FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Stewards of the Sequoia Trail News - March 2011

TWO MINUTES TO HELP KEEP PIUTE TRAILS OPEN

I hope you will take just two minutes to send a letter to the Forest Service telling them you support their recently released Piute Proposed Action and keeping trails open.

Two weeks ago Forest Supervisor Tina Terrel published the Notice of Intent and the Proposed Action for the Piute Trail System. Now it is vitally important that every member support this Proposed Action to ensure this plan moves forward and that we keep all the gains we have fought so long and hard for.

Over the years you have been on the defensive and have been asked time and again to help stop trail closures, but due to our past efforts today we have turned that around and can support keeping trails open instead of trying to stop closures. Amazing as it may seem while other forests are closing hundreds of miles of trails, the Sequoia Forest Service is proposing to keep virtually all roads and trails open in the Piutes. Stewards of the Sequoia have worked hard over the past six years with many local community organizations and the Forest Service to make this happen, but we cannot rest on our laurels yet.

Now that Supervisor Terrel has left we want the new Forest Supervisor to see that we will continue to remain engaged and that we are serious about keeping trails open. This is just the beginning of the Piute Planning process and we must continue to be fully engaged.
Please send your letter now. Just click on the link below and do your part to help preserve your trails. http://www.savethetrails.us/Default.aspx?PetitionID=48

Successfully keeping trails open takes a lot of effort and deserves your support. Yet only 16% of Stewards members have made a current donation. Without more donations Stewards cannot cover our expenses. Please consider making a donation to help support Stewards of the Sequoia successful Trail Preservation Program to keep your trails open.

CONGRESIONAL HEARING ON NEW BLM WILD LANDS RULE

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar quietly released a new BLM Rule 3310 just before Christmas. Stewards of the Sequoia have grave concerns about this new Rule which calls for the review of BLM lands to be managed as Wild Lands, really de facto Wilderness, without Congressional approval. Stewards of the Sequoia have submitted Testimony pointing out that the new Rule will be costly and will be reanalyzing lands that have already been analyzed. This is especially disturbing when one realizes the BLM already analyzed the lands thought most suited for Wilderness and most of them have since been determined to be unsuitable by the BLM. The new Rule is no doubt part of the Wild Lands Project to keep people off public lands.

We are glad to see Congress has heard our voices and is going to hold hearings to determine if the new BLM Rule needs to be rescinded.

Hearing Schedule & Info
Tuesday March 1, 10:00 AM EST: House Natural Resource Committee; Full Committee Oversight Hearing on "The Impacts of the Administration's Wild Lands Order on Jobs and Economic Growth."
Click Here for Calendar & Info : Click Here to Watch Live
Wednesday March 2, 10:00 AM EST: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Full Committee Hearing to consider the President's Fiscal Year 2012 proposed budget for the Department of the Interior.
Click Here for Calendar & Info : Click Here to Watch Live (select the bottom item in the left menu on the committee's website).
Thursday March 3, 10:00 AM EST: House Natural Resource Committee; Full Committee Oversight Hearing on "Department of the Interior Spending and the President's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal."
Click Here for Calendar & Info : Click Here to Watch Live

KERN VALLEY SPECIFIC PLAN DRAFT RELEASED

Kern County recently released the Specific Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Stewards of the Sequoia was heavily involved in the prior stages of this plan in 2005-2006 and we were able to get language changed which could have caused future closures of your trails. After reading the current plan we can see that no new problems have been added and it appears not to cause any problems for recreation or trails. You can read the Plan at http://www.co.kern.ca.us/planning/eirs.asp

STEWARDS ANNOUNCES SPRING TRAIL APPRECIATION DATES

Working on the trails you love is not only fun but rewarding. Trail work is one of the best ways to help stop trail closure and also guarantees the Forest Service and BLM will look far more favorably at ways to work with us to keep trails open.
Stewards of the Sequoia will be hosting Trail Appreciation Days on