Picked from Heather's post on the UC link - even if you don't go to Tellico, please take the time to follow this issue and send in a letter - every bit helps:
Trail Closures Proposed at Tellico!
Yep...it's on now folks.
Please cross post all over the place.
OK folks, the Forest Service is on the move and has taken the first step to "emergency" 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 "scoping letter" is the first step in their process to enact new “Supervisor’s Orders” for an emergency action. The Scoping 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:
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.
SFWDA is working on a template letter that you can use to provide your comments. Of course, you don’t have to follow the template, but if you choose to provide your own comments, please do so with the following guidance in mind:
Tusquitee District Ranger
23 Woodland Drive
Murphy, NC 28906
comments-southern-north-carolina-nan...itee@fs.fed.us.
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!
__________________
Heather
'07 FJ Cruiser and 1973 FJ55
Georgia Cruisers
Upstate Cruisers
Trail Closures Proposed at Tellico!
Yep...it's on now folks.
Please cross post all over the place.
OK folks, the Forest Service is on the move and has taken the first step to "emergency" 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 "scoping letter" is the first step in their process to enact new “Supervisor’s Orders” for an emergency action. The Scoping 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 "emergency 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."
Because the Forest Service is considering this an "emergency closure" they do not have to do a detailed analysis of the area before they make their decision. They can basically just say “close it” or “don’t close it.” However, in the scoping letter they really don’t provide any other alternatives to their proposed action, which is wrong. They should have a list of alternatives that they are considering.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.
SFWDA is working on a template letter that you can use to provide your comments. Of course, you don’t have to follow the template, but if you choose to provide your own comments, please do so with the following guidance in mind:
- Be professional, courteous, and do not be angry or aggressive in your tone.
- Please use the spell check feature on your computer. Misspellings make you look stupid.
- Please address the action at hand. Do not go on a rant about the “greenies” who you think are forcing this action. Be succinct and to the point about how this action is going to effect you and why you think the Forest Service should not close the trails. Be persuasive and do not ramble.
- Please provide them with alternatives to trail closure. The Forest Service did not propose any alternatives other than closure. What about temporarily rerouting trails? What about installing more erosion controls?
- Please question their science and observations. The Forest Service did not provide adequate scientific data in their scoping letter to prove that their “observations and measurements” are true. They also did not provide the analysis that they used to determine that there even is any “impact” to the area. They are assuming there is an impact.
- Please be sure to be clear that you do not support this action and wish to be added to the list of interested parties to receive updated information regarding any action at the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle (ORV) Area.
Tusquitee District Ranger
23 Woodland Drive
Murphy, NC 28906
comments-southern-north-carolina-nan...itee@fs.fed.us.
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!
__________________
Heather
'07 FJ Cruiser and 1973 FJ55
Georgia Cruisers
Upstate Cruisers
