I wrote to my senator about the proposed forest service closeres that they wanted to do all across the country, and hears what he said.




October 28, 1999

Aaron Garcia
P.O. Box 1543
Tijeras, New Mexico 87059

Dear Aaron:

Thank you for your letter expressing concern about the
use of Forest Service roads. I appreciate you contacting me with
your concerns.

Forest Service roads provide important access for many of
us to experience our National Forests, and an increasing number
of people are using those roads to enjoy our public lands. The
Forest Service has no plans at this time to close existing
authorized Forest Service roads. The Forest Service Chief,
Michael Dombeck, delivered a speech in Madison Wisconsin on
October 7th, 1999 in which he addressed off-highway vehicle use
on the National Forests. In that speech he said that "Where
unauthorized roads and trails are an issue, our management
should reflect the general policy that motorized use occurs on
designated routes and areas." Unauthorized roads refers to
unplanned or unauthorized roads and trails. These unplanned
roads and trails can cause erosion, degrade water quality, and
destroy sensitive wildlife habitat. It does not apply to authorized
Forest Service roads currently open to public use. The Forest
Service may make decisions on a forest by forest basis to limit
use to designated routes, areas, and trails where the development
of unauthorized roads is a problem.

Chief Dombeck has also said that "Any maintenance or
reconstruction of authorized forest roads that would change either
levels or types of use will be made through an open and public
process." A copy of Chief Dombeck's speech is attached for
your information. The speech is also available on the Forest
Service webpage at www.fs.fed.us. If you have any questions
please contact Walter Dunn on my staff in Washington, DC at
(202) 224-5521.

Again, thank you for voicing your concerns to me. I
hope that you will continue to keep me informed about matters of
importance to you.




Sincerely,


JEFF BINGAMAN
United States Senator

 

In Nevada the head of the Forest Service there resigned her position because of the attitude of the people in the state. It seems that the people there got tired of their access being denied to THEIR LANDS & continually knocked the gates & fences down with bulldozers, pick-ups etc. In our Constitution, the federal government cannot own land belonging to the individual states. Something to think about.. C.L.