Tellico Tellico Tellico

We need to do our part to help save our ORV land..


http://www.pirate4x4.com/letters/

Category: ALERT!
Date: Mar 9 2009

THEY WANT TO CLOSE TELLICO!

UFWDA Critical Action Alert

You MUST take action to Rescue Tellico NOW! The Forest Service has told us what they want to do and it is incumbent on the OHV community to change their mind.

Background:

On Friday February 27, the USDA Forest Service rolled out the draft Environmental Assessment for the Upper Tellico OHV trail system. The OHV community has been extremely dismayed to learn that while there are 7 (there are only 6 alternatives) alternatives the Forest Service is considering, The Forest Supervisor, Marisue Hilliard, made it very clear that her preferred alternative is to CLOSE TELLICO. While we know that this is completely unacceptable and will cause immediate and intense emotional reaction, we are asking that everyone maintain a level head and concentrate on what our task is now.

In addition, the USFS Forest Supervisor issued a TEMPORARY CLOSURE ORDER that will keep Tellico closed until they decide what the fate of the area will be. This means that if the temporary closure order stands, TELLICO WILL NOT REOPEN ON APRIL 1ST!

What we are doing about it:

United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA), the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) have teamed up to fight this and we are working as aggressively as we can to get you the right information. We have spent the last week “scrubbing” through the draft EA and developing a plan and now WE NEED YOUR HELP AND HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE MOST HELPFUL:

STEP 1: The week of March 9th, THIS WEEK, we need you to call, write or even better visit your congressman, senator, state and local representatives. They need to know you feel angry, hurt and betrayed by the Forest Service. They need to know that the Forest Service is going to affect jobs and the economy in this difficult time. They need to know the real science and that the water is not bad. See the sample letter below for talking points. Feel free to copy and paste the letter but be sure to personalize it with a short paragraph on why Tellico is important—what it represents to the OHV community and to you. Help your representatives understand how important Tellico is.

Please forward any positive or negative reactions you get to Jay Bird at jay.bird@sfwda.org. We want to know who our friends are and follow through with them.

STEP 2: Beginning the week of March 16th, UFWDA, BRC, and SFWDA will have a letter generator up with comments you can make to the Forest Service about the EA. If you have already made comments make some more. Each time you find out some new information send it to the Forest Service. We need letters. We are currently refining our comment bullet points and will send out and post more information to help with your letters as we complete that process. But don’t let that stop you from doing background preparation and comments yourself. WE NEED to have as much enthusiast involvement as we possibly can muster from the OHV community.

BRC and UFWDA will be following through for us in Washington DC, working from the top down. They will meet with the Forest Service as well as other National Organizations and some of those friendly Representatives.

Please read the Forest Service documents on their website at: http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/nepa/tusquitee/tellico.htm

Then take the time to review the independent scientific study SFWDA had commissioned at: http://www.sfwda.org/trails/tellico/study09/.

If you see anything in the EA or Caliper report, or you have information that you want to make sure we don’t overlook please notify Heather Royston at Heather.Royston@sfwda.org.

We each need to do our part to RESCUE TELLICO and YOUR INVOLVEMENT IS CRITICAL!

Thank you for your help!

UFWDA, SFWDA, and BRC

A SAMPLE LETTER TO COPY AND PAST AND SEND TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS AVAILABLE AT
http://ufwda.org/pdfs/TALKING%20POINTS%20political%20outreach%20March%202009%20FINAL.pdf
OR THERE ARE GENERAL TALKING POINTS TO USE BELOW… You can find out your representatives contact information and where to send your letter or email by visiting http://www.votesmart.org/ and simply type in your zip code.

Upper Tellico OHV Area
Proposed Closure Order
TALKING POINTS

 Congressional attention to this problem cannot wait.

 The USFS has issued a proposed temporary closure notice prohibiting all use of the Upper Tellico OHV system effective April 1, 2009.

 REPAIRING THE AREA IS THE BEST SOLUTION:
o OHV enthusiasts spend 4 times more money on lodging, food, and gas than other outdoor sportsman
o $4.8 million annually in tourism revenues by OHV users
o Repairing contributes $1.5 - $2.6 million in OHV revenue annually
o Repairing would create more than $1.4 million in local jobs.
o Nearby streams are currently healthy
o Nearby streams have excellent water quality per North Carolina standards
o Nearby streams are capable of sustaining viable, reproducing native trout populations.
o Nearby stream channels are very stable
o Nearby stream channels convey stream flows without streambed erosion.
o The trails are repairable and very much maintainable/sustainable after repair.

 CLOSURE IS A BAD SOLUTION:
o Closure creates ZERO OHV tourism revenue.
o Degradation of water quality and degradation of aquatic habitat in Upper Tellico is non-existent.
o Historic clear-cutting of land in Upper Tellico has contributed more to the off-site sediment transport than the trail system.
o Closure of trails is neither warranted nor recommended by USFS trails experts!

Telico is closed I think we all must act


http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9488141#post9488141

PLEASE: TAKE TEN MINUTES FOR TELLICO NOW!

PLEASE: TAKE TEN MINUTES FOR TELLICO NOW! We need you to send in comment letters to the Forest Service. Pass this on to your friends and fellow OHVers.

UPDATE ON THE TELLICO EFFORT: Thanks to all who responded to our Phase 1 alert on Tellico and have written, called and visited their elected officials about the USFS proposed closure of Tellico. We still need those calls and letters to continue. Don’t let up.

The letters to your congressmen are working! Jay Bird from SFWDA and Greg Mumm from BRC will be going back to Washington, D.C. to follow up with some offices early next week. At this late date phone calls will work the best. Please follow up on your letters to those who represent you.
For more information and background see our previous alert on Tellico http://www.ufwda.org/news_view.php?id=144
Now we are shifting to Phase 2.

It is important and it is time to respond to the Forest Service’s draft Environmental Assessment with comments. We’ve made this very easy for you with an online letter generator. All it takes is for you to click here http://ufwda.org/send-a-letter.htm and there is a very easy process set up for you to send in your comments.

It is vital that you take action to Rescue Tellico NOW! The Forest Service has told us what they want to do and it is incumbent on the OHV community to change their mind. We NEED to generate as many letters as possible so:

PLEASE TAKE TEN MINUTES FOR TELLICO NOW! The deadline is fast approaching so don’t put it off. Click here http://ufwda.org/send-a-letter.htm and help by sending in your comment letter. You CAN make a difference.

Thank you for your help!
UFWDA, SFWDA, and BRC

If you would prefer to send in your own letter, we encourage you to do so. Below are some talking points to help you with that effort.

Letters need to be sent to:

National Forests in North Carolina
Attn: Candace Wyman
160 A Zillicoa Street, Asheville, NC 28801

Letters may be emailed to:

Email: comments-southern-north-carolina-nantahala-tusquitee@fs.fed.us

Be sure to put in the reference line to the project:

RE: Transportation System and Related Recreation Management Actions for the
Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle System and Temporary Closure of the Upper Tellico OHV System Nantahala National Forest: Cherokee County, North Carolina

It is important to tell the Forest Service why Tellico is important to you and your family.

Oppose the temporary closure of the Upper Tellico OHV System effective April 1, 2009 and ask the Forest Supervisor to reconsider that decision.
• The emergency closure is unwarranted and unjustified based on the information provided.
• Planning for many historic and permitted events in the area are and have been underway for sometime now based on the good faith of the Forest Service and the originally proposed action for planning in the area. The immediate economic impact to the surrounding communities of this temporary closure order is devastating and cannot be replaced. Communities affected by this sudden change in management are historically dependent on money brought into the area by OHV recreation and these events.
• The decision for the emergency closure prior to the decision on the draft environmental assessment appears to point to a pre-determined outcome for the environmental assessment.

The Forest Service should/needs to conduct more complete planning.
• The draft environmental assessment needs to address findings and conclusions of the independent report from Caliber Engineering recently provided to the Forest Service which conflicts with much of the findings and the internal studies of the Forest Service in the draft environmental assessment.
• The draft EA does not consider the report commissioned by and provided to the Forest Service by the Enterprise Team, USFS Trails Unlimited, assessing the Upper Tellico OHV System. This report is also in conflict with the findings reflected in the Draft EA.
• Neither the Caliber study nor the Trails Unlimited report recommended closure of trails in Tellico. Both concluded the trails could be sustainably managed.
• Failure by the Forest Service to consider other sources of sedimentation invalidates agency implication that the OHV system is the cause of high turbidity measurements. This failure leads to an inaccurate and unsupported conclusion that closure of the OHV system will resolve turbidity issues, if such exist.

Ask that the Forest Service to conduct additional study and planning in an Environmental Impact Statement.
• Given the potentially devastating economic impact to the local communities alone (as cited in the University of Tennessee survey), a finding of no significant impact cannot be a determined outcome.
• The range of alternatives should be developed utilizing the additional science and information provided in both the Caliber report and the Trails Unlimited report discussed previously.

The Forest Service needs to exhaust all possible options to mitigate the issues prior to closure.
• The Forest Service must also recognize that closing the opportunity was never the intent or desire of the interested stakeholders.
• Proper management for the use is the better solution.
• Closure alone will not solve the stated issues. Mitigation of those issues still must take place.
• Resolving those challenges in partnership with the OHV community provides both the manpower and additional funding from the private sector necessary for proper mitigation.

Be honest, professional and polite. Most importantly, be timely. Don’t put it off.
For more information and background see our previous alert on Tellico http://www.ufwda.org/news_view.php?