You Must Take Action to Save Tellico...NOW! (1 Viewer)

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CandyPants

K9CRZ
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Today the SFWDA met with the USFS and heard a presentation on what will be in their Environmental Assessment. While they have 6 alternatives that they are considering, their preferred alternative is to CLOSE TELLICO. While we know that this is completely unacceptable and will cause immediate and intense emotional reaction, we are asking that everyone maintain a level head and concentrate on what our task is now.

STEP 1: The FS Supervisor issued a TEMPORARY CLOSURE ORDER that will keep Tellico closed until they decide what the fate of the area will be. This means that TELLICO WILL NOT REOPEN ON APRIL 1ST! Please read the order here: http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/nepa/tusquitee/tellico/temporary_closure.pdf. and provide comments to the temporary closure. Be sure to talk about all the plans you have to use the area and all the events that are already scheduled and that you have paid to attend. We MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN!

STEP 2: We must, at all costs, provide as many SUBSTANTIVE comments about the EA as humanly possible. And we are ready. SFWDA requests that you download the study that we commissioned (Recommended Trail System Repair and Maintenance Plan Upper Tellico OHV System) and that you download the FS’ EA which is posted here (Upper Tellico OHV Area ) and that you compare the two side by side and start making comments. Our study will give you the data that you need to make comments about the surveys that have been done, the lack of maintenance they FS has completed, the science, the engineering, the economics, EVERYTHING.

We will work to have a letter generator up, but honestly, we need for you to take pencil to paper and think this through. Copy this announcement and send it to your friends, family, and everyone you know.

STEP 3: The other thing we need, and you know what it coming, is money. In this tough economic time, it’s hard to find a few dollars to support a cause, but if you enjoy the Tellico area, or even the dying sport of OHV and 4X4 recreation, please consider a donation to Rescue Tellico so that we may continue to fight for Tellico. Rescue Tellico Fund

STEP 4: In an effort to show that we will not accept these actions, Crawford’s Campground is committing to continue on with the plans for Spring Fling on April 4th. Please consider attending and showing your support and helping to raise money for Rescue Tellico.

So you know, SFWDA is working very closely with U4WDA and BlueRibbon Coalition to review these documents. BE ASSURED that the lawyers will be reviewing all of these documents in detail and that we are all ready to take whatever action is warranted to further the fight to KEEP TELLICO OPEN!

Thank you for your help!!!
SFWDA, UFWDA, and BRC
 
Thanks for keeping us informed. Just sent in a donation and will read the material ASAP. Hard to imagine not being able to go to GSMTR. It is how I got started with Land Cruisers.
 
Would this take effect before this years GSMTR? That's the way I read it. This sux! I am afraid that this is the wave of the future especially with the political situation we are in right now. I'll write a letter. I have been enjoying Tellico since 95 and it would be a shame to not get to enjoy the area in the future.

Later,
 
Heather,
I have posted up in our club forum and have urged our member to take action.
 
[B]We also need everyone to contact their Congressman and Senators this week.
[/B]
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 you feel angry, hurt and
betrayed by the Forest Service. 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 [2]

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
[3].

If you see anything in the EA or Caliper 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...
You can find out your representatives' contact information and where
to send your letter or email to by visiting the BRC Rapid Response
Center at Rapid Response Center - BlueRibbon Coalition [5]and simply
typing in your zip code.

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!
Get BRC's Latest News & Alerts via RSS!
BlueRibbon Coalition News and Alerts [6]
To be removed from further mailings from our list, please click the
unsubscribe [7] link

Links:
------
[2] Upper Tellico OHV Area
[3] Recommended Trail System Repair and Maintenance Plan Upper Tellico OHV System
[5] Rapid Response Center - BlueRibbon Coalition
[6] BlueRibbon Coalition News and Alerts
 
I have e-mailed a 2 page letter to both my senators and my congressman. What have you all been doing ? If the answer is nothin, then get off your sorry butts and contact your elected officals, this is our best chance to keep Tellico and other areas open.
 
Roger,
This is Jimmy from the Trail Teams in '08. Remember, we meet at the Dirty Toy School in Monteagle and you almost took a tree to the head via your windshield?

Where can I get the sample letter. I'm having a little trouble finding it. I want to make sure my key points are similar to the general consensus.

thx
 
Hey Dave. I thought that might be you.

Jeff and Dave, thanks for the help.

Jimmy
 
Southern asked our consultant to review the EA and make comments. We also asked them to compare their report to the EA. Here is what they came up with. It's a 50 page document that takes the EA apart.

http://www.sfwda.org/trails/tellico/Caliber_SFWDA20090324.pdf

Pick a comment, write an email. Easy breezy!

And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has provided input!
 
The Forest Service issued a 2 year temporary closure order for Tellico. SFWDA will have a news release out soon followed by legal action. The comment period on the EA is up, but we still need everyone to keep the pressure on their elected officals.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT HEATHER ROYSTON – (678) 463-7376


The Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA), the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) and United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA), expressed disappointment today in the Forest Service decision to implement the emergency closure of the Upper Tellico OHV trails on April 1 pending review of the many substantive comments made by OHV enthusiasts.


Gary Parsons President of SFWDA said “We are very disappointed in the Forest Service decision to close the Upper Tellico OHV Trails. In formal comments made to the Forest Service, the OHV community and other interested parties clearly demonstrated that such a closure has no scientific basis. Substantive comments provided to the Forest Service included findings of an independent study completed by Caliber Engineering and the recommendations from a report completed by the Forest Service’s own Trails Unlimited Team. This is a bad decision and we are left with no other alternative but to pursue legal options.”


Carla Boucher, legal counsel for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations stated, “The Forest Service has failed to make the case with regard to adverse effects and resource damage. There is no immediate threat to public health, safety, or other requisite finding required by such an order. Even water quality standards cited by the Forest Supervisor as the basis for such an order are not being exceeded.” Boucher added, “In making this decision, the Forest Service must be prepared to explain why similar findings have not been made in the decades of greater environmental impact and they simply have not done that.”


Greg Mumm, BRC’s Executive Director stated, “Implementing this closure order threatens the integrity of the ongoing planning process in which interested publics and our federal government have collectively invested significant time and resources.”


Mumm concluded, “The economic impact of this closure will be devastating to the area and comes at a time when the current administration is calling for more jobs, economic development, and healthy outdoor recreation. It makes no sense.”


# # #

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. BlueRibbon Coalition: Preserving your recreational access to public lands.

United Four Wheel Drive Associations is an international organization comprised of four wheel drive enthusiasts, clubs, associations, and businesses dedicated to providing community services around the world, education in responsible land use and safe vehicle operation, and protection of our natural resources through conservation practices. 1-800-448-3932. United Four Wheel Drive Associations Official Site - United Online - An International Organization


Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) was founded in 1987 to promote responsible land use and to keep public lands accessible for motorized recreation. For more information on the activities and accomplishments of Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, please visit Southern 4WD Association or contact us at 1483 N. Mt. Juliet Road, PMB # 222, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122

cleaned up formatting....


Edited by alabamatoy - Yesterday at 8:46pm
 

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