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petescoffee

petescoffee

Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Threads
306
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Location
Walnut Creek, CA
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My personal favorite... Friends of the Rubicon www.FOTR.com

Be sure to tell Del that Tony sent you...
 
National Forest Route Designation Web Sites

The following link will take you to the
Pacific Southwest Region website for the National Forest Route Designation.

You can find out more information about route designation and updates on forest planning and changes in our area.
Once at the web site it is easy to navigate by clicking on an area or a catergory.


www.fs.fed.us/r5/routedesignation/r5rdsites.html
 
Rock Creek Area Near Georgetown

The following link is to the Eldorado National Forest Regarding Rock Creek. To learn more than what is printed below click on the following link.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/projects/rock/index.shtml

Rock Creek Recreational Trails
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
Project Proposal:
The Georgetown Ranger District of the Eldorado National Forest has prepared a supplement to the 1999 Rock Creek Recreational Trails Environmental Impact Statement. The supplement is limited to the cumulative environmental effects on the Pacific Deer Herd. Specifically, the supplement analyzes the cumulative effects of the existing proposed action and all alternatives, in combination with past, present and reasonably foreseeable future actions, as bounded by the mapped range of the Pacific Deer Herd.

Background:
Recreational use of the Rock Creek Area, including horseback riding, hiking, fishing, off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel, and mountain biking, has occurred since at least the late 1950s. The purpose of the Rock Creek Recreational Trails Project was to design a trail system, designate uses, and identify resource protection measures to provide a quality recreation experience for all trail users, while minimizing conflicts between the trail users and adjacent landowners, providing protection of natural resources, and promoting safety.

The Rock Creek Recreational Trails Draft EIS was first published in 1996 with a Revised Draft EIS being published in 1997 based on comments received. The Rock Creek Recreational Trails Final EIS and Record of Decision was issued in 1999 implementing Alternative 6 - Resource Protection and Recreation Opportunities.
In February 2002, a lawsuit was filed against the Forest Service that, among other OHV-related issues on the Eldorado National Forest, alleged the cumulative effects analysis conducted for the 1999 Rock Creek Recreational Trails Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision was inadequate.

On February 15, 2005, Judge Lawrence K. Karlton, United States District Court (Eastern District of California), issued a finding [Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation, et al., v. John Berry, Eldorado National Forest Supervisor, et al., CIV-S-02-0325 LKK/JFM (E.D. California)] that the cumulative effects analysis was indeed inadequate, particularly in regards to the Pacific Deer Herd. More specifically, Judge Karlton found that the cumulative impacts analysis area was incorrectly limited to the Rock Creek project area and that “other activities,” including grazing, within the deer herd’s entire range, were not analyzed in sufficient detail to adequately determine the cumulative impacts of the proposed action on the deer herd. On August 16, 2005, Judge Karlton issued his order that a supplement to the Rock Creek Recreational Trails Environmental Impact Statement be prepared as specified in its February 15, 2005 finding.

Location:
The Rock Creek area encompasses approximately 23,600 acres of public lands centered about five miles to the southeast of the town of Georgetown, CA
 
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Northern CA Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act

John Evans Brought this up at the last meeting.
The following link takes you to the full text of the LAW
Click Here to learn more-

http://www.govtrack.us/data/us/bills.text/109/h/h233.pdf

109th U.S. Congress (2005-2006)
H.R. 233: Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
To designate certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino and Six Rivers National Forests and certain Bureau of Land Management lands in Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa Counties in the State of California as wilderness, to designate the Elkhorn Ridge Potential Wilderness Area, to designate certain segments of the Black Butte River in Mendocino County, California as a wild or scenic river, and for other purposes.

Go to... Bill Status Summary Floor Speeches Other Info




Status: Enacted
This bill has become law.
 
thanks Dave! Good job...
 
Forest Service Route Designation

It is not to late to get involved in the process. Maps are being updated RIGHT NOW!!
Check out the forest service web sites. If you can't find a trail or are confused by the maps CALL the Forest servcie contact for route desigantion for the area.

Proposed Route Designation Trail Maps

Is your favorite trail accounted for?
If not let’s work on it. CLick on the map to view or print in Adobe Acrobat
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino/projects/ohv/maps/
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sixrivers/projects/ohv/maps/

Forest Service
Travel Management Plan Updates For The National Forests
Complete List from Blue Ribbon. Great information and guides on where to get more information
http://www.sharetrails.org/public_lands/index.cfm?section=FS

Contains a list of California National Forest Contact information and updates on Route Designation from above
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/PL/National Forest Updates/California National Forest.pdf

If you see routes that are not being called out or called out improperly let’s get active and do something about it. Let me know and I’ll help get the ball rolling. Send me an email or PM me from IH8MUD

Dave Thomas
dthomas@tiogaconstruction.com
 
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Instructional GPS Route Designation Trail Mapping DVD

Greg Mumm had posted this in the IH8MUD Land Use section.



As a side product of the mutual efforts of many national groups working together to develop the Workshops that NOHVCC is now providing around the country regarding the new Forest Service Travel Management Rule, NOHVCC has also developed a very good DVD that you will find very worthwhile. The announcement below is from their website. I have seen the DVD and it provides valuable insight that you can use.

Greg

INSTRUCTIONAL GPS TRAIL MAPPING DVD IS NOW AVAILABLE!
A great tool to help riders and land managers save their favorite Forest Service trails

When word got out about a soon-to-be-released Instructional GPS Trail Mapping DVD, OHV activists and land managers across the country quickly inquired about reserving a copy. This new DVD, which is available now through the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC), provides OHV enthusiasts and professionals with detailed information on how to gather OHV route (trail) information using GPS technology, and how to provide that information to the USFS in a format that will be usable by the USFS for their upcoming Route Designation process. Emphasis is placed on GPS tools and technology that are available to OHV enthusiasts, and software that can be used to manage, catalog and format GPS data.
The DVD is divided into eight chapters which are easily navigable with a computer or DVD player. Chapter topics include an introduction to the USFS Route Designation process, GPS hardware, preparing for your trip, collecting data, DNR Garmin, Garmin Mapsource, Fugawi Global Navigator, and providing data to the agency.
One sample DVD is free for the asking, but the NOHVCC must charge shipping and handling for multiple orders. To order, call (800) 348-6487 or e-mail trailhead@nohvcc.org You can also visit their website at www.nohvcc.org for more info on their other educational products and services.

The DVD was developed jointly by the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC), the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) and the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) with input from the USDA Forest Service (USFS), BlueRibbon Coalition, Americans for Responsible Recreational Access (ARRA), American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), Specilaty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and the United Four-Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA).
 
Articles on Surprise Canyon- Support Tin Benders buy Raffle Tickets

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_4719696


Quote:
Suit filed to open remote road.
Homeowners, off-roaders claim access right

Chuck Mueller, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County SunArticle Launched:11/25/2006 12:00:00 AM PST

A long-simmering issue involving an obscure 19th-century law that grants rights of way on federal land is heading for court.

A major legal battle looms over the public's right to use a closed Inyo County road through remote Surprise Canyon to the ghost town of Panamint City in Death Valley National Park.

"Under law, the federal government must give private landowners access to their property," said Wyoming attorney Karen Budd-Falen, counsel to three groups of landholders who own property near the old mining camp. Their land is surrounded by federal land and can be reached by road only by a 132-year-old route through Surprise Canyon.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management installed a gate to close the road in mid-2001, sparking the court challenge by the landowners and off-road- vehicle groups that frequented the canyon.

Budd-Falen said the plaintiffs - the nonprofit Friends of the Panamint Valley, the Little Chief Millsite partnership, and landowner Bryan Lollich - contend the Civil War-era law granting right of way on public land must be upheld.

"Through the Mining Act of 1866, which later became Revised Statute 2477, Congress granted rights of way over unreserved public lands for the construction of highways," the Budd-Falen said.

"Passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 repealed RS 2477, but rights of way existing before its adoption on Oct. 21, 1976, were grandfathered in. This included the road through Surprise Canyon."

Lollich, vice president of Friends of Panamint Valley, noted that the Surprise Canyon Road was opened in 1874 as Panamint City became a silver-mining boomtown. As a valid right of way when the 1976 land policy act was adopted, "it remains a valid right of way," he said.

Plaintiffs in the civil suit filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Their property is surrounded by government land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

The two agencies, part of the U.S. Department of Interior, are defendants in the case. They have until Dec. 11 to respond to the allegations before District Judge John Bates.

The 10,000-member California Off Road Vehicle Association is backing the plaintiffs' arguments. "We're totally behind them," said association President Ed Waldheim. "It's a travesty that the road through Surprise Canyon was closed. We worked hard with Congress to get a `cherry-stem' designation (to exclude the road from the wilderness area), and they're still trying to close us out."

Meanwhile, using the same mining law as its basis, San Bernardino County has filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior in U.S. District Court in Riverside in a move to protect public right of way on county-maintained roads in the Mojave National Preserve.

Under provisions of the Desert Protection Act, which created the national preserve in 1994, the Interior Department closed roads that are part of the county's highway system across federal lands, First District Supervisor Bill Postmus said.

The Interior Department has until Jan. 15 to respond to the suit.

Six environmental groups have asked the court to allow them to intervene in the case involving Surprise Canyon. They contend that previous off-road-vehicle activity has caused significant damage to wildlife habitat and riparian areas in Surprise Canyon.

Although the canyon has undergone "a remarkable transformation" since the road was closed in 2001, the environmentalists said, that "dramatic recovery could be short-lived if it is opened again to motorized use."

The environmental groups - the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Center for Biological Diversity, California Wilderness Coalition, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility - claim an interest in the case as each has had a long history of involvement in protecting Surprise Canyon.

Three of the groups, they pointed out, filed a lawsuit in 2000 that brought about the closing of the Surprise Canyon Road. Three others worked to pass the California Desert Protection Act in 1994, which added the upper portion of Surprise Canyon to Death Valley National Park and created the 29,180-acre Surprise Canyon Wilderness.

Geary Hund, of the Wilderness Society's Idyllwild office, said the canyon was designated an area of critical environmental concern in 1980. "Its biological diversity is high due the presence of spring-fed streams," he noted."

Among creatures inhabiting the area are the desert bighorn sheep, more than 70 birds such as the prairie falcon and endangered Inyo towee, and the Panamint alligator lizard, isolated in the canyon since the Pleistocene epoch.

Chris Kassar, wildlife biologist with the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity, said allowing off-roaders back into Surprise Canyon would set back efforts toward survival of endangered species for decades. "Since the canyon stream is narrow, substantial adverse impacts, including pollution of the water, would result," she said.

According to Kassar, four-wheel-drive enthusiasts created their own route through the scenic canyon, filled parts of the streambed with rocks and winched their vehicles over near-vertical waterfalls. "The BLM should never have allowed this kind of extreme off-road-vehicle use in Surprise Canyon to occur," Hund said. "It pollutes the five-mile-long perennial stream through the canyon, damages habitat and degrades the wilderness."

But Larry Robertson, vice president for land use for the California Off Road Vehicle Association, said the allegations are exaggerated.

"Off-road vehicle groups have protected Surprise Canyon, but with the closure of the road a lot of vandalism is occurring," he said. "Without adequate protection, a lot of old mining cabins are being destroyed. "Only a handful of off-roaders are winching their vehicles up the cliffs. The winching process, which uses steel anchors placed there by miners who lifted wagons up in the 1930s, are used only in a small corner of the canyon."

The association is assisting the plaintiffs with legal help and funds, Robertson said. "Off-roading activity was shut down two years ago after the gate to the road was closed, and now we're trying to assert our rights under RS2477.

"The intent of the statute is to prevent the government from arbitrarily and capriciously closing dedicated roads on public lands."

Contact writer Chuck Mueller at (760) 252-3751 or via e-mail at chuck.mueller@sbsun.com.
mill at Panamint Valley.jpg
Panamint Valley 01.jpg
overhead Surprise Valley.gif
 
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Off-Highway Route Designation

Off-Highway Vehicle Route Designation

What Is Route Designation?

“The process of authorizing a system of roads, trails and areas for motor vehicle use by vehicle type and/or season of use on National Forest lands and prohibiting cross-country travel.”

Clear as Mud.

Perhaps you have heard of it. Perhaps not (Where have you been?). For those of you that Camp, Hunt or Four Wheel in the National Forest, Off-Highway Route Designation could be one of the most important land use issues that will affect you personally. Route Designation could close a road or trail that you use, because it did not get INVENTORIED by the forest service or its’ volunteers. The following information has been gathered from the Forest Service and the Blue Ribbon Coalition web sites.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released its final rule for motorized vehicle use on National Forest System lands on November 2, 2005. The OHV designation rule requires individual forests and grasslands to work with their local and state governments and the public to designate routes and areas for OHV use. After a forest has completed its route designation process, OHV use will be permitted only on the designated system.

Between 2005 and 2008, the national forests in California will complete an inventory of all the roads, trails, and areas used by off-highway vehicles, identify a system of routes from that inventory, and designate those routes/areas for off-highway vehicle use.

Route Designation decisions will affect anyone who uses a wheeled motor vehicle on the 18 National Forests in California and the California portions of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Background- (From Forest Service Web Site)
“The rapid expansion of OHV use on national forests and grasslands is impacting the natural and cultural resources of federal lands. The Chief of the Forest Service has identified unmanaged recreation - especially impacts from OHV's - as one of the key threats facing the nation's forests today. Unmanaged OHV use has resulted in unplanned roads and trails, erosion, watershed and habitat degradation, and impacts on cultural resource sites.
Improved management of wheeled motor vehicle use on National Forest System lands will allow the Forest Service to enhance opportunities for public enjoyment of the National Forest System, including motorized and non-motorized recreation experiences. The Forest Service has revised its national policy governing the use of wheeled motor vehicles to develop a system of roads, trails and areas designated for motor vehicle use to minimize or eliminate the undesirable impacts from unmanaged OHV use.”


Timetable for California
The following is a summary of the five steps that are designed to implement the Forest Service - State of California Memorandum of Intent, (Appendix B of the Route Designation Guidebook) and designate OHV trails and areas for OHV use on all National Forest land in California.
1. Map existing unclassified roads, OHV trails (both National Forest System and non-system), and off-route use areas, and enter the data in Geographic Information Systems and Infrastructure databases. Designate team leaders, compile Forest OHV Management Direction, assemble needed information, identify gaps in data, prioritize, develop action plans, and begin field surveys. Share maps with the public by December 2005 (earlier if possible). Collect comments by March 2006.
2. Issue temporary Forest Orders prohibiting wheeled vehicle use (including mountain bikes) off mapped roads, trails, and off-route use areas. Involve the public. Complete no later than June 2006.
3. Evaluate inventoried roads, trails, and areas; collaborate with the public in developing proposed systems of roads, trails, and specifically defined areas for use by wheeled OHV’s; complete surveys of information and data gaps. Involve the public. Publish maps of proposals by September 2006. Collect public comments no later than February 2007.
4. Complete analyses and prepare National Environmental Policy Act documents designating all trails and specifically defined areas for wheeled OHV use. Involve the public. Complete no later than December 2007.
5. Issue Forest Orders to prohibit motor vehicle use off roads, designated trails, and specifically defined areas. Involve the public. Install appropriate signing, publish maps of approved OHV systems for public distribution, and implement any mitigation measures by September 2008.

So where are we in all of this? Beginning to Middle. Every Forest District is at a different stage of the time table. Some are mapping others have maps ready to review. To get updates on specific areas use the following link from the Blue Ribbon Coalition, via the internet, to get up to date information. (Right click your mouse on the below link and click on Open Hyper link) http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/PL/National Forest Updates/California National Forest.pdf

Now What?
Once you have clicked on the link to your favorite forest district and checked their status. If they have a map for review, view it online or down load it and print it off. Look for the trails you know of and use. Are your favorite trails to a hunting, fishing or camping spot on the map? Many of the trails and roads used within the national forest are not on maps. This is part of the reason for doing the inventory. Missing trails or roads could include the trail that takes you from the main road to a camping spot. If you see a map with missing information contact the Project Manager listed on the web site. Want to help more? You can participate in the mapping of the trails. The forest service is using volunteers to map the trails and roads with GPS units.

FREE INSTRUCTIONAL GPS TRAIL MAPPING DVD AVAILABLE

A free instructional DVD is available through the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC). The NOHVCC DVD provides OHV enthusiasts and professionals with detailed information on how to gather OHV route (trail) information using GPS technology, and how to provide that information to the USFS in a format that will be usable by the USFS for their upcoming Route Designation process. Emphasis is placed on GPS tools and technology that are available to OHV enthusiasts, and software that can be used to manage, catalog and format GPS data.

One sample DVD is free for the asking, but the NOHVCC must charge shipping and handling for multiple orders. To order, call (800) 348-6487 or e-mail trailhead@nohvcc.org . You can also visit their website at www.nohvcc.org for more information.

The DVD takes you through the process, step by step, of mapping a trail with your GPS. For those of us not very savvy on how to use our GPS units, the DVD is helpful for that as well.

Lost you yet?

The entire process may sound over whelming, but not participating or not paying attention to it could allow the forest service to close your favorite trail.
Some areas are getting a lot of attention, like the Rubicon Trail. Does that mean you shouldn’t review the map for this area? Nope. You should review the map to make sure trails that you use or have used are listed. The more eyes on the maps the better.

For More information check out:

The Pacific Southwest Region Forest service Web Site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/routedesignation/rd-faq.shtml
Blue Ribbon Coalition at www.sharetrails.org
Pacific Mountain Cruisers Land Use Forum at https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=107012

Dave Thomas, PMC Land Use Chair
 
Dave , props man. This is great info.

Keep it up. I will buy ya breakfast , hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
 
bring your dishwashing gloves
 
wow, a very interesting story...

it only shows that even areas we presume as Secure for OHV use, can be threatened.

thanks Dave for sharing.
 
MEndocino County has update their Route Designation Site

Mendocino Forest has updated their web site- Updated July 16, 2007
CURRENT STATUS
MORE INFORMATION

Current Update
Defining the Decision Space & Decision Criteria
Forest Plan Direction

The Mendocino National Forest has completed Step 1 of the OHV Route Designation process. Finalized Inventory maps are available for review.

Step 2 is complete since the Forest has an existing designated route system and a Forest Closure Order, 08-96-02, requiring users to stay on those designated routes.

The Forest completed Step 3, Proposed Designations and Public Input during 2006. On February 25, and March 4, 2006, public meetings were held in Ukiah and Willows. We asked the public to help us with the following items:

Access to dispersed campsites.
Decision Space and Decision Criteria.
Problem routes with environmental concerns or routes that go onto private lands without right-of-ways.
Opportunities such as lowering some Maintenance Level 3 roads down to Maintenance Level 2 roads to allow users to make loop trips on Maintenance Level 2 roads legally.
Another round of public meetings was held in June to help us develop our Proposed Action (changes to the existing designated route system) which we would then take forward into the environmental analysis process (Step 4).
Over the summer we worked on the ideas and information we got from the workshops. We grouped possible actions according to the various needs to which they respond. We also screened them against the decision criteria and for obvious resource conflicts.

That work resulted in a set of Tentative Proposed Actions (pdf 146kb) that we think are affordable and ready for consideration and decision. We presented these to stakeholders at public workshops held in Willows and Ukiah early in November. The idea was to gather comments or information to help us "fine-tune" the proposals before we started the formal scoping for the National Environmental Policy Act environmental analysis process 2007. We encouraged the interested public to provide their comments on the tentative proposed actions by mid-December, 2006.

As a result of comments we received from the public and our staff, some of the tentative proposals were modified. Changes between the tentative November 2006 proposals and the current ones are explained in the scoping documents.

Below are links to the scoping notice and to maps and brief descriptions of the proposed changes. We are asking that interested people provide us any comments on the proposals by August 3.

Scoping Notice document (pdf 32kb)
Dispersed Camp Access proposal (pdf 89kb) and maps.
OHV Connectivity proposals (pdf 41kb) and maps.
Trail Closure proposal (pdf 21kb) and maps.
Commander Tract Access proposal (pdf 23kb) and maps.
-top-


http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino/projects/ohv/#status

Proposed Actions-Current as of November 13, 2006
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino/projects/ohv/proposed/pa-dev-screening13nov06.pdf

OHV Trail to be closed: Trail number 85468
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino/projects/ohv/proposed/cabbage/web_cabbage_map.pdf
 
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Sequoia National Forest-Route Desgnation update

From CORVA:
Feb 11, 07
Sequoia National Forest Kern River and Hot Springs Ranger Districts Order No. 06 - 09 (See Below for Order) This order is effective through September 16, 2007. Prohibits possessing or using a motorized wheeled vehicle off National Forest System roads, except for the routes, open areas, and National Forest System trails. See the Route Designation Plan.
A violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. Get the MAPS
This is why it is so important to participate in the Route designation meetings. STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST Route Designation meeting are 2/21, 2/22, 2/27 & 3/6

Order No. 06 - 09
USDA Forest Service
Sequoia National Forest
Kern River and Hot Springs Ranger Districts
MOTORIZED VEHICLE RESTRICTIONS
Pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50(a) and (b), and to protect natural resources, the following act is prohibited within the Kern River Ranger District and the portions of the Hot Springs Ranger District that are located outside of the Giant Sequoia National Monument of the Sequoia National Forest. This order is effective from September 17, 2006 through September 16, 2007.
Possessing or using a motorized wheeled vehicle off National Forest System roads, except for the routes, open areas, and National Forest System trails shown on Exhibit A. For purposes of this order, a wheelchair is not considered to be a motorized wheeled vehicle. 36 CFR 261.56.
Pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this order:
1. Any Federal, State, or local officer or member of an organized rescue or fire-fighting force in the performance of an official duty.
2. Persons with a permit from the Forest Service specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.

This prohibition is in addition to the general prohibitions in 36 CFR Part 261, Subpart A.
Executed in Porterville, California, this 17th day of July, 2006.
/s/ Nancy C. Ruthenbeck
____________________________
NANCY C. RUTHENBECK
Acting Forest Supervisor
Sequoia National Forest
A violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. 16 USC 551 and 18 USC 3559, 3571, and 3581.
 
New Wilderness Bill Introduced

Get your reading glasses out. After I have read the bill I'll get back to you wiht an update.
Dave Thomas


Legislation > S. 493 (110th U.S. Congress: 2007-2008)
S. 493: A bill to designate certain public land as wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic...
S 493 IS


110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 493
To designate certain public land as wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic rivers in the State of California, to designate Salmon Restoration Areas, to establish the Sacramento River National Recreation Area and Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and for other purposes.


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES


February 6, 2007

Mrs. BOXER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A BILL
To designate certain public land as wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic rivers in the State of California, to designate Salmon Restoration Areas, to establish the Sacramento River National Recreation Area and Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and for other purposes.

FULL TEXT:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-493

OFF-ROAD BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, Inc. Meg Grossglass Media Relations 951-926-1953 951-415-1869 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SENATOR BOXER INTRODUCES WILDERNESS BILL THAT WOULD OUTLAWS OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES (OHV) RECREATION ON 2 MILLION ACRES OF PUBLIC LANDS AT A TIME WHEN FAMILY OHV REACREATION IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE POPULAR Bill would also make the use of bicycles and wheelchairs illegal in most areas as well as diminishing ability to fight fires BAKERSFIELD, CA (February 14, 2007) On February 6, 2007 Senator Barbara Boxer introduced S.493 The California Wild Heritage Act of 2007. This act proposes to create approximately 2 million acres of wilderness area. This act would add to the 14.3 million acres of wilderness already designated in the state of California. Once an area is designated as wilderness many uses are prohibited including but not limited to commercial activities, mechanized uses and roads. In other words it takes the definition of public land and makes it moot because the vast majority of the public will not be able to enjoy the land they own. Less than 3% of those who visit and recreate on public lands ever visit a Wilderness area. By outlawing motorized and mechanized recreation through a Wilderness designation, Senator Boxer is essentially locking American families out of areas that they have historically used for recreation. Areas Boxer has targeted for the exclusive use of a tiny minority of Americans include several areas that are the “Crown Jewels” of California OHV opportunities. Additionally, unlike the new generation of Wilderness bills approved in the last few years that have been developed collaboratively with a broad range of support, this bill is a “Winner Take All” bill that does not enjoy broad support and is for the benefit of a few young adults or affluent Americans who have the time to hike for days. Studies have shown that Wilderness areas are enjoyed primarily by college educated Caucasians, and are seldom used by families or minorities. “We are disappointed that Senator Boxer has rejected the desires of the majority of Americans, and has instead reverted back to a philosophy of enriching an elite minority that is unwilling to share public lands,” observed Off-Road Business Association Land Use Director Bill Dart. “Wilderness Advocates have an insatiable appetite for locking up public lands for their own selfish purposes, and unfortunately Senator Boxer is more than willing to accommodate this elitism,” Dart went on to say. “We can agree that there are many special places that deserve
protection from development, but there are other alternatives that will accomplish those goals without locking out 97% of Americans,” Dart concluded. Wilderness designation also compromises the ability to protect and restore ecosystems and fight wildfires, and severely damages rural community economies that enjoy economic impacts of existing recreation visitor. Wilderness visitors tend to spend less money than virtually every other category of visitors. ### ORBA is a national trade association composed of off-road related businesses united to promote common goals that support the prosperity and growth of the off-road industry. Meg Grossglass Media Relations ORBA Off-Road Business Association 1701 Westwind Drive #216 Bakersfield, CA 93301 direct to Meg 951-926-1953 951-415-1869 cell Corporate Office 661-323-1464 Corporate Fax 661-323-1487
 
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