Price area trails update.

[great scott]

Mike and Paul from USA-All set up a meeting with state and local BLM leaders. The idea was to find out what went wrong with these trails and how to get them back. To get right to the point, local BLM admited that we did all they asked and they(BLM) droped the ball, but there is not much they can do at this time. If we wait for up to sevral years they may include our trails when the rec portion of the RMP is finnished. Until then they are done and working on other issues.

 

[Kiel]

So pretty much they still remained closed?

 

[Don B]

For now they remain closed.

That's not an acceptable situation and won't be the end of the story.

 

[1993yj]

I agree. Someone screwing up (and admitting it) and then not willing to do anything about it for several years is completely unacceptable. I know going through the courts is not a cheap or fast way to do things, but at this point are there any other alternatives if the BLM is done and working on other issues?

 

[anderson750]

I think one thing that could be done is a letter writing campaign that lets them know that the trails are a priority to the ohv community and they should be put at the top of the list of things to do. The ohv community knows that the loss of the trails was due to people within their office not following protocol with the handling of the data.

If my employee's were this incompetent, I would fire them. But in the government, that does not happen. Sometimes you even get a promotion.

 

[anderson750]

So pretty much they still remained closed?

You know that was an interesting part of the discussion. I don't know if it is best to talk about in a public forum, but it was kind of funny to watch.

 

[ricsrx]

If I remember a previous forum descusion, In the eyes of the BLM there are no designated off road trails in Price; So you go off the default that all BLM land is closed unless designated open?.

 

[rockreligious]

They lose a little paperwork and we lose access, what if we lose integrity and acess price anyway? not promoting illegal passage but thats aggrevating. If procedures dont matter to them, then why should they matter to anyone.

 

[richpblaze]

Most of those trails are dirt roads.

They have been driven on for as long as I can remember, I would say unless properly posted they are open in my book.

 

[ricsrx]

They have been driven on for as long as I can remember, I would say unless properly posted they are open in my book.

That is how 98% of the locals are looking at it.....

 

[Don B]

They have been driven on for as long as I can remember, I would say unless properly posted they are open in my book.

In the long term we want these trails legal and kept open. Ignoring the new RMP and driving on trails that are not now designated for motorized travel will not help solve this situation and could even be harmful to our efforts to have these trails reopened.

The best thing we can do is to put pressure on the BLM to take action on this problem and start working on it now rather than later.

 

[anderson750]

If I remember a previous forum descusion, In the eyes of the BLM there are no designated off road trails in Price; So you go off the default that all BLM land is closed unless designated open?.

Correct. The management used to be open unless designated closed. With the new RMP it is closed unless designated open.

 

[richpblaze]

That is what I'm talking about.

That is how 98% of the locals are looking at it.....

How will ANYONE know its closed unless it is posted so. Like I have said before I have seen nothing on the news or anywhere else that tells people these are closed. I have relatives in Price who have heard nothing about any of this. I to have lived in or spent a great deal of time exploring the Price/ San Rafel area there are thousands of roads in the area. I'm not saying that I will ignore the closures at all. It is like private property unless properly posted how will anyone know it is private property.

 

[scoutabout]

Rich, I'm certainly not singling you out because the majority of OHV users share your opinion.

This thinking is part of the problem. It's not someone else's responsibility to inform you about what is and isn't legal when enjoying motorized recreation on public lands.

Every motorized recreation user needs to realize that they have to become a proactive part of the solution if we expect to continue enjoying our access for another 10 or 20 years. That means becoming informed, involving ourselves in volunteer projects, and participating in peer enforcement to spread the importance of responsible use.

We had a way to keep these trails on the maps. There was a 90 day comment period after the proposed maps were released which excluded these trails. Our failure as a community to catch this ommission and mount a campaign to have these routes recognized contributed to the loss of these trails.

 

[Don B]

Good questions. I think the BLM needs some better answers.
They didn't seem to be in any hurry to implement a travel plan and get the routes signed.

 

[1993yj]

I think one thing that could be done is a letter writing campaign that lets them know that the trails are a priority to the ohv community and they should be put at the top of the list of things to do. The ohv community knows that the loss of the trails was due to people within their office not following protocol with the handling of the data.

If my employee's were this incompetent, I would fire them. But in the government, that does not happen. Sometimes you even get a promotion.

I think that the letter writing campaign was already done. I emailed my thoughts a while back when this issue first came up.

 

[anderson750]

I think that the letter writing campaign was already done. I emailed my thoughts a while back when this issue first came up.

I am suggesting another campaign pointing out their errors and the importance to fix the problem they caused.

 

[VirgilRig]

anderson750 thanks for your work. i know there is alot funner things to do. once again thanks.
virgil