Post by chevit on Mar 5, 2007 22:19:00 GMT -5
Issue 110 - March 05, 2007
Back
Skid Marks, Wildlands CPR’s monthly e-mail newsletter, reports on activist efforts to challenge roads and motorized recreation nationwide. Skid Marks shares instructive and precedent-setting successes and failures in the campaign to halt motorized abuse of wildland systems.
---
1. Judge Halts Development in Roadless Areas, For Now
2. Final Plan for Montana Forest Calls for Motorized Reductions
3. Debate About Yellowstone Snowmobiling Continues
4. Future of Snowmobiling in Idaho Forest Remains Uncertain
5. Forest Service Proposes Off-Road Vehicle Limits for Montana Mountain
6. Proposed Road to Bisect Utah Wetlands
7. Judge Questions Forest Service Plan for Grizzly Recovery Zones
8. Conservationists Appeal Snowmobiling Plan in Montana Forest
9. Sportsmen Request Re-Opening of Montana Road
10. New Travel Plan for Wyoming Forest Released
---
1. Judge Halts Development in Roadless Areas, For Now
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco has ruled that the Forest Service must cease work on 84 oil and gas development projects and an Idaho road project because they violate the Clinton-era roadless rule she re-instated in September. The injunction applies to projects planned for 14 National Forests, mostly in the Rocky Mountains.
Rob Vandermark, Director of the National Environmental Trust’s Heritage Forests Campaign, said, “We’re very happy with this ruling, which makes clear that projects begun after the illegal repeal of the 2001 rule are unlawful and must be halted.”
Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture has announced its decision to entertain petitions for projects in roadless areas under the Administrative Procedures Act, which allows parties to ask the government for a rule-making procedure: in this case, to alter the Clinton-era restrictions. This creates a situation very similar to the one in effect during the repeal of the Roadless Rule. At that time, states were asked to prepare individual proposals for roadless area management, subject to Forest Service approval. Idaho and Colorado have already filed petitions with the USDA. In the meantime, Wyoming is seeking to reopen its lawsuit against the roadless rule.
---
2. Final Plan for Montana Forest Calls for Motorized Reductions
A final version of Montana’s Gallatin National Forest travel plan has been released and it already faces a mound of appeals. Its latest incarnation calls for a 50 percent reduction in available snowmobile area, 40 percent fewer miles available to motorcycles, and a 50 percent reduction in roads open for off-road vehicles. The latest incarnation also opens certain areas to off-road access that had previously been closed, and includes more off-road vehicle routes than the previous draft, released in spring of 2006.
The plan also calls for various parties, including motorized users, hikers, mountain bikers, and skiers to come together to agree upon “time share” plans for nine popular trails near Bozeman. The idea is for a cooperative use plan to develop, with motorized use allowed on certain days and restricted on others.
This is the culmination of a 4-year planning period, during which more than 10,000 comments were received. The comment period for the plan was extended 72 days, as requested by former Senator Conrad Burns and Representative Denny Rehberg.
An analysis of the public comments revealed that they overwhelmingly favored non-motorized recreation over motorized use. According to The Friends of the Gallatin, a conservation group funding the comment study, “the great majority of public comments, sometimes as high as 99%, concerning each region supported traditional travel use for that area.”
Forest Supervisor Becki Heath wrote that her plan objective was to bring “motorized use under greater management control rather than attempting to limit the amount of use.” The environmental impact statement for the management plan states that, “the Forest Service believes that the demands for recreation opportunities are now reaching the point of exceeding the capability of the land to provide them.”
---
3. Debate About Yellowstone Snowmobiling Continues
The latest proposal by the National Park Service regarding snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park has been met with mixed reactions. The proposal would allow up to 720 snowmobiles to enter the Park every day, all as part of guided trips. This plan mirrors the temporary guidelines in place since the winter of 2004-5.
County and state officials in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming have requested that the Park Service allow greater snowmobile access, including unguided trips.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, is in favor of even stricter snowmobile guidelines in Yellowstone. The EPA has expressed concern about the effect of snowmobiles on clean air, visibility, and human health. Additionally, comments from the EPA pointed out that the proposal may not live up to the goals of the Park Service, reiterated in 2006, which include limiting effects on the natural environment, minimizing harassment of wildlife, preserving quiet in the parks, and perpetuating the best air quality possible. The EPA stated that the best alternative for protecting the Yellowstone environment would be prohibition of all over-snow vehicles.
The new Park management plan is expected to be finalized by next winter.
---
4. Future of Snowmobiling in Idaho Forest Remains Uncertain
A ban on snowmobiling in sections of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, home to the last caribou herd in the lower 48 states has been reversed.
However, U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley will consider a request by conservation groups to reconsider his decision to lift his former ban on snowmobiling in sections of the Forest most critical to caribou. Only 37 animals remain in the herd.
Mark Sprengel, director of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, said groups are willing to work with snowmobilers to find a solution to the problem, but that there’s little room for compromise in the Selkirks, the last mountain range in the lower 48 states with the same mix of wildlife and fish species present when Lewis and Clark explored the West.
A growing body of evidence suggests that backcountry winter recreation, including snowmobiling, forces caribou to flee to human-free areas. Such areas are becoming increasingly rare, as snowmobiles become lighter and capable of penetrating remote forests.
The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to develop a comprehensive plan to manage winter recreation in the area and protect caribou simultaneously.
---
5. Forest Service Proposes Off-Road Vehicle Limits for Montana Mountain
The U.S. Forest Service has released a proposal to close Mt. Jefferson to motorized vehicle use. Mount Jefferson straddles the Idaho-Montana border.
The plan is part of a long-awaited revision for management of Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The popular snowmobiling area in question lies within Montana, but is accessible through Idaho.
The area was set aside in 1986 as a Wilderness Study Area. According to Montana’s regional forester, it should be managed as such until it receives congressional wilderness designation. In the summer, the area is closed to all motorized use.
Patricia Dowd, conservation coordinator for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said an off-road vehicle ban in the area would protect wildlife, and bring in more tourists seeking quiet recreation. She also pointed out that the area has many other routes available for snowmobiling.
The Forest Service plans to release an environmental impact statement regarding the proposal by early summer, with a final decision expected later this year.
---
6. Proposed Road to Bisect Utah Wetlands
Conservationists have challenged the Utah Department of Transportation about a proposed 6-lane highway through at least 58 acres of wetlands at Utah Lake.
The Mountain View Corridor will connect I-80 to I-15, and may cut through the wetlands which surround the lake. According to conservation biologist Ryan Barker, the wetlands prevent flooding, filter water, and provide one of the most important rest stops for migrating birds in the Western hemisphere.
The Department is considering two alternative routes that would bypass the wetlands, but claims that these routes would jeopardize up to 200 existing houses.
Mark Heileson of the Sierra Club says the group plans to launch a “full-on public education campaign” to defend the wetlands. “[UDOT] has the entire northern end of Utah County to work with,” Heileson said. “They have chosen, arbitrarily, the wetlands as the route.”
The agency is expected to announce its preferred Corridor route in the fall.
---
7. Judge Questions Forest Service Plan for Grizzly Recovery Zones
A federal judge in Montana has rejected a Forest Service plan to manage roads in the habitat of two grizzly bear populations in three states. The ruling addresses a plan released in 2004 setting road density standards, which maintained 95% of the road system within the designated grizzly habitat.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy asserted that the agency relied on incomplete information in adopting road management plans for land within grizzly bear recovery zones in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk National Forests, located in northern Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Molloy’s decision requires the Forest Service to prepare a new environmental impact statement for the plan.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of five different conservation groups represented by Tim Preso, a lawyer for Earthjustice. Preso praised the decision, saying “the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk populations are the most imperiled grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, yet under the Forest Service’s plan they received the least protective habitat standards of any grizzlies in the lower 48 states. Road standards in National Forests surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, both home to much larger grizzly populations, are far more stringent than the road standards that the Forest Service applied to these struggling populations. That makes no sense.”
---
8. Conservationists Appeal Snowmobiling Plan in Montana Forest
Environmentalists have challenged a snowmobiling plan for Montana’s Flathead National Forest, claiming it endangers grizzly bears by permitting late-season use, in some areas into the month of May.
The appeal was filed by the Swan View Coalition and Winter Wildlands Alliance. According to the groups, federal land managers admit that late-season motorized recreation (defined as after April 1st) poses a threat to female grizzlies and their cubs as they emerge from winter dens. The forest has rules in place prohibiting snowmobiles in grizzly habitat once bears are out of their dens, but Keith Hammer of the Swan View Coalition claims the new plan is an attempt to circumvent those rules. Hammer also worries that this plan will influence other forests to extend their snowmobiling seasons.
An agreement about snowmobiling provisions in the Forest Plan had been reached by the Montana Wilderness Association and the Montana Snowmobile Association, but their proposal did not include longer seasons. After this collaboration, some snowmobilers continued to lobby forest officials for increased access.
---
9. Sportsmen Request Re-Opening of Montana Road
Several Montana sportsman’s groups have asked Yellowstone County commissioners to consider re-opening a stretch of road closed 18 years ago.
The mile-long section of Alexander Road, near Billings, would provide access to a swath of public land. Closure of the road was enacted in response to numerous complaints from local landowners who reported trespassing, vandalism, and the riddling of buildings with bullets. Several local landowners have declared their opposition to a re-opening.
The commissioners are reluctant to consider the proposal until state and county agencies develop a management plan for the area. Commissioners requested that agencies work in conjunction with sportsmen and property owners to develop such a plan.
---
10. New Travel Plan for Wyoming Forest Released
A new draft travel plan for Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest has been released, and includes slightly fewer miles of roads available for motorized recreation.
The plan would legitimize some user-created roads for off-road vehicle use, but more than 100 miles of such roads are not included in the proposal.
According to Lloyd Dorsey of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, “managing [off-road vehicle] use on the northern Bridger-Teton is critical because virtually the entire area is important wildlife habitat…In the past it’s known that motorized use has damaged important habitats, and that needs to change.”
Back
Skid Marks, Wildlands CPR’s monthly e-mail newsletter, reports on activist efforts to challenge roads and motorized recreation nationwide. Skid Marks shares instructive and precedent-setting successes and failures in the campaign to halt motorized abuse of wildland systems.
---
1. Judge Halts Development in Roadless Areas, For Now
2. Final Plan for Montana Forest Calls for Motorized Reductions
3. Debate About Yellowstone Snowmobiling Continues
4. Future of Snowmobiling in Idaho Forest Remains Uncertain
5. Forest Service Proposes Off-Road Vehicle Limits for Montana Mountain
6. Proposed Road to Bisect Utah Wetlands
7. Judge Questions Forest Service Plan for Grizzly Recovery Zones
8. Conservationists Appeal Snowmobiling Plan in Montana Forest
9. Sportsmen Request Re-Opening of Montana Road
10. New Travel Plan for Wyoming Forest Released
---
1. Judge Halts Development in Roadless Areas, For Now
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco has ruled that the Forest Service must cease work on 84 oil and gas development projects and an Idaho road project because they violate the Clinton-era roadless rule she re-instated in September. The injunction applies to projects planned for 14 National Forests, mostly in the Rocky Mountains.
Rob Vandermark, Director of the National Environmental Trust’s Heritage Forests Campaign, said, “We’re very happy with this ruling, which makes clear that projects begun after the illegal repeal of the 2001 rule are unlawful and must be halted.”
Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture has announced its decision to entertain petitions for projects in roadless areas under the Administrative Procedures Act, which allows parties to ask the government for a rule-making procedure: in this case, to alter the Clinton-era restrictions. This creates a situation very similar to the one in effect during the repeal of the Roadless Rule. At that time, states were asked to prepare individual proposals for roadless area management, subject to Forest Service approval. Idaho and Colorado have already filed petitions with the USDA. In the meantime, Wyoming is seeking to reopen its lawsuit against the roadless rule.
---
2. Final Plan for Montana Forest Calls for Motorized Reductions
A final version of Montana’s Gallatin National Forest travel plan has been released and it already faces a mound of appeals. Its latest incarnation calls for a 50 percent reduction in available snowmobile area, 40 percent fewer miles available to motorcycles, and a 50 percent reduction in roads open for off-road vehicles. The latest incarnation also opens certain areas to off-road access that had previously been closed, and includes more off-road vehicle routes than the previous draft, released in spring of 2006.
The plan also calls for various parties, including motorized users, hikers, mountain bikers, and skiers to come together to agree upon “time share” plans for nine popular trails near Bozeman. The idea is for a cooperative use plan to develop, with motorized use allowed on certain days and restricted on others.
This is the culmination of a 4-year planning period, during which more than 10,000 comments were received. The comment period for the plan was extended 72 days, as requested by former Senator Conrad Burns and Representative Denny Rehberg.
An analysis of the public comments revealed that they overwhelmingly favored non-motorized recreation over motorized use. According to The Friends of the Gallatin, a conservation group funding the comment study, “the great majority of public comments, sometimes as high as 99%, concerning each region supported traditional travel use for that area.”
Forest Supervisor Becki Heath wrote that her plan objective was to bring “motorized use under greater management control rather than attempting to limit the amount of use.” The environmental impact statement for the management plan states that, “the Forest Service believes that the demands for recreation opportunities are now reaching the point of exceeding the capability of the land to provide them.”
---
3. Debate About Yellowstone Snowmobiling Continues
The latest proposal by the National Park Service regarding snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park has been met with mixed reactions. The proposal would allow up to 720 snowmobiles to enter the Park every day, all as part of guided trips. This plan mirrors the temporary guidelines in place since the winter of 2004-5.
County and state officials in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming have requested that the Park Service allow greater snowmobile access, including unguided trips.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, is in favor of even stricter snowmobile guidelines in Yellowstone. The EPA has expressed concern about the effect of snowmobiles on clean air, visibility, and human health. Additionally, comments from the EPA pointed out that the proposal may not live up to the goals of the Park Service, reiterated in 2006, which include limiting effects on the natural environment, minimizing harassment of wildlife, preserving quiet in the parks, and perpetuating the best air quality possible. The EPA stated that the best alternative for protecting the Yellowstone environment would be prohibition of all over-snow vehicles.
The new Park management plan is expected to be finalized by next winter.
---
4. Future of Snowmobiling in Idaho Forest Remains Uncertain
A ban on snowmobiling in sections of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, home to the last caribou herd in the lower 48 states has been reversed.
However, U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley will consider a request by conservation groups to reconsider his decision to lift his former ban on snowmobiling in sections of the Forest most critical to caribou. Only 37 animals remain in the herd.
Mark Sprengel, director of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, said groups are willing to work with snowmobilers to find a solution to the problem, but that there’s little room for compromise in the Selkirks, the last mountain range in the lower 48 states with the same mix of wildlife and fish species present when Lewis and Clark explored the West.
A growing body of evidence suggests that backcountry winter recreation, including snowmobiling, forces caribou to flee to human-free areas. Such areas are becoming increasingly rare, as snowmobiles become lighter and capable of penetrating remote forests.
The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to develop a comprehensive plan to manage winter recreation in the area and protect caribou simultaneously.
---
5. Forest Service Proposes Off-Road Vehicle Limits for Montana Mountain
The U.S. Forest Service has released a proposal to close Mt. Jefferson to motorized vehicle use. Mount Jefferson straddles the Idaho-Montana border.
The plan is part of a long-awaited revision for management of Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The popular snowmobiling area in question lies within Montana, but is accessible through Idaho.
The area was set aside in 1986 as a Wilderness Study Area. According to Montana’s regional forester, it should be managed as such until it receives congressional wilderness designation. In the summer, the area is closed to all motorized use.
Patricia Dowd, conservation coordinator for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said an off-road vehicle ban in the area would protect wildlife, and bring in more tourists seeking quiet recreation. She also pointed out that the area has many other routes available for snowmobiling.
The Forest Service plans to release an environmental impact statement regarding the proposal by early summer, with a final decision expected later this year.
---
6. Proposed Road to Bisect Utah Wetlands
Conservationists have challenged the Utah Department of Transportation about a proposed 6-lane highway through at least 58 acres of wetlands at Utah Lake.
The Mountain View Corridor will connect I-80 to I-15, and may cut through the wetlands which surround the lake. According to conservation biologist Ryan Barker, the wetlands prevent flooding, filter water, and provide one of the most important rest stops for migrating birds in the Western hemisphere.
The Department is considering two alternative routes that would bypass the wetlands, but claims that these routes would jeopardize up to 200 existing houses.
Mark Heileson of the Sierra Club says the group plans to launch a “full-on public education campaign” to defend the wetlands. “[UDOT] has the entire northern end of Utah County to work with,” Heileson said. “They have chosen, arbitrarily, the wetlands as the route.”
The agency is expected to announce its preferred Corridor route in the fall.
---
7. Judge Questions Forest Service Plan for Grizzly Recovery Zones
A federal judge in Montana has rejected a Forest Service plan to manage roads in the habitat of two grizzly bear populations in three states. The ruling addresses a plan released in 2004 setting road density standards, which maintained 95% of the road system within the designated grizzly habitat.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy asserted that the agency relied on incomplete information in adopting road management plans for land within grizzly bear recovery zones in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk National Forests, located in northern Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Molloy’s decision requires the Forest Service to prepare a new environmental impact statement for the plan.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of five different conservation groups represented by Tim Preso, a lawyer for Earthjustice. Preso praised the decision, saying “the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk populations are the most imperiled grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, yet under the Forest Service’s plan they received the least protective habitat standards of any grizzlies in the lower 48 states. Road standards in National Forests surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, both home to much larger grizzly populations, are far more stringent than the road standards that the Forest Service applied to these struggling populations. That makes no sense.”
---
8. Conservationists Appeal Snowmobiling Plan in Montana Forest
Environmentalists have challenged a snowmobiling plan for Montana’s Flathead National Forest, claiming it endangers grizzly bears by permitting late-season use, in some areas into the month of May.
The appeal was filed by the Swan View Coalition and Winter Wildlands Alliance. According to the groups, federal land managers admit that late-season motorized recreation (defined as after April 1st) poses a threat to female grizzlies and their cubs as they emerge from winter dens. The forest has rules in place prohibiting snowmobiles in grizzly habitat once bears are out of their dens, but Keith Hammer of the Swan View Coalition claims the new plan is an attempt to circumvent those rules. Hammer also worries that this plan will influence other forests to extend their snowmobiling seasons.
An agreement about snowmobiling provisions in the Forest Plan had been reached by the Montana Wilderness Association and the Montana Snowmobile Association, but their proposal did not include longer seasons. After this collaboration, some snowmobilers continued to lobby forest officials for increased access.
---
9. Sportsmen Request Re-Opening of Montana Road
Several Montana sportsman’s groups have asked Yellowstone County commissioners to consider re-opening a stretch of road closed 18 years ago.
The mile-long section of Alexander Road, near Billings, would provide access to a swath of public land. Closure of the road was enacted in response to numerous complaints from local landowners who reported trespassing, vandalism, and the riddling of buildings with bullets. Several local landowners have declared their opposition to a re-opening.
The commissioners are reluctant to consider the proposal until state and county agencies develop a management plan for the area. Commissioners requested that agencies work in conjunction with sportsmen and property owners to develop such a plan.
---
10. New Travel Plan for Wyoming Forest Released
A new draft travel plan for Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest has been released, and includes slightly fewer miles of roads available for motorized recreation.
The plan would legitimize some user-created roads for off-road vehicle use, but more than 100 miles of such roads are not included in the proposal.
According to Lloyd Dorsey of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, “managing [off-road vehicle] use on the northern Bridger-Teton is critical because virtually the entire area is important wildlife habitat…In the past it’s known that motorized use has damaged important habitats, and that needs to change.”