LandUse

The clock is ticking. There will be no comment extension on this one.

The Draft Resource Management Plan (DRMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Utah Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Moab Field Office has been released for public review and comment.

In addition to a new RMP, Moab BLM will be formulating a Travel Plan for motorized vehicles and mountain bikes. Travel will be limited to designated roads, trails and areas.

The BLM has set a deadline of November 30, 2007, for receiving information and comments pertaining to the Alternatives and the analysis presented in the DEIS. Feedback regarding the four proposed alternatives will be used to formulate a Proposed Resource Management Plan, and ultimately, a Final Resource Management Plan and Travel Plan.

Comments and other information may be submitted electronically at: UT_Moab_Comments@blm.gov.

Comments and other information may also be submitted by mail to:
Moab Field Office RMP Comments
Bureau of Land Management
Moab Field Office
82 East Dogwood
Moab, UT 84532

Read on for more details on what to comment on and how..

Hearing for HB 305, This bill would limit the liability for operators providing venues for OHV activities. It is patterned after the limited liability now in existence for ski areas and equestrian providers/operators. At present time, insurance policies for an OHV operations like parks or ATV rental is not available in Montana from any insurance company. This bill would limit to the liability for providers of OHV opportunities, whether they charge a fee or not, so the insurance companies will consider providing policies for such operations.

The bill would also provide additional protection to private property owners who might be interested in letting OHV riders ride on their lands free of charge. Many large land owners limit access to their lands because of liability concerns and this bill would provide them additional protection from liability under state law. With the continual closure of public lands for OHV activities, an important part of the future of OHV recreation may just depend on private land owners and operators to provide a place to ride.

The USFS Region 1
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wmpz/documents/index.shtm
Proposed Land Management Plan for the Bitterroot, Flathead, and Lolo National Forests is up for public comment. Public comment period closes August 7, 2006. We've got a busy month coming up.

Please help western Montana wheelers maintain and improve our recreational access!!

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wmtpz

The Bitterroot, Lolo, and Flathead National Forests are revising their land management plans to reflect new scientific information as well as natural and social changes that have accumulated since the original plans were prepared, in the 1980s.

WHITEHALL, MONT., April 14, 2006—Four options for a road and trail system in the 185,700-acre “Whitetail-Pipestone” area, northeast of Butte, are examined in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) just released by the Forest Service for public comment.

The area is in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, between Butte, Whitehall, Basin, and Boulder.

[ed: Read below where they plan to close over two hundred miles of roads. I believe in Alternative 4(the Preferred on) is where this will happen and that they are the smaller two track roads we prefer.]

Action Alert

A new group that have called themselves the "Jefferson River Watershed Council" (JRWC) Have formed and are on a mission to secure the lower Jefferson and other watersheds for no use. We must work together to insure that this group is put into its proper place before it grows.

The first JRWC planning meeting will be Weds, April 5th at the Whitehall High School in the Commons Room at 7:00 p.m. Everyone should attend!

Tim Ravndal
Montana Multiple Use Association

Hearing PDF

To All FFOR Members and all Off-Highway Vehicle groups:

On December 2, U.S. Senator Conrad Burns will be holding U.S. Senate hearings in Missoula. The focus of these hearings is to determine the future of public access to public lands, based on recent proposals by the USFS and BLM to shut down significant percentages of trails to motorized vehicle use.

It is difficult to describe just how important it is to attend these hearings in Missoula. We have worked long and hard to seek government oversight into how the Forest Service and BLM are ignoring the people who actually use public lands (us), and approving plans by extreme environmentalist groups whose members rarely set foot on these lands.

and discuss the forest plan revision process.

When: Friday, December 2, 2005 – 10:30 a.m.
Where: University of Montana – College of Technology
Health and Business Building Room 01
909 South Avenue West
Missoula, MT 59801

MISSOULA – U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) today announced that he will
be holding a field hearing in Missoula to gather information and discuss
the forest plan revision process in Region One of the Forest Service.
Burns, who is Chairman of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee,
has several concerns about how this process is moving forward. The hearing
will be open to the public, and Burns encourages all interested parties to
attend.

The Bitterroot, Flathead and Lolo National Forest are having Community meetings to share initial Forest Plan components including their desired conditions and management area maps for collaborative discussion. Some meetings have already been held. Additional meetings are:
July 21, 7-9 p.m., Missoula Doubletree Hotel, Contact Maggie Pittman 329-2348
July 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Plains/Thompson Falls, at Courthouse in Thompson Falls, contact Randy Hojem 826-3821
July 27, 6:30 p.m., Ninemile Ranger Station, contact Garry Edson 626-5408
July 28, 6-8 p.m., Superior Ranger Station, contact Rob Harper 822-3928
Aug. 4, 7-9 p.m., Missoula, Contact Maggie Pittman 329-2348 for location
Aug. 11, 6-8 p.m., Superior, Mineral County Courthouse, contact Rob Harper 822-3928Aug. 18, 7-9 p.m., Missoula, Contact Maggie Pittman 329-2348 for location
Aug. 25, 6-8 p.m., Superior, Mineral County Courthouse, contact Rob Harper 822-3928
Sept. 1, 7-9 p.m., Missoula, Contact Maggie Pittman 329-2348 for location
Visit: www.fs.fed.us/r1/wmpz for more information on the Western Montana Forest Planning Zone

The Helena Independent Record and the Billings Gazette are running
on-line polls on the Roadless Rule. Please log on at:

http://www.helenair.com/ & http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php

The polls are near the bottom left.

If you know of anyone else that would want to vote, please let them
know.

Please pass the message to get people to sign on to this petition. The
petition will be autoforwarded to the following on May 31, 2005.
MT Representative Denny Rehberg
MT Senator Conrad Burns
MT Senator Max Baucus
CA Representative Richard Pombo (Chairman of the US House Resources
Committee)

The following is a petition hosted by e-thePeople. If you want to sign
this petition, follow the link at the bottom of this email.