National Forest winter lock up.

[Perry J]

My small town is surrounded by the Sequoia National Forest.
Areas that may receive 1 inch of snow once a winter and maybe 1/2 inch of rain are now being locked up by the F.S.
My favorite fishing spot is now locked up for no reason.
I understand locking up areas that are dangerous because of winter snows but they seem to lock us out of all access this winter.

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this in their area.

John

[cpaharley2008]

Could also be budget cut syndrome to the federal portion.

[Darwin Maring]

And because it seams that each year people that don't know what they are doing get into places where they get stuck and either die or cause the expense of many rescue effort dollars. They even pass signs that state do not enter because of the danger and so on.

They ruin it for the outdoors-person that is knowledgeable of the territory and situations.

[Carol H]

Darwin may be in part correct. We have already this month had two back country rescues as a result of people going out in the woods and not being prepared for the cold or the dark and spending a night lost in the woods - lots of resources spent - people time & money including helicopter time looking for them.

It could also be to protect the environment &/or wild life if there is more snow at higher elevations they may be wanting to keep snowmobiles out of the area.

John why not send an email to the Supervisors Office and ask what the deal is. Most park areas normally do not do such things without some public input prior or issuing a public notice as to why.

[Perry J]

I understand that.
I'm talking about area's that get no snow and very little rain.
Area's around 2500' in elevation where there is absolutelty no danger created by weather.

[Francesca Knowles]

Access to National Forests is being curtailed all over the Country due in large part to citizens' abuse of their free access to them. I can tell you of many, many dump sites I've come across while boondocking...garbage, construction waste, appliances, dead livestock- I once found a "killing place" where there were five dead horses-....even whole cars are dragged out there and abandoned. And this is not to mention the many drug-cooking operations and "grow sites" that plague such used-to-be wild places.

Staffs are at peak in summer, but after the "camping season", there are few people available to keep an eye on the Public.

God Bless America, Land That We "Love"!



Francesca

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Perry J

My small town is surrounded by the Sequoia National Forest.
Areas that may receive 1 inch of snow once a winter and maybe 1/2 inch of rain are now being locked up by the F.S.
My favorite fishing spot is now locked up for no reason.
I understand locking up areas that are dangerous because of winter snows but they seem to lock us out of all access this winter.

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this in their area.

John

Mostly we have camp grounds gated and closed. It's not worth the cost to operators to keep them open and gated reduces the opening costs in the spring. The roads are all open except for timber company roads, some are open for hunting season and some not. Many are closed because dump and tree cutting issues.

I have not seen any dispersed sites closed in neck of the woods. The Forest Service has even put in metal fire rings at some the heavier used sites.

Some roads at 3000' or above are closed and gated to allow for winter activities, X-C skiing, snow shoeing, and snowmobiling. Those roads would be closed with snow at some time anyway.

California does some things differently than Oregon and Washington, such as camp stove permits, and other over regulated activities.

[Terry G]

Originally Posted by Perry J

Areas that may receive 1 inch of snow once a winter and maybe 1/2 inch of rain are now being locked up by the F.S.
My favorite fishing spot is now locked up for no reason.

Perry, how are they locked up? In my section of the country (Colorado), many of the roads are chained in the winter but people are still able to hike or otherwise visit the areas. But the Forest Service does strange things sometimes. All of the campgrounds in Pike National Forest closed on September 4th. This is one of the busiest and closest areas to Denver.

[Bruce H]

Here is the guy to go talk to:

News : KRVR welcomes new SNF Forest Supervisor - Kern Valley Sun

[1974ventura]

i get the same thing up here in canada at a semi local b.c. gvmnt campground.the gate gets lock to the north campgroung area after sept long weekend,also holds a secret fishing spot

[Darwin Maring]

Not Secret anymore.