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The Hollister Field Office of the BLM is proposing to close
over 400 miles of roads and trails to OHV use at the Clear
Creek Management Area south of San Jose, California. This is
one of the most popular riding areas in central California,
and was the subject of an 8-year Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) process. The plan called for 270 miles of
signed and mapped "Encouraged" routes, over 400 miles of open,
unsigned "Allowed" routes, and 923 acres of open Barrens. The
BLM has been illegally closing routes and areas since then,
with no further site-specific analysis or opportunity for
public participation, as the plan and the law calls for. We
want the BLM to stop any further illegal closures, and lift
the ones already posted and/or fenced off.
And even
more significantly, the BLM has announced that they intend to
do an Environmental Assessment (EA) to amend the Environmental
Impact Statement and close ALL of the "Allowed". Since this is
a significant change from the current EIS, the law states that
another EIS must be done before the existing EIS can be
amended. We have to flood the BLM office with letters
protesting the proposed EA, as another trigger for an EIS,
instead of a simpler EA, is if the issue is "controversial"
Large numbers of letters are one of the definitions of
controversy, so it is very important that the BLM hears from
lots of folks.
Please
send either the letter below, with your name and address
added, or write your own, based upon the information provided
and your own personal opinion of the issue.
Thanks
for your participation.
Bill Dart, Public Lands Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
____________
Robert
Beehler, Field Area Manager
Hollister Field Office
Bureau of Land Management
20 Hamilton Court
Hollister, CA 95023
Dear Mr.
Beehler,
I am
writing you today because I am very concerned the proposed
changes in the management plan for Clear Creek. The Record of
Decision for the current plan calls for 270 miles of
"Encouraged" routes, that will be the primary trail and road
system, and signed for ease of navigating the area. The plan
also calls for over 400 miles of "Allowed" routes that are
open, unsigned, but available for use and exploring. All
routes deemed to necessary to be closed due to unmitigable
resource concerns were to be closed, but only after a separate
analysis and decision process was completed, including an
opportunity for public participation. Additionally, up to 920+
acres of barrens were to be left open out of the 3,000+ acres,
with the remainder closed only after another analysis and
decision process.
It is my
understanding that many areas and trails have been closed
since the current management plan was completed, without any
further analysis and decision process involving the public, as
the law requires. These illegal closures must be lifted until
a NEPA process is completed, and no further closure actions
taken without due process.
Additionally, your proposal is to do an Environmental
Assessment to amend the existing plan. As the current plan is
an Environmental Impact Statement, and your proposal to close
over 60% of the currently available riding opportunities is a
significant change to the existing situation, and a
significant impact to the social environment, an Environmental
Impact Statement must be done instead of an Environmental
Assessment.
Please
place me on your mailing list for any future notices on this
process, and send me a copy of the draft plan when it is
released.
Respectfully,
(your name and contact information)
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