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Supes demand answers for route closures |
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 2-12-2008
A heated discussion between the Inyo National Forest supervisor and the Inyo County Board of Supervisors concluded exactly where it started last Tuesday, with the board directing staff to identify the needs of the county and the Forest Service, and to move forward with a coordinated effort to evaluate 3,000 roads that could be facing closure.
By coordinating with the U.S. Forest Service, Inyo County will have a seat at the table, and the ability to help the Forest Service review each of the roads that are up for debate.
The roads are being considered for closure as the result of a federally-mandated assessment of all tracks on the forest that began nearly two years ago. The Forest Service cataloged every road it could find in the INF, and made a map of those that will remain open. Those slated for closure were thrown onto a list.
Many Inyo County residents, as well as the Bishop City Council and Inyo County Board of Supervisors, protested the fact that their favorite roads were not included in the Inventoried Motorized Travel Management Plan, or route designation plan.
The Forest Service allowed the public time to send comments in support of keeping their favorite roads open. That comment period ended Dec. 15, 2007, but the Board of Supervisors feels that it can do more to help keep the roads open by invoking “coordination” with the Forest Service, a process that will give the county “a seat at the table” when the road closures are deliberated some time this year.
Inyo National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch spoke with the Inyo County Board of Supervisors last Tuesday in an attempt to find some common ground on the Forest Service’s proposal that could potentially lead to the closure of more than 900 miles of roads in the forest. The board claims those roads have been used for hundreds of years, and that they should not be closed without a clear, defining reason.
“I appreciate the interest, we certainly want to make sure you are all informed,” Upchurch told the supervisors on Tuesday in response to a Dec. 11, 2007 request to invoke coordination with the Forest Service regarding the route designation.
In accordance with a resolution the board adopted at its Jan. 15 meeting, the Inyo County Planning Department met with the Forest Service to discuss how to proceed with the coordination process.
“During these meetings, Mr. Upchurch reiterated his desire that Inyo County participate in, and possibly convene a collaborative … and regional forum to discuss outstanding issues relative to the proposed Motorized Travel Plan,” staff reported to the Board of Supervisors.
Upchurch suggested the county “cooperate” with the Forest Service by co-hosting meetings to reach out to the public and come to a decision on the route designation program.
The supervisors agreed that the Forest Service and county must work together to reach out to the community, but warned Upchurch that this process has carried on for years, and the public, and Board of Supervisors, are still leery of any Forest Service action on the roads.
“We haven’t made a decision yet, but I’m on a very tight time frame,” Upchurch told the supervisors. He added that he wants to move forward as quickly and smoothly as possible to releasing a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Action for the Inventory Motorized Travel Management Plant this summer.
That comment sparked discussion among the supervisors, who indicated they feel that the decision has already been made to close hundreds of miles of roads.
“I don’t see how you can say there hasn’t been a decision,” Second District Supervisor Susan Cash told Upchurch, adding that the Forest Service has selected 3,000 roads that are slated for closure, and hasn’t identified why many of those byways won’t be part of the new forest inventory.
Upchurch explained that many of the roads that are not in the route designation plan are in designated “roadless” wilderness areas and will have to be closed down. Others, he added, lead to sensitive archeological sites.
Bilyeu requested that Upchurch and the Forest Service provide the supervisors with maps of the roads designated for closure, and reasons for the designation.
“We’re going to be as open, as transparent as we can,” said Upchurch. However, there are some roads that are designated for closure because they are in preserved archeological sites, and the Forest Service doesn’t want to give away their location by identifying them and their reason for closure.
“We have had some frustration, and I know the trust level is pretty low,” Upchurch told the supervisors. But he asked that the board be patient with the designation process and wait for future meetings, where the county, among others (such as the City of Bishop, Town of Mammoth Lakes and Mono County Board of Supervisors), can participate in discussions regarding the final decisions on routes.
“If there is mitigation, if there is a reason to have a road open, we’ll mitigate,” Upchurch said.
But First District Supervisor Linda Arcularius, and the other supervisors, feel that the community shouldn’t have to argue for keeping roads open. She said she feels the Forest Service should have to argue as to why the roads should be closed.
“There is no credible, defining issue that says why the roads should be closed,” Arcularius said.
“It just doesn’t make any sense” to close so many roads, Bilyeu said. “People have been using these roads for hundreds of years,” and now they are slated for closure, and the Forest Service “can’t or won’t” give a reason as to why.
“By God this is un-American,” an outraged Third District Supervisor Beverly Brown said. She added that it was “appalling” that the Forest Service could, let alone would, close a road in the National Forest without giving the public a clear reason for the closure.
The board moved to have county staff continue to meet with the Forest Service “to identify issues that are on the table and develop a process to deal with them collaboratively.”
Inyo County Administrative Officer Kevin Carunchio is to meet with Upchurch to continue the coordination process this week.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 March 2008 )
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