USFS releases draft EIS for motor vehicle use |
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alabamatoy
Admin Group I dont work here anymore... Joined: 16 February 2004 Location: Signal Mountain Status: Offline Points: 9364 |
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Posted: 20 September 2019 at 11:39am |
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Pike and San Isabel National Forest Officials Release Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Public Motor Vehicle Use Forest officials aim to continue working with all citizens to designate a motor vehicle use system within the Forests that balances the needs of forest users with protecting the land
PUEBLO, Colo., September 19, 2019 — Officials from the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands (PSICC) today released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for public motor vehicle use. The Notice of Availability will publish in the Federal Register on September 20, 2019, initiating the formal 45-day public comment period that ends November 4, 2019. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is part of the 2005 Travel Management Rule, requiring National Forests and Grasslands to designate roads, trails and areas that are open for motorized use. It offers five alternatives for a system of designated roads, trails and areas by class of vehicle and season of use. The alternatives reflect input from forest users, partners, and state and local governments. “Feedback on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will help strengthen our analysis,” said Forest and Grassland Supervisor Diana Trujillo. “Hearing the voices of various forest users is extremely important to us. Our goal is to designate a motorized system that works for the public while caring for natural and cultural resources.” The alternatives address a range of concerns about resource impacts from motor vehicle use, reduced motorized access, and potential conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users. The five alternatives are summarized below.
The Travel Management Rule exempts the following from designation: aircraft, watercraft, and over-snow vehicles; use by the military, law enforcement, firefighters, and Forest Service for administrative activities; permitted special uses, such as livestock grazing, mining, logging, and collecting fuelwood, Christmas trees and other forest products; and access to pipeline and utility corridors, as well as access to private land. Forest officials will host four meetings for the public to review the alternatives, ask questions and learn how to submit comments.
Written comments must be submitted in person, through the online comment portal, or mailed to John Dow, PSICC Forest Planner, Travel Management, 2840 Kachina Drive, Pueblo, CO, 81008. Comments, including the names and addresses of respondents, will be part of the public record. Anonymous comments will be accepted and considered, but those submitting comments anonymously will not have standing to object to the final decision. Only those who commented during this process will be eligible to object the final decision. Comments should be clear and specific to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and must be submitted by November 4, 2019. After considering the comments submitted, Forest officials will prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement and designate a system of roads, trails and areas open for motor vehicle use by class of vehicle and season of use. The decision is expected to publish in the Federal Register in November of 2020. Six new motor vehicle use maps will be published for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests. These new maps will complement the two that already exist for the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands. All will be available free of charge. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/pr
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"If you didnt buy your 1st gen 4Runner new, then YOU are a newbie!!"
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alabamatoy
Admin Group I dont work here anymore... Joined: 16 February 2004 Location: Signal Mountain Status: Offline Points: 9364 |
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If you want to post a comment, take what I posted and modify to suit your tastes: ============ I have personally, and many times with my children and their
friends, donated my time towards conservation repairs, cleanup, and
overall responsible support to the US Forest Service. I have worked to
build water bars, repair runoff protections, install new and maintain
existing signage, pick up trash, and assist in blocking unauthorized
trails. I used the USFS hiking tails over many
years. However, as I have aged, my knees can no longer tolerate
extensive hiking, especially with any significant load in a backpack.
But I still enjoy exploring, sightseeing, animal and bird watching in
the USFS lands. I do it via a street-legal 4X4 or a street-legal
motorcycle meant for offroading. I want the
USFS roads and trails accessible to me to be expanded, not reduced.
There are plenty of wilderness areas and roadless areas which are
accessible only to hikers. The USFS lands belong to me, in part, and I
demand my share of their use and access. Vast areas where I used to be
able to ride dirt-bikes and 4-wheel are now blocked off to me,
accessible only to hikers and loggers and other resource extraction
personnel. This is morally wrong, as it amounts to stealing from me
what is rightfully mine. I and my children have sweat equity in these
lands in addition to access rights as an American Citizen. |
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"If you didnt buy your 1st gen 4Runner new, then YOU are a newbie!!"
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