One of the "18" Closed Routes - The "Mud Lake" Trail
On September 11,
2013 the Eldorado NF reached an appeals resolution with appellants of the June
14, 2013 SEIS and Record of Decision that would have immediately reopened 24 of
the “42 meadow routes” and opened another
18 routes after corrective action (mitigation, such as hardening a meadow
crossing, fixing drainage, etc.) was taken.
Copy of Agreement
http://www.peer.org/assets/docs/ca/9_16_13_Final_Eldorado.pdf
List of the 24 open routes and 18 closed routes
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5435815.pdf
FS News Release on Agreement
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5435834
Those corrective actions could range from a couple of
hours of work with a pick and shovel to project-level NEPA efforts that might
include a significant reroute or even installation of an OHV bridge.
HQ is still reviewing the resolution agreement, but it
appears that environmental groups have managed to create an extra layer of
red-tape by requiring the agency to allow them early review of any proposed meadow
project for those 18 routes.
The goal of many anti-OHV groups is to create an
additional planning hurdle that must be crossed by the agency before that project
can be developed. It appears that goal
has achieved in the resolution by creating a new modified NEPA process where
those groups can gum up the project before it even gets off the ground.
Although the anti-OHV groups have succeeded in gaining
some leverage in mitigation planning for those 18 routes, HQ believes that user
groups should hold the agency’s feet to the fire by working hard to effect the Forest
Supervisor’s promise to “get on with repairing the other 18 routes.”
Stayed tuned on this never ending saga.
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