STATEMENT ON TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PROJECT PROPOSED BY US FOREST SERVICE
August 16, 2008
The Hunters Rights Coalition would respectfully like to comment on the proposed road closures anticipated by the US Forest Service’s Travel Management Project (TMP).
We are asking for Alternative 1 to be approved – which is in effect the “no action” option. We do NOT object to a road by road analysis which would result in the closing of some forest roads, but this analysis has not been done and there is no alternative presented to accomplish this result.
The Forest Service is proposing under Alternatives 2 or 3 to close 2577 miles of access roads in the Nicolet and Chequamegon National Forests. That represents over 55% of the total motorized vehicle access roads.
These closings are proposed without there ever having been an analysis of each individual roadway to determine the environmental, social, or economic impact of the closure.
The environmental benefits of the proposed closures are expressed in broad policy goals in the environmental assessment. The social, environmental, and economic costs of effectively closing large tracts of public lands to the public are glossed over or ignored. A simplistic 23 page Environmental Assessment is hardly sufficient given the huge consequences of this action.
For example the economic impact is considered non-significant. In our discussions with Forest Service personnel their explanation was that they assumed everyone who visited the north would still keep coming, even though now they may have to walk miles and miles to access their activity, when for generations they could drive directly to their hunting, fishing, or other nature-based activity. You have presented no facts to back up this assertion.
It is only common sense to realize that a family now consisting of a 12 year old son, his father, and 70 year old grandfather could have enjoyed a hunting experience 3 miles down a soon-to-be-closed forest road for generations. That experience will be now destroyed, as it will become completely impossible for them to hike in the 3 miles and then hike out again carrying a harvested deer or bear. So for that family unit, and for thousands more, large tracts of public lands will be effectively closed. Many will give up hunting; many will choose other more easily accessible tracts on private or state lands – increasing hunter pressure in those areas.
Also in our discussions, it became clear that you may not have any good environmental reason to close even some sensitive roads during the fall. Many roads could be considered for closing during the spring for erosion control or during the season when the young of certain species are being reared. By fall, these reasons may be no longer relevant. We could easily support seasonal closing of some forest roads, but that is not an option presented in the assessment! (We note that Alternative 3 does include a miniscule 42 miles of “seasonal access” but even these roads are only open starting on September 15th, which missing the entire bear dog training season and half of the actual hunting season!)
Lastly we have inquired as to why over half the roads were proposed to be closed without any inventory, or any road by road analysis. We were told “because that would be a lot of work for the service.” We expect a certain level of due diligence and competence from our Federal agencies that is clearly lacking in this proposal.
The sporting groups in Wisconsin are united in opposition to this unprecedented closing of large tracts of northern Wisconsin to effective use by the public.
The Hunters Rights Coalition strongly takes a stand in support of Alternative 1, until such time as each section of road has been inventoried to determine the costs and benefits of closing. We wish to make it clear that we do NOT take the position that all the road closings are a bad idea. But the public does not have the information it needs to make an informed decision and neither does the Forest Service.
Thank you for your consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
The Hunters Rights Coalition
For more information please contact our representative:
Bob Welch 608-819-0150