| What is this all about?
The Cleveland National Forest is proposing excessive and unnecessary
closures at Corte Madera, Rock Mountain, and Eagle Peak, closing each
of these areas to ALL PUBLIC ACCESS from December 1st to May 30th.
This public comment period for the Scoping stage ended April 16, 2007.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to write letters to the CNF.
First, we ask that you familiarize yourself with the
CNF Raptor Nesting Closure Proposal as well as the closure area
maps at that link.
As environmentalists and nature lovers, we do care about these majestic
birds and want them to thrive, but as it stands, this proposal will
close an excessive amount of public land to recreational access with
negligible positive effects for nesting raptors. Keep reading to see
why we feel this way.
Why do we have a problem with this proposal?
Here are the three primary reasons why the ACSD opposes the proposed
closures:
1) Eagles are not nesting on the cliff faces of Corte
Madera and Eagle Peak where climbing takes place, yet the Cleveland
National Forest (CNF) has continued to mislead the public to believe
this is the case with their generalized representation of these cliffs
as nesting locations in their closure proposals.
2) The CNF closure proposals are for blanket coverage
of entire cliff areas rather than acceptable closures for individually
identified active golden eagle nests. Though ACSD has requested the
CNF to do so, they have not yet provided any helpful information as
to where supposed nests actually exist.
3) The CNF continues to circumvent the US Forest Service
Land Management Plan (LMP), adopted in 2005, by not completing clearly
identified necessary steps required BEFORE closing Public Lands.
More detailed explanations for
each of these is available on the CNF FAQ
page.
What are we doing about it?
The ACSD has been keeping in close contact with the CNF about this
issue. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with them to maintain
involvement in this process.
We helped spread the word during the Scoping phase of this process
to make sure the climbing and recreation community was aware of the
proposal to allow them to submit feedback during the public comment
period. Thank you to everyone that wrote letters to the CNF!
The ACSD also drafted an official response to the CNF during the Scoping
period, along with the Access Fund
ACSD
Letter to the CNF (PDF)
Access
Fund Letter to the CNF (PDF)
The public comment period for the Scoping phase has ended as of April
16, 2007.
What's next?
The Cleveland National Forest (CNF) is currently setting up an Interdisciplinary
Team (IDT) to review all comments received during the last public scoping
period. An IDT normally consists of resource managers, biologists and
other experts trained to evaluate the proposed action and its potential
effects on the environment. ACSD has crafted and entered into an official
Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the Forest Service which will
allow us to continue to coordinate and be involved during the review
stage.
Once the IDT has reviewed all comments received, and have completed
a thorough analysis, an Environmental Assessment (EA)
will be released for public comment. An EA is a summary of the purpose
and need for a proposed action, alternatives, impacts of the proposed
action and alternatives, and all parties notified. The Forest service
has indicated that they would like to have a decision made by the start
of the next nesting season which generally begins in December. Depending
on what research and data indicates, the Forest Service should come
out with an action that balances the needs of the birds as well as provides
opportunity for responsible recreation in the 4 target areas.
ACSD will keep its website current with important updates, notifying
all ACSD members via email about any important issues that arise.
If you'd like to be added our mailing list, let us know and we'll be
happy to send you notifications when there are changes and developments.
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