You say you just didn't have the time to comment.
Now see what the other side does with the lack of comments from motorized.
Get involved or stay home because all the trails are closed!
To: Montana-Roadless@vortex.wildrockies.org
Subject: Comments on Gallatin Travel Plan
MWA and TWS analyzed the scoping comments for the Gallatin National Forest's proposed travel management plan. A news release with some of the relevant information is attached.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Steve Moore, 581-4734
March 12, 2003 585-8348
Analysis: Montanans Overwhelmingly Support Protecting Gallatin National Forest Examination of Nearly Two Thousand Comments Shows, By Roughly 2-to-1, That Citizens Favor Traditional Non-Motorized Use Bozeman, MT In a strong show of support, Montanans overwhelmingly have urged the Gallatin National Forest to preserve the Forest's clean water, traditional recreation, wildlife, and wild places.
Last Fall, nearly 2,000 citizens [1,998] contacted the Gallatin National Forest as the agency began the process of developing a long-term travel management plan for the Gallatin. The travel plan, once completed, will determine what forms of travel such as hiking, biking, horse packing and motorized use are permitted on the trails and roads of the National Forest.
While comments covered a broad range of issues from hunting, to wildlife habitat, to ice climbing the majority of citizens focused on the policy of motorized use on the Gallatin. These comments, by approximately two-to-one, supported traditional, non-motorized recreation, and, in specific instances, support was even higher. For example, 664 citizens specifically commented on all-terrain vehicles and motorcycle use. Of those, 72 percent (478) strongly supported a decrease of ATV use in the Gallatin.
Comments also focused on a variety of specific places within the Gallatin National Forest. For one example, 747 citizens expressed a detailed opinion to the Forest Service concerning the Gallatin Range. Of those, nearly 85 percent strongly supported traditional recreation and favored restrictions on future off-road vehicle use in that region. "The comments demonstrate an overwhelming, deep, and widespread concern for protecting the Gallatin," said Steve Moore, a construction consultant from Bozeman who volunteered to analyze the public comments. "A great majority of the citizens are stressing the importance of preservation, protection, and traditional non-motorized recreation."
The analysis of the comments was completed over the past several weeks using files provided by the Forest Service. The agency received the comments last Fall as part of the first stage of a multi-year procedure by the Forest Service to develop a long-term travel management plan for the Gallatin.
Development of a new travel plan provides an opportunity to balance recreational uses on the Forest. According to the Gallatin National Forest, 75 percent of the Forest's entire trail system is open to off-road vehicle use, but surveys show that less than 10 percent of National Forest visitors in Montana actually use off-road vehicles.
"The future of the Gallatin clearly is an issue of great importance," continued Moore. "I am extremely pleased that so many people took the time to get involved in this process. It's a celebration of our system of government and our concern for publicly owned lands." "Responsible use of the Gallatin preserves the clean water, open spaces, and outdoor escapes that our growing communities depend on," added Alex Phillips from the Montana Wilderness Association.
"Destructive, and sometimes illegal, motorized recreation threatens these values and unfairly displaces the majority of people who enjoy the quiet health of our forests." The Gallatin contains outstanding hiking, horsepacking opportunities, world class fisheries, wildlands and is one of the few remaining places that is still the home of every wildlife species present when Lewis and Clark passed through the area nearly 200 years ago.
The Forest Service expects to release draft alternative options for the proposed travel management plan later this Spring for additional public comment.
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Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads web site