ALERT: <<<Cooke City and Beartooth riding area>>> possible conversion to WILDERNESS

[Rsc]

ALERT: <<<Cooke City and Beartooth riding area>>> possible conversion to WILDERNESS

For those of you who do not live in Wyoming or Montana, but come riding in the Cooke City area, this concerns you!


Hello outdoor enthusiasts,

I know you have seen information from me in the past several months on the WPLI process. It is time now for comments on the High Lakes WSA. The comment period ends FEBUARY 1st!

This is almost everything we ride on the north side of the highway in the Beartooths.

If we lose this area, it will cut our riding in half, and stick everyone in half the area.

Think about that for a minute.

I for one do not like riding a tracked up mountain, so I would like to have every single acre open that we can.

If you are not familiar with this process, stop and see me at Roger’s Sport Center, and I will be glad to explain it to you.
We need your support on this, if we are going to secure this riding area permanently.

Let’s put this to bed once and for all!

The WSA was created in the Wyoming Wilderness act of 1984. It was supposed to be evaluated and a recommendation made within 10 years. The recommendation was made, but congress chose not to act on it. So the environmentalists use this every chance they get, to try to gain wilderness. The WPLI process was started to try and make a final decision, and put an end to the continual battle we face with the environmentalists. We are currently well below the 1984 use levels in this area.

I am on the WPLI committee, and the more specific your comments the more they will count.

I need comments that ask for no new wilderness, and ask for a final decision, to ensure the continued historic recreational use in this area.

Comment that you do not want to see this remain in limbo for another 30 years.

Ask for specific language be included to guarantee winter motorized access to the entire area.

Thanks you for your help on this,

The link to the commissioners page is
http://www.parkcounty.us/commissioners/wpli.html

The link to the High Lakes Proposal is
http://www.parkcounty.us/commissioners/wplihighlakes.html

http://www.parkcounty.us/commissioners/documents/wpli/2017/DRAFT%202%20High%20Lakes%20WSA%20Wyoming%20Public%20Lands%20Initiative%20Proposal%2012.pdf
Please go to the site, and comment on this important issue.


Please email your comments to wpli@parkcounty.us


During the comment period for the McCullough Peaks, we were vastly outnumbered, with only 25% of the comments coming from the motorized community!
Please do not let this happen again.
Take a few minutes and comment.

Thanks for your support!

Dustin Rosencranse
President
Cody Country Snowmobile Association
Po Box 1745
Cody Wy 82414
rsc@tritel.net
307-587-6818

COOKE CITY
MONTANA
WYOMING

===========================

 

[christopher]

This deserves all of our attention.
Losing ANY space around COOKE would be a tragedy.

 

[christopher]

For those of you who do not live in Wyoming or Montana, but come riding in the Cooke City area, this concerns you!

Dustin.
Is there ANY reason at all you posted this in the Doo 850 Forum?
Seems to me it applies to every single mountain rider we have on the forums?

We might want to consider MOVING this thread to a place where more members will see it.

 

[Ace Freely]

I need more info so I can write an informed email...

Ace

 

[Shortline]

I need more info so I can write an informed email...

I second that. Maybe some knowledgeable individual could generate a "template" email body that we could all grab, personalize it a touch to make it unique and submit.

If I'm not mistaken it's really about the number of submittals and not the content (other than for or against) so anything that makes it easier for everyone to submit an email will go a long way!

 

[Mort2112]

Maybe I missed something but the proposal says that snowmobiling would be allowed as it has in the past. Or did I read that wrong?

 

[brandon227]

I will be happy to send an email but I need a little more information. What was the pre 1984 snowmobile rules up there? Time to do some more digging I guess.


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Ace Freely]

I.e...

To whom it may concern,

I travel to the Cooke City area to snowmobile from Wa State. We ride in the area because there is ample snow, lots of elbow room, and the hospitality is second to none from the locals.

On the average, I send aproxamently 250 dollars per day I'm in town.

In short, I would like to keep these, and other areas, open to snowmobiling.

Thank you,

John Q. Snowmobiler

 

[PaulAnd]

^^ thanks ^^
I was going to send this>
I like to snowmachine in the deep snow!
Please don’t take that away!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ace Freely]

Here's what I sent...

To whom it may concern,

I'm an outdoor enthusiast from Wa State. I travel to Cooke City to enjoy the abundant snow, the large terrain, and second to none hospitality from the locals.

It has come to my attention that you are considering shutting down riding areas around Cooke City. I would urge you to keep all current riding areas open!

Based on my estimates, between lodging, fuel, meals, etc, I spend around 250 a day in Cooke City. I usually travel in a group of 4 to 5.

If the riding areas becomes smaller, we will take our travel dollars elsewhere.

Please keep it open!

Ace Bollinger
Bollinger Custom Home Builders
www.bollingerhomes.com
509.679.5003

 

[longlugs]

Maybe I missed something but the proposal says that snowmobiling would be allowed as it has in the past. Or did I read that wrong?

Don't underestimate the amount of time libs/greens spend in their activist roles. Any comment on the side of keeping areas open to sledding is positive, but we're battling opponents that are out to win and have sympathetic ears listening.

Regarding your above question, here's an excerpt from a "close down" letter:
"I feel the forest service may be using the current level of snowmobile use as both a baseline and a justification for maintaining the High Lakes area as a Study Area. This is a faulty approach because today’s level of snowmobile use in the Study Area is orders of magnitude greater than what it must have been when the Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1984 was passed. That enabling legislation allowed winter motorized travel “to the extent and degree that occurred when the area was designated.” Consequently if the forest service cannot establish the level of snowmobile use (or determine there actually was such use) prior to 1984, it should prohibit snowmobiles in the High Lakes Wilderness Study Area. If supporters of snowmobile use in the Study Area demand access, it is incumbent on them to submit unequivocal documentation of use and the level of snowmobile use prior to 1984."

Full letter here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3794729.pdf

 

[oredigger]

My experience is that comments that make the same point get lumped together as one by the FS. Not saying that quantity is a bad thing but it would be good if somebody could post more information or bullet points. Some details that we could use about the area; besides how we all want to ride here. Maybe it will get listed to the record as multiple points to continue snowmobiling in this area as it is currently.

 

[Rsc]

I have posted it in multiple areas. I would like the moderators to post it everywhere, and to keep it active until Febuary 1st!

 

[Rsc]

A little more info on this:

The WSA was created in the Wyoming Wilderness act of 1984. It was supposed to be evaluated and a recommendation made within 10 years. The recommendation was made, but congress chose not to act on it. So the environmentalists use this every chance they get, to try to gain wilderness. The WPLI process was started to try and make a final decision, and put an end to the continual battle we face with the environmentalists. We are currently well below the 1984 use levels in this area.

I am on the WPLI committee, and the more specific your comments the more they will count.

I need comments that ask for no new wilderness, and ask for a final decision, to ensure the continued historic recreational use in this area. Comment that you do not want to see this remain in limbo for another 30 years.

Ask for specific language be included to guarantee winter motorized access to the entire area.

Thanks you for your help on this,

Dustin

 

[christopher]

A little more info on this:

Dustin

I took the liberty of cleaning this up a bit for you Dustin and appending your new comments to the opening post.

 

[hilpulr]

Letter sent

 

[christopher]

Letter sent

Good man!:face-icon-small-hap

 

[grayghost]

WPLI

email sent

 

[Calvin42]

Would it be beneficial to draft a petition and just have everyone sign it as I think the numbers for supporting this would be drastically increased?

 

[Rsc]

Calvin,
A petition makes sense to us, however in most Government processes, and in this one, a petition, or a form letter count as one response. This is to prevent a special interest group from sending out form letters to all of its constituents, and pushing their agenda through. The WPLI committee wants to see individual responses, and those comments carry weight with the Forest Service, and BLM.

Dustin