Forest Service Decision on Tellico OHV Due Soon

[JC NC]

The Forest Service has indicated that they will release their final decision on Tellico in early August, 2009. IMO they already know by this time what the decision will be. As they have not been in contact with the Rescue Tellico Coalition and have not responded to the NOI to sue, my thought is that the decision will not be the one we are looking for!

Regardless, I ask each of you to take the time to send a simple email to:

National Forests In NC 160A Zillicoa St <comments-southern-north-carolina-nantahala-tusquitee@fs.fed.us>

Stating your opposition to the permanent closure of the Tellico OHV Area and your desire that the FS engage in working with the 4x4 community to address and fix any problems that prohibit the reopening of the trail system.

[funkskunk]

Thanks for the update, I'll send some more letters tonight. DON'T GIVE UP PEOPLE!!

[77cruzer]

I just sent an email to that address. Could not be more frustrated to contiually have these great places and priveledges as Americans be taken away from us and feel like no matter what we as groups say or do, we are ignored.

[89s rule]

email sent. its just sad what or government can and will get away with. I fear this is just the begining.

[GSW]

There could be an OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ANY DAY NOW!

[GSW]

Originally Posted by GSW

There could be an OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ANY DAY NOW!

So yeah.....you can call the Forest Service at (828) 257-4200.

[craigellis77]

Another e-mail sent...they should be on a first name basis with me.

[funkskunk]

Just sent another email, man I hope the FS does the right thing and reopens Tellico. I will be one of the first ones to get my hands dirty maintaining the trails! Anyone else with me?! We should get a work crew ready and on-call just in case they announce it is re opened. Let's quit all the whining and get our shovels ready to do some work! The FS just might surprise all of us with some good news.

[DRM]

Originally Posted by funkskunk

Just sent another email, man I hope the FS does the right thing and reopens Tellico. I will be one of the first ones to get my hands dirty maintaining the trails! Anyone else with me?! We should get a work crew ready and on-call just in case they announce it is re opened. Let's quit all the whining and get our shovels ready to do some work! The FS just might surprise all of us with some good news.

Now THAT is the positive attitude we need to be working with!

I don't care if you think SFWDA is the devil or an angel or somewhere inbetween - they are a mean to an end, and we all need to be positive about that end: re-opening Tellico.

Bravo

[macm715]

just got off the phone with candice with nc fs she moved the date out to end of this month or early sept.

[shadetree6969]

HAHA go figure more back pedaling.

[macm715]

She said this was due to the internal reviews and the large letter / call and email load they had on this. they wanted to make sure they did what was best for all parties involved.

I thanked her and offered any assistance i could in helping clean up trails or build new ones. She said there were numberous people with suggestions on cleanup and trail repair and suggestions on how to help keep it fom affecting the environment.

Again i thanked her for her support and told her i was glad to see them atleast weighing all the opptions on the table and tried to nice about it.

See we can speak politics too.

I really wanted to say it was a load of bs and they should have never closed in the first place.

[s10er8]

smoke and mirrors

[DRM]

Originally Posted by macm715

She said there were numberous people with suggestions on cleanup and trail repair and suggestions on how to help keep it fom affecting the environment.

Like SFWDA hasn't been there ALL ALONG ready and willing to do what was necessary?

I don't know how you fought off the urge to strangle her through the phone line

[funkskunk]

Give her some credit guys, she at least seems to be taking our side into account finally! Make sure to get the word out to more people that aren't in the OHV community, this will only help our cause by gaining more and more support. And don't put a twist on it either, tell them the facts and don't add stuff just to make it sound worse! Be honest and tell them to also share their thoughts on the issue with the FS. Also it wouldn't hurt to get your Trout buddies involved too, I've read some new information and my opinion of them was very skewed. They didn't want it closed just managed so bring out the olive branches and lets make some headway towards getting Tellico reopened!

[s10er8]

Bullshit. they did want it closed

[funkskunk]

Thanks S10er8 very helpful towards the cause.

And on another note, I found a web seminar series that is being done by the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council about maintaing trails. It may or may not be helpful to the cause but at least it's in a positive direction.
Linky --> http://www.nohvcc.org/education/webinars.asp

[k9crazy]

Originally Posted by s10er8

Bullshit. they did want it closed

Honestly, he's right. Maybe not eloquent, but right. They do want it closed. All the "we just wanted things better" stuff is smoke.

[funkskunk]

yeah so maybe I've been duked, if that's the case then lesson learned but I just want people to start thinking "what if" this thing actually goes our way? We need to have a better game plan ready to implement for the trails instead of just saying "oh we will do better this time." That's really all I would like to see.

[thumping]

Originally Posted by funkskunk

Just sent another email, man I hope the FS does the right thing and reopens Tellico. I will be one of the first ones to get my hands dirty maintaining the trails! Anyone else with me?! We should get a work crew ready and on-call just in case they announce it is re opened. Let's quit all the whining and get our shovels ready to do some work! The FS just might surprise all of us with some good news.

Shovels loaded and ready... I agree, maybe we'll get surprised but, I'm not holding my breath. There has been tons of work done on the trails over the years like bridges built and so forth. If they wanted something different they should have said so...but instead they took the route and word of liars such as TU. TU has bashed us over and over and I have even offered to meet with them and walk every trail in Tellico and address every concern they may have...response was nothing short of "No thank you".

But if they do reopen and a trail repair weekend is scheduled, I'll do everything I can to be there.

[Crawfords Campground]

But if they do reopen and a trail repair weekend is scheduled, I'll do everything I can to be there.[/quote]

I think many are with you on that statement. The thing is that the FS wanted a good excuse to close Tellico and any other place that allows motorized vehicles on public land. They have maintenance plans they don't follow, there has always been volunteers to help and they don't manage that asset either. Plain and simple the majority of the FS like watching the trees grow and driving through their own private parks scoping the next great hunting spot. They get paid the same whether they pick up a shovel or hang out at the local convenience store BSing with their buddies about local gossip and where they are going to hunt for that trophy. I see it almost every day. Take a little walk into the OHV area and you will see for yourself. It doesn't look like they have done any maintenance to the tails and the silt traps are filled to the brim. There are silt monitors on some that are collecting data to prove that silt is still not being controlled eventhough there is no traffic out there. My thought on that, it may be a situation that they are still trying to gather as much negative data as they can to back the bogus EA report they completed. If they don't clear the traps and those things are filling up, they can say the situation is even worse than previously documented and there is no way they could ever keep the silt from leaving the trail system.
I have been bird dogging them and report issues to Con. Shuler every week or two. It would be extremely helpful if others would do the same. Maybe pick a day that you would normally Twitter to write the Gov. Rep..

[ROCKRAWL]

CC you've got a PM

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by Crawfords Campground

But if they do reopen and a trail repair weekend is scheduled, I'll do everything I can to be there.

I think many are with you on that statement. The thing is that the FS wanted a good excuse to close Tellico and any other place that allows motorized vehicles on public land. They have maintenance plans they don't follow, there has always been volunteers to help and they don't manage that asset either. Plain and simple the majority of the FS like watching the trees grow and driving through their own private parks scoping the next great hunting spot. They get paid the same whether they pick up a shovel or hang out at the local convenience store BSing with their buddies about local gossip and where they are going to hunt for that trophy. I see it almost every day. Take a little walk into the OHV area and you will see for yourself. It doesn't look like they have done any maintenance to the tails and the silt traps are filled to the brim. There are silt monitors on some that are collecting data to prove that silt is still not being controlled eventhough there is no traffic out there. My thought on that, it may be a situation that they are still trying to gather as much negative data as they can to back the bogus EA report they completed. If they don't clear the traps and those things are filling up, they can say the situation is even worse than previously documented and there is no way they could ever keep the silt from leaving the trail system.
I have been bird dogging them and report issues to Con. Shuler every week or two. It would be extremely helpful if others would do the same. Maybe pick a day that you would normally Twitter to write the Gov. Rep..

Being that I live 6 hours from Tellico I never got up there but once a year. That being said I never saw the FS nor have I heard of the FS doing any clean up weekends like they do at URE. There needs to be some one that organises the cleanup weekends and mass emails us if they ever open it back up. In this economy they would be crazy to leave it closed but I guess they see it as a headache and not a source of their sallary or funds to help improve the area and tolls they ahve to work with.

[JC NC]

Talked to the District Office this morning by phone. Word is they are waiting on "internal reviews" of the paperwork from higher up, Regional Forester and The Chief I guess, before announcing any decision, and that it could be late September or October before anything is released!

[InstaGator]

Pro-longing it hoping we will go away. Maybe around the holidays where everyone will be preoccupied. Even if we win this one and get it re-opened, don't think for a 2nd that they won't try again. Then they will be banking on less numbers because a lot of us may get complacent and think it will be an automatic win next time. Thios is a lifetime fight and this is only one of the early rounds.