Governmentwide Accounting Presenter: Jim Sturgill May 8, 2007.
Sturgill-Dennett Unauthorized Route Decommissioning...
Transcript of Sturgill-Dennett Unauthorized Route Decommissioning...
Sturgill-Dennett Unauthorized Route Decommissioning Project
Background:
After meeting with representatives of Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG), Cecil Andrus Wildlife
Management Area (CAWMU), Idaho Power Corp., and Rocking ‘M’ Ranch, we are proposing to
decommission and eliminate access to an unauthorized ATV route stretching approximately
between the end of Forest Road (FR) 51651 and a system of user-created and system roads on
the Rocking ‘M’ Ranch. The portion lying on National Forest System (NFS) lands totals
approximately 1.37 miles.
According to Conservation Officer Mark Sands, the route was created by public ATV use within
the last 10 years. The route incorporates an excessively steep grade in many places and it
presents erosion and sediment delivery problems to the watershed which encompass the route.
Of even more concern to USFS and IDFG personnel is the fact that the route introduces hunters
and other ATV users in to one of the few portions of the Hunt Unit 31 (Brownlee Zone) which
provides both a degree of elk, bear, and other big game security (areas of limited hunter
pressure, particularly motorized pressure) and non-motorized hunting opportunities. Complaints
about illegal ATV use on this route during open elk seasons constitute Officer Sands’ most
frequently received public complaint.
IDFG/CAWMU are partially responsible for management of the Rocking ‘M‘ Ranch. They are
currently attempting to eliminate illegal vehicle access onto this route from the Rocking ‘M.’
Additional signage and introduction of sections of buck and rail fence will be constructed for this
purpose. Payette National Forest (PNF) contains two means of entry to the route which many
ATV users currently use illegally. The first of these is accessed via the closed and gated road
51650 (see attached map). This road is part of the PNF road system but is closed to public
motorized use. From this road segment, ATV riders cross an ineffective berm meant to keep the
public off the unauthorized route in question. The second access point is located off PNF trail
283 (a trail open to all motor vehicles), where the route abruptly leaves the trail and climbs an
adjacent hill. IDFG managers would like to see this route closed to motorized use to facilitate
the big game security concerns and non-motorized hunting opportunities discussed above.
Proposal:
Elimination of motorized access to this route would ideally consist of three major components:
(1) Full or partial obliteration of the unauthorized routes labeled 516512000 and
516502000
Note that these “two” routes actually constitute a single linear route from PNF trail 283 to
the forest boundary with a short unmapped segment joining them. At a minimum,
obliteration would be performed on the segment beginning on trail 283 and extending to
the hilltop (approximately 950 ft., see photos 1-1 and 1-2) and beginning at the
intersection of the unauthorized route and the forest boundary and extending on to NFS
lands far enough to visually obscure the route. The wire gate in the fence at the forest
boundary would also be eliminated (see photo 1-3). These measures would be intended
to discourage ATV use here should the barriers constructed on the Rocking ‘M’ Ranch
prove ineffective.
(2) Reinforcement of the gate closing FR 51650
ATVs are able to easily maneuver around the gate on both the uphill and downhill side.
The gate location is appropriate and this can be easily corrected with either use of large
boulders, buried to approximately two-thirds of their height, or by welding pipe arms on
the gate and cementing these into the slope (see photos 2-1 and 2-2). A substantial
amount of concrete covers the downhill slope and may need to be chipped away with a
jackhammer or similar equipment (see photos 2-3 and 2-4)
(3) Construction of a buck and rail fence to deter future user-created ATV trails along
trail 283
Construction of a buck and rail fence stretching approximately 210 ft. around the base of
the hill where the current route climbs off of trail 283 would deter future use, in
conjunction with obliteration of the existing route (photo 1-2 depicts the hill and
unauthorized route ascending it). Signage emphasizing the need for areas where big
game are not subject to motorized hunting and the non-motorized hunting opportunities
created would be described on signage displaying USFS and IDFG logos and listing
telephone numbers for reporting motorized violations. It may also be possible to involve
a conservation group, such as Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, in signage and
messaging.
Category of Exclusion:
This project is categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact
statement or environmental assessment. It is anticipated that there are no extraordinary
circumstances related to this project that may result in a significant individual or cumulative
effect on the quality of the human environment.
The appropriate category of exclusion is found in the Forest Service National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) regulations at 36 CFR 220.6(e)(20).
“Activities that restore, rehabilitate, or stabilize lands occupied by roads and trails, excluding
National Forest System roads and National Forest System trails to a more natural condition
that may include removing, replacing, or modifying drainage structures and ditches,
reestablishing vegetation, reshaping natural contours and slopes, reestablishing drainage-
ways, or other activities that would restore site productivity and reduce environmental
impacts.”
For further information contact:
Jascha M. Zeitlin
Recreation Specialist
Payette National Forest, West Zone
208-549-4224
PROJECT MAP
PHOTOS
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