Clinton's Roadless Iniative

[Tom]

The U. S. Forest Service is holding a public informational meeting at Gainesville College Continuing Education Center, Thursday the 25th, 6PM to discuss President Clinton's proposed Roadless policy for your National Forests. Once again, The Wilderness Society will be there in mass and will certainly be pushing for all the wilderness areas they can possibly get. And while wilderness always sounds good, you might want to be there to see just how it will effect your trout fishing in the future.
There are four public meetings scheduled for Georgia:
May 25, June 21 - Gainesville College @6PM
May 31, June 28 - Gwinett Civic Ctr @ 6:30PM
US Forest Service contact for the G'ville meeting is John Petric (770-297-3005) and for the Gwinett Meeting is Robert Wilhelm (404-347-7076)
Check the Forest Service web site for a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement on this topic.
Tight Lines, Tom

[This message has been edited by Tom (edited 05-23-2000).]

[THE EG]

Tom,

Do the notices for these meetings come out late or is there some official place that these notices are posted for DNR and FS meetings? Do I just miss the initial notices?

It seems I never have enough time to plan for them. I am tentatively going to make the Waters Creek meeting (bring up the Amicalola also) but I already have plans for Thursday. I sure would like to make that one though.

I'd also like to get these meeting notices on the board about a month or two before they happen. I only knew about the Waters Creek meeting because it was in the Sunday AJC.

[This message has been edited by THE EG (edited 05-22-2000).]

[Tom]

EG: Normally (if that is possible with the federal government) these notices are posted well in advance. The Roadless thing came up pretty fast. All funds for continuing with the USFS Land Management Plan have been suspended, pending the results of these hearings or meetings on Clinton's roadless inititive. You might want to call the USFS in Gainesville and get on their mailing list to receive these notices when they relate to the management of the forest.
I heard about the Roadless meeting at our monthly TU meeting last Tuesday...and should have posted it immediately but was on the river camping and fishing from Wed - Sat. It is a tough life! Tight Lines, Tom

[Tom]

EG & Beth: Immediately after posting the above, I received an E-mail from Jeff Durniak and have taken the liberty of forwarding his message to you. I know that neither the DNR or the USFS wants to get bogged down in debates on the internet but I am going to suggest that they post announcements on the NGTO Board. With so many sports men and women on the message board with an interest in the management of our forests and wildlife resources, it would be a quick way to let all with an interest know of such meetings. Tight Lines, Tom

[NiteOwl]

They could always post the announcements to Aaron( or someone else so chosen) and be posted as a locked thread, so there could be no replies. I will try to make the meetings, but wonder if there is somewhere I can "go" to get the facts before hand. I get the general jist of it all, but I like to be armed to the hilt ! http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

Owl


PS even it we could just do enough to STALL the process until the rat is out of office. I just can't dsee President Bush supporting something so radical.



[This message has been edited by NiteOwl (edited 05-23-2000).]

[Tom]

Owl: Go to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest web site. Click on Planning, or something like that. You can sign up to receive E-mails regarding the whole planning process whenever they issue information. It is a good site and I wish I could give you the URL but the above will get it. I'm practically internet illiterate! Tight Lines, Tom

[NiteOwl]

Thanks Tom, that's plenty close enough ! http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif


Owl


Hey EG ! How was the Water's meeting?????

[THE EG]

Anybody who can make this meeting should give it a try. Although I love these things, I can't make it.

[Tom]

I and five other members of the Rabun Chapter made it to the Roadless meeting. It was primarily informational with little time left for comment. A comment meeting will take place in Gainesville on June 21st from 6-9PM. Gwinett Civic Center will hold the two meetings on May 31 and June 28.
It really boiled down to this: Certain areas within the National Forest have been designated as Roadless. There will be no more road construction in these areas. This does not apply to areas already designated as wilderness. However, designating an area as Roadless certainly increases it's attraction for future designation as wilderness.
You folks down there in Metro should try to make it to the Gwinett meetings and if you have to make just one, pick the second. And afterward, drop me a note and tell me what an "Unroaded Portion of an Inventoried Roadless Area" means and what is the difference between "Roadless Area" and an "Unroaded Area"!
Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Friends of the Mountains were very evident with their displays and literature...and a picnic supper.
Will know more about all this after the June 21st session. Tight Lines, Tom

[Windknot]

For supplimental reading, try Field & Stream's current issue. Susan Zakin's column addressing this is more concise than the goverment document, and illustrates the nature of the beast by raising more questions than it answers.

Don

[Windknot]

The hot topics seem to have passed their emotional high-points for the time being, and I don’t intend to stir them up again, but there are a couple salient points that have been either ignored or overlooked. Regarding the roadless proposal (which will not be fully fleshed out until autumn), we seem to have devoted most of our energy on the logging industry and impact on fishery and game management in the Southeast. Appropriately, for our area, no doubt, but the folks out West have some other hot buttons. Since many of you guys travel to fish, you may hear some of this while you’re there.

It has been at least 10 years since I saw the numbers, but mining rights are controlled by unbelievably archaic rules, regulations & fees. We as taxpayers practically give away land to mining concerns. Not too hot an issue in the SE, but the West takes it in the shorts. And for whatever reason, there is damned little publicity about it.

The sons of the pioneers who still raise cattle & sheep near public lands are granted grazing rights for literally pennies on the dollar. Once again, you won’t read about that in USA Today or Time magazine. The direct impact of grazing near trout water is potentially disastrous – in fact, more damaging to streams than many logging operations. And of course, the land use is woefully undervalued.

Since every taxpayer has a stake in the USFS holdings, there are an incredible number of oxen potentially being gored. And the longstanding largess of Uncle Sugar towards the timber, cattle & logging industries are far too complex to be solved with “bumper sticker” logic. This isn’t going to be a simple issue, and it ain’t going away soon.

Ok, I’m off the soapbox. Let’s fish.

Don