Stewards of the Sequoia (Stop 181 Mile Closure)

Stop Closure of 181 Miles of Roads & Trails Updated 3/18/10

ACTION TAKEN TO STOP TRAIL CLOSURE FOR NO VALID REASON

The Sequoia Forest Service announced their intention to implement Fixed Date Seasonal Closure of 181 miles of mid to high altitude roads and trails from 12/31 to 4/15 due to snow accumulations that may or may not occur each year.

Imagine a beautiful day in January, February or March and the ground is clear and the mountains beckon you, yet you will not be allowed to drive on any of almost 200 miles of roads or trails north of Kern Canyon trail up to the Forks of the Kern, just because of the date. That is just wrong and will negatively impact hikers, fisherman, hunters, ATV, dirt bike and 4x4 recreationists. All of whom use vehicles on these forest roads to access their forms of recreation.
Map at http://www.stewardsofthesequoia.org/PDF/SeaonalClosure.pdf

LEGAL APPEAL FILED
Stewards of the Sequoia filed a legal appeal on the Sequoia National Forest Service regarding these proposed closures for no reason, as well as lakeside access and other important issues. Simultaneously Stewards launched a letter writing campaign, which produced almost 500 letters during a short 14 day period from the public opposing this fixed date seasonal closure of 181 miles of the public's trails. Many organizations representing tens of thousands of members submitted letters during our campaign.

THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE
Stewards provided the hundreds of letters from the public as well as our appeal to Congressman McCarthy in order for him to be aware of this situation, which will needlessly restrict public access from their public lands.

CONGRESSMAN MCCARTHY TAKES ACTION!
Seeing that his constituents and the public were being unfairly locked out of their public lands, Congressman McCarthy penned this letter to the Sequoia National Forest urging them to reconsider this "unprecedented" closure decision and allow continued access on all trails unless there is a valid reason to close them due to actual snow conditions, as well as to allow continued historical vehicular lakeside access.

Please take a minute to read the Congressman's letter submitted on your behalf. We owe the Congressman our thanks as well as the almost 500 people and Stewards of the Sequoia for taking the time to send him letters and urging the Congressman to take action.

Thanks to those businesses and organizations and the many Stewards members who took the time to send a letter asking Congressman McCarthy to help stop the proposed closures. You made a difference.

THIS IS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS-PUBLIC PRESSURE CREATING ACTION BY YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
It takes public involvement to make things happen and Stewards of the Sequoia are happy we have been able to help our members be more active and make a difference to keep your trails open.

So the next time you are sitting around the campfire listening to others complaining that their Congressman or other elected officials are not helping keep trails open to the public, ask them when the last time was they wrote a letter or called their Congressman or elected officials and asked for help, or if they support groups like Stewards of the Sequoia who are actively working to keep their trails open.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSED CLOSURES

Under the new Forest Service action it appears vehicle access to the southern Giant Sequoia National Monument will be prohibited from 12/31 to 4/15.
Also each year from 12/31 to 4/15 vehicle access will be prohibited to:

Portuguese Pass Trailhead
Flynn Canyon Trailhead
Tobias Creek Trailhead
Frog Meadow
Tobias Peak
Horse Meadow Lookout
Baker Point Lookout & Botanical Area
Bull Run Pass
Panorama Campground
Bull Run Creek
Alta Sierra Ski Resort
Just Outstanding Trailhead
Evan's Flat Campground

Communities continue to struggle to attract tourists under a failing economy, meanwhile the Forest Service is closing 181 miles of trails and eliminating access to the Southern portion of the Giant Sequoia Monument. Weren’t we told one of the reasons to create the Monument was to increase tourism?

We all know the frost season in the area varies each year. Actually by 90 days from year to year according to Forest Service weather data, so closing trails on a fixed date is not supported by historical snowfall. Some years we have snow earlier, some years later, some years like 2007 hardly any snow or precipitation. The spikes in the weather chart clearly verify what we already know. There is no fixed season of wet weather here.

Arbitrary fixed date closures of roads and trails when there is no snow is totally inappropriate and will reduce public access, as well as harm the local economy and undermine public trust in the Forest Service. The Forest Service already has the ability to close roads and trails as needed due to snow, which has worked well in the past and continuing that policy makes sense.

The Forest Service and the Public have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours together working on the Trail Plan. Implementing the plan with obvious errors like this makes no sense. This is an unnecessary closure of your public lands.

The Forest Service should eliminate the Fixed Date Seasonal Closures and stick with the closed as needed policy. It could even save them money in years when no closure is needed due to lack of precipitation. With a few changes the Forest Service can implement a Trail plan we can all live with. A plan that provides reasonable continued access for the public and does not harm our economy, while still protecting the environment.

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