Central Cascades Quota Announced--Send Objections to FS NOW!
Posted: November 15th, 2018, 10:39 am
The Forest Service just announced its decision to set fees and quotas for day hikes and overnight stays in Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/n ... 483291.pdf
Please send your objections to this plan—it’s going to radically change how we enjoy our wildernesses. It will require you to pay fees online to compete for limited day-use and overnight permits for most of our favorite spots.
I understand the need for conservation, but this is going way too far. It requires permits in areas that have no evidence of overuse. Likewise, it sets quota and fees for camping on summer weekdays that don’t see heavy use.
For those very fragile, popular areas that do need quotas, the numbers that have been set are far too low. For example, Obsidian currently allows 40 overnight visitors. The proposed daily quota will drop to 13 groups.
They should scrap this plan and just focus on the few areas where there’s a problem (weekends at Jeff Park and Green Lakes). But assuming they plow ahead, at the very least the plan must allow people to cancel their permits with refunds. The current limited entry areas (Obsidian and Pamelia) are notorious for people buying permits and then never using them. That locks the rest of us out. Make the permits refundable so that people can cancel and others can use them! But better yet, kill this plan altogether!
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Here's how to object, according to the document--objections taken starting Nov. 9 for 45 days:
File electronically at the following URL (preferred method):
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/P ... ject=50578
Send electronically via email to: [email protected]. Please put
“Objection” and "Central Cascades Wilderness Strategies Project" in the subject line
"An objection must include a description of those aspects of the proposed project addressed by the objection, including specific issues related to the proposed project; if applicable, how the objector believes the environmental analysis or draft decision specifically violates the law, regulation or policy; suggested remedies that will resolve the objection; supporting reasons for the reviewing officer to consider; and a statement that demonstrates the connection between prior specific written comments on the particular proposed project or activity and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the designated opportunities for comment."
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/n ... 483291.pdf
Please send your objections to this plan—it’s going to radically change how we enjoy our wildernesses. It will require you to pay fees online to compete for limited day-use and overnight permits for most of our favorite spots.
I understand the need for conservation, but this is going way too far. It requires permits in areas that have no evidence of overuse. Likewise, it sets quota and fees for camping on summer weekdays that don’t see heavy use.
For those very fragile, popular areas that do need quotas, the numbers that have been set are far too low. For example, Obsidian currently allows 40 overnight visitors. The proposed daily quota will drop to 13 groups.
They should scrap this plan and just focus on the few areas where there’s a problem (weekends at Jeff Park and Green Lakes). But assuming they plow ahead, at the very least the plan must allow people to cancel their permits with refunds. The current limited entry areas (Obsidian and Pamelia) are notorious for people buying permits and then never using them. That locks the rest of us out. Make the permits refundable so that people can cancel and others can use them! But better yet, kill this plan altogether!
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Here's how to object, according to the document--objections taken starting Nov. 9 for 45 days:
File electronically at the following URL (preferred method):
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/P ... ject=50578
Send electronically via email to: [email protected]. Please put
“Objection” and "Central Cascades Wilderness Strategies Project" in the subject line
"An objection must include a description of those aspects of the proposed project addressed by the objection, including specific issues related to the proposed project; if applicable, how the objector believes the environmental analysis or draft decision specifically violates the law, regulation or policy; suggested remedies that will resolve the objection; supporting reasons for the reviewing officer to consider; and a statement that demonstrates the connection between prior specific written comments on the particular proposed project or activity and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the designated opportunities for comment."