Grand Junction - Bye bye to Junktown?? (27 1/4 Rd)

[thump_co]

Just posted up on the Bookcliff Rattlers FB page:

http://www.facebook.com/BookcliffRattlersMC

http://www.bookcliffrattlersmc.com/

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Club Members and Concerned Citizens.

The map of the proposed trails in the North Grand Junction desert was seen by many in attendance tonight at the BLM open house. The news is not good if this goes through.

Attached you will find a PDF map of the North Grand Junction Deserts. Alternative A is the current trail system listed in black with no current closed areas and open riding everywhere.

Alternative B (Which the BLM supports and wants as their supported alternative) shows everything in Pink or Red as their purposed trails to be closed. Take a good look at Alternative B. Zoom in with your PDF software. Notice something?

Anything North of 27 1/4 parking lot at the end of the airports fence area parking lot will be closed going off-road East or West. No riding, no shooting, no racing at the 27 1/4 track, no going West or East from the 27 1/4 race track. Now move a little east... lots of red, closed, closed, closed, closed. Skinny ridge? CLOSED!! Turtle Bowl? CLOSED!! Your favorite loop headed West? CLOSED!! Future desert races? A thing of the past.

Folks this is serious. We are facing a drastic shut down of OUR PUBLIC lands. We all choose to live in Grand Junction because of the abundance of recreation opportunities and decent weather, now we are facing over a 60% closure of what we enjoy every weekend spring through fall, our riding areas being taken away.

If this map doesn't show you the urgency to help, I don't know what will other then just turning a cold shoulder and letting the land we enjoy the most just be shut off.

Over the next month you will see updates on how you can help, it mostly comes down to taking the 60 minutes to modify a draft letter to your needs that will show the BLM during this comment period that this is not what the PUBLIC LAND OWNERS (You and I) want for this area. Please let us group together and get the letters in and show of support to keep OUR land open.

Alternatives C and D are really not what were fighting against, the BLM has already stated they support Alternative B and now it is up to us to fight them and tell them that is not what we want.

Stay tuned!


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Seriously?

[thump_co]

Junktown action featuring 87macmahan87.. in the proposed closure area.



And would mean the end of the snakebite:

[COXR650L]

Letter sent


GJ BLM field office email...
BLM_CO_GJ_Web_Mail@blm.gov

[VxZeroKnots]

Email sent, thank you COX650L for posting that address. Alternative B (and C and D) is unacceptable.

[nwcolorider]

Letter sent

[GTC]

Email Sent

[rtadlock]

Email sent. That would be a huge loss for the riding community. I rode there extensively when I was going to Mesa. One of my favorite places to ride.

[mtech1950]

you guys, i think this will require $100 per rider per year to counteract. redress in court is the only viable action. emails and letters, testimony= irrelevence. if 1000 dirt bikers, atv'ers, jeepers, rockhounds, etc. donate 100 per year, to thier local ohv coalition, serious litigation can occur, and be sustained. only way imo to slow usurpation of public lands.......

[MountainsandRivers]

Sent. Thanks for the heads up on this Thump and Ben!

[dmac1]

Thanks for the heads up!

Did BRC or COHVCO send out anything on this? I seem to recall something about GJ area fairly recently, but didn't read it and not sure where it might have came from. I would like to know BLM's motive so I could try to dispute their reasoning. There is NOTHING up there, so I can't fathom that we'd be fighting against another user group that wants us out...maybe it is the airport?

Unfortunately, absent some major push from somewhere, once these things get going we rarely, if ever, prevail. I'd think Bookcliff Rattlers could be a huge source of help on what points to make to BLM. We need to, IMHO, dispute their potential closure with facts. Do we know a deadline for our comments?

Are any Rattlers on here?

Absent that, Thump....do you know those guys? If not, I have met a few of them and could check with at least one of them and see if we could get some substance with which to try to make our case.

[AdvRonski]

Email sent in support of Alternative A!
I assume the red lines on the other alternatives are trail closings.
What is the major beef about these trails? Overuse?

[thump_co]

Originally Posted by dmac1

Absent that, Thump....do you know those guys? If not, I have met a few of them and could check with at least one of them and see if we could get some substance with which to try to make our case.

I've met a few at the races. I just asked Ed P the same question on the RMEC page he cross-posted to. I'll let you know what I hear.

Seems strange to me as well.. I know trash is a huge issue out there, but that's more the shooters, bonfire crowd and local dumpers than anything. I can't image that trail impact is a concern in what's essentially a giant shifting sandbox.

[thump_co]

Response from Ed P (of BC Rattlers):

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It is mandated by the new RMP (Recreation Management Plan). The last RMP was done in the 1980's for the area. Congress about 13 years ago put together the new land management guidelines for all BLM offices to reference and follow. No one thing has caused the BLM to react to closures other then them following congressional guidelines that were put in place years ago. We are now the next BLM office in line to be updated and this is their recommendation following the guidelines set-forth by the Department of Interior. While our office had to do their jobs, not all of them agree its right (you won't get any of them to say that while on the clock though).

So it is up to us to respond through the comment period to let the BLM and its higher ups know that this is not what we want for our area. Will there be some modifications and changes? Yes, but we hope not the 60% closure of roads, trails, and single track that recreational users such as Jeeper's, Atv users, Bicycle enthusiasts and Dirt bikers in our area enjoy using so close to our homes. Closures go well beyond the Grand Junction Desert, Debeque area is facing 100% closure of ALL single track motorcycle trails. Yes that's right 100%!!

The Mesa county Planning Commission understands the severity of the closures and will not be standing by to watch it happen nor are any of the motorized or non-motorized (Bicycles) clubs.

You do not need to be a resident of Mesa County to comment on the closures. This is National public lands, if you use them I recommend you comment. We will be sending out more info on effective commenting over the next month. The comment period is for 90 days. Join our FB page at Bookcliff Rattlers Motorcycle Club.

Let me know if anyone wants to be added to our club e-mail roster to be updated on the process. We need all the help we can get.

Thanks.

Bookcliffrattlersmc@gmail.com

http://www.bookcliffrattlersmc.com/

[dmac1]

Thanks Thump!! Great work. I've emailed Bookcliff Rattlers and asked to be emailed with further info.

90 days isn't too long.

100% closure at Debeque is NO GOOD! Was hoping to get there someday!!

[mtech1950]

so as per thump's post 13, closure is codified somewhere in dept. of interior's files/rules?