Cle Elum Ranger District
Managed Travelways
2/27/04 - The following is a summary
of a memo from the Cle Elum Ranger District and their Managed Travelways
proposal - Arlene Brooks, WA. St. Director
The message we heard loud and clear
at our public meeting; and through letters and emails - the large majority who
spoke up does not see riding and driving cross-country as a general problem.
Most feel it would be wrong for the Cle Elum Ranger District to take away that
privilege, through people generally support dealing with site-specific problems
where they occur. As a public agency, it's our job to listen to these sentiments
and respond appropriately, and since we've heard from relatively few people who
feel cross-country travel should be restricted, the Cle Elum Ranger District
will not move ahead with a cross-country motorized closure at this time. Doing
resource damage, of course, remains illegal. And we will not begin a formal
program to make decisions about user-created trails, though we will continue to
inventory them.
If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, you may contact Public Affairs
Officer Kim Larned or Trails Supervisor Tim Foss at 509-674-4411.
Or you may email them at <klarned@fs.fed.us > or <
tfoss@fs.fed.us >
Sincerely,
Jodi Leingang, Acting District Ranger
MANAGED
TRAVELWAY MEETING – JANUARY 15th
CLE ELUM RANGER STATION - 803 WEST SECOND STREET – TOM CRAVEN CONFERENCE
ROOM –
7:00 PM
The following was received from the Cle Elum
District Ranger announcing a motorized “Managed Travelways” public meeting
scheduled for January 15th. Arlene Brooks, WA.
St. Director
Motorized recreation is on the rise, and over the
past few years the Cle Elum Ranger District has seen the effects of this.
Although a majority of summer users are riding and driving responsibly on
established roads and trails, we are still seeing an increase in damage to the
land due to cross-country riding and driving. The time has come to require
motorized users (except snowmobiles) to stay on established roads and trails. We
will implement a program called “Managed Travelways” beginning in the spring
2004.
This program consists of two phases: Phase I
consists of two orders, one that prohibits motorized cross-country travel
(travel off of established roads and trails, excluding snowmobiles) and the
other order legalizes ATV use on designated roads. Phase II will involve an
extensive planning effort to decide: 1) what should be done with unofficial
(user-created) trails (i.e. which trails should be improved and added to the
official system, and which trails should be closed to protect forest resources),
and 2) an in-depth look at ATV use on the Cle Elum Ranger District (should use
be allowed on roads, or existing trails, and can the land available accommodate
that use)? The end product, as we envision it, will be a firm system of official
and managed motorized routes that motorcycles, ATV’s and 4x4’s must stay on
(along with established roads if the vehicle is street legal).
At his time, we’d like to get your thoughts on how
we should proceed with “Phase II.”
Can you help us identify
the location of user-created trails, along with their condition and how
important hey are to you?
Do you think some or all
of these should be added to the official trail system?
Do you think ATV’s should
be allowed to ride on some old logging roads?
Should we convert some
single-track trails into ATV trails?
We envision this process taking some time
(probably a few years) and there will be numerous opportunities for public input
and discussion as we go along, but any thoughts you have at his time will be
helpful. I want to make it clear that we are not, at this time, considering
non-motorized use, snowmobiles, or changes to existing system (official)
trails.
We are planning a public meeting January 15 at
7:00PM at the Cle Elum
Ranger station in the Tom L. Craven Conference Room to discuss this program. We
invite you to write us, e-mail us, and/or attend this meeting if you’d like to
get more information and share your thoughts on Phase II. This process may
result in significant changes to the way off-road vehicles are managed on the
Cle Elum Ranger District. I urge you to become involved if this issue is
important to you. Questions and comments can be addressed to Public Affairs,
Attn: Kim Larned 803 W Second
St., Cle Elum WA, 98922 or
klarned@fs.fed.us.
Sincerely,
Catherine Stephenson
District Ranger
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