BLM says Greenhorn will be closed???

[Bebe]

BLM says Greenhorn will be closed

Well, I’m not exactly sure how they will do that, and the cost is sure to be high.

A little background:

On 9/22 if you remember, some of the local PBB members organized a small, albeit effective clean up. At the clean up we discussed whether or not this area was worth saving. It was such a mess. We collectively agreed that was, and that a little education could go a long way.

When I got to the office on Monday morning I called the Folsom BLM office, and spoke with Mr. Jeff Horn, outdoor recreation officer. At first Mr. Horn was very surprised, excited and happy to hear about the clean up, the interest in additional cleanups, and the offer to put up signage at the camping areas. Then as if someone hit him over the head, his tone completely changed, and he then informed me about the FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement), that it has been completed, the comment periods were over and that the ROD (Record of Decision) would be signed very soon, and, that Greenhorn was going to be closed.

Alarmed, I contacted a few people and asked if they knew anything about it. Answer: No. I quickly looked up the FEIS on the BLM website, no references there to the closure of Greenhorn.

At that time I wrote this letter:

From : Jacquelyne Theisen
To : Bill Haigh <William_Haigh@blm.gov>
Cc : Jeff Horn <Jeff_Horn@ca.blm.gov Jeff_Horn@ca.blm.gov>; James Eicher <James_Eicher@ca.blm.gov


Dear Gentlemen,

I spoke with Mr. Horn earlier this week about the Greenhorn Creek area off Red Dog road in Nevada City, CA.

A group of us from Pirate 4X4 Bulletin Board decided to go out and do a clean up of the area. We spent the entire day there, in the rain, and filled two trailers and a pick-up truck with trash and debris.

Most of us are members of Friends of the Rubicon, Friends of Eldorado, Friends of Tahoe Access, and Cal4WD association, Blue Ribbon Coalition etc. One of the members participating in the clean-up effort was a private landowner off Buckeye Flat Rd.

I called the local office to inquire about our group wanting to put up some signing in several of the camping areas. (We do this on a regular basis for many of the groups listed above)

In my conversation with Mr. Horn, he mentioned that there has been a final EIS filed, and that the Greenhorn Creek area is slated to be closed. I have been reading this document for the past several days and have not found any references to the closure in the document and would like to ask if you could reference where in the document it states Greenhorn Creek is to be closed to OHV use. (Perhaps there is some other sort of common name that I am not aware of).

I also studied the "Response to Public Comments” section and found only one person that I recognized, the Honorable Jack Sweeney, El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.

I do not know Mr. Sweeny personally, but I am aware that he is involved in OHV use. I am amazed that OHV users groups in the area were not represented well, I am also shocked that we somehow missed this opportunity to comment.

If Greenhorn is not going to be closed as a result of the Final EIS, I would like to open a discussion on how the OHV community can be more proactive and involved in educating users in the Greenhorn area. We would like to install signs with reminders, Leave no trace, Pack out what you Pack in, use portable sanitation, and a map of the area etc.

Those of us who enjoy and respect the area, its history and beauty, would like to continue using iit. I feel like a little education could go a long way there.

Respectfully yours,
Jacquelyne Theisen

Essentially, after I fired off that e-mail, (6 weeks ago) I have heard nothing. I contacted him twice yesterday, and received no return phone call or e-mail.

So now it is time to bring it to the users. We need to organize, and let them know we want to keep this play area. But we have to be willing to work for it.

The majors players/decision makers I know of are, The BLM, Tahoe National Forest (very small area), Nevada County, Private Landowners, and Local users.

Some ideas for what needs to be done:

Signs at all 6 entrances, and the 3-4 major camping areas.

Pack it in - Pack it out, Leave No Trace – Use Portable Sanitation - Stay on the Trail – No Trespassing etc.

Well-drawn maps of the area from You Bet to Buckeye Flat Rd. (Aerials w/ road overlays would work best)

Regular clean ups

Community Outreach

Organized Events

We should also have regular meetings with all the above-mentioned authorities, preferably together at one time, preferably on site.

All of those who would like to help, even in the smallest way, let me know on this thread. We can schedule a meeting and get some more thoughts on how to save this great play area.

Thanks

Bebe

[91advrunner]

Well I know that a few friends and I will deffinatly(sp?) be willing to help clean and organize and such. We are in highschool and we like to go wheel at green horn on the weekends and it is suce a close convenient place to 4wheel and has many different types and areas of wheeling. If you need any help cleaning We'll help.
Wade

[Cobra5.0Jeep]

Fire Season is over and i am 100% free to do any clean up or anything in Greenhorn area.
I highly doubt they will close Greenhorn, or have the resources to pull it off. Any gates they put up someone will find away around and they can't close off access from the gravel area which owns most of that land anyways.
I think he was just doing a scare tactic. He didn't need to there are people willing to keep the place clean.

[Dare44]

im very good friends with wade and i hardly post here as i am mostly on yotatech but we seriously need to get a clean up run together with a few car trailers and try to keep our area, this is a great place and law enforcment has recently been patroling the area on quads, this may help us but we need to help ourselves here and have a clean up run. someone should bring pirate stickers for participants, come on guys i dont want to see another place closed down because of the trash we leave there, so come on lets decide on a date and run a clean up and see if we can get some attention.

[Bebe]

So after I posted this....guess who I received a call from???

Yep, Jeff Horn.

He said Greenhorn is not going to stay open. The Record of Decision is going to be signed in 2 weeks,AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!

He would still like to see clean ups going on.....oooookay! But don't bother putting up signs,it would be a waste of time.

Then he referred me to Sandra McGinnis of the California BLM. She is the Environmental affairs Officer.

Sandra didn't feel the same way as Mr. Horn, and said she thought if we followed the outline of actions laid out above, that it would be a win/win for everyone involved.

She is going to assist us in getting a Plan Amendment in the works to help us get Greenhorn back.

It will take time. It will take a lot of effort.

Question is? How bad do we want it? I want it back. Do you want it back?

I need some help with this!!! I need some locals with intimate knowledge of the area, history, and few connections would help too.

For those of you who have offered already, please PM you email addresses, so we can get the ball rolling. Get friends an neighbors to sign up and help too!

We need to get a flier made up, and have some locals pass them out around town. We need a firestorm of people who want to keep Greenhorn open.

Ultimately, we should want this turned into an OHV area, forever.

Thanks, Bebe

P.S as far as I'm concerned the BLM snuck this one by us, well, it's time to tell them they can't do that kind of crap without expecting a fight.

We need to get pissed and get busy!!!

[Bebe]

C'mon people!!

Lets GET IT !!!

[42s on u]

I'm in. I'm willing to Make the sign's, I have the means to do it, along with the materials. I'm also well connected with the local law enforcement. I'll do what ever is needed. I live on Youbet and want to be able to enjoy my back yard for years to come.

[42s on u]

The more I think about the up comming closure, the more I'm wondering how. This has been an on going rumor for the last 20 years (or more, I can only remember 20ish) and it never happens. Greenhorn Creek is a public water way, just like any other river/creek/body of water, it's public domain to the high water mark. It's just like the people who have water front property along a river who try and stop people from fishing, they can't. Plus with Red Dog road running through the creek, how are you going to stop people? They can fence off BLM and private property but I don't see that happening. The cost of that would be huge. So how are they proposing to "close" Greenhorn?

[Bebe]

Sweet!!! Thanks! PM me your email or other contact info and I'll put you on the list

[Bebe]

Originally Posted by 42s on u

The more I think about the up comming closure, the more I'm wondering how. This has been an on going rumor for the last 20 years (or more, I can only remember 20ish) and it never happens. Greenhorn Creek is a public water way, just like any other river/creek/body of water, it's public domain to the high water mark. It's just like the people who have water front property along a river who try and stop people from fishing, they can't. Plus with Red Dog road running through the creek, how are you going to stop people? They can fence off BLM and private property but I don't see that happening. The cost of that would be huge. So how are they proposing to "close" Greenhorn?

Implemetation of the closure has not been discussed as of yet. That will come after the Record of Decision due in a couple of weeks.

With the new travel mangement rules, which are governed by the Department of the Interior (in the BLM's case) I can be an Federal offense trespassing on Government Land.

You are correct in question the way they will enforce it, that was my question too.

We need to amend the plan prior to implementation. I'm not sure we can do that. But with the pace at which the government works, it might be possible.

I received this e-mail last night from Sandra McGinnis:

Hi Jacquelyne!
I enjoyed talking to you today. I hope to get you the information we
discussed by tomorrow, but if I don't manage to get to it then, it will
have to wait at least 2 weeks because I'll be out of the office after
tomorrow until 12/3. If you don't hear from me shortly after that, please
call and remind me of my task!

Thanks for your patience and enthusiasm in helping manage our public lands!

Sandra McGinnis
BLM California Planning and Environmental Coordinator

[Cobra5.0Jeep]

Originally Posted by 42s on u

The more I think about the up comming closure, the more I'm wondering how. This has been an on going rumor for the last 20 years (or more, I can only remember 20ish) and it never happens. Greenhorn Creek is a public water way, just like any other river/creek/body of water, it's public domain to the high water mark. It's just like the people who have water front property along a river who try and stop people from fishing, they can't. Plus with Red Dog road running through the creek, how are you going to stop people? They can fence off BLM and private property but I don't see that happening. The cost of that would be huge. So how are they proposing to "close" Greenhorn?

Yeah i don't think they can do it. They would have to put in a shit load of fencing and i don't think BLM would want to waste that much money just to keep people out.

[42s on u]

Originally Posted by Bebe

Implemetation of the closure has not been discussed as of yet. That will come after the Record of Decision due in a couple of weeks.

With the new travel mangement rules, which are governed by the Department of the Interior (in the BLM's case) I can be an Federal offense trespassing on Government Land.

You are correct in question the way they will enforce it, that was my question too.

We need to amend the plan prior to implementation. I'm not sure we can do that. But with the pace at which the government works, it might be possible.

I received this e-mail last night from Sandra McGinnis:

Ok, if they are turning it into Government land are they going to kick Hansen Brothers out of the river bed too. They would be technically trespassing also, right? Not sure if they can block a public waterway along with blocking off a public road. People live on the other side of the creek, in fact there's a guy building a house just on the other side of the creek up Red Dog. What's he supposed to do.

Also, there are many county roads and trails that lead to the river bed there's no way to close it completely. It's just the worst option they could possibly propose.

I know you aren't the one to answer these questions but, I just don't see how this is a feasible option.

[Cobra5.0Jeep]

Originally Posted by 42s on u

I'm in. I'm willing to Make the sign's, I have the means to do it, along with the materials. I'm also well connected with the local law enforcement. I'll do what ever is needed. I live on Youbet and want to be able to enjoy my back yard for years to come.

Hey we live pretty close to each other if your on you bet.

[42s on u]

Originally Posted by Cobra5.0Jeep

Hey we live pretty close to each other if your on you bet.

Youbet and 174, gray house, fawked off fence..

[Bebe]

All they legally have to do is post no trespassing signs.

[Cobra5.0Jeep]

Originally Posted by 42s on u

Youbet and 174, gray house, fawked off fence..

your on that corner house?
I live deep on You Bet.

[Cobra5.0Jeep]

Originally Posted by Bebe

All they legally have to do is post no trespassing signs.

You mean new target signs for the rednecks to shoot at?! haha

[42s on u]

Originally Posted by Cobra5.0Jeep

your on that corner house?
I live deep on You Bet.

Not the corner house, going towards youbet on 174, last house on the left before you turn.

[Kurtuleas]

Originally Posted by Cobra5.0Jeep

You mean new target signs for the rednecks to shoot at?! haha

Get caught doing that and it just gives them more ammo to close more.

[Kurtuleas]

BEBE...

Can you e-mail me more info on all this?

All these BLM lands (like Moab) will also be undergoing EIS's and we need to get the word out YESTERDAY.

I see an upcoming article........

[Bebe]

That is pretty much it, I just started this a couple of days ago....

[randii]

Emailed to my club...

Randii

[91advrunner]

Both Dare44 and I are locals and can spread the word throughout our highschool. we need to set up a clean up day as well. we can also put up flyers at the OHV shops like Sierra Motor Sports and all the 4WD shops around here.

[VERTIGO]

I'm in ... and thinking about making a run up there Saturday right after Thanksgiving. I'll check some things out. this sux

[Todd W]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

Get caught doing that and it just gives them more ammo to close more.

He never said he did it mr
Considering he's in a post regarding keeping land open, and trying to help out why try to make him look or feel bad? Does it make you feel better shaking your head at someone you don't know, and on your side?

We already have enough trouble with the greenies we don't need people amongst ourselves getting pissy with each other. And if you meant the : shaking : for people in general then I read it the wrong way