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Hoover Wilderness Addition in California Threatened by Illegal Snowmobile Use
Forest Service Wants to Allow Snowmobiles in Proposed Wilderness Area Long-Closed to Motorized Vehicles!
For more than 20 years, the U.S. Forest Service has banned snowmobiles from the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition in California. Unfortunately, this prohibition is blatantly violated and snowmobiles are a common sight. The Forest Service has stood by idly and done nothing. Now, instead of taking steps to enforce the existing law, the agency is proposing to change the rules to accommodate unlawful snowmobile use!
Please write the Forest Service today and tell them you oppose the agency's ill-conceived proposal to open any portion of the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition to snowmobiling. The deadline is April 17, 2005.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Hoover Wildereness Addition
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am writing to express my objection to the Forest Service's proposed action that would reward illegal snowmobiling in the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition by lifting the longstanding closure to snowmobiles in a portion of this magnificent area.
The Hoover Wilderness Addition has been closed to snowmobiles for nearly 20 years. Illegal snowmobile use in this region threatens not only this proposed wilderness area but also significant resources in nearby Yosemite National Park, the Emigrant Wilderness and on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.
The Forest Service should move promptly to end the illegal snowmobile use, rather than rewarding those who have willingly flouted the law, as the agency proposes to do. By opening up part of the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition to snowmobiles in response to unlawful use, the Forest Service is essentially inviting snowmobilers to enter other closed areas, including the rest of the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition, in order to get them opened, too. What kind of message does this send to other users of the public lands?
I therefore urge you to adopt the "no action" alternative and maintain the current closure of the entire proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition to motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles. Please do all you can to protect the natural values of this extraordinary proposed wilderness until Congress has the opportunity to decide its future. This special place deserves the Forest Service's best management and highest level of protection.
Thank you for considering my views. Please inform me of your decision.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
April 01, 2005
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History of the Hoover Wilderness Addition
The 49,000-acre proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition near Sonora Pass, one of the most spectacular unprotected wild areas in California, forms the headwaters of the West Walker River and makes up one of the most spectacular unprotected wild areas left in California. Within it are over 30 alpine lakes, lush mountain meadows and high granite peaks. Its wildlife includes black bear, wolverine, mountain lion, and two rare amphibians: Yosemite toads and mountain yellow-legged frogs. The West Walker River, which runs through the area, is home to the Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened species. It contains more than 12 miles of the Mexico-to-Canada Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). This area of unparalleled beauty has long been a popular destination for hiking, fishing, horseback riding, camping and back-country skiing.
The Forest Service recommended the Hoover Wilderness Addition in 1986. Recognition of this areas special wilderness character continues today: much of the area was included in Sen. Barbara Boxer's California Wild Heritage Act and Rep. Hilda Solis's Southern California Wild Heritage Act, both introduced in the last Congress and expected to be introduced in the current session.
The wilderness proposals recognize the area’s remarkable natural beauty as well as its appeal to recreational users, including hunters, anglers, hikers, back-country equestrians, and cross-country skiers. As part of its 1986 recommendation, the Forest Service closed the wilderness addition to all motorized use to make sure the area remained wild until Congress could act on the recommendation.
The 49,000-acre proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition near Sonora Pass, one of the most spectacular unprotected wild areas in California, forms the headwaters of the West Walker River and makes up one of the most spectacular unprotected wild areas left in California. Within it are over 30 alpine lakes, lush mountain meadows and high granite peaks. Its wildlife includes black bear, wolverine, mountain lion, and two rare amphibians: Yosemite toads and mountain yellow-legged frogs. The West Walker River, which runs through the area, is home to the Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened species. It contains more than 12 miles of the Mexico-to-Canada Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). This area of unparalleled beauty has long been a popular destination for hiking, fishing, horseback riding, camping and back-country skiing.
The Forest Service recommended this addition to the Hoover Wilderness in 1986. Much of the area was included in Sen. Barbara Boxer’s California Wild Heritage Act and Rep. Hilda Solis’s Southern California Wild Heritage Act, both introduced in the last Congress and expected to be introduced in the current session.
The wilderness proposals recognize the area’s remarkable natural beauty as well as its appeal to recreational users, including hunters, anglers, hikers, back-country equestrians, and cross-country skiers. As part of its 1986 recommendation, the Forest Service closed the wilderness addition to all motorized use to make sure the area remained wild until Congress could act on the recommendation.
Forest Service Now Wants to Change Rules To Accommodate Illegal Activity!
The Forest Service now proposes to lift the closure in the 7,000-acre "Leavitt Bowl" portion of the proposed Wilderness addition. This beautiful area is traversed by the Pacific Crest Trail and contains habitat for the rare mountain yellow-legged frog and Yosemite toad. Skiers have documented repeated damage to soils and vegetation in this area by snowmobiles, as well as illegal trespass into the adjacent Emigrant Wilderness, on the Pacific Crest Trail and in nearby Yosemite National Park.
If the closure is lifted in this portion of the Hoover Additions, it is only a matter of time before the Forest Service opens the entire proposed wilderness addition to snowmobiles, and before the agency removes the wilderness recommendation for the area.
The Forest Service's proposal to lift the snowmobile closure in order to accommodate willful, illegal activity also sends a bad message to irresponsible users of the public lands: if they don't like the law, just break it and they will be rewarded.
How You Can Help: Please Send a Letter to the Forest Service Today!
Please write the Forest Service today and tell them you oppose the agency's ill-conceived proposal to open any portion of the proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition to snowmobiling. If you have visited this area, either in winter or spring when snow is on the ground or in summer for hiking, fishing, horseback riding or camping, please relay your personal experiences there. Use the information contained in this alert and the sample letter on the previous page to compose your own letter, or send the sample letter with your name and address on it. The comment deadline is April 17th.
Contact Information
Margaret Wood, Acting District Ranger
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Bridgeport Ranger District
HCR1 Box 1000
Bridgeport, CA 93517
Email: comments-intermtn-humboldt-toiyabe-bridgeport@fs.fed.us
FAX: (760) 932-5899
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