pipebomb Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT! STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST TO RELEASE A "DRAFT" TRAVEL PLAN FOR CALAVERAS, MI-WOK AND GROVELAND RANGER DISTRICT AT PUBLIC MEETINGS IN FEB. AND MARCH Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber, Attention California Recreationists! The Stanislaus National Forest will host a series of community meetings during the months of February and March. These meetings relate to Step 3 of the Forest's Route Designation process, the next step in the process and will provide the public additional opportunity for continued discussion on the designation of the forest's Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreational Trails system. As you know, the FS published a new rule requiring the agency to formally designate a system of roads, trails and areas where motorized vehicle use would be allowed. Forest Service regulations and other laws require the agency to conduct a planning process in collaboration with the public to help design the designated system. The continued discussion relates to the Forest transportation and recreational trails system under consideration on the Calaveras, Mi-Wok, and Groveland Ranger Districts. The Forest will be bringing forward a "Discussion Proposal" for the roads transportation system and travel off of designated roads for parking and camping. The discussion will focus on defining any changes to the Discussion Proposal for a roads system on the Forest, and discussing ways to designate access off of designated roads for dispersed camping and parking. OHV enthusiasts need to attend in order to ensure the anti-access groups do not dominate this process as it moves forward. Officials emphasize that the Discussion Proposal is not a proposed action. Continued discussion and dialogue with the public will help managers define and formulate a proposed action in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Each of the three community meetings will be focused on a specific Ranger District, and provide follow-up to three preliminary discussion meetings held last December. Specific topics for the next meetings include: * Developing a proposed action for any needed changes to the main road transportation system. Some examples could include changing the maintenance levels of some roads to allow non-street legal vehicles to travel on them; restoring of non-system roads (user created roads not needed for the Forest transportation system); and reassigning some roads into the Forest trails system. * Developing a proposed action to designate parking and access to dispersed camping areas. Forest officials, specialists, and staff will be on hand at each meeting to answer questions related to the route designation process. Meetings are scheduled in February as follows: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Groveland Ranger District Discussion Proposal Greeley Hill Community Club House Fiske Road Greeley Hill, CA 5:00-6:00 p.m. View the maps 6:00-8:30 p.m. Overview of process, hear the Discussion Proposal, and refine the Discussion Proposal Thursday, February 22, 2007 Calaveras Ranger District Discussion Proposal Independence Hall 1445 Blagen Road White Pines, CA 5:00-6:00 p.m. View the maps 6:00-8:30 p.m. Overview of process, hear the Discussion Proposal, and refine the Discussion Proposal Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Mi-Wok Ranger District Discussion Proposal Sonora Oaks Best Western Hotel Oak Glenn Room 19551 Hess Road Sonora, CA (209) 533-4400 5:00-6:00 p.m. View the maps 6:00-8:30 p.m. Overview of process, hear the Discussion Proposal, and refine the Discussion Proposal Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Additional "Open House" Supervisor's Office Stanislaus Room 19777 Greenley Road Sonora, CA 3:00-6:00 p.m. View the maps, share ideas, and discuss. Ways to Participate in advance of the discussions include: * View the website map products available after the meetings http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus * Get a CD version of the map products * Make an appointment with district recreation staff * Request a scheduled group presentation from the Forest Service For more information contact Sue Warren at (209) 532-3671 ext 321 or by email to swarren@fs.fed.usAdditional information is also available on their website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv/index.shtml PLEASE IF YOU RECREATE IN THE STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST GET INVOLVED NOW! As always, if you have any questions please give us a call. Thanks in advance for your support! Brian Hawthorne BlueRibbon Coalition 208-237-1008 ext 102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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