More Land Closures in Montana

Beaverhead-Deerlodge closures

The District Ranger in Ennis has stated ther will be no motorized use by the time he retires. Get the point across by voting!!

Will that still hold true if he gets fired?

He is pretty much fire proof. Also the assistant Ranger is hardcore non-motorized. Do not fight this just through the USFS. Contact the Montana politicians about this area and vote. Also get someone from Madison and the other counties on the County Commisions to fight this. The USFS will snowball us, because they are not elected. The politicians understand the vote. They also know a lot of motorized people are full of hot air and will not vote against them

Here is some info on contacting the USFS on this issue:

ACT NOW! COMMENT DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2008!

Write to:

Bruce Ramsey, Forest Supervisor
Forest Plan Comments
Forest Service
420 Barrett St.
Dillon, MT 59725

Thank you for making the effort, it always makes a difference.
E-mail: comments-northern-beaverhead-deerlodge@fs.fed.us

To make your comments more effective, be personal. Tell the Forest Service your favorite stories about riding, snowmobiling and hunting with motorized vehicles, family and friends in these areas they want to turn into Wilderness. Tell them your concern about these vanishing multipe use areasyour desire to protect these areas for future generations.

GO THE EXTRA STEP
Send a copy of your comments to Montana's congressional delegation, the Governor and the Regional Forester.

Senator Max Baucus
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2602
Phone: 800-332-6106 (from Montana) or 202-224-2651
Fax: 202-224-0515
Email: max@baucus.senate.gov or http://baucus.senate.gov/contact

Senator Jon Tester
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Phone: 202-224-2644
Fax: 202-224-8594
Email: http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/

Congressman Dennis Rehberg
516 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-2601
Phone: 202-225-3211
Fax: 202-225-5687
Website: http://www.house.gov/rehberg/contact.shtml

Governor Brian Schweitzer
Governor's Office
PO Box 200801
Capital Station
Helena, MT 59620-0801
Phone: 406-444-3111
Fax: 406-444-5529
Email: governor@mt.gov

Tom Tidwell, Regional Forester USDA Forest Service Northern Region (R-1) Federal Building PO Box 7669 Missoula, MT 59807-7669 Phone: 406-329-3316 Fax: 406-329-3411
Email: ttidwell@fs.fed.us

Please remember to include your full name, address, and phone number.

I got this email alert from Winter Wildlands. They are one of the MAJOR enviro-zealot groups to threaten motorized recreation in the West, on March the 19th. They are rolling in some big money from some big companies. If you haven't checked out Winter Wildlands website, you might want to do so to see what we are faced with. Get your comment in on this plan, opposing any closures to motorized. It IS very IMPORTANT!!

Help ensure that quiet recreation isn't trumped by politics in Beaverhead - Deerlodge National Forest!

Idaho Snowmobile Lobby Arm-Twists Forest Service on Mount Jefferson [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001BzA62IbT...7gCEyk9h4E433kqAfkosj1EvJU9_lKH3ZNTuY-hahWbS]

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The 3.3 million-acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is the largest forest in Montana. It is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, and where fantastic backcountry winter recreation is found on Mount Jefferson.

The Forest has released its "revised draft" management plan
(essentially, the final plan) with a number of changes that affect quiet winter
recreation. The most troubling change from the initial draft plan is that the southern slopes of Mount Jefferson are now open to snowmobiles. No reason was given for this change, but a visit from the Idaho snowmobile lobby to the Forest Supervisor's office certainly didn't hurt the motorized crowd's chances.

Winter Wildlands Alliance, along with Montanans for Quiet Recreation and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition requested an extension of the comment period for the plan, given its complexity and the backroom changes that were made, but our request has been denied.

We now have until March 31st to make our views known on the management of this sprawling national forest. Please weigh in on this important forest management plan - the good, the bad, and the ugly-

The Good
(Thank You's for):

* Sustaining the quiet use trails now existing throughout the forest, especially those in the draft plan that were not changed in the revised plan
* New non-motorized winter use designation for the Ross Fork of Rock Creek and the Sapphires Crest

The Bad
(motorized areas that should be quiet use):

* East Pioneers and West Pioneers Roadless areas, and Sapphire Wilderness Study Area should be non-motorized year-round
* McAtee Basinshould be non-motorized in winter (in the draft plan it was a recommended wilderness area)

The Ugly:

* The entire 4,000-acre Mount Jefferson area should be returned to
non-motorized use only. Pressure from the Idaho snowmobile lobby led to the southern portion being changed to motorized. Read carefuly the next line. This *business*, Hellroaring Ski Adventures, is on Public Land. Clicky link here added by me Quote from site: "Hellroaring Ski Adventures operates under permit from the BLM, Dillon resource area and the Beaverhead National Forest." This is PUBLIC LAND! The decision will harm, perhaps end, a backcountry ski hut business in order to provide snowmobiles even more area than their current 2 million-plus-acre playground in this Forest. See the article Snowmobiles have plenty of backcountry access [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001BzA62IbT...7gCEyk9h4E433kqAfkosj1EvJU9_lKH3ZNTuY-hahWbS]
by Mark Menlove
* Almost 2/3 of the forest is open to motorized use in the winter (over 2 million acres) - Mt. Jefferson is one of the best backcountry skiing and snowshoeing areas on the forest - and the current plan makes it a snowmobile sacrifice zone.
* Please urge the forest to reconsider this arbitrary decision that will deny a high-quality recreational experience on Mount Jefferson to all quiet users for the next decade!

Before
March 31st, please send your comments to:

Mr. Bruce Ramsey, Forest
Supervisor

Forest Plan Revision Comments

Beaverhead-DeerlodgeNational Forest
420 Barrett Street
Dillon, MT 59725

E-mail: comments-northern-beaverhead-deerlodge@fs.fed.us [mailto:comments-northern-beaverhead-deerlodge@fs.fed.us]

View the
plan documents at:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/forest-plan/index-plan-document-maps.shtml
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Join or Renew your WWA Membership
Online Today and Help us bring Balance back toWinter Recreation Management!


Smokey Mountains of Idaho
Our public lands are being increasingly overrun by snowmobiles due to lack of regulatory balance and enforcement at the national and local levels. Wildlife, clean air and water, and quiet users are all bearing the impact of this untenable situation.

WWA is the only organization working
diligently to bring balance and responsible stewardship back to the winter
management of our public lands.

* Help us streamline costs and time by renewing your membership online through our SECURE Membership Page

* Join WWA today online and receive a fantastic membershipWWA-Ibex beanie gift from one of our partners like this wool beanie from Ibex!


* Sign up for our Membership Email List in addition to our Trail Break E-News list so we can email you important reminders and membership updates

You can also play a role in growing
our vibrant network of Winter Wildlands Advocates by:

* Telling five of your ski buddies
about WWA and encourage them to join online
* Reaching out to local ski shops and
non-motorized businesses and encouraging them to join our Backcountry Partner Network
* Hosting a WWA donor reception event or the Backcountry Film Festival n
your home town


Thanks for your support and please
don't hesitate to contact us atinfo@winterwildlands.org [mailto:info@winterwildlands.org]if
you have questions or suggestions
about our membership programs!
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Click to expand...

This is a letter from the guy that owns the ski hut at Hellroaring. For information, this guy is a biologist for the USFS. That is a conflict of interest for the USFS to issue him a permit to make a profit on the public Forest. This is the type of people that want to close our riding areas. They feel you should not be able to ride public land, but he should be able to profit from your public land.






Subject: Hard Times at the Hellroaring Hut

Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:23:25 -0600


Hi everybody, and I’m sorry if it’s been a while since we’ve been in touch. Most of you have skied at Hellroaring, and those of you who haven’t hopefully at least know that I run a backcountry ski hut at the base of Mt. Jefferson in the Centennial Mountains. I’m writing because I could use some help, five minutes of your time and some powerful and passionate opinions in the form of comments to the Forest Service if you can muster them.



A lot of you already know about the forest plan revisions that are going to affect Mt. Jefferson and skier opportunities there, but for those of you that don’t here’s a little background. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has a 5,000 acre holding on the Montana side of the Centennial’s, which includes the upper portion of Hellroaring Creek and the south and west slopes of Mt. Jefferson. The north slope of Mt. Jefferson is in Idaho and administered by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, so would not be affected by the B-D forest plan. Those 5,000 acres are the only national forest lands on the Montana side of the Centennials, the rest is the BLM Centennial Mountain Wilderness Study Area. Coincidentally, Hellroaring Creek is the terminal headwaters of the Missouri River, which means that 5,000 acres happens to be the geographic apex of the eastern seaboard. I’m not sure if that means much to anyone else, but it makes me look at it differently.



So now that you’re geographically oriented, a little about the policy. The BLM WSA is non-motorized year round. In 1985, shortly after the BLM created the WSA, the B-D signed a memorandum of understanding with the BLM to manage its Mt. Jefferson parcel as primitive non-motorized to keep a consistent management scheme for the region. The result was that Mt. Jefferson is non-motorized in the summer, but winter motorized access is still permitted. Keep in mind that in 1985 snowmachine enthusiasts were limping around on 440 fan-cooled short track machines, and snowmachine use in high alpine areas was almost non-existent. As the technology improved and average riders were able to buy above average machines to take them almost anywhere they found Mt. Jefferson, and it hasn’t been the same since. In 1993, the changes in winter recreation were becoming obvious and the Mt. Jefferson issue was revisited. The forest supervisor issued a special order closing Mt. Jefferson in the winter, but then mysteriously never signed it before changing jobs. By this time there was a growing contingent of extremely vocal Idaho snowmachiners who were fond of Mt. Jefferson, so who knows what influence they may have had? Bump up to 2005, and the B-D was revising it’s forest plan, which it is supposed to do every 10-15 years, but it had been over 20. Considering that my business has been there since 1986, and the level of interest the Centennials generate from environmental and conservation organizations, the local forest service officials were well aware of the problem, and the planning team recommended the Mt Jefferson area as wilderness. You may remember my last mass email at about that time asking you all to comment on the draft plan and support the proposal. Well, at the time it worked. The snowmachine contingent seized on Mt Jefferson as a national symbol of lost access and generated an enormous number of comments as well, but Mt Jefferson remained recommended wilderness for the rest of the planning process.



The final plan including Mt Jefferson as recommended wilderness was submitted to Tom Tidwell, the Regional Forester for Region 1 based out of Missoula. He is the head honcho for the entire northern region of the forest service, which includes Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, and North and South Dakota. He essentially line item vetoed the Mt Jefferson recommended wilderness out of the forest plan, and chose to leave it open to winter motorized use. The final plan came out on February 15’th, 2008. This was one of only a few changes he made, and the only reason on the public record is “Congressional Interest”. Hopefully, you can appreciate that this is all at the last hour of the planning process, and completely undoing decades of work and advocacy by hundreds of people over 5000 acres of high alpine terrain, which in a larger scheme is a ridiculously small piece of ground. It just happens to have high intrinsic value as being geographically significant, ecologically important to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, high in wilderness characteristics, and a sick place to ski powder if you can beat the machines to it, so nobody ever let the issue drop. Hopefully you won’t either.



Now if you’re me, a simple backcountry skier trying to hide out in one of the most remote locations I could find and make a living doing what I love, this last minute subversion of the process based solely on “Congressional Interest” is more than just a little menacing. There is a freedom of information act request in for all the documents pertaining to which congressional delegations weighed in on those 5000 acres and what they had to say. It should be an interesting read, but chances are it will be too late to affect the outcome of the forest plan. But I know that I got outmaneuvered, and the snowmachine lobby called in their big guns. You can bet I’ve called my Congressmen since the final plan came out, and there are plenty of other organizations raising hell, but I’m hoping I can generate a response out of you.



I’ve always said that the problem with organizing backcountry skiers is that if you drop 20 of them on a mountain they will scatter like cats and all ski different lines, then lie about it if it was any good so you won’t follow them. If you do the same thing with 20 snowmachiners they will follow each other around all day, tell all their friends, post it on internet chat rooms, share it with their clubs, and eventually tell their congressman. They seem socially better suited to political action.



So here is what I’m asking of you. Take 5 minutes, right now, to write a short but passionate comment to the forest service about how you feel about snowmachines on Mt Jefferson. Most of you have skied there, so say so. Talk about a personal experience with snowmachines in the drainage and how it affected your trip. Forward this email to everyone else who skied with you that day and convince them to write their own comments in. They don’t have to be long-winded or overly contrived, but sincere and relevant to your personal experience in the area. But they do have to be Right Now!!! The comment period ends on March 31’st, and after that Mt Jefferson will be permanently open to snowmachines. I purposefully didn’t send you this until the last minute so you wouldn’t put it off, you’ve really only got time to write a quick comment and forward it to your friends that ski. Considering that it’s probably Friday morning when you opened this, maybe you even need a positive distraction to get you thinking about the mountains.



Thanks for all your help.

Tim Bennett

Hellroaring Ski Adventures

www.skihellroaring.com





Click on this email link and write a quick comment, I’ll appreciate it and it might even make a difference.



Write comments to: http://www.Comments-northern-beaverh...odge@fs.fed.us




While you’re at it, write Tom and let him know how what you think, since he’s the guy who derailed the train at the midnight hour: ttidwell@fs.fed.us





And please forward this to everyone who was in your group or would care. If you are interested in more details about the forest plan check out http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/forest-plan/.



Also, Montanan’s for Quiet Recreation www.quietrecreation.org or the Greater Yellowstone Coalition www.greateryellowstone.org have information and resources about other aspects of the plan.





Thanks again, and hopefully the Regional Forester will listen up and reconsider his decision on something he knows very little about.


Remember this guy works for the USFS and gets a permit to profit off Public land. Also this ski hut is the reason the west side of MT Jefferson is closed to sled. It is closed to sleds due to avalanche danger. But it is open to skiers. More than one skier has been killed or injured in this area in the past few years. IE: "A Dozen More Turns" video.

To whom it may concern:

"Wilderness advocates claim and misinform by professing wilderness areas are the true source for clean air and water. What prevents wilderness areas from being subject to the adverse effect of say “wild fire”. Wilderness burns just like other areas. Air quality certainly suffers and long term effects can be seen by erosion that results from burn areas not being able to support the climate changes that follows. Fire destroys entire watersheds and riparian areas resulting in countless tons of sediment entering our streams and lakes. We have a fighting chance to manage this situation in a non-wilderness area. Technology and management practices exist to remediate the conditions. Active management of forest resources is specifically prohibited in Wilderness Areas. Making more wilderness areas dooms those areas to burn with consequential damage to air and water quality. Is this really what we want for a healthy, resourceful forest? As for clean water, climate makes snowpack being the single most important factor of having clean water. Creating more wilderness does not influence climate· Our most effective method for managing the quantity and quality of wildlife is through hunting and trapping. These methods for managing our wildlife have proven to be effective time and again throughout history on public as well as on private lands in Montana and many other states. Hunting and trapping regulations have little effect in Wilderness Areas because there are too few of those who can afford the expense to hunt or trap in wilderness.
With friends, family and often by myself I enjoy the resources of the Beaverhead DeerLodge National Forest for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and for motorized recreation as well. Many people use a mechanical or motorized means to get to their hunting, fishing, camping or hiking spot. They should not be denied this access. Motorized recreation in itself is a truly satisfying way to experience access in the Beaverhead DeerLodge National Forest. Snowmobiling is truly a sport of unparalleled comparison and sets itself aside from other motorized recreation in study after study as it has shown to be the least invasive to nature with consideration of impact to land, watershed and all forms of wildlife. Tracks laid down over a blanket of snow disappear as the snowpack melts away. I ask you as a citizen of Montana to recognize that creating more Wilderness in the Beaverhead DeerLodge National Forest will only limit access to the forest and decrease the quality of experience in the Forest for myself, my family, friends and all that visit Montana to experience the wide array of recreational opportunities this tremendous resource affords to all of us. Please do not sponsor, endorse, nor vote in favor of any legislation which creates more Wilderness in the B-D National Forest."
Sincerely,

While I did not author the above I whole heartily agree with every word of it. Simply put, NO MORE WILDERNESS. We choke on it every summer.
I will also be putting my votes and spending my recreational dollars where it matters the most in this regard.

end


I sent the above message to everybody on the list in this thread and I used MWAss site to sent them. Feel free to copy and send.

I called all the congressmen and FS. supervisors. Wrote letters. Please everyone take a few minutes to write or call.
I listed all the contact info in the Montana section under beaverhead/deerlodge Post


thanks

Interesting that Bennett is at it again. He did this last year, or the year before, as well. He got a bunch of email from peeps on this site, and then even signed up on the old site and had lots to say (I'll have to go look it up now to see just what year it actually was). Funny thing is, that the more he replied, the more it showed that all he cared about was his bottom line $$$$$$.

I believe I saved every single one of his posts......just because.

And yes, A Dozen More Turns happened at Bennett's place. Also notice on his website, he shows on the guided trips.....peeps riding a sled without helmets, and towing others behind. Look here How safe is that?

Edit: I found the goods! I did a print screen of all of his stuff on the old 4M, plus I kept all of my email to him, and his replies to me. It was in 2005, the last time this issue was being pushed.

I'm constantly amazed at the ignorance of many skiers. You cannot efficiantly ski "real" backcountry without sleds. They are necesary for access (and redicoulsly fun!). These people think they could skin 20 miles in a day and get in a bunch of vert once they arrive at a choice zone, whatever. Skiing and sleds go hand and hand. Sorry for all the unenlightened skiers out there guys. "They" are trying to close areas where you can go and never see another person all day, I just don't get it. End rant, writing letter now! VIVA la Sleds!! (Reminds me of a bumper sticker that sums up the sledders plight "These are the good old days".) Some day I won't even be able to pull the cord on my sled w/out a fine.

Won't be long and we'll have the whole forest to ourselves, since sleds will be on the endangered species list soon.

We'll probably be able to ride from prison to prison in the wilderness since there won't be enough prison space anywhere else to house everyone from the riots created by putting all the users in such small areas.

They b!tch about motorized getting 2/3 of an area...do we complain about them getting 3/3? I guess it's time to start or maybe not let them use any of it? They can have all the non & we'll take all the motorized proportionate to the amount of area one can travel in a day. Any motor-less person in a motorized area gets a ticket!

I'm starting to lose my kindness.

i Agree Dobber

the comment period was extended until april 30rth, please keep callin and writing and informing all your friends and family

This is a Forest Plan not a Travel Plan

Below is the latest information that SAWS has sent out on this Forest Plan. Some people are referring to this as a Travel Plan, but it is not. It is a Forest Plan.

http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/Action_Alerts/08/SAWS_Action_Alert_2_-_BDNF_FEIS.htm

SAWS members,

You previously received our SAWS Alert (copied below) regarding the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Plan Revision and FEIS about a month ago. At that time, the comment period was scheduled to end April 1. We hope that you already submitted your comment prior to April 1. SAWS, along with several other organizations and Montana elected officials, asked for an extension to the April 1 date. The Regional Forester approved an extension of the comment period to April 30.

Here is a link to the official notice:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/forest-plan/index-plan-details.shtml

I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to submit a comment on this very important issue if you have not already done so. This proposal will close 329,000 acres as Recommended Wilderness Area (RWA) to snowmobile use that is currently open for that use today. Some of these proposed closures are very popular snowmobile areas. And one of the most important and possibly illegal proposed changes in management by the Forest Service, is to manage ALL RWA as de-facto wilderness. We can not let that happen here. If they succeed here, other RWAs in other forests across the western United States could fall to closures like dominos. So if you think that what happens in this one forest in Montana, where you might not ride, will not affect you in your state and in your favorite riding area, you would be WRONG.

Below is a link to the comments SAWS submitted on this proposal. They are for your information and use, but as always, please do not copy our entire comment word for word. The FS will not treat duplicate copies of the same comment as a separate comment.
http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/08/misc/SAWS_Comments_BDNF_FEIS.pdf

Below is our previous alert on this proposal.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to comment on this very important issue.

Dave
Snowmobile Alliance of Western States

http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/Action_Alerts/08/SAWS_Action_Alert_-_BDNF_FEIS.htm

SAWS Action Alert: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Plan Revision and FEIS

Submit your comments to:

Forest Plan Comments
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
420 Barrett Street
Dillon, Montana 59725
Email: comments-northern-beaverhead-deerlodge@fs.fed.us

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (BDNF) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Forest Plan Revision was released February 15th for comment. This revision is another example of the Montana Region One Forest Service running out of control and catering to the wishes of those with the deepest pockets. In this case, wilderness advocates have sold out to the timber industry in order to add to the forest’s recommended wilderness area (RWA) inventory.

The current BDNF preferred Alternative 6 recommends MORE wilderness in this FEIS than was proposed in the last preferred alternative, Alternative 5, during the DEIS public comment period. With the release of this new Alternative 6, there are 80,000 additional acres added over and above the previous Alternative 5 -- WE’VE GAINED NOTHING from what is currently open to snowmobile use. We are being asked to support giving up acreage and gaining nothing in return. Why should snowmobilers care? Historically Region One’s policy is to close all RWAs to snowmobiling and the deals between the timber industry and wilderness advocates locks snowmobilers out of even more riding areas than ever.

Alternative 6, the preferred alternative, has dropped the Mt. Jefferson/Hellroaring Basin (Mt. Jefferson Southern Portion) closure from the plan. This is the result of a lot of hard work by many individuals and is great news for snowmobilers. SAWS would like to say Thank You to all that helped keep this extremely important snowmobiling area open. However, SAWS is of the opinion that the Forest Service kept the Mt Jefferson area open in the hope that snowmobilers would ignore all the other proposed closures. The timber industry/wilderness advocate sell-out is known as the “Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership” and is being called a citizen’s collaborative effort. How can this be called a collaboration of citizens when the deal was made between two special interest groups? Among others, snowmobilers were once again left out of the discussion.

Please refer to the BDNF website where you will find links to the BDNF FEIS and maps about Alternative 6: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/forest-plan/

Although Alternative 6 has been chosen as the preferred alternative, this does not mean that you can not recommend that elements of the other alternatives be considered.

SAWS is encouraging our members to support a modified version of Alternative 4. We recommend you include some or all of the following talking points in your comments. Please add any personal information about yourself and how/where you recreate in the BDNF currently or in the past.

Alternative 4 advocates removing all recommended wilderness area designation from forest lands. Region One’s policy of closing RWA’s to snowmobiling makes no ecological sense given that snowmobiling does not negatively impact wilderness character in other Forest Service (FS) regions. Only congress can designate wilderness and lock snowmobilers out of existing riding area.

FSH 1909.12 requires the forest service “meet the tests of capability, availability, and need” when determining new areas for wilderness recommendation. Clearly there is no need for additional wilderness in this forest for the 1.09% of forest visitors that currently recreate in this forest. Barely 1% of current BDNF visitors use the existing wilderness areas in this forest (per NVUM results). There is no need to recommend more wilderness areas with such a small use of existing wilderness areas in this forest

Alternative 4 provides a small overall reduction in area currently closed to snowmobiling. Tell the FS that you support this attitude, and thank them for recognizing real world trends.

Alternative 6 removes the Mt. Jefferson/Hellroaring Basin (Mt. Jefferson Southern Portion) closure from the draft plan. Again, tell the FS thank you for working with snowmobilers in keeping this vital area open to snowmobiling. You might mention that along with snowmobilers, the citizens of Island Park appreciate the fact that the FS recognized the economic importance of continued use of Mt. Jefferson and Hellroaring Basin.

Alternative 4 closes 25 miles of snowmobile trail. This is not acceptable because snowmobile trails do not negatively impact wildlife or the environment, including high use areas according to a Yellowstone National Park study.

The so-called “Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership” (BDP) is certainly NOT a citizen’s collaborative effort as it is being labeled by the FS planning staff. It is the result of two deep-pocketed special interests that excluded all but the timber industry and wilderness advocates. Snowmobilers and many other user groups were not invited to participate in the so-called collaboration.

The “Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership” plan should not have been included in the development of the FEIS because the plan was delivered almost six months (April, 2006) after the DEIS comment deadline (October 31, 2005). Citizen participation in this process is discouraged after the comment deadline. Citizens were not implicitly or theoretically afforded the same leniencies with respect to the deadline as were given to the BDP.

Thank you all for your interest in and dedication to protecting YOUR right to ride.

Janine, Scott & Dave (MT, ID & WA SAWS Reps respectively)
Snowmobile Alliance of Western States

Protecting the right to ride for the owners of 281,965 registered snowmobiles (2007) in the western United States.

that stupid jackass that owns the lumber mill in deerlodge, that was his idea for the forest partnership. MY county officialls approved and are backing it also. How come all the retards get elected