Forest Service Proposes Trail Closures at Tellico!!

[k9crazy]

I decided that this needs it's own thread. I'll also post it in the "Save Tellico" thread (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=604044) and in the "News Article in Citizen times" thread (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=614705).

Please cross post all over the place.

OK folks, the Forest Service is on the move and has taken the first step to closure of three trails: Lower 2, 7 and 9. They have also taken the first step to closing all of Tellico over the winter months. Now is when we are going to need your help.

Here is the letter that was sent out:

Dear Interested Public,

I am seeking comments on two proposals to establish new Forest Supervisor’s Orders on the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area in Cherokee County, North Carolina. This OHV area, located 15 miles north of Murphy on the North Carolina/Tennessee state line, includes approximately 38 miles of existing roads and trails that are managed for motorized recreation use. The following actions are being proposed:

1. A Forest Supervisor’s Order prohibiting motorized vehicles on Lower Trail # 2, Trail # 7, and Trail # 9, duration of order not to exceed one year or until a reasonable plan is in place to prevent adverse impacts to the aquatic resource.
2. A Forest Supervisor’s Order prohibiting winter-time motorized vehicle use on the Upper Tellico OHV Trail System from January 1 to March 31 each year. This would include all trails in the system except Trail # 1 and the upper section of Trail # 2 which would remain open as system roads used by vehicle types normally found on public roads.

The following persons would be exempted from these orders:

• Persons with a permit from the Forest Service specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.
• Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
• Owners or lessees of land in the Closure Area are exempt from the prohibitions listed above to the extent necessary to gain access to their land.
• Residents in the Closure Area are exempt from the prohibitions to the extent necessary to gain access to their residences.

PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTIONS

These actions are needed to correct and/or repair ongoing impacts to the aquatic resource caused by sediment entering area waters from the Tellico trail system.

Action # 1, prohibitions on Lower Trail # 2, Trail # 7, and Trail #9, is needed to provide immediate short-term resource protection measures. The greatest impact to area waters is coming from the movement of sediment off these three trails, as indicated by observation and on-site measurements of turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations.

Action # 2, winter-time closure of the OHV Area, is needed to provide resource protection. Forest Service personnel have observed that most of the damage to the trail tread occurs during the winter freeze/thaw period from January to late March, at which time soils are subject to increased rutting and displacement.

These actions would implement direction in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests Land and Resource Management Plan to emphasize protection of perennial and intermittent streams in compliance with North Carolina Forest Practice Guidelines Related to Water Quality.

The actions would be implemented pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50 (b) which states, “The Chief, each Regional Forester, each Experiment Station Director, the Administrator of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and each Forest Supervisor may issue orders which close or restrict the use of any National Forest System road or trail within the area over which he has jurisdiction.”

Before a final decision is made I welcome your comments. Please make your comments as specific as possible along with supporting reasons why you believe your comments should be considered. Please include your name and address in any correspondence.

Your comments may be sent to Tusquitee District Ranger, 123 Woodland Drive, Murphy, NC 28906. Comments may also be sent via email to comments-southern-north-carolina-nan...itee@fs.fed.us.

We would appreciate receiving your comments by October 17, 2007.

Thank you for your time and interest in our management activities on the Tusquitee Ranger District.

Sincerely,

/s/ Tina R. Tilley, Acting District Ranger
TINA R. TILLEY, Acting District Ranger


So there it is. Now, let me explain the process they are following and what may or may not happen.

A "Notice of Supervisor's Order" is the first step in their process to enact new “Supervisor’s Orders” for an this action. The Letter is used to notify potentially interested parties of a proposed action and to solicit comments on the proposed action and its Purpose and Need. The action here is defined by them as:

“A Forest Supervisor’s Order prohibiting motorized vehicles on Lower Trail # 2, Trail # 7, and Trail # 9, duration of order not to exceed one year or until a reasonable plan is in place to prevent adverse impacts to the aquatic resource.

A Forest Supervisor’s Order prohibiting winter-time motorized vehicle use on the Upper Tellico OHV Trail System from January 1 to March 31 each year. This would include all trails in the system except Trail # 1 and the upper section of Trail # 2 which would remain open as system roads used by vehicle types normally found on public roads.”

A proposed action is worthless if its purpose and need is not good. In this case, they are saying that these "closures" are "needed to correct and/or repair ongoing impacts to the aquatic resource caused by sediment entering area waters from the Tellico trail system." They go on to say:

“Action # 1, prohibitions on Lower Trail # 2, Trail # 7, and Trail #9, is needed to provide immediate short-term resource protection measures. The greatest impact to area waters is coming from the movement of sediment off these three trails, as indicated by observation and on-site measurements of turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations.

Action # 2, winter-time closure of the OHV Area, is needed to provide resource protection. Forest Service personnel have observed that most of the damage to the trail tread occurs during the winter freeze/thaw period from January to late March, at which time soils are subject to increased rutting and displacement."

They can basically just say “close it” or “don’t close it.”

OK, so they have proposed their action and purpose and need and are asking for comments. We need to provide those comments to them. This is where you come in.

THE TEMPLATE LETTER IS DONE: CLICK HERE ----> http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showp...6&postcount=75

Drop me an email if you have any questions and I will try to help. If you don’t get a response from me, please don’t be offended. There are only so many hours in a day. I’ll do my best to help as much as I can. My email is Heather.Spivey at sfwda dot org

Let’s get it going folks. Don’t let them take our Tellico away from us!

[GSW]

It's been talk and speculation up until this point. This is definitive action proposed by the FS. Let's get as many letters of opposition to trail closures as possible. Heather nailed it with her recommendations for letter writing. Time to get your game face on.

[Never Monday]

Somebody create a petition like the Bolt on Portal thread.

[yotaoffrod]

So are they gonna close it down for good or are they just closeing it for the winter like always

[k9crazy]

Originally Posted by yotaoffrod

So are they gonna close it down for good or are they just closeing it for the winter like always

1) Complete closure of Lower 2, 7 and 9 until they do an assessment of impacts. We have seen this before and it is the kiss of death. Once they close them, it's very unlikely they will reopen them again.

2) They don't close it down for the winter now. Last year was the first time that they closed selected trails for the winter. And that was a compromise that SFWDA worked out with the Forest Service. The compromise was to close a few trails and then increase the cost to ride over the winter. This will be winter closure of the entire area, which has not been done before.

[k9crazy]

FROM SFWDA, UFWDA, and BlueRibbon Coalition:

As you know, in response to the recent request of the Forest Service to comment on the two proposals to establish new Forest Supervisor’s Orders on the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) area, Southern, United, and BRC have enlisted the services of Carla Boucher and Paul Turcke to submit a formal response letter. In addition to that, we think it is important that you comment on the proposals as well. The request for comment is located here http://www.sfwda.org/trails/tellico/...o20070917.html for you to read. We are providing you with a template letter with the following suggested outline in preparing your letters and remind you to put it in your own words. We urge you to mail your letters in before the identified date of October 17, 2007.

Your letter should be mailed to:

US Forest Service
Nantahala National Forest
Tina Tilley, Tusquitee District Ranger
123 Woodland Drive
Murphy, NC 28906

• Include the date
• Include the file reference information (File Code: 2350-5/1950)
• Include reference (Supervisor’s Orders on the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area
• Tell them who you are and why you are writing
• Give your general and specific comments including:

1. The importance of the Tellico area to recreation and surrounding communities and the effects the closures will have
2. Tell them why you think the specific trail closures (Action #1) on Lower Trail 2, Trail 7, and Trail 9 is not justified
3. Tell them why you think the proposed winter closure (Action #2) is not justified
4. If you know the science, then talk the science
5. Talk about how no data has been provided and ask for the scientific data on which the closures are being based
6. Talk about all the mitigation/maintenance work you/your group/Southern has done and continues to do
7. Talk about what Tellico means to you, why you and your family value it, how you practice Treadlightly!, how you participate in trail clean up, etc.

In conclusion, express your opposition courteously but strongly one last time
Include a statement of your support of the joint letter sent by Southern, United, and BRC.

Request you be added to further communications

Give your contact information

Signature


Please also remember to be courteous and substantive. In other words, “get it off my chest…” type comments are of little or no value. Finally, you need to keep a copy of your letter for future reference.

If you would like to use a TEMPLATE LETTER, here is one that you may cut and paste to use. PLEASE BE SURE TO ADD YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH.

U.S. Forest Service
Nantahala National Forest
Tusquitee District Ranger
123 Woodland Drive
Murphy, NC 28906

INSERT DATE

RE: File Code : 2350-5/1950
Supervisor’s Orders on the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area

Dear District Ranger,

My name is YOUR NAME HERE and I am writing at to express my concerns about the above-referenced Supervisor’s Orders addressing vehicle use of the Upper Tellico OHV Area.

My understanding of the September 17, 2007 letter is that the Forest Service intends on enacting two new Supervisor’s Orders that will close the Upper Tellico OHV Area during the winter months, and will close specific trails (Lower#2, 7 and 9).

Trails Lower#2, #7, and #9 should not be closed. From your letter and from the research that has been conducted, there is no scientific evidence that the Tellico trail system or any one trail in particular, have any impact on streams in the area. The streams that were sampled originate above the OHV area, and samples were only taken down stream of the OHV area. In order to demonstrate that sediment load is coming from a specific area, it is necessary to sample the stream/river both upstream and downstream of the area.

With respect to seasonal closures of the entire area, your agency did not provide and I have not seen any proof that demonstrates the time of year is directly tied to increase potential for impacts. There is no data provided by your agency to suggest that sedimentation from January 1 to March 31 occurs at a higher rate than sedimentation during other months of the year, which makes a winter-time closure unfounded.

[Write a paragraph here about what Tellico means to you. Talk about what you do to preserve the area, talk about how your practice Tread Lightly and how you participate in trail clean up, etc.]

The OHV community is willing to support reasonable management prescriptions, but the Proposed Orders are not rationally connected to the proposed riding restrictions. A well-conceived and thoughtful planning process should be conducted rather than hastily-prepared Orders in response to closure demands of anti-access special interests. My intent with this letter is to show my strong opposition to these and any trail closures and to request my contact information be added to any further communications regarding the Tellico ORV area.

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
YOUR E-MAIL
YOUR PHONE NUMBER

Very truly yours,

SIGN YOUR NAME
TYPE YOUR NAME

[bigassedredjeep]

^^^doesn't get much easier than this... send your letter in TODAY!!!

[jhnyct]

It may be hearsay, but I heard someone say that they heard the FS was closing the trails for environmental evaluation on the 17th. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

[Tommy70K5]

I would like to know also, we are planning a trip up the 25th-27th

[Tommy70K5]

Just called the Rander District, and as of now, there are no plans to close anything, starting the 17th. I was advised to call before any planned trip to verify nothing had been closed.

[rock-rod]

Originally Posted by Tommy70K5

I would like to know also, we are planning a trip up the 25th-27th

damn, I would so be there. I am going to be in Atlanta that weekend for my brother's 40th b-day party. Of course we are flying and the jeepee is sittin in the garage.

maybe next time.

[Tommy70K5]

come up up and visit, we are staying at crawfords, can probably find a seat for you!

[rock-rod]

Originally Posted by Tommy70K5

come up up and visit, we are staying at crawfords, can probably find a seat for you!

I would love to, but we fly in Friday night, the party is all day Sat, and then we turn around and go back to Denver on Sun.

I wish I knew earlier I would have flown out earlier (thursday) and rode Friday with you.

Crap. that sucks. Is Jeff going?

[Tommy70K5]

Originally Posted by rock-rod

I would love to, but we fly in Friday night, the party is all day Sat, and then we turn around and go back to Denver on Sun.

I wish I knew earlier I would have flown out earlier (thursday) and rode Friday with you.

Crap. that sucks. Is Jeff going?

Not sure if Jeff is going or not, he's been on a swing shift and have not talked to him in a few weeks....I know his jeep is not done....can't seem to get him motivated

I should have let you known we were going, I just forget, sorry.

Can't wait to break in the new 454, seems a like a little more power!

[rock-rod]

Originally Posted by Tommy70K5

Not sure if Jeff is going or not, he's been on a swing shift and have not talked to him in a few weeks....I know his jeep is not done....can't seem to get him motivated

I should have let you known we were going, I just forget, sorry.

Can't wait to break in the new 454, seems a like a little more power!

mo' power is always a good thing Just don't snap that little ol th350.

[k9crazy]

The deadline for comment is tomorrow!

SEND AN EMAIL TODAY BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

[KiGrind]

Wrote an email. Hopefully it wasn't teh sux.