Public Invited to Comment on Route Designation Proposal

News Release

USDA Forest Service
Stanislaus National Forest
Contact: Public Affairs (209) 532-3671 ext. 244/245


Public Invited to Comment on Route Designation Proposal

Sonora, CA (November 16, 2007) ... The Forest Service today announced that the Stanislaus National Forest (NF) is inviting the public to comment on a Forest-wide travel route designation proposal. The proposed action would allow wheeled motorized vehicle travel on designated routes only, and focuses on changes to the Forest transportation system. The Forest proposal does not include or affect designated wilderness and other non-motorized areas.

The route designation proposal would generally prohibit public motorized travel off of designated Stanislaus NF roads and trails. Direct access to campsites, parking, woodcutting, or gathering forest products would be provided by allowing wheeled motorized vehicle travel up to 100 feet off of designated Forest roads and trails, provided that no resource damage occurs. The proposed action would change the use of 324 miles of National Forest System (NFS) roads, and add approximately 142.5 miles to NFS motorized trails.

The NFS roads and trails on the Stanislaus NF include approximately 3,000 miles of roads and 60 miles of motorized trails. The Forest is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) that will analyze the impacts of the proposed action, and seeking public comment by January 18, 2008 as part of initial scoping. A series of public meeting workshops and “open house” events are scheduled to provide detailed maps, information, and discussion about the proposal. Route designation interdisciplinary team members will explain opportunities to participate in the analysis process, and listen to comments and suggestions from interested agencies, individuals and groups.

Proposal maps will be displayed at the public meetings, outlining the diversity of road and trail opportunities for each specific Ranger District. Forest specialists will be on hand to answer questions and assist participants in providing useful, substantive comments for consideration in the analysis. The meeting times and locations are as follows:

Calaveras Ranger District Proposed Action: November 26, 2007, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Independence Hall, 1445 Blagen Road, White Pines, CA

Groveland Ranger District Proposed Action: November 28, 2007, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Greeley Hill Community Club House, Fiske Road, Greeley Hill, CA

Mi-Wok/Summit Ranger Districts Proposed Action: November 29, 2007, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sonora Oaks Best Western Hotel, Oak Glenn Room, 19551 Hess Road, Sonora, CA Forest Supervisor’s Office Open House Dates--December 10, 11, 18, and 19, 2007, from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m., Forest Supervisor’s Office, 19777 Greenley Road, Sonora, CA

Modesto and West Point: Meetings will be held the second week in January, covering the proposed action as it relates to all four Ranger Districts, specific meeting place, date, and time are to be announced in a future news release, posting on the Forest website, and by mail.

For more information on the meetings and the proposed action contact Sue Warren, Stanislaus National Forest, 19777 Greenley Road; Sonora, CA 95370; phone: (209) 532-3671 ext. 321; or, e-mail: swarren@fs.fed.us. Detailed maps and tables describing the Forest transportation system and the proposed action can be found on the Motorized Route Designation Project webpage.

Comments on the proposed action must be sent by January 18, 2008 to be within the 60 day timeframe from the date of publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NOI initiates the scoping process which guides the development of the environmental impact statement. A draft EIS is expected by May 2008, followed by a 45-day comment period on the draft EIS, with the final EIS completed by October 2008.

Comments may be submitted to Stanislaus National Forest, Attn: Motorized Travel, 19777 Greenley Road, Sonora, CA 95370. Comments may also be submitted by FAX at (209) 533-1890, or by hand-delivery to the address shown above, during normal business hours, Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Electronic comments, in acceptable plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or Word (.doc) formats, may be submitted to comments-pacificsouthwest-stanislaus@fs.fed.us with Subject: Motorized Travel.