RockCrawler.com

Category: Land Use

  • Prescott National Forest Seeks Public Comment on Forest Plan Revision

    The Prescott National Forest, Located in central Arizona, is revising their Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan).The Forest Service (FS) is asking the public to help identify issues to be addressed as they begin this plan revision.

    The Forest Plan is the basic document used to provide guidance for all resource management activities on the National Forest for the next 10 to 15 years. The agency plans to release a draft revised plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for formal comment near the end of 2010. A final revised plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected to be out by the end of 2011.

    Comments will be most useful in the development of the draft revised plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement if they are received by February 15, 2010.

    Send written comments to:

    Prescott National Forest
    Attn: Forest Plan Revision Team
    344 South Cortez Street
    Prescott, Arizona  86303

    Comments may also be sent via e-mail by using the “Contact Us” page on the Prescott National Forest planning Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/plan-revision/get-involved.shtml

    For more information, contact Sally Hess-Samuelson, Forest Planner, Prescott National Forest, 344 South Cortez Street, Prescott, Arizona 86303, shesssamuelson@fs.fed.us, 928-443-8216. Information on this revision is also available at Prescott National Forest revision Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/plan-revision/index.shtml

    As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.

  • Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association Urges Enthusiasts and Industry to Comment on CPSC’s ROV Rulemaking

    ROHVA Creates www.rohva.org/anpr to Facilitate Submission

    IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 28, 2010 — The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) is calling on enthusiasts and industry representatives to submit comments by March 15, 2010 in response to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) proposed mandatory standards for Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs), also known as side-by-sides and UTVs.

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  • TREAD LIGHTLY! WORKS WITH CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS TO PROVIDE TRAINING COURSES THROUGHOUT THE STATE

    OGDEN, Utah (January 5, 2010) — Tread Lightly!Ò, through a grant provided by the California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division, has announced six, no cost training courses to be held in 2010 throughout the state. Since 2003, Tread Lightly!’s train-the-trainer program, Tread Trainerä, has provided individuals from Puerto Rico to Alaska with instruction in innovative, practical methods of spreading outdoor ethics to the public with a curriculum specifically focused on motorized and mechanized recreation.

    “This type of schedule is a first in the six years of the Tread Trainer program’s existence,” reports Tread Lightly!’s executive director, Lori McCullough. “Because the need for outdoor ethics training around the country has intensified, we’ve begun to focus our efforts on individual states.”

    With the opportunity to train so many outdoor recreationists, land managers and instructors in California , Tread Lightly! hopes to more fully incorporate its message of responsible outdoor recreation in OHV education programs, employee and volunteer training, and throughout the state’s many recreation areas.

    “The Tread Lightly! ethic is a critical component to enjoying and protecting our beautiful state,” said Daphne Greene, California State Parks OHV division deputy director. “By offering this educational opportunity to willing volunteers, we are investing in a better future for our children by teaching people to value and protect our trails, parks and recreation areas.”

    “The Tread Trainer program is of utmost importance as it embodies the true meaning of what our organization is all about: people educating themselves and doing their part to behave responsibly while recreating outdoors,” said McCullough.

    Individuals that complete the one-day Tread Trainer course become representatives of Tread Lightly!. Tread Trainers present the Tread Lightly! message of responsible recreation practices to other educators, clubs, government employees, outdoor enthusiasts or community members. Presentations often focus on guidelines for minimizing recreational impacts as well as motivating individuals to be ambassadors of their chosen activity.

    Since the program’s launch, Tread Lightly! has increased its outreach ten fold and has made nearly a quarter of a million face-to-face impressions.

    As a long time partner of Tread Lightly!, California State Parks is the first state to work with the organization to provide the Tread Trainer course on such a large scale. The California State Parks OHMVR Division’s recent underwriting of the 2010 Tread Trainer courses came through a grant from their 2008/2009 Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program.

    In addition to the Tread Trainer courses, two Master Trainer courses will also be offered in the California schedule. The Master Trainer course is an intensive two-day workshop designed to create volunteers equipped to train trainers on behalf of Tread Lightly!.

    Tread Trainer course schedule:

    • – January 23, 2010 – Paso Robles, CA
    • – February 27, 2010 – Ontario , CA
    • – March 20, 2010 – San Jose , CA
    • – April 10, 2010 – Borrego Springs, CA

    Master Trainer course schedule:

    • – May 14 & 15, 2010 – Rancho Cordova , CA
    • – June 11 &12, 2010 – Ontario , CA

    Individuals interested in the Tread Trainer program can go to www.treadlightly.org for more information or to register for a course. Each course is free, but a credit card is required to register.

  • RECREATION COALITION FILES BRIEF IN ONGOING ROADLESS LAWSUIT

    POCATELLO, ID (January 5) – A coalition of recreation advocacy groups filed an Amicus Curiae brief in the 10th District Court of Appeals related to the 2001 Roadless Rule this week, marking over a decade of involvement in the controversial issue. The recreation groups include the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs (“CA4WDC”), United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) and the American Council of Snowmobile Associations (ACSA).

    Environmental activists are appealing a 2008 decision by U.S. District Court of Wyoming Judge Clarence Brimmer declaring the Clinton era Roadless Rule illegal. That ruling came in a case brought by the State of Wyoming in 2007, which paralleled an earlier complaint filed by Wyoming in 2001. Brimmer’s 2008 decision minced few words, concluding the 2001 Rule “was driven by political haste and evidenced pro forma compliance with” environmental laws, using descriptors such as “flagrant” and “cavalier” in characterizing the “unequivocal” violations.

    Brian Hawthorne, BRC’s Public Lands Policy Director, said, “With millions of acres of National Forests susceptible to disease and wildfire, it should be evident that a top-down, one-size-fits-all management program should never be the answer. Each roadless area is unique, and local conditions should be taken into consideration when actively managing these lands.”

    “This marks a decade of involvement in the Roadless issue,” said Greg Mumm, Executive Director of BRC. “Force-feeding a ‘hands-off’ policy to manage Roadless Areas, like congressionally designated Wilderness, has been a goal of the preservationist groups for some time. BRC is proud to have protected recreational access to these lands and we are committed to continue this important effort.”

    Noting the U.S. Forest Service will be revising the regulations for preparing Forest Plans, Paul Turcke, the attorney for the recreational groups, observed in their brief that “our Nation’s treasured forest lands must be actively and effectively managed. Such management necessitates detailed, site-by-site analysis; not politically convenient templates. That improper procedural means advance an agenda of less rather than more active human presence is of little legal import. This Court should seize the opportunity to place the 2001 Roadless Rule alongside the 2005 State Petitions Rule and similar misplaced efforts to manage our National Forests via election cycle emanations from the DC beltway, and to begin a return to professionally-driven and project-focused management that our forests and citizens deserve.”

    The Recreation group’s filing can be found online. Learn more about the history of the Roadless Rule and latest updates on www.sharetrails.org.