The FS is proposing to close those areas because sledders have been using them to poach the wilderness. The skiers are only confirming what the FS already knows. The FS has sleds and they occasionally survey the boundaries, especially in spring. They also have planes. And the problem isn't new. I've personally spoken with the rangers about this issue over the past few years, as have others on this string. There's no conspiracy to get rid of sleds IMO. They simply don't want to deal with the hassle of enforcing the boundaries and will close areas adjacent to wilderness if sledders can't abide by the law. To me, it's unfair to punish us all for the violations of the few, and I plan to do what I can to oppose the wilderness designation for those areas, but it really hurts our cause to have folks continuing to poach.
If you see sledders poaching, let them know that they are jeopardizing everybody's access rights. How you do that is your business.
