NE WA: Harvey Creek Road may be closed to sleds

[RMKcowboy]

Before you all start laying in about how retarded it is to close this area for caribou that might be there... I completely agree and I don't understand it, but it is what it is, and if people don't stay off the road in question the area will get further restricted. I don't know how much good sledding would be lost if it happened, but I hate to see any ground lost for any reason.

News Release
Colville National Forest Contact:
765 South Main Street Elsha Kirby
Colville, WA 99114 (509) 684-7174


For Immediate Release: December 9, 2009 ______________________________________________
News contact: Mike Borysewicz 509-446-7532

HARVEY CREEK ROAD MAY CLOSE TO SNOWMOBILES

The Colville National Forest provides snowmobiling opportunities on over 600 miles of groomed routes and many additional miles of un-groomed routes. A few snowmobile routes are located in habitat managed for woodland caribou, an endangered species. The Selkirk Mountains Woodland Caribou Recovery Area includes lands in British Columbia, northern Idaho, and northeast Washington. In Washington, the recovery area lies above 4,000 feet in elevation and east of the Pend Oreille River. The southernmost extent of the area is about three miles south of Bunchgrass Meadows. This winter, the Forest Service will continue to monitor snowmobile use in caribou habitat. Forest officers will check for snowmobile tracks on closed roads and areas in cooperation with state game agents.

Caribou in the Selkirk Mountains are the last remaining animals in the lower 48 states. The population is small (about 46 animals) but has been slowly building in recent years. In early January, woodland caribou use their large, snowshoe-like feet to walk up to high ridges that are sparsely timbered. For the rest of the winter they live entirely on tree lichens; the “old man’s beard” that hangs from the branches of subalpine fir trees and snags. Off-road snowmobiling in these high-elevation habitats can bring machines into contact with wintering caribou. Animals may become stressed if they are approached too closely. They may run and deplete energy reserves they will need to survive the winter. Consistent snowmobile use may cause caribou to abandon portions of a ridge or an entire ridge system.

In Washington, Molybdenite Ridge and the high ridge systems in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness are of management concern for wintering caribou. Both of these areas are closed to snowmobiling. Over the last two years, Forest Service officials informed snowmobilers about the need to curtail riding on Molybdenite Ridge. They talked with each of the local snowmobile groups, published newspaper articles, and posted additional signs. Unfortunately, in each of the last two winters a few snowmobilers chose to ride on closed Forest Road 1935024 (Onata Creek Road) to access the north side of the ridge.

In order to meet caribou recovery objectives, the Colville National Forest must take action to prohibit snowmobile use on Molybdenite Ridge before it becomes well-established. Therefore, if snowmobile tracks are documented on the closed Onata Creek Road system this winter, the Forest Service will close Forest Road 1935 (Harvey Creek Road) which provides access to the area, for the remainder of the winter. Since this would then be the third consecutive winter of violations, the Forest Service would consult with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the need to permanently close the Harvey Creek Road to snowmobiling.

The Colville National Forest requests the help of snowmobilers in maintaining secure habitat for caribou. Please report violations to the Newport-Sullivan Lake Ranger Districts (509-446-7500). If snowmobilers stay on the open routes in the area, there is no reason why the Harvey Creek Road, which is presently not groomed, couldn’t become a groomed route. The future of snowmobile use on the road ultimately rests with the snowmobile riding community.

 

[KMMAC]

Sounds like discrimination to me. How can they cut off access to all because of the disrespect of a few. Seems to me that what should happen is these areas are known to the fs and, they know where the violations take place why not patrol these areas? Don't they have any body that knows how to ride snowmobile? What about fish/game? I love their justification for closing areas. A rogue herd shows up south of the boarder and the bunny huggers chime in and close off PUBLIC land. We have got to get organized under ONE GROUP, pool all info on stopping these twisted freaks, and send them a message. Also go after the same purse strings they use, the USFS (aka) the federal govt. What happened was back in the 70's when I logged I noticed all of the summer left temp workers that we worked around in the summer were infiltrating the FS system and not enough people saw it. So, this is what we get for full time FS workers. Not saying it's that way every where but there is enough influence from within that, if you go against what the left believe then you take a chance on losing your job. This country has become cowardly weak, but I hope and pray to GOD, and I mean that literally that those who have an agenda to stop life in this country as it should be, brought to their knees and have to BEG for forgiveness before the Almighty.

 

[RMKcowboy]

KMMAC, this area is patrolled during the winter, I was one of the patrollers last year and will very likely be doing it again this year. The road that they are asking folks to stay off of is a spur road off the Harvey Creek road, with a gate and signs stating it's closed, but people keep riding around the gate. So short of having someone up there every day, closing the Harvey Creek road is about the only way to keep people out. The real question is, if they close Harvey Creek are people going to respect that closure? I doubt it.
As I understand its likely the same group of people that keep going past the closure sign year after year, I don't think they've ever been caught in the act but I can't say for sure.
The best thing you can do is make a phone call and let them know what you think!

 

[KMMAC]

That's too bad about the gate. Over here what they do is tank trap the roads that are to be closed. Probably wouldn't work over there though if the terrain is not adverse enough around the gate to do this. Didn't mean to come off hard about the problem, it's just usually the fs doesn't put out the effort to patrol. Feel your pain my wife and I are researching the possibility of moving over there in the not to distant future and hopefuly will be bringing sleds with.

 

[RMKcowboy]

Tank traps aren't real effective at stopping a sled... neither are gates apparently Don't worry about coming off hard, its good that people get riled up IMO. Hopefully those that have been breaching the gate come to their senses so that the area doesn't have to get closed.

 

[EricW]

I would gladly donate a few trail cameras to the FS to assist in the patrol and accountability effort. I would imagine the US Border Patrol probably has technology far beyond that if catching the true perp's and leaving the rest of us alone was the true priority. I agree that sledders have to do their best to patrol and motivate their own. I do, the best I can.

My problem is that this way of thinking (sledders best efforts determining open/closed areas) has never worked anyehere else in society. Imagine if HWY 395 were to be open/closed based on motorists patroling their own for speeding/DWI, etc. with the assistance of a small enforcemnt effort and the standard being 100% compliance or the HWY gets closed. Lets get real here, you CAN NOT get 100% of any group including Priests, Politicians, Pro Golfers, of even Presidents of the United States to follow even ethical non-crimminal guidelines.

This gimmick of "we'll give you one last chance to patrol your own to keep your riding areas open" is nothing more than passing the buck. I say close it today because the FS wants it closed, and state it that way. If you really love Caribou that much and fear they can not exist within ear shot of a sled, then why wait for the inevitable idiot sledder to make your decisions for you, call it like it is and don't make it look as though there was any chance for law abiding respectful sledders to prevail in this situation. There isn't. No one believes for a minute that in life there wont always be those who don't follow the rules no matter what you do.

I can't wait for the FS to take over enforcement of Baseball so if the players allow other players to juice up we won't have to watch that crap anymore. But what I'm really holding out for is the FS to take over the IRS. Then when they figure out that no matter how hard us honest tax payers try, we can't make everyone in the group comply and pay their taxes. That should be the end of taxes and the need for the IRS in just 3 short years of good documentation.

What a crock of chit. I'm not bashing on you Cowboy, we are lucky to have a few good men like yourself on the inside. I appreciate your warning and the heads up. I just don't like my oportunities to travel our hiways being based on an idea that the hiways will remain open as long as no one litters, so we better all try to stop it. Never happen.

For the record, I was live in person and video'd a couple dozen Caribou being relased on Harvey Creek road near the Onata Cr. road. It was the winter of 1996, I was with my Game Warden cousin. Are these the very same last few remaining native Caribou causing all the stir?

Speaking of NATIVE, both my parents are Colville Indians. I have watched for years as the FS made major efforts and spent mucho bucks on re-introducing wolves, caribou, lynx, and other aimals to native habitat no matter how bad it conflicts with current land uses or management practices. I wonder how long it will be before they make this same effort to re-introduce an Indian back to their native habitat? I don't seem to hear much about that effort. (In my best Paul Harvey) "Good Day". EW

 

[700rmker]

This has been going down hill very fast in the last three years. There is some neat country back in there and it is really a shame to loose it. There was an article about this in the Spoksmans Review last year that was pretty negative about snowmobiling and made it seem that no one cared about closures regarding this issue.

I'm also woried about loosing Boyer and Calsipell areas as well. A lot of the good riding is on private lumbar company land plus this area has a high population of moose. Last year a FS LEO told some poeple they couldn't ride off the trails at boyer becaues it was private.