Christ are these forest rangers or lawyers??? Red tape that only exists to make things more difficult and expensive will be the death of this country. Soon you will need permits and have to pay fees to cross state lines! It makes me mad just thinking about listening to some government idiot explaining how there isn't enough money to keep roads open, but they have the money to send out a bunch of $6.47 letters.
Bear Paw closed!!!!!
- Thread starter SNOBI-WAN-KENOBI
- Start date
im curious how the meeting went last night
THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!
Not trying to stir the pot here, and I don't know any of it for sure, but I heard that there was a work party up there with a group of 20 or so people and 4 machines that people volunteered to clean the road and clear debris out of culverts, etc. I also heard that days after said work party the FS was going up to put a gate across the road. Does anyone have any concrete information on this?
Just got off the phone with the Mt.Baker Ranger Station.....the road is washed out at mile marker 5....She said 2018 is the tentative date to MAYBE having it fixed!!???
Yes the snowmobile club and citizens for forest roads led by Doug Huddle did a work day a few weeks ago. With less than four days notice we organized over 20 people and four mini excavators to clear the ditch lines and culverts of debris. We were not technically allowed to dig so although a few compromised culverts were opened up we mostly focused on removing 20 years worth of trees, rocks, and forest shrapnel for the road prism to allow a contractor to come up and brush the road at a later date. We worked from approx mile 5 all the way to the end of 3160 and also up the excelsior side. We did this knowing there was a gate going in to hopefully eatablish a working relation with the FS and promote future volunteer work days to keep these roads maintained.
The wash out is the same one from last year. The FS engineers have determined that they cannot be liable for any traffic past the wash out given the degree of the slide. The gate was in response to people continually moving the rocks.
In the bigger picture though the road will be repaired and the 3160 should remain open with the possibility of volunteer work parties to prevent future washouts. We have formed a new committee of sorts within the snowmobile club to organize volunteer work efforts and are very lucky to have Doug Huddle helping us. He has inventoried most of the roads up here and prioritized sections that need the most work in an effort to make FS maintenance contractors more effective.
Join your local clubs we need all the support we can get to keep FS road open as the new Tavel management plans are rolled out!
The wash out is the same one from last year. The FS engineers have determined that they cannot be liable for any traffic past the wash out given the degree of the slide. The gate was in response to people continually moving the rocks.
In the bigger picture though the road will be repaired and the 3160 should remain open with the possibility of volunteer work parties to prevent future washouts. We have formed a new committee of sorts within the snowmobile club to organize volunteer work efforts and are very lucky to have Doug Huddle helping us. He has inventoried most of the roads up here and prioritized sections that need the most work in an effort to make FS maintenance contractors more effective.
Join your local clubs we need all the support we can get to keep FS road open as the new Tavel management plans are rolled out!
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She said there was a sign posted...no mention of a gate.....yet!
Thank you for the update White Rad
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paulharris
Well-known member
Thanks very much for the work party up there. It is however difficult to trust the FS and what their real agendas are, the FS has earned this reputation recently. I hate to see them gate it and say "it will be open in the future", as that seems like death to the access of this area. i hope this isn't a trap by the FS. Is it time try to block the FS from installing the gate? certainly riders will not be able to snowmobile there when snow levels are "normal" which is 80% of the time unless you want to ride miles of dirt, so what are snowmobilers really getting out of this? it does not seem like a very fair deal.
At this date we have no other real option but to take their word (with a grain of salt) and of course build our numbers. As stated above there have been many folks affected by this who are coming together to create an avenue where maybe we can fix these road problems before they happen or at the very least as they are happening. The fact that the 3160 has been reconsidered is an example of sitting down with the forrest service and talking, not an easy task considering the history. Once again our best chance is to show how many people have the same wants as we do and the best way is to join and participate with a group the is involved in this process. As a snowmobiler this means join your local club and in this particular instance the Whactom County Snowmobile Association which meet the first Tuesday 7pm at Roundtable Pizza Bellingham on sunset ave. There is also a Facebook page which is a great way to stay informed with club information and work parties. For those who don't want another meeting to attend then just joining will add headcount to our collective numbers and that in turn increases the volume of our voice.
On another note there are non snowmobilers like Doug Huddle who have partnered with us to assist in keeping the roads open to all who want to spend time in the mountains and require the FS roads to do so, meaning finally we have found some common ground in our fight.
On another note there are non snowmobilers like Doug Huddle who have partnered with us to assist in keeping the roads open to all who want to spend time in the mountains and require the FS roads to do so, meaning finally we have found some common ground in our fight.
drove up Canyon Cr yesterday 11/29/2016, at 5.2 miles in, the FS placed LARGE cement barriers, with lots of boulders behind them. There is room for sleds to get through, but no vehicles.
This is approx 1 mile from the sno park, and sits at about 2000'. there was no snow in site at that elevation, but a drive up Glacier Cr put the rideable snow (a few inches) at about ~2800'.
Where the closure is, there is a decent sized lot, probably big enough for 5-8 trucks... so, if we get cold enough temps, Bear Paw may be accessable if the snow level drops to 2000'.
fingers crossed.
This is approx 1 mile from the sno park, and sits at about 2000'. there was no snow in site at that elevation, but a drive up Glacier Cr put the rideable snow (a few inches) at about ~2800'.
Where the closure is, there is a decent sized lot, probably big enough for 5-8 trucks... so, if we get cold enough temps, Bear Paw may be accessable if the snow level drops to 2000'.
fingers crossed.
You guys all get the "final decision notice?"
http://links.govdelivery.com/track?...ttps://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=47563
http://links.govdelivery.com/track?...ttps://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=47563
I got the same email, it seems like our voices were heard, and our riding areas should be safe!
now if they;d hurry and fix the road...canyon cr is a damn whoop field!
now if they;d hurry and fix the road...canyon cr is a damn whoop field!
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paulharris
Well-known member
be careful how you read into this, its deceiving. "finding of no significant impact" does not mean anything to do with the area being kept open to sleds. it means that their travel management plan has "no significant impact". That could mean their travel management plan did indeed closed the roads and the FS deemed those closures created no significant impact....which i believe is the case here. I'm not 100% sure, perhaps someone else that is more familiar with the details can chime in here.
That is kind of how I was taking it, but was hoping that someone with more of a lawyer-like reading ability would be able to translate for us.
The area is staying open to sleds and the road will be fixed this summer. You can access the area now with the snow level below mile marker 5.5 and the riding is excellent however there is no grooming and is a little like snow cross for quite a while unless your in early after the dump.
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