We need everyone to contact their Congressman and Senators this week regarding Tellico!
Look up your representatives @ Rapid Response Center - BlueRibbon Coalition and call them!
The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), Southern Four Wheel Drive
Association (SFWDA), and the United Four Wheel Drive Associations
(UFWDA) have teamed up to fight this and we are working as
aggressively as we can to get you the right information. We have
spent the last week "scrubbing" through the draft EA and developing a
plan and now WE NEED YOUR HELP AND HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE MOST
HELPFUL:
STEP 1: The week of March 9th, THIS WEEK, we need you to call,
write or, even better, visit your congressman, senator, state and
local representatives. They need to know that the Forest
Service is going to affect jobs and the economy in this difficult
time. They need to know the real science and that the water is not
bad. See for talking points. Feel free to
copy and paste the letter, but be sure to personalize it with a short
paragraph on why Tellico is important-what it represents to the OHV
community and to you. Help your representatives understand how
important Tellico is.
STEP 2: Beginning the week of March 16th, BRC, SFWDA, and UFWDA
will have a letter generator up with comments you can make to the
Forest Service about the EA. If you have already made comments, make
some more. Each time you find out some new information, send it to
the Forest Service. We need letters. We are currently refining our
comment bullet points and will send out and post more information to
help with your letters as we complete that process. But don't let
that stop you from doing background preparation and comments
yourself. WE NEED to have as much enthusiast involvement as we
possibly can muster from the OHV community.
BRC and UFWDA will be following through for us in Washington DC,
working from the top down. They will meet with the Forest Service as
well as other national organizations and some of those friendly
representatives.
Please read the Forest Service documents on their website at:
Upper Tellico OHV Area
Then take the time to review the independent scientific study SFWDA
had commissioned at:
Recommended Trail System Repair and Maintenance Plan Upper Tellico OHV System.
If you see anything in the EA or Caliber report, or you have
information that you want to make sure we don't overlook, please
notify Heather Royston at
Heather.Royston@sfwda.org
We each need to do our part to RESCUE TELLICO and YOUR INVOLVEMENT
IS CRITICAL!
A SAMPLE LETTER TO SEND TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE CAN BE FOUND HERE FOR
COPY AND PASTE. OR THERE ARE GENERAL TALKING POINTS TO USE BELOW...
Upper Tellico OHV Area
Proposed Closure Order
TALKING POINTS
*Congressional attention to this problem cannot wait.
*The USFS has issued a proposed temporary closure notice
prohibiting all use of the Upper Tellico OHV system effective April
1, 2009.
*REPAIRING THE AREA IS THE BEST SOLUTION:
o OHV enthusiasts spend 4 times more money on lodging, food, and
gas than other outdoor sportsmen
o $4.8 million annually in tourism revenues by OHV users
o Repairing contributes $1.5 - $2.6 million in OHV revenue
annually
o Repairing would create more than $1.4 million in local jobs
o Nearby streams are currently healthy
o Nearby streams have excellent water quality per North Carolina
standards
o Nearby streams are capable of sustaining viable, reproducing
native trout populations
o Nearby stream channels are very stable
o Nearby stream channels convey stream flows without streambed
erosion
o The trails are repairable and very much maintainable/sustainable
after repair
*CLOSURE IS A BAD SOLUTION:
o Closure creates ZERO OHV tourism revenue
o Degradation of water quality and degradation of aquatic habitat
in Upper Tellico is non-existent
o Historic clear-cutting of land in Upper Tellico has contributed
more to the off-site sediment transport than the trail system
o Closure of trails is neither warranted nor recommended by USFS
trails experts!
eventhough
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