Big changes On the Rubicon. ONLY 6 days left to mail input!! Please read!!!

[NTTD]

Hello Ih8mud forum!

First I apologise if this has been covered in another post. This is too important to miss. Anyone who is part of any Jeep or other 4X4 forums please forward. Members of other clubs please inform your members and have them leave input! Forward forward forward!

I am a newbie as is obvious by my number of posts. I have the fortune of living in El Dorado county near the border of Placer county in the Beautiful Lake Tahoe region. At the last meeting of the local 4X4 club we found out about some pretty signifigant changes that El Dorado county is proposing for the Rubicon trail (the majority of the trail is in this county, and much of the trail is considered a county road). These changes are wide ranging and will affect trail access.

Below is the text of an email from Doug Barr a member of our club and a local advocate for trail access. He is also a member of the Lake Tahoe Hi Lo's who do trail maintenance on portions of the Rubicon.

Hello everyone,

As promised, here is a quick down and dirty overview of some of MY concerns with El Dorado County's Rubicon Trail Master Plan. Remember that someday this plan will probably be applied to the Tahoe side of the trail by Placer County.



This is a SHORT version of what I have already submitted to the county.


The Notice of Preparation and the complete RTMP can be viewed at
http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/Rubicon/MasterPlanDraftMarch2006.html

The plan lists a set of goals. Nowhere in the list is the goal of keeping the trail open. The very first goal should be to keep the trail open and healthy to all users.


Goal 4 refers to equity to all users. I believe that all users should be able to use the trail but that the views of an equestrian should not carry the same weight as the views of an OHV users. It is and has always been an OHV trail. The decisions made regarding the trail should be based primarily on OHV use.


Money is to be spent on dumpsters for human waste and for bunkhouses for Law Enforcement. I think the money could be spent better elsewhere. Human waste needs to be removed from the area. Pack-it-in Pack-it-out means all the way out not just to the trailhead. LE is important but lets not spend money on a bunk house. Let them stay in the chalet if they need to.


No kiosk is planned for the entrances on the Tahoe side. El Dorado should work with Placer County to develop better information areas at the entrances to the trail.


There is a great deal of red tape in terms of trail maintenance. Upon the discovery of a trail maintenance need, there is a 30-45 day process to get anything done. This needs to be reduced to immediately being able to repair the trail or within two days.


Capacities: The county is looking to put a limit on the number of vehicles allowed in to the Rubicon Trail System at any one time. I don't think this is necessary. If it must be implemented, start it out on the big holiday weekends only.


Permits: The county plans to have every Rubicon Trail user fill out and pay for a permit to access the trail. (Remember this will someday be applied to the Tahoe side of the trail.) The county plans to cover the cost of the plan with the sale of permits. The permits would be very expensive.


The county will require a permit to camp in the area of the Rubicon Trail. This in addition to the permit to access the trail.


The is no provision for buying permits on the Tahoe side of the trail.


From the NOP:

"The 30-day NOP review and comment period begins March 24, 2006 and ends April 24, 2006. Your comments can be sent anytime during the NOP review period. All written public and agency comments should be directed to: El Dorado County Airports, Parks and Grounds Division; Attention: Mr. Dan Bolster, Park Project Coordinator, 3000 Fairlane Court, Suite 1, Placerville, CA 95667. Please include the name of a contact person for your agency, if applicable. Oral comments may be provided at an EIR scoping meeting that will be held on April 18, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marshall Building of the El Dorado County Fairgrounds at 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville, CA. Persons with disabilities that may require special accommodations at the scoping meeting should contact Dan Bolster at the above address or by phone at: (530) 621-5349."




Bottom line, send comments to:

Mr. Dan Bolster
Park Project Coordinator
3000 Fairlane Court, Suite 1
Placerville, CA 95667



Please send in your comments no matter how vague or detailed. Give the county a feeling for how you want the trail managed.

Feel free to forward this e-mail to any and all trail users.



Doug Barr
Friends of the Rubicon