* The Forest Service will not accept emails or electronic petitions. Please go to the 2nd link below and add your comments in your own words. *
Talk about impacts to solitude, wildlife, why quiet recreation is important to you, etc.
Do you go to the Tahoe Meadows area for winter recreation? Do you want opportunities for solitude and quiet, non-motorized recreation to remain? Then please take a few minutes to comment to the US Forest Service.
The Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is proposing to allow snowmobiles at every popular and accessible place for skiing, snowshoeing, and snow play in winter in the Lake Tahoe Basin. We don't mind sharing with others, but allowing snowmobiles in the places being proposed will push us out of the places we most cherish in the Lake Tahoe Basin where we want quiet winter recreation.
The LTBMU released a “Proposed Action” on September 23, 2019. This release is the first stage of a NEPA public-comment process. They request scoping comments on this plan and how to make it better. This is NOT a final plan yet. Your comments at this state can help the Forest Service identify the issues that need to be analyzed during the planning process (for example, the value/importance of silence and solitude to non-motorized recreationists, the health impacts of snowmobile exhaust, the impacts of snowmobile noise on wildlife, etc.)
Deadline for scoping comments is December 9, 2019.
This is the project overview page, where you can find all of the relevant documents and explanations about this project.
This is the direct link to comment. Only individual comments will be accepted.
Tell them in your own words why you want this area non-motorized, from north to the Mount Rose Wilderness to south beyond Chickadee Ridge. The map below shows these areas as dark green and as hatched green. Here are some ideas to shape your comments:
-
Why are silence and solitude important to your winter-recreation experience?
-
Have you ever had unpleasant conflicts with snowmobiles?
-
What are the health impacts of snowmobile exhaust?
-
What are the impacts of snowmobiles on wildlife? If you know wildlife well in the region, please discuss specific species.
-
Why are these areas important to you?
There are thousands of visitors to this area seeking winter recreation every year, and Mt. Rose Hwy (SR 431) is packed with parked vehicles on weekends. The plan, as drafted now, proposes to keep much of the north side of Hwy 431 open to snowmobiles (dark green) and to keep Chickadee Ridge open to snowmobiles on odd-numbered days (cross-hatched).
The Proposed Action does not reflect the input of the non-motorized community. We have actively participated and communicated with the LTBMU for over a decade for more areas for non-motorized winter recreation. However, the Proposed Action has failed to address any of our requests, and in fact has proposed to allow OSV use in every area we have requested consideration. WE ARE OPPOSED TD ALLOWING SNOWMOBILES IN THE FDLLOWING AREAS:
• CHICKADEE RIDGE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA
• THE FAMILY SNOW-PLAY AREA NEXT TO THE MT. ROSE HWY
• INCLINE LAKE AREA NEXT TD THE MT. ROSE HWY
• MARTIS PEAK ROAD, STARTING AT HWY 267 NEAR BROCKWAY SUMMIT
• THE JUNCTION OF HWY 21 AND 50 AT SPOONER
• THE FALLEN LEAF LAKE AREA BETWEEN CAMP RICHARDSON AND FALLEN LEAF LAKE RD
Sierra Club leaders have for many years argued that this area should be completely closed to snowmobiles, because a strong majority of users are non-motorized. Snowshoers and backcountry skiers should have a right to a noise-free, odor-free, and safe experience. Our sheer numbers would seem to dictate a completely non-motorized area.
Fact sheet (below) is available at
https://tinyurl.com/y6avjmhs
Contact David von Seggern,
775-303-8461
vonseg1@sbcglobal.net
for more information.
Fact Sheet on Winter Recreation in the Tahoe Meadows Area (just past the summit on Mt. Rose Hwy, SR 431).
Last revised 10/9/2019
In 2002, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest closed the area known as Tahoe Meadows to snowmobiles due to the heavy use of this open area by non-motorized recreationists.
The border between the H-T National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is such that this closure does not extend into adjoining areas to the north of the highway towards Relay Ridge and the Mt. Rose Wilderness and to the south of the highway towards Chickadee Ridge. They are under the jurisdiction of the LTBMU. The LTBMU is now beginning its process for designating areas and trails open to over-snow vehicles (OSVs) in autumn 2019.
The Toiyabe Chapter and the Great Basin Group have been active in submitting comments and recommendations to the H-T National Forest and the LTBMU regarding winter recreation in the Tahoe Meadows area for at least two decades. We have consistently stressed the broader area around it is only suitable for non-motorized recreation because:
The broader area is heavily used by non-motorized recreationists. A concentration occurs near the highway itself, especially for snowplay users, beginning skiers, and snowshoers. This usage is only bound to grow with the surge in population in the Reno/Sparks to Carson City corridor. Surveys made by Snowlands indicate that 95% of the users in this area are non-motorized.
Due to the sheer number of non-motorized users, conflicts are inevitable (and documented by Snowlands). The area de facto constitutes a “populated” area of Washoe County on winter weekends. Washoe County now has many restrictions within populated areas: gun discharge, off-road vehicles, noise, etc. Although Washoe County does not have jurisdiction, snowmobile usage within the broader Tahoe Meadows area can no longer can be justified.
Snowmobiles are noisy vehicles which can be heard throughout the broader area, spoiling non-motorized recreationists desire to have a quiet experience.
Snowmobiles have odorous emissions which fouls the pristine air of the mountainous environment.
Snowmobiles are a fast and powerful recreation means relative to muscle-powered recreation (skis, showshoes, sleds); and the safety conflicts are obvious, especially for families and children seeking a safe winter experience.
Snowmobile staging often involves using up to 3 parking places, a clearly unfair situation where vehicles transporting non-motorized users are simply looking for a single parking spot on winter weekends.
Snowmobile incursion into the Mt. Rose Wilderness is well documented. The most effective way to stop this is simply to cut off snowmobile access to the north side of Hwy 431 in the Tahoe Meadows area.