently I have gotten very involved in dirt biking and am driving upwards of 50 miles a weekend. I say all this to make it clear that I KNOW what I'm talking about... I know the trail, I know the community and most importantly I know that the ONLY user of the trail system is the OHV community and I will be DAMMED if I let some cut rate third level beuracrate make descisions about what the only people who use, care about or even know about these beautiful trails do with them or can even access them. I am as far from a typical beer swilling, trash dumping redneck as they come... I travel almost exsclusively alone, I do not act crazy, I never litter and I never drink... I just like getting out and exploring and that what I'll keep doing. I am sorry to say but playing by the rules, endless comments, petitions and letters... All have gotten us nothing but closure after closure and this hits way too close to home. I ride in slade... It is my home every bit as much (and more) than my house is and I will keep riding in slade no matter what the government tells me.
I will continue to tread lightly and encourage other people to do so but because I respect this beautiful area and I want it to stay beautiful. Not because I am scared some g-man will tell me I can't ride... If any members of the group involved in any plans to get this area closed are reading this: you might as well come arrest me right now because that's the only way I'll stop riding and I suspect many people in the area will agree with me.

[Stonebone]

Originally Posted by duncanstives

This may get me banned but I don't care:

This situation is absolutely outrageous. I live in Zoe (on Derrick ridge just off shoemaker) in a house I purchased largely because of the offroading available in the area and absence of restrictive zoning laws and general government intrusiveness. Since I have lived there (about 2 years) I have ridden literally almost every weekend and some week days all over this area on both sides of 11. I have driven my jeep (88 grand wagoneer on 33s with soa and shackle flip... Nothing special), 4 wheelers, dune buggies and even my grand Cherokee (stock... Lol). Recently I have gotten very involved in dirt biking and am driving upwards of 50 miles a weekend. I say all this to make it clear that I KNOW what I'm talking about... I know the trail, I know the community and most importantly I know that the ONLY user of the trail system is the OHV community and I will be DAMMED if I let some cut rate third level beuracrate make descisions about what the only people who use, care about or even know about these beautiful trails do with them or can even access them. I am as far from a typical beer swilling, trash dumping redneck as they come... I travel almost exsclusively alone, I do not act crazy, I never litter and I never drink... I just like getting out and exploring and that what I'll keep doing. I am sorry to say but playing by the rules, endless comments, petitions and letters... All have gotten us nothing but closure after closure and this hits way too close to home. I ride in slade... It is my home every bit as much (and more) than my house is and I will keep riding in slade no matter what the government tells me.
I will continue to tread lightly and encourage other people to do so but because I respect this beautiful area and I want it to stay beautiful. Not because I am scared some g-man will tell me I can't ride... If any members of the group involved in any plans to get this area closed are reading this: you might as well come arrest me right now because that's the only way I'll stop riding and I suspect many people in the area will agree with me.

Keep the spirit brother.. It seems the more you give, and bend over backwards the more they take. Freedoms are not given. They are taken.

One of the best places in the country to wheel got taken from us up here, and we are fighting to get it back.. Like you say in your area, our wheelin' spot was ONLY visitied by offroaders.

[duncanstives]

Originally Posted by Stonebone

Keep the spirit brother.. It seems the more you give, and bend over backwards the more they take. Freedoms are not given. They are taken.

One of the best places in the country to wheel got taken from us up here, and we are fighting to get it back.. Like you say in your area, our wheelin' spot was ONLY visitied by offroaders.

Thanks for the support. Btw I also know the counties of lee, wolf, etc: many of the people are dirt poor husks of humans concerned only with their next batch of foodstamps so they can sell them and buy drugs and beer while their kids go hungry. What little economic vitality comes from the offroaders... Ypk motorsports of campton can hardly keep razrs in stock... Who is gonna buy these $15k machines if there's no place to ride? The hundreds of jeeps and 4 wheelers on a nice spring day gassing up at koops? Gone. Kevin Wireman's buggy shop on 1036 (one guy shop supporting him, his wife and kid)? Gone. The small engine repair shop in beattyville? Gone. This list goes on and on... But not to worry... They'll always be another "grant" to help the needle freaks get their fix.

Hey g-man! It's a big woods and I drive a small bike... I fucking DARE you try try to stop me from riding... And the whole time I do I'll feel like I'm taking a huge shit on all policies that have gotten us into the mess were in... Seriously... This is a symptom of something much more serious than just where to trail ride. Have fun with your nice shiny civilized and controlled world... Just don't count on me being part of it.

[Stonebone]

Originally Posted by duncanstives

Thanks for the support. Btw I also know the counties of lee, wolf, etc: many of the people are dirt poor husks of humans concerned only with their next batch of foodstamps so they can sell them and buy drugs and beer while their kids go hungry. What little economic vitality comes from the offroaders... Ypk motorsports of campton can hardly keep razrs in stock... Who is gonna buy these $15k machines if there's no place to ride? The hundreds of jeeps and 4 wheelers on a nice spring day gassing up at koops? Gone. Kevin Wireman's buggy shop on 1036 (one guy shop supporting him, his wife and kid)? Gone. The small engine repair shop in beattyville? Gone. This list goes on and on... But not to worry... They'll always be another "grant" to help the needle freaks get their fix.

Hey g-man! It's a big woods and I drive a small bike... I fucking DARE you try try to stop me from riding... And the whole time I do I'll feel like I'm taking a huge shit on all policies that have gotten us into the mess were in... Seriously... This is a symptom of something much more serious than just where to trail ride. Have fun with your nice shiny civilized and controlled world... Just don't count on me being part of it.

We could seriously break bread. Its agenda 21 in action.

[duncanstives]

Agenda 21? A brief google search reveals that it's another steaming pile from the toothless organization known as the UN. The US has yet to ratify it and I would not be suprised if the people organizing this perticular infringement on our way of life have not even heard of it... Sure it would provide them moral ammunition for their pious bullshit but they don't need the UN to be assholes... My one dealing with the forest service came when I still believed working within the system might actually work... I sent a very nice well reasoned email to the london district about the 49'er/crommer ridge trails (used to ride there a lot)... I received a very polite email back that in many more words said "screw you". 2 months later the place was a nightmare... A beautiful wilderness network of trail bulldozed and replaced with a single gravel road and grass everywhere... The awesome slickrock structures were blasted and everything turned into gentle rolling grasslands with the one gravel road passable by car (in fact my most recent visit was in my 2008 taruas). Of course it's deader than shit now... There is NO ONE there. Ever.
Another dealing I heard about was from my sister (before I lived out there)... She was out there doing research for a class (in college) and apparently crossed the center line on one of those curvy roads (who doesn't? Lots of time you have to because the edge of the road is crumbling)... A park ranger pulled her over, performed two field sobriety tests, detained her for over an hour and searched the car... My sister who does not drink at all was quite upset by this and the ranger became more and more belligerent... Eventually he found a glass bottle of maple syrup that had fallen out of the bag after a trip the the grocery store and triumphantly declared "ah ha!" as he pulls it out only to realize it's a sealed bottle of maple syrup. After awhile finding nothing even remotely illegal in the car he moved on the bully someone else without so much as a halfhearted apology.

[Bebe]

I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier.

Agenda 21 in your community is call ICLEI. That's how they are moving folks from the country into the city all to get them out of their cars and on public transportation. That's the goal. It doesn't require ratification by congress.

[cruzila]

Originally Posted by duncanstives

Another dealing I heard about was from my sister (before I lived out there)... She was out there doing research for a class (in college) and apparently crossed the center line on one of those curvy roads (who doesn't? Lots of time you have to because the edge of the road is crumbling)... A park ranger pulled her over, performed two field sobriety tests, detained her for over an hour and searched the car... My sister who does not drink at all was quite upset by this and the ranger became more and more belligerent... Eventually he found a glass bottle of maple syrup that had fallen out of the bag after a trip the the grocery store and triumphantly declared "ah ha!" as he pulls it out only to realize it's a sealed bottle of maple syrup. After awhile finding nothing even remotely illegal in the car he moved on the bully someone else without so much as a halfhearted apology.

Was his name Marcus??

[wayneraintree]

Recent update: As a result of other work going on the the DBNF (Cave Run non-motorized trails), the USFS has suspended this project for a year (10-12).

We have more time to (Fill in the Blank) ___________________ to help maintain motorized access and gain more.

Jeff

[jcmohr]

sighned. this place is awsome and i hope we can stop them from doing more damage like they did to whites arch, you can hardly hike it now. i will continue to trail ride with my family as long as i can, this place is simply beautiful. SAVE THE GORGE!!!

[wayneraintree]

Unfortunately, the outlook is not the greatest Last July we presented them with a robust OHV Alternative with revised MVUM and volunteer database with skills and resources... walked out of the meeting with no confidence of our chances of even having OHV access listed in any alternative for action whatsoever. As of now, the USFS has fallen silent behind the great curtain of the NEPA process and is offering double speak responses. This is happening to an area historically open to OHV's but never managed to the rules of their own making.

I am certainly open to ideas as to how to proceed if anyone has any ideas. It is worth saving, a real east coast gem. I've been working on this for a few years and can say, this is the year they actually close it.

Here is the project, listed 'on hold' but I am positive that there is something rotten in Sandlick.


http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/planni...901&exp=detail

[Josh40601]

Any news Jeff? Sad to see you guys work so hard to get to this point. I have been a huge supporter the Blue Ribbon Coalition and what they do. Anything i can do to help, let me know. I posted on the Krawler site that i had emailed and signed. I also emailed you so you could have my volunteer info.

Thanks again for everything you have done thus far.

Josh

[wayneraintree]

OK, I got some word from the USFS.

"Hi Jeff,

The Forest Service is working to prepare a NEPA Scoping notice for a watershed restoration project that focuses on the Sand Lick area. This notice will most likely be sent to the public for review and comment this summer. We plan to send the notice to you when it is ready.

Thank you,

Tom Biebighauser"

So essentially they are moving forward with their plans for Sandlick under the NEPA guise. The FS wants us to wait to comment on their scoping notice which is based on their science. I am pretty certain the scoping notice will not identify OHV access as viable and will likely point to OHV use as a contributor to the water quality issue. I'll update this with more info as I get it. This is the year they move forward with this project.

Thoughts or feedback? This is the last 14K acres tract of land open to OHV's of the 700+K acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest. This is the last foothold of access for OHV in this forest, one we can't let go without a fight

[Josh40601]

What do we do to stop it?

[Josh40601]

Just got this email from BRC...

BLUERIBBON COALITION, INC.

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Greg Mumm, BRC Executive Director
Phone: (208) 244-2112
Date: June 13, 2012

BLUERIBBON COALITION CRITICIZES U.S. FOREST SERVICE PROPOSED RULE

POCATELLO, ID (June 13)--The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) today strongly criticized a U.S. Forest Service proposal to exempt major ground disturbing activities from environmental analysis and public comment.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) today began accepting public comment on a proposed change in regulations that would allow certain activities, including road obliteration, to be exempt from any public comment or analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).


Recent Congressional subcommittee field hearing exposed the serious problems that exist on today's National Forests. Learn more.
The proposed rule would allow the agency to bypass normal environmental review for projects that remove, replace or modify water control structures and remove debris and sediment after natural or human-caused events including floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. The rule would also exempt road decommissioning efforts such, as stabilizing slopes, restoring vegetation, blocking the entrance to the road, installing waterbars and removing culverts.

However, the proposal would also exempt major ground disturbing activities such as completely eliminating the road bed by restoring natural contours and slopes.

"Some of the agency's recommendations make sense, but as usual, they go too far," said Brian Hawthorne, Public Lands Policy Director for BRC. Hawthorne said, "If 40 years of NEPA has taught us anything it is that noble intentions don't justify half-baked analysis. A bulldozer moving dirt is a bulldozer moving dirt. Environmental impacts don't magically disappear because the source of sediment is called a restoration project."

"This borderlines on willful mismanagement," said Greg Mumm, BRC's Executive Director. "The Forest Service is sitting on 20 to 40 million acres of beetle-killed fire hazard and the fuse is lit. Their priorities are out of whack." Mumm said.

As an example, Mumm said that just in Colorado some 6.6 million acres are affected by the mountain bark beetle epidemic. The agency estimates that, over the next 10 years, an average of 100,000 trees will fall daily. Visitors to USFS lands are affected not only by the visual impacts, falling trees pose serious risk to human life and the infrastructure our rural communities rely on. Dead trees across the state have created heavy fuel loading which can result in intense, so-called "fatal wildfires." Beetle-killed trees now threaten thousands of miles of roads, trails and developed recreation sites. Mumm said; "Exempting culvert removal is all well and good, but the agency crosses a line when, at the same time, they increase analysis on such things as maintaining safe power transmission corridors."

Hawthorne also expressed frustration with the proposed changes. He noted that the USFS is saying the majority of issues associated with road and trail decommissioning arise from the initial decision whether to close a road or trail via the travel planning process. "That's not our experience," Hawthorne said. BRC has been urging the USFS to develop a streamlined procedure to allow public comment before any ground disturbing or road obliteration activities are proposed precisely because the travel planning is usually focused on recreational users of the Forest. Other users are often assured their access and activities could still continue under stipulations of their permit, lease or other agreement.

Hawthorne said few, if any, USFS travel planning projects get it right the first time. "Many travel planning projects we are aware of have been amended within one or two years after completion, and many have been amended even before the plan has been completely implemented on the ground." It is quite likely that routes proposed for decommissioning will be necessary additions in future recreation and travel planning. Hawthorne said the fact the agency doesn't want any public involvement means the agency probably doesn't care about any potential recreational uses of these routes.

[Josh40601]

BLUERIBBON COALITION UPDATE

Reponses to the U.S. Forest Service Proposed Rule

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

The response to BRC's last couple of alerts has been overwhelming. We need to shout a big "thank you" to those joining and making financial contributions to our efforts.

BRC isn't funded by the big powersports businesses. We depend on YOU for the funds to do our work. Thank you!

We also wanted to forward a couple of excellent responses to the USFS wanting to exempt road obliteration activities from any public comment or environmental analysis.

First up is Greg Weirick from Advocates for Access to Public Lands

The Center for Biodiversity (a bunch of lawyers making fortunes suing everyone) has again filed suit against Inyo County over use of the County's own roads. The first was just lost because the judge claimed Inyo County couldn't prove the Death Valley roads in question were the County's? Folks, when a road is in a county and the county claims it,....it's a county road and that is based on applicable Federal Law RS 2477!!! The latest suit involves the County's support of the Adventure Trails Program that is a pilot program to promote reasonable use of county roads to connect OHVers with recreational opportunities. Ironically, the forest and even the Friends of the Inyo publicly support the program?

Here's a link to the PEER site (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) co-plaintiffs suing Inyo County over the Adventure Trails Program. They obviously have done little to no research into the criteria for using combined use roads, but that's irrelevant they would tell you? How they can claim any credibility given the shoddy contrived arguments is beyond me, but that seems to be a standard in the Enviro Industry, so who am I to question?

http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1596

What makes this even more egregious is that the same Forest employees are proposing legislation to Congress to be allowed to use heavy eqpt. to obliterate the roads that they have illegally closed. They don't feel they should have to do any NEPA environmental review to take heavy eqpt into Roadless areas, yet their own employees (PEER) support suing the county because some OHVs, within strict guidelines, will be using existing County roads. They want this passed so that if and when common sense returns to this nation of OURS, the roads will be mere memories rather than the wonderful historical and cultural examples of man's ingenuity and drive that they now are.

Simply amazing! Sending this to forest employees as well, to solicit response about the hypocrisy of these two issues when placed side by side, but not going to hold my breath!

I, for one, will be in front of those bulldozers and hope others will join me when the time comes!

Greg Weirick

Second is from Joanne Spivack, of the New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA)

Joanne sent a comment on a Washington Post story about the USFS road obliteration plan.

Watch out, all trail users !...the USFS is out to decommission and obliterate our roads and trails, WITHOUT public participation...

Don't be fooled by No. 3. 'Restoring' lands occupied by roads and trails 'to a more natural condition' means destroying roads and trails. This is done by tearing them up, blocking them with rocks, felling trees across them etc. A lot of the trails used by hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders, and others are non-National Forest System routes. That means they are NOT on the agency's maps. A lot of them used to be, but the 'disappearing' wand gets waved when new versions of maps are done. Right now, hikers and mountain bikers and horse riders haven't had to worry if a trail is 'system' or 'non-system' because we had the right to use all of them. The only limit has been against mountain bikes in wilderness areas. Now the Forest Service wants the power to destroy them, in the name of 'streamlining' restoration.

The USFS is using the fires to ask for this huge expansion of their power and authority, and to block the public's ability to oppose, or even be informed of, what the Forest Service is doing.

The folks over at NMOHVA are doing outstanding work in the fight for access, and are certainly deserving of your support. So visit their website and learn more about how you can help.

Thanks in advance and, as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.

[wayneraintree]

Bump for new info: the scoping notice for the Sandlick project is coming out soon so I am told.

When it is released, this is the page:

http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_proje...?project=18901

We will need lots of comments.

I have been working on this for many years and ever since this January, the FS has shut me out of any informative responses to my questions and update requests. They have denied OHV enthusiasts a relationship of partnering at every turn as well as denied any responsibility for the condition of the area.

I've got a FOIA request to discover all I can regarding the communications between the FS and inside and outside parties relative to this project and the controversial Narrows Rd. obliteration of 2006. I was denied an exemption from the fees for the 152 double-sided documents that fit my search request. The kind folks of the Kentucky Krawlers and I are planning to meet to review the documents once we can generate the 424$ to cover the fees.

Open to ideas, tactics, resources, feedback salutes et cet...