Got this email from my former club. The forest service will be having a meeting in the East Bay toward the end of July. The more people who show up the better.

Forest Service Route Designation.....Barrett Lake to close??

Do I have your attention??

Read this:I need your club's help in a BAD WAY.

We are trying to get a Forest Service meeting in the Bay Area to inform
people about the Route Designation Project and what they need to do to
argure for a trail or campsite to remain open. The forest service will only
do this if we have enough people going. I need a head count by Monday. Can
you get a bunch of people to this meeting?

The meeting will be the week of July 23rd during a weeknight, the location
will be somewhere in the East Bay, yet to be determined.

With the ELDO final Draft coming out at the end of the month, it is a very
crucial time. We only have a 45 day window to argue for routes and
campsites, and if we do not have a ton of people doing it, we will lose them
forever.

Here is the link on pirate:
http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=592842

I read about this, too. The Forest Service's most restrictive plan "Alternative E" which apparently has gotten everyone up in arms, shows designated routes to be "closed" only from December 1 through March 1, which I personally have no problem with.

I'm not sure if there's more to it than that.

Here's the link:
Forest Service Route Designation Plan

More Route Designation Info here

It's much like every other freedom in the world. They chip away at it until eventually they get their way. It's the same way gun control is going.

If off roaders compromise on this, it's not like the greenies are going to stop. You really have to fight everything.

What is wrong with closing a trail for a couple of months? Will the winter period not bring more dirt, stones and other crap onto the trails to make them more enjoyable?

There is a life outside of 4wheeling in the summer. Lots of people like to snow wheel. Lots of people like to snow mobile. Lots of those trails are used by hunters during the winter months.

Ultimately, closing anything is a step in the wrong direction. Once it's closed, it's extremely difficult to reopen. It's a slow erosion of what was once available. That last sentence is what is wrong with closing a trail for a couple months.

These meetings are rarely so close to the bay area. It's a great opportunity for you guys to see how these meetings go and what it's all about. Usually these things are up near sacramento. It would be a good chance for the club to become active in keeping trails open.

Well, actually, I'm sort of in favor of closing some (more difficult, more remote) trails during the winter to non-over-the-snow vehicles. 4-wheeling during the wet months contributes to destruction of the environment.

Trails that are super hard in the summer have no need to be run in the winter, where the added difficulty of lower traction encourages more wheelspin, and the damage to the road cannot easily be repaired when the ground dries out again.

Guys, I suggest you do everything you can to get down to that meeting. They tentatively passed plan D. Dean, what you posted was only the amendment to the plan, not the full plan. It is not only for winter activities.

Currently there are 2671.1 miles of roads and trails open to off road vehicles.

More info here
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/projects/route/deis/index.shtml
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=596921