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Eldorado National Forest Route Designation-updated-8/30

1K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  randii 
#1 ·
Hope its not a repost.





USDA Forest Service
Eldorado National Forest

100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667



Date: May 10, 2006 Contact:
Anthony Scardina
Release: Upon Receipt
Phone: 530-621-5276
TTY 530-642-5122


Eldorado National Forest Route Designation




Open Houses June 6 and 8


Placerville, CA..The USDA Forest Service will continue its on-going public

conversations regarding the Eldorado National Forest route designation

process in public open-houses scheduled for June 6th in Placerville and

June 8th in Jackson. The meeting on June 6th in Placerville will be held

from 6 PM to 9 PM at the El Dorado County Office of Education Activity

Center - Building I; 6767 Green Valley, Placerville, CA. The meeting on

June 8th in Jackson will be held from 6 PM to 9 PM at the City of Jackson

Civic Center - 33 Broadway, Jackson, CA.


The purpose of these open houses is to present and discuss the preliminary

alternatives to the agency proposed action developed by the Route

Designation Interdisciplinary Team, as well as present and discuss how each

of the alternatives were developed by the Team.


An interdisciplinary team of specialists has been developing a

preliminary range of reasonable alternatives to the agency proposed action

over the past five months in response to public comments, as well as agency

laws, regulations, and policies. The team will also present how particular

standards and guidelines were applied specifically related to rights-of-way

across private land, road density standards in deer winter range, routes

near existing private property, routes near sensitive plants and cultural

sites, and routes near hydrologic features, among other standards and

guidelines.


"The importance of the open houses is to see what the public thinks of the

preliminary alternatives before we move forward with our analysis," said

Route Designation Team Leader Anthony Scardina. "It is another part of an

on-going effort to maintain open and honest communication with the public

during the route designation process."


The Eldorado National Forest is under court order to complete the Eldorado

National Forest Route Designation Environmental Impact Statement by

December 31, 2007. The Forest Service began the preparation of an

environmental impact statement (EIS) to designate routes for motor vehicles

such as four wheel drive vehicles, ATVs, and motorcycles, when it released

a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on October 26, 2005. A draft

environmental impact statement is anticipated to be ready for public review

in August 2006, and a final environmental impact statement is expected to

be ready for public review in December 2006.


"I think this is a great opportunity to get further public review and

input on the direction we are going before we release the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement," said Acting Forest Supervisor Tom Efird.

"Public involvement is the cornerstone for making good decisions and we are

taking this additional public involvement step to ensure that the public

has ample opportunity to express their concerns as we get closer to a

designated route system for motor vehicles on the Eldorado National Forest.

I would like to thank our public stakeholders for their participation

during this complex process, as well as the efforts of our

interdisciplinary team to ensure that the process is scientific and open to

the public at the same time."


Detailed information about the route designation project can be found

on the Eldorado National Forest web site at: www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado.
 
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#2 ·
TTT It is extremely important that a strong, yet calm presence is made at these meetings. These yahoos are hell bent on shutting the whole trail down, regardless of what they say. They're just gonna do it one little section at a time. We all need to show up and make our voices heard. The Stockton Record's article on these meetings was saying that these meeting will be discussing the closure of the Loon Lake trailhead. One piece at a time. That is their strategy, and unless we get active, we're going to lose the whole thing in a matter of years. So please, unless you're having major surgery, be there!!! We can't count on anyone else to stand up for us, we each have to do it on our own, for ourself.
 
#4 ·
That's the article. It will be a major win for the nature nazi's if this happens. I hope more people show up than have responded to this thread. While the article doesn't specifically say they want to close the Loon Lake T.H., rumors have it that that is one of the "side roads" that's on the chopping block. The tree huggers don't think that it serves any purpose.
 
#5 ·
Loon Lake road and the trail head there are not under the jurisdiction of the FS. It is a deeded county road. The side shoots and camping areas around and near it are off limits to vehicles. When on the trail there and when on the Rubicon you must stay on the road and park according to the new rules of the FS. Meaning you must stay on the road. The FS is putting up red carsonite signs to designate the places they don't want you to go. Please respect these new signs.
 
#6 ·
More updates:

The preliminary alternative descriptions and maps, as well
as other information from our last open houses on June 6th and 8th, are now
available online or on CD-ROM upon request. Reading through the entire
webpage is recommended.

There were also several maps shown at the open houses related to the
various resource issues being addressed as a result of Forest Plan
Standards and Guidelines (e.g. meadows, sensitive plants, rights-of-way).
These maps are not included on-line because there are many and webspace is
limited. If you are interested in these maps, we can send them to you on
CD-ROM upon request.

We want you to review the preliminary alternatives, express ideas and
concerns, and talk to us about specific routes that are of interest to you.
During the last two weeks of June, we would like to invite you to come to
our office in Placerville (100 Forni Road) to discuss these ideas,
concerns, and specific routes. We will be open on Mon. – Thurs. from 9 am
to 4 pm, and Fri. – Sun. from 9 am to 1 pm (June 15 – June 30). You can
schedule an appointment with us by sending a request to
eldoradoroutes@fs.fed.us or by calling the Route Designation Team Leader,
Anthony Scardina, at (530) 621-5276. If you have further questions please
let us know. We look forward to talking with you!!

All of this information can be found at the following link:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/projects/route/alternatives/index.shtml.
If you have any problems please let us know. Thank you.

Anthony V. Scardina
Eldorado National Forest
Deputy District Ranger & Route Designation Team Leader

USDA Forest Service
Eldorado National Forest, Supervisor's Office
100 Forni Road
Placerville, CA 95667

EMAIL: ascardina@fs.fed.us
WEB: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/
 
#7 ·
Updayes from the biweekly phone call...

Expect a late November or early December draft EIS for comment. There are some upcoming field trips for discussion on the ground.

The proposed range of alternative includes a reduced seasonal closure of three months (12/1-3/1) in alternative B and D -- that's a win relative to the 6 months in Alternative C of the originally proposed action, but still a loss relative to where we are today. The report is that they've removed the altitude dual-zone access guidelines, as well. It will be interesting to see what the inter-disciplinary team advises as the proposed action in the draft EIS.

Keep in mind that the Forest Supervisor has the power today to close routes in the forest for excessively wet conditions, and he will still have that power on either side of that proposed three months closure period.

BTW, the Forest Service based the December 1 through March 1 proposed closure dates on 30 years of data, looking at maximum precipitation in driest years to identify the shortest range of closure possible for best access, balanced with a desire to protect resources during wet weather.

Randii
 
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