 |
Re: [RC] Forest Service Land Management Plan Appeal - Steven ProeHi Jim: Thank you for your efforts from one that has been fighting similar battles in CA. A "BIG" thank you at least from me, I just hope that the other equestrians will rally to assist you. This thank you of course includes all who are a part of this action including Back Country Horseman, I am sure their are others. Again Thank You Steven Proe Greenwood, CA. 95635 p/s Please send me a word copy and I shall circulate. Steven ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Holland" <lanconn@xxxxxxx> To: "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 4:21 AM Subject: [RC] Forest Service Land Management Plan Appeal NOTICE OF APPEAL FILED REGARDING HORSE RESTRICTIONS IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS In the course of human events, sometimes governments, organizations, groups, and individuals violate the trust for which they have been given responsibility. In a letter to USA TODAY entitled "Put the Public First", Marc Perkel of San Francisco wrote, "The government exists for the sole purpose of serving the people. When one looks at the Constitution, it is clear that it was written by people who distrusted government. In fact, the distrust of government is the duty of every citizen. It is to be assumed that everyone in government needs to be scrutinized." Marc, I could not agree more. Our elected and appointed officials have made a LOT of bad decisions lately. It is our duty as citizens to ensure that the policies that govern the use of our public lands are consistent, fair to all users, and non-discriminatory. Regulations should be based on sound studies and a logical assessment of data, not on arbitrary assumptions, predictions, and opinions. In the history of our country, there have been many instances of concerned citizens who were being mistreated or discriminated against raising their voices in protest. Rallies, protest marches, editorials, letters of support, appeals, legal challenges...and your VOTE.are some of the lawful and acceptable means of addressing abuses. The firm of Saltman & Stevens, P.C. have filed an appeal with the USDA Forest Service on behalf of the East Tennessee Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of America regarding the decision to implement the Land Management Plans containing restrictions on horse and pack stock travel in the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests in Georgia and the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. The appeal for the Chattahoochee/Oconee National Forests states that "Given and pack stock use in order to prevent detrimental environmental impacts but not stock from use of 99% of the Forests' overall area out of a concern over potential future impacts, his decision not to implement efforts to educate users to mitigate any future impacts was arbitrary and capricious. 2. The Forest Service failed to assess the environmental impacts of current recreational horse and pack stock activity on the Forests in Alternative F (the non-action alternative) in violation of NEPA. (National Environmental Protection Agency) 3. The Forest Service failed to assess reasonable alternatives, which include site-specific efforts and increased public education to reduce the perceived impact of horse and pack stock use on the Forests in violation of supported by the record and is therefore arbitrary and capricious. 4. The Forest Service failed to assess the environmental impact of concentrating all horse and pack stock use onto less than 1% of the Forests' overall area, thereby violating NEPA. 5. The Forest Service is increasing the safety risks for horse and pack stock users by encouraging their increased used of roads that are used by motorized vehicles. 6. The Forest Service failed to assess the increased demand on its already limited budgetary resources to enforce the new regulation limiting horse use to 1% of the Forests. 7. The Forest Service has prohibited historic use of the Wilderness Areas within the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in violation of the Wilderness Act. 8. By prohibiting horses from more than 99% of the Forests' area, the Forest Service has denied disabled people the ability to see all of this area. *****You cannot camp with your horse anywhere in the Chattahoochee or Oconee National Forests except at an equestrian trail head. You are not allowed off a designated trail, not even to water your horse!!***** The Land Management Plans can be found at: For the Cherokee National Forest: http://www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/cherokee/planning2003/index For the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests http://www.fs.fed.us/conf/200401-plan/index.htm The LMP documents are very large and making sense of them is somewhat like trying to decipher the tax code. Read the appeals first. They reference the appropriate sections of the FEIS and Land Management Plans so you won't have to thrash through the entire LMP to find the relevant areas. I am not, nor have ever been, a member of the Back Country Horsemen of America and my opinions are my own. I strongly support their position on the Land Management Plans and encourage all equestrians to provide moral, physical, and financial support to their efforts with the maximum time and resources you can spare. This includes ALL equestrians nationwide. If you want your children and grandchildren to have access to public lands on horseback, it's time for you to be heard. IMHO, the alternative of ingratiating yourself to the Forest Service decision makers for what few crumbs they will throw you while setting a precedent for them to do this in other National Forests is an unacceptable alternative. If you don't get involved, then NO WHINING when your children and grandchildren lose their right to freely ride public lands. You can find the appeals and their exhibits, links to the Land Management Plans, and my letter to Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth with a copy to organizations and individuals, as I felt appropriate at: http://www.threecreeksarabians.com/fs.htm They are in PDF format. Print the appeals and pass them out to horse clubs, at rides and horse shows, post them in feed stores, hardware stores, leave them with the reading material at your doctor/dentist offices and with your Vet and farrier. I will be happy to email you a copy in WORD format or "snail mail" you a hard copy. Just give me a call or drop me a note. If you can't afford to help financially, at LEAST invest a little time. You may print and hand out this and anything on the web site. Whether you decide to DO anything or not, please make sure that all equestrians are AWARE of the Land Management Plans and the Appeals. FYI.the Forest Service has a HEAVY spam filter on their email, so I would expect that most of the unsolicited email from the general public goes in the trash without being read. If you want to know that your opinion was at least RECEIVED by the Forest Service, spend a few dollars and send a registered letter. I will be 62 years old this year. I spend many hours hiking and riding the Chattahoochee NF. I love it and care for it as though it were my own. Hopefully there will still be a horse trail to ride when I am too old to get there on foot. Joan has promised to carry my ashes on my horse "Sunny" to a special place overlooking the Jacks River watershed in the Cohutta Wilderness and scatter them in the wind. I hope she will be able to do that. I have no children, so beyond that it won't matter to me. Can you say the same? I'll do everything I can, but it's really YOUR choice, not mine. If you choose to pass on this opportunity, so be it. Good Luck! Jim Holland, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic ============================================================ Prudence and focus will carry you a long way on a horse. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================ ============================================================ If you treat an Arab like a Thoroughbred, it will behave like a Quarter horse. ~ Libby Llop ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
|