Stonyford Set to Reopen June 1 - Stay on Designated Routes

The Recreation HQ is very proud of all the trail volunteers and agency staff who have worked hard since last fall to help prepare damaged routes in preparation for the long anticipated June 1, 2013 reopening of the Stonyford OHV Area to non-street legal and street legal OHVs.

 

As many of you know, this area on the Mendocino National Forest was hit hard in July 2012 by the Mill Fire which burned about 82K areas in the heart of the trail system.  As it reopens, HQ wants to remind riders to stay on the designated route network. 

Much of the natural vegetation that helped delineate the trails was destroyed in the fire.  Vegetation that once obscured old skid roads and closed routes that are not part of the designated trail network is also gone and riders will have to pay careful attention to make sure they are on a legal route.

Staying on designated routes will be critically important in helping to keep the area open for OHV use through this summer and into the fall riding season.  There is still a lot of work to do but staying on the legal routes is one thing that you can do to help ensure continued OHV access to the area.

When you are on the trail, be sure and look for route markers that identify legal routes.  The FS staff and volunteers have worked hard to help get trails marked and install or rebuild erosion control measures such as rolling dips and catch basins.  Be sure and thank the FS staff when you see them on opening weekend.

 

HQ wishes all OHVers who have waited patiently for the area to reopen the very best and hopes to see you on the trail or at a volunteer work event.

 

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ACTION ALERT- Ask FS to Rescope Mill Fire Timber Project

ACTION ITEM – DO TODAY!

STONYFORD ALERT

As many of you know, the Mendocino National Forest is proposing to do a salvage timber sale to address various resource and safety issues that resulted from the Mill Fire this summer.  Generally, most recreationists are not arbitrarily opposed to responsible salvage timber operations that protect the resource and help in the area’s recovery so that it can be once again enjoyed by the public.   However, this proposal appears to have been created in a vacuum with basically no input from recreation professionals within the agency.

Although the public comment period for this current scoping period does not end until December 17, we feel it is important for you to immediately petition the Forest Service to withdraw the proposal and rescope it so that it analyzes potential impacts to OHV recreation and other public uses.

Your letters do not have to be long or thoroughly exhaust an issue.  Rather, each letter should address your history of use at the area, any expertise you have in recreation or resource management, issues that concern you, and suggestions on how the agency can improve the planning documents.

Here are key bullet points:

 

Ask the agency withdraw and rescope the Project due to planning deficiencies that failed to analyze or disclose the following issues.

 

•             Impacts to recreation program

•             Impacts to current and future OHV grants from OHMVR
•             Impacts to FS system roads and trails
•             Impacts to permitted OHV events such as enduros and dual-sport rides
•             Site-specific NEPA is required if system trails are converted to roads
•             Impacts to ongoing post-fire trail rehabilitation by FS and state park trail crews
•             Is plan to “clear-cut” wide paths along roads/trails for public safety really needed
•             Impacts to agency credibility with users including volunteer programs

 

Below is a sample letter that you can use as a basis to articulate your own specific concerns about the project.   There are links to the December 3, 2012 BRC comment letter and the November 28, 2012 comment letter from the Oakland Motorcycle Club that you can reference. 

 

BRC December 3 Comment Letter

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Mill_Fire_Project_BRC_Rescope_PDF_final_12.3.12.pdf

 

OMC Letter

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Mill_fire_OMC_response.pdf

 

Mill Fire Salvage Sale Scoping Letter

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/ScopingLetter_MillFireSalvageHazardTreeRmvl.pdf

 

Mill Fire Salvage Sale Proposal

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/PreliminaryProjectInformation_MillFireSalvageHazardTreeRmvl.pdf

 

Mill Fire Salvage Sale Map

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/ScopingMap_MillFireSalvageHazardTreeRmvl.pdf
 

Remember that your letters do not have to be long.  Usually one or two pages will do the trick at this point in the planning process. 

 

SAMPLE LETTER ************************************************

 

Date

 

Sherrie Tune

Forest Supervisor
Mendocino National Forest
825 N. Humboldt Avenue
Willows, CA 95988
FAX: 530.934.7384
Email: stune@fs.fed.us
 

Dear Supervisor Tune:

 

I am writing to you with the request that your office support the BlueRibbon Coalition’s request to rescope the proposed Mill Fire Salvage and Hazard Tree Removal Project.    My family has been riding at the Stonyford OHV Area since the 1980s.  The current proposal has many unintended negative consequences to the OHV program on the Grindstone Ranger District.  These impacts will be lasting and   devastating.

 

OHV recreation has an important impact on the area’s economy.   Thousands of people attend enduros, dual-sport rides, or camp each year to enjoy the trail systems that are threatened by the current plan.  The proposal appears to threaten that use by extending the closure another 2-3 years. 

 

Again, please rescope the plan so that OHV recreation and the sale’s impact to the trail system can be properly analyzed in creation of new scoping documents.  The Mill Fire had a severe impact on the OHV program; please don’t compound this issue by destroying our OHV program by authorizing a salvage plan that does not protect and enhance recreational opportunity on the unit.

 

Thanks for considering my comments.

 

John Doe

33 Steam Donkey Way
Trail Town, USA

cc: Phil Jenkins, OHMVR @ pjenkins@parks.ca.gov
      Don Amador, BRC @ brdon@sharetrails.org


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PS - Thanks to the RRMC, OMC, MCMA, SCSA, Valley Trail Riders, NBMC, and VCMC (there may have been other clubs too) for hosting a great meeting last night in Napa where we and about 60 riders discussed this issue.  Great to share stage with D36's Dave Pickett. Thanks for being engaged in OHV recreation!

Stonyford - Mill Fire Update - Good and Bad News!

View of Trails 40, 32, and 34 from M5

 

View of Trail 33 Near Mill Valley Campground

 

The Recreation HQ got to spend a few days up at Stonyford last week touring (and working too) the burn area with FS staff.  We reviewed the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Mill Fire and looked at the extent of the damage and some of the challenges the agency must address before reopening it for public use.

 

The good news is that the campgrounds at Fouts and Davis Flat are open for camping.  Non-street legal OHVs can use Trail 42 that is a loop next to Davis Flat.  However at this time, there is no access to the main trail/road network (i.e.  Trails 34, 32, 40,37,39, or the shortcut to M5).  In fact, M5 remains closed at this time.

 

If you have a dual-sport you can ride up M10 and get on the trails/roads that are open (i.e.  Trail 6, 8,12,45, etc.).  If you have non-street legal OHVs, you can trailer them up and park along M10 where

it becomes a mixed-use road.   That begins just past the junction of where the Letts Lake Road intersects with M10.  Now is a good time to take the OHV corridor over to the Upper Lake OHV area and explore some of those trails.

 

The bad news is the main trail network that got burned looks like it will remain closed through the winter so that portions of the routes that have to be restored  after getting blitzed by the bulldozers cutting firebreaks can heal.

The ugly news is there are a lot of potential impacts to the roads and trails from excessive soil erosion if the area gets hit with heavy rains.  For example, a lot of tree stumps burned down to the root systems which often cross a road or a trail.  Now with the stump/root gone, there is the potential for water to carve or gully up the road/trail bed.

Stump/root burnout on road

 

There are a number of volunteer days still ahead where you can help.  Here is a link to where you can sign up.

 

HQ Blog with Vol. Dates and Sign Up Info

http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2012/10/stonyford-post-fire-volunteer-days-to.html

 

HQ believes that after these initial rains, the agency should make it a high priority to open up several corridors ASAP (i.e. Potato Hill and M5) so that riders can access the trails that are open in the non-burned areas.

 

HQ also wants to thank the agency and state trail crews that have been working very hard since the fire to help bring the impacted trails up to specs.

 

Watch for an update soon on the 1^st volunteer trail day last week.  We had a great turnout!