EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - FOREST SERVICE ROAD and TRAIL CLOSURES

[Extreme_Velocity]

Please read the email below that I received from a MT outfitter....this rule will affect OUR use of National Forest Lands, ALSO! Please sign the petition!

Thomas Opre

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I am writing to you all to ask that you go the link below, and sign the petition located there. This is a petition to fight the Forest Service's effort to close 80-90% of ALL forest service roads - NATIONWIDE. If they are successful in passing their "Travel Management Rule", they will close all but the MAIN roads in and out of the forest, and we will have no other access by ANY Motorized vehicle. You will not be able to Camp off these main roads - to retrieve a game animal off road or retrieve firewood. You will either have to carry out to the open roads by hand, or obtain a special use permit to go off road in a vehicle. You will also have to WALK into the forest to find game or firewood, as the roads we all presently use throughout the forest will be Closed !!! I truly believe that this will not only impact our use of the forests, but it will impact the economy in our community as well as others in similar areas throughout our state (and across the US) in a huge way!!! If people cannot come to our mountains and use the PUBLIC forest lands as we do now, not only will folks quit coming to camp/hunt/fish etc, but they will find new places to have their "summer cabins" - and go elsewhere to recreate and build - somewhere they have the Freedom to do what they are there for... and full enjoyment of OUR PUBLIC LANDS!

We will lose our Freedom in the Forests and Much More if we do not fight this proposed Rule. This will be voted on and monies appropriated to put into full swing before summer. If passed, by 2009 this will become a reality. What's worse, this is only the tip of the iceberg.... they have so many other measures they are trying to implement to keep us out. What they do plan to keep open, will all have a FEE tied to the use of camping, boating, game/fuelwood retrieval even day use areas. This is all in addition to the permits and licenses we are already required to pay for. If I am not mistaken, we already pay to enjoy the public lands merely by being tax paying citizens !

please go to the link, sign the petition, and then forward it to ALL your family and friends to do the same.


http://access-advocates.org/petition_01/

[Loppy]

IN.

[teejay]

What law is this supposed to be because it sounds like a hyperbolic chain letter. Is it just refering to the new travel management plans each national forest service is doing?

I mean it is a internet petition which means shit really, but the letter is so vague it sounds like crap you read about from SUWA news letters.

[Ken]

The concept is admirable....but in California (that's all I can speak to), 1 form letter signed by 100,000 counts toward 1 letter. That's the facts.

Each Forest in California...and I'm assuming others as well....inventories and possible closures are on a forest by forest basis.

[ACLakey]

The closures are a REAL threat here. We have even had several public meetings with the Forrest Service officials who have stated "thanks for your opinions, but it is a done deal" With those type comments we have formed several rider groups who are going to take responsibility for the road systems on a volunteer basis to keep as much PUBLIC land open to the public as we can.

[teejay]

I know the closures are a real threat, it happens, I'm just questioning the legitimacy of the text in the email. The email implies that there is some sort of national road closure law that is coming down the pipes instead of addressing the individual management plans that we've seen so far.

[Ken]

The closures are a REAL threat here. We have even had several public meetings with the Forrest Service officials who have stated "thanks for your opinions, but it is a done deal" With those type comments we have formed several rider groups who are going to take responsibility for the road systems on a volunteer basis to keep as much PUBLIC land open to the public as we can.

You guys NEED to be updated on the correct responses. You MUST respond to all USFS responses with SUBSTANTIVE COMMENTS. There are rules and guidelines to do it.....the goal is to re-write THEIR document...the way YOU want it. This can ONLY be done with Substantive Comments.