March / April Land Use Report

Land issues, laws, restrictions, etc...

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Grumpy
Peak Putters' Land-Use Coordinator
Peak Putters' Land-Use Coordinator
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Location: Kennewick, WA

March / April Land Use Report

Postby Grumpy » Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:25 pm

LITTLE CROW: (Ron Rutherford, Jeepin' Nomads; sits on the steering committee) Meetings continue, and the committee is moving along making some decisions and recommendations. The hold up on this, is the size and age of trees to be cut. Trees 80 – 90 years old can't be cut because someone back in Washington D.C. many years ago decided the northwest needed to keep all those old growth trees. New trail signs are being made and will be put up soon. (Region 4 report)

TAPASH has scheduled a meeting in Ellensburg on May 15th. Ron Rutherford and/or Mike VanAmburg will have a presentation on motorized. More information as to time and place will be coming. (Region 4 report)

TWIG (Trails Wilderness Interest Group) met March 6, 2018. Cameras had been put out to gather data on the Red Fox, Wolverines and coyotes also a device to gather DNA from them. They wanted to gather information on them as to where they lived etc. Not sure what they are going to do with the information. Logging on the 1601 should be finished by the end of June. The Dry and Glass timber sale is supposed to be done by July. The Naches District is putting in place something called HEM (Human Ecology Mapping). It's a program to gather information on where you recreate, where you are from, what's your favorite place etc. They discussed fixing the slide areas on the 1502, 1500 and 1000 roads. The BAER (Burn Area Emergency Response) will be getting $227,956 to repair the wilderness area.

April 3rd meeting was mostly wildlife related, with the district "oligists" discussing their areas of activity. (Region 4 report)

Yakima County is working on a grant to improve their road from Goose Prairie to Bumping Dam. More later.

Forest plan revisions all seem to be moving slow. Objection period for the Blue Mountains plan should be on us before too long. Forest Access For All will be holding several meetings for those who are qualified to file objections to get some pointers on the process. Nearest for us will be in Milton Freewater. We have objection status, so if the group wishes, I will get involved.

On the DNR front, seems there's three projects that appear to have been set up for motorized to fail. Teanaway Community Forest, Baker to Bellingham, and Stimilt Basin winter use proposals all leave motorized rec out of the planning. Over in Whatcom, the B to B got hung up with the county not getting in their heads it was trails, not on OHV park, that was being requested. The other two seem to have been geared for "quiet recreation" from the start. Meeting are planned in Cle Elum and Wenatchee that are aimed at getting some hard answers to user concerns. I'll advise as I hear more.
Mike Riemer's post regarding TCF: "Hello fellow motorized recreationists. It is critical that you make plans to come to the public open house this Thursday from 6:30-8:30 at the Putnam Centennial Center in Cle Elum. The current Summer draft recreation plan has NOT ONE new multi-use trail for consideration. Yes, the three NF trails (MF, WF and Yellow Hill) are drafted to remain open, but as most of you know these are technical trails only open for travel a few months out of the year. Not good for intermediate or beginner riders. I have worked hard over the last three years, been reasonable in my ask and worked in good faith only to be rejected on anything new for us. When only 1/20th of the committee is being represented by motorized recreation, this process was doomed to fail. I'm confident motorized users can co-exist within the constraints of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, water, wildlife and other environmental concerns. It came down to personal bias and social bigotry that drove the committee members to exclude us. They're opting for divisiveness over inclusiveness, potentially creating deep wounds that will take decades to heal. Please let the committee know what a mistake it would be to adopt the draft plan as written, it's a mistake to ignore the motorized community, and that it does not reflect the community as a whole. This is your LAST chance to make a difference. Thank you."

It's also official that we lost 2 million dollars out of NOVA, victim of late night,back door politics.

We also now have a young lady on Congressman Newhouse's staff dealing with forest issue. Her name is Jessica McCarthy, and she is in Tonasket. I am gently attempting to get a feel for her, and how she feels about OHV. Stay tuned.
Dave
Have Scout, will wheel...Someday...Maybe


Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon80
-By driving a Scout, you my friend have recycled, which is more than those pansy Prius owners can say.
-I love driving a piece of history that was nearly lost.

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