Washington Greenwater, bikers, snow machiners, jeepers, hunters

[highmarker]

Not sure if this has been posted yet but the FS service wants to make cuts in road mileage under the guise of environmental concern. Impacts would effect snowmobilers jeeper and bikers as well as other users. Look at table 2 on this document : http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/102767_FSPLT3_2577917.pdf

 

Right now they are seeking public comment with specifics of which road numbers we would to see left open. Please send them a short comment if you know the area. Conversion of abandoned road to trail is probably best for bike riders. Primitive road signing vs closure might be best fro jeeps and snow trails.

 

Maps of affected areas,  http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=47991

[trailmeisterjoe]

Will do. Thanks Highmarker.

 

 

Joe

[campdirt]

have a question,does anyone know if the roads marked" yellow=custodial care closed".have they always been closed or is that part of the new proposal?

[shrubitup]

Most comments should focus on keeping the roads available as reclaimed trails instead of roads. State that you realize there is no money available for maintenance of the road but instead hope that they convert the road to a trail so that maintenance is not required of the agency.

[k5kell]

have a question,does anyone know if the roads marked" yellow=custodial care closed".have they always been closed or is that part of the new proposal?

That is the new proposal, pretty much gates the mass majority of the roads.

Anyone have a list of the main roads that are the priority to keep open? They are looking for details on which ones are the main routes or higher priority.

Kell

[highmarker]

my opinion. Any roads that goes through and connects to another road or trail would be nice to have available for us to use, making loops and connections.  There are miles of dead end spurs not close to any trails (that we might be connect to).  Collectively their mileage might add up to the numbers they are looking for.

[campdirt]

my request would be make the dead end spurs gated and maintained by moto folks as trails,keep the connecting roads as they are for fire break protection and recreation motoroized and non-moto. thats probaly my best attempt at being politicaly correct

[k5kell]

Agreed, but I'm guessing some of those spurs go to lookouts or non-maintained trailheads. Without knowing the area I'm not of much use to the FS in planning which roads to save vs gate. I did make sure to pass along my opinion on "decommissioning" 50' long spur roads though!

[trailwhale]

The Greenwater area has only a few motorized trails -that are fragmented by past logging operations or the hands of mother nature.... existing roads are really the only logical way to maintain an access network and create loop motorized opportunity in this area IMO.

 

The AMA alert I received is pasted below to help others not familiar with the area!

The American Motorcyclist Association believes you may be interested in the ongoing Forest Service planning review of the existing forest road system in the Greenwater area. The proposed action description and other information is available on the Forest's project website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=47991 and at the Snoqualmie Ranger District Offices in North Bend and Enumclaw. The project website will be the primary avenue through which the Forest Service will provide information about the project.

Currently, approximately 2,500 miles of roads traverse the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, from the Canadian border to Mt. Rainier National Park on the western Cascades. The Sustainable Roads System (SRS) identified minimum access needs and road maintenance levels, based on recreation, fire, cultural resources, and vegetation management. The SRS plan is the basis for the proposal under analysis for the Greenwater area.

Riders are asked to comment on the proposal and to specifically request the inclusion of these key concepts.

• Include trail mitigation guidelines for vegetation management projects during the planning phase
• Reclassify redundant maintenance level 2 road to motorized trails
• Convert maintenance level 3 roads to motorized trails
• Reclassify level 3 roads to level 2 roads. This will not only preserve access but will result in significant cost savings for the forest
• Convert redundant roads to single track trails or trails less than 50 inches in width
• Develop a plan to enhance and increase previously lost or reduced single-track recreational opportunities
• Wet weather closures should be scheduled for the shortest period of time possible

This is the first of two official windows for public involvement in the project. The second will occur once a draft of the analysis, called an Environmental Analysis, is prepared. The Forest Service plans on holding a public gathering in the late Spring/Summer 2016 on the Greenwater area. More details will be forthcoming.

The Forest Service will accept comments on this proposal for 30 days following publication of the Request for Scoping Comments Legal Notice in the Snoqualmie Valley Record and the Enumclaw Courier-Herald, which is the exclusive means for calculating the comment period. Legal Notice was published in Snoqualmie Valley Record on October 28, 2015.

Electronic comments are preferred and should be submitted with the following subject line, "Greenwater ATM," and as part of the actual email message, or in another readable format such as plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), .pdf, or Word (.doc or .docx) to: commentspacificnorthwest-mtbaker-snoqualmie-snoqualmie@fs.fed.us.

Written comments should be mailed or dropped off in person to:

                    Martie Schramm, District Ranger
                    Snoqualmie Ranger District
                    902 SE North Bend Way
                    North Bend, WA 98045

Office hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are 8:00a.m. - 4:30p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Oral comments can be provided at the Snoqualmie Ranger District during normal business hours or via telephone at (425) 888-1421. Comments can also be faxed to (425) 888-1910.

Comments received, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the Project Record and available for public review. If you prefer to have paper copies of project documents, or for more information regarding the project, please contact either of the co-team leaders Karen Chang at kchang@fs.fed.us, or Andy Bryden at abryden@fs.fed.us.

        

Edited November 20, 2015 by trailwhale

[tod701]

Consider comments that recommend lowering the maintenance requirement on as many roads as possible so to increase the number of roads that can be left open.

[Lil-B]

Comments emailed.

[AngelX13]

I've sent my comments.  3 days left to comment.

[shrubitup]

Don't know what/where/when to write? Don't know what roads and trails you'd like to remain open? Read below. 

 

Deadline: Monday 30Nov15. 

 

Not sure if you should participate in TV football game watching, Cyber Monday sales, or preserving motorized access in the Cascades? Hopefully the latter is more appealing to you. If so,

 

1. You MUST put "Greenwater ATM" in the subject line of your email.

 

2. Send your email to : comments-pacificnorthwest-mtbaker-snoqualmie-snoqualmie@fs.fed.us

 

3. You must include your name, address, etc. in the letter (space provided below, as well as just YOUR NAME at the end of the letter for sign off)

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

SUBJECT : GREENWATER ATM

 

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

 

 

Hello to all Forest Service Staff,

 

We know tough decisions need to be made pertaining to maintenance and budget actions concerning FS roads and trails included in the Greenwater Access and Travel Management Program.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment, educate others, preserve and enjoy the beautiful areas that are special to so many of us.

 

Many of these roads and trails are used by families to camp, recreate, and make lifelong memories.

These are also roads and trails that a lot of OHV clubs, members and individuals take pride in helping to maintain, upgrade and preserve thanks to many long and hard hours of volunteer work.

 

For the sake of preserving public safety and a way of life for many of us that recreate in the outdoors of the beautiful Northwest, the following (but not limited to) are roads and trails that we absolutely want to see remain open and accessible:

 

Forest Service Road(s)

70

7030

7032

 

Trail(s)

1171

1172

1175

941

 

These and many other roads and trails offer the OHV community wonderful opportunities to enjoy the Pacific Northwest and the fruits of the many hours of labor that volunteers and the forest service put in. Closing these access points not only cuts off users from current recreation opportunities, but can also cause bigger problems if more people are forced to use an ever decreasing system of roads and trails.

 

I and other users in the OHV community look forward to helping maintain these trails, whether it’s assisting in building bridges or crossings over fish habitat, erosion control, or even basic trail cleanup, etc.

 

Please contact me when the Environmental Assessment is drafted and out for comment.

Please continue to work with user groups to maintain access to off highway recreation.

 

Thank you for your time and effort to help balance user recreation, budgetary concerns, and preservation of our environment.

 

Sincerely,

 

YOUR NAME

Edited November 28, 2015 by shrubitup

[guns_equal_freedom]

I sent mine off last week and I received a personal email response.
Perhaps there's hope.

[mattwave]

Sent