Attention All Stewards:
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
The Sierra National Forest (SNF) is now taking comments to add more roads and trails that have been closed to your use by the 2008 Travel Management Process. This current round is what has been dubbed as Travel Management II and the public has been waiting for years for this opportunity to add more roads and trails.
The Stewards have submitted on your behalf many years ago a plan to reopen miles of existing roads and trails that you had access to but were closed due to the 2008 Travel Management process. These roads and trails that were submitted on your behalf were prime OHV opportunities and had a high OHV experience and provided much needed connectivity to link areas together for a more enjoyable OHV experience.
The SNF has come back with a proposal to possibly add 29 miles of trails and 12 areas (11 acres) out of 1.5 million acres to the existing road and trail system.
This is where we need your help to provide comments to the SNF to help you get more roads and trails opened for you and you families enjoyment. Please go to the official release letter below to review the proposed maps and to provide comments to the SNF to get more roads and Trails opened.
Mike
FYI – for immediate release
Sierra National Forest Initiates Public Comment Period for Motorized Recreation Project Environmental Assessment
CLOVIS, Calif. June 26, 2020 — The Sierra National Forest (SNF) is initiating the formal public comment period for the Motorized Recreation Project (Project) Environmental Assessment (EA). The Project area identifies roads, trails, and areas across the SNF, outside of designated Wilderness areas.
The SNF proposes adding approximately 29 miles of trails, and 12 areas (11 acres) to the National Forest Trail System. Of those 29 miles of proposed routes, 1.7 miles are proposed to change from road to trail, or to mixed use road/trail.
The Project is bound by the Kings River to the south, Merced River and Yosemite National Park to the north, east of the Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness areas, within the confines of the SNF.
A detailed description of the need for the Project and the Alternatives analyzed are in the EA located on the Forest website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55572.
The Forest Service will accept comments on the Project for 30 days following publication of the opportunity to comment legal notice in the Fresno Bee (published June 26th, 2020) which is the exclusive means for calculating the comment period.
Commenters should not rely on dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. It is the commenter’s responsibility to ensure timely receipt of comments (36 CFR 218.25). The Project is subject to comment pursuant to 36 CFR 218, Subparts A and B. Only those who submit timely project-specific written comments during a public comment period are eligible to file an objection. Individuals or representatives of an entity submitting comments must sign the comments or verify identity upon request.
Comments should be as specific as possible and explain the reason behind your thoughts. To aid in your comment specificity, please use the maps available on the previously mentioned web page. Comments received in response to this public comment period will be considered part of the public record. The 30 day comment period ends at midnight on Monday July 27, 2020.
Provide comments by mail, fax, or email to the responsible official, Dean Gould c/o Jody Nickerson-Powell, Attn: Motorized Recreation Project at: • Mail: 1600 Tollhouse Rd, Clovis, CA 93612; • FAX: (559)294-4809. • Electronic comments, in common (.doc, .pdf, .rtf, .txt) formats, may be submitted to: comments-pacificsouthwestsierra@usda.gov with the subject: Motorized Recreation Project.
Names of commenters will be part of the public record subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Please include full citations for all referenced literature in your comment, as this will enable the Forest Service to best utilize your comments. The Forest Service reserves the right to request copies of any literature cited in comments. We would like to invite you to join us on July 15, 2020, for a virtual public meeting from 6:00 to 7:30pm.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to ask Forest Service employees questions about the EA that would assist you in commenting during the comment period. Information on how to join the virtual meeting is located here under “Features”: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sierra/
For more information, please contact Sierra National Forest Recreation Officer, Jody Nickerson-Powell, via email at jody.nickerson@usda.gov.
You can follow the Sierra National Forest on Facebook www.Facebook.com/SierraNF and on Twitter www.twitter.com/SierraNF.
Alex Olow
Public Information/ Visitor Services Specialist Forest Service Sierra National Forest
p: 559-297-0706 x4999
c: 559-269-2259
f: 559-294-4809
1600 Tollhouse Rd Clovis, CA 93611
Caring for the land and serving people “To know the road ahead, ask those coming back” ~Anon