LU: Moab Critical Action notice

>From another list I'm on...


Received from the Red Rock 4-Wheelers Please read.

Subject: Critical Action Alert for Jeepers


Fellow Jeepers- Please take a moment to read the following excert from
the Red Rock 4 Wheelers of Moab,s Newsletter and take what ever action
you feel is appropiate.

The form mentioned in the newsletter is included in this e-mail as a
PDF attachment

Thank for your attention

Happy Trails - Rex Holman, Treasurer, Red Rock 4 Wheelers

A major topic at the last meeting of the Red Rock 4 Wheelers was the
status of the 5 year permit and what is happening. Dave Adams our
present Land Use Officer and Jeff Stevens, former vice president of
the club gave us an up date and it is at best alarming.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) was released to the public on
October 1, with a comment period that ends on October 30, 2005. The
plan has three possible options, one of which will be chosen and will
be not only the guidance for the
Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but all permittees for the next 5 years.

Option "A" will issue the permit pretty much as presently configured,
with some very minor adjustments. This also gives us ArchCanyon and
Hotel rock as additions to the permit. The club also asked for and
will be granted exclusive use of some trails on scheduled Safari days.
This is the option that we would like to see chosen since it allows
the Red Rock 4 Wheelers as well as all other permitted groups and
commercial outfitters to continue to run the standard Safari trails.

Option "B" is more severe and is not acceptable as it is presently
written. The recommendations under option B are to close all or
portions, to permitted use the following: ArchCanyon, HeyJoeCanyon,
Hotel Rock, Kane Creek, TusherCanyon ( part of Seven mile Rim),
PritchettCanyon and Bartlett wash (part of 3D).

Option "C" is No Action or no permit - no Jeep Safari and all
permitted activity would cease on the marked trails, This includes all
commercial outfitters, and all clubs and organizations that presently
come to Moab. This includes Suzuki, Hummer, Cherokees, Broncos and all
of the other clubs that apply for permits. This option is not
acceptable to the Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but it is the one that our
environmental friends are going to try to push through.

We have good reason to believe that SUWA, The Sierra Club, Red Rock
Wilderness, and others are planning a major mail campaign to influence
the BLM in their decision.

The BLM is not taking e-mail responses. They have specified mailed
letters and comments, to be in their hand by October 30, 2005. There
is not much time to protect our trails!!

Enclosed in the newsletter is a form letter for you to use as a guide.
Please fill it out or draft your own comments and send them to the BLM
NOW.

The BLM in their defense, makes the case for the issuance of the
permit under option A, however they can be influenced by large numbers
of comments being submitted. That is why it is imperative for us to
react. Feel free to make copies of the form and spread it around to
your friends that enjoy 4 wheeling in the Moab area.

If you would like a copy of the EA, you can phone the Moab BLM office
at (435)- 259-2100 between 8 and 4:30 Monday thru Friday. When you
request a copy, be sure and ask to be placed on the mailing list for
the record of decision on the EA.

You will be looking for Draft Environmental Assessment
UT-060-2005-080. It is about 65 pages and is very eye-opening about
the process.

During the scoping phase of the EA, the BLM received 176 comments from
interested parties, most of which were opposed to the Safari. The BLM
addresses these in the EA and pretty much puts most of them to rest,
but that won't stop the environmental groups to send tons of letters
to the BLM.

The preferred method is a personal letter. Form letters are OK because
they add to the count. Petitions, while seeming to be effective in
some government arenas, are only treated as one response, no matter
how many names are on the petition.

Remember, this not only affects the Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but all
permitted and commercial uses. The BLM is quick to point out that they
would prefer to have organized events, since they tend to be more
responsible to the permit requirements and stay on the marked trails.
This will not affect individual travel on any of the trails. You will
still be allowed to come to Moab and enjoy the scenery and the
fabulous trails, but you will not be allowed to have any type of
organized activity if we don't respond NOW!!

-----------------------LETTER------------------



U. S. Department of Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Moab Field Office
82 East Dogwood Avenue
Moab, UT 84532


DATE


Subject: Draft Environmental Assessment UT -060-2005-080
Red Rock 4-Wheelers Jeep Safari and Fall Campout 5 Year Permit

To whom it may concern:


My family and I are in favor of option "A" of the Environmental
Assessment about the 5 year permit. As responsible 4- wheelers, we
feel that the permit outlined under Option "A" is the appropriate
decision for the BLM to use in their determination.



Sincerely,



YOUR SIGNATURE



YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

Please include my/our names on the list of interested parties to be
notified of the record of decision.

JB,

Thanks for posting this. HAving mailed a letter in support of the permit on
behalf of our local club, I recieved the EA a few days ago and it's a really
tedious read. However, it was heartening to know the local BLM put SUWA and
the other nut cases in their place WRT the permiting. However this note from
the Red Rocks folks makes it coear the process is not done. Letters of
support are clearly needed again.

I was told on Tuesday SUWA plans a MAJOR legal challenge if BLM decides to
issue the Red Rocks Club their permit, apparently figuring they can snarl
this entire process up in legal challenges in order to prevent at least next
years Safari. Not sure what we can do other than rely on Blue Ribbon if that
happens, however we can continue a letter campaign to ensure the permit does
get granted.

FWIW, it is not mandatory that a permit be issued for the Safari, since most
of the trails are on marked County roads. However, Red Rocks 4 Wheelers
wants to maintain a good working relationship with the BLM and thus has gone
this route.

"jbjeep" > wrote in message
...
> >From another list I'm on...
>
>
> Received from the Red Rock 4-Wheelers Please read.
>
> Subject: Critical Action Alert for Jeepers
>
>
> Fellow Jeepers- Please take a moment to read the following excert from
> the Red Rock 4 Wheelers of Moab,s Newsletter and take what ever action
> you feel is appropiate.
>
> The form mentioned in the newsletter is included in this e-mail as a
> PDF attachment
>
> Thank for your attention
>
> Happy Trails - Rex Holman, Treasurer, Red Rock 4 Wheelers
>
> A major topic at the last meeting of the Red Rock 4 Wheelers was the
> status of the 5 year permit and what is happening. Dave Adams our
> present Land Use Officer and Jeff Stevens, former vice president of
> the club gave us an up date and it is at best alarming.
>
> The Environmental Assessment (EA) was released to the public on
> October 1, with a comment period that ends on October 30, 2005. The
> plan has three possible options, one of which will be chosen and will
> be not only the guidance for the
> Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but all permittees for the next 5 years.
>
> Option "A" will issue the permit pretty much as presently configured,
> with some very minor adjustments. This also gives us ArchCanyon and
> Hotel rock as additions to the permit. The club also asked for and
> will be granted exclusive use of some trails on scheduled Safari days.
> This is the option that we would like to see chosen since it allows
> the Red Rock 4 Wheelers as well as all other permitted groups and
> commercial outfitters to continue to run the standard Safari trails.
>
> Option "B" is more severe and is not acceptable as it is presently
> written. The recommendations under option B are to close all or
> portions, to permitted use the following: ArchCanyon, HeyJoeCanyon,
> Hotel Rock, Kane Creek, TusherCanyon ( part of Seven mile Rim),
> PritchettCanyon and Bartlett wash (part of 3D).
>
> Option "C" is No Action or no permit - no Jeep Safari and all
> permitted activity would cease on the marked trails, This includes all
> commercial outfitters, and all clubs and organizations that presently
> come to Moab. This includes Suzuki, Hummer, Cherokees, Broncos and all
> of the other clubs that apply for permits. This option is not
> acceptable to the Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but it is the one that our
> environmental friends are going to try to push through.
>
> We have good reason to believe that SUWA, The Sierra Club, Red Rock
> Wilderness, and others are planning a major mail campaign to influence
> the BLM in their decision.
>
> The BLM is not taking e-mail responses. They have specified mailed
> letters and comments, to be in their hand by October 30, 2005. There
> is not much time to protect our trails!!
>
> Enclosed in the newsletter is a form letter for you to use as a guide.
> Please fill it out or draft your own comments and send them to the BLM
> NOW.
>
> The BLM in their defense, makes the case for the issuance of the
> permit under option A, however they can be influenced by large numbers
> of comments being submitted. That is why it is imperative for us to
> react. Feel free to make copies of the form and spread it around to
> your friends that enjoy 4 wheeling in the Moab area.
>
> If you would like a copy of the EA, you can phone the Moab BLM office
> at (435)- 259-2100 between 8 and 4:30 Monday thru Friday. When you
> request a copy, be sure and ask to be placed on the mailing list for
> the record of decision on the EA.
>
> You will be looking for Draft Environmental Assessment
> UT-060-2005-080. It is about 65 pages and is very eye-opening about
> the process.
>
> During the scoping phase of the EA, the BLM received 176 comments from
> interested parties, most of which were opposed to the Safari. The BLM
> addresses these in the EA and pretty much puts most of them to rest,
> but that won't stop the environmental groups to send tons of letters
> to the BLM.
>
> The preferred method is a personal letter. Form letters are OK because
> they add to the count. Petitions, while seeming to be effective in
> some government arenas, are only treated as one response, no matter
> how many names are on the petition.
>
> Remember, this not only affects the Red Rock 4 Wheelers, but all
> permitted and commercial uses. The BLM is quick to point out that they
> would prefer to have organized events, since they tend to be more
> responsible to the permit requirements and stay on the marked trails.
> This will not affect individual travel on any of the trails. You will
> still be allowed to come to Moab and enjoy the scenery and the
> fabulous trails, but you will not be allowed to have any type of
> organized activity if we don't respond NOW!!
>
> -----------------------LETTER------------------
>
>
>
> U. S. Department of Interior
> Bureau of Land Management
> Moab Field Office
> 82 East Dogwood Avenue
> Moab, UT 84532
>
>
> DATE
>
>
> Subject: Draft Environmental Assessment UT -060-2005-080
> Red Rock 4-Wheelers Jeep Safari and Fall Campout 5 Year Permit
>
> To whom it may concern:
>
>
> My family and I are in favor of option "A" of the Environmental
> Assessment about the 5 year permit. As responsible 4- wheelers, we
> feel that the permit outlined under Option "A" is the appropriate
> decision for the BLM to use in their determination.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> YOUR SIGNATURE
>
>
>
> YOUR NAME
> YOUR ADDRESS
>
> Please include my/our names on the list of interested parties to be
> notified of the record of decision.