New member here but this thread really caught my attention. I recently became aware of this FS closure activity through meetings with Mt Baker FS people on the 410 corridor roads. They are looking at permanently closing access to over half the roads over here. This is not limited to a single area and not a single NF. It's affecting road closure in the whole state and probably going on in many states with Federal land.
This is a MASSIVE land grab and is a systematic process to limit access to large tracts of land owned by citizens. When there was large scale logging operations going on, many of these roads were built with taxpayer funds although the claim then was that the timber companies were footing the bill. Organizations like the Sierra Club blew the lid off of that story years ago. Taxpayers paid dearly for those roads to be built and now we are being told they have to be shut down, again, at great expense to the taxpayers.
Reading some of the rationalization put out by the FS is enough to drive anyone crazy. It's thinly veiled to be for "wildlife habitat" with a smattering of "budget constraints" thrown in. Any feedback will only be considered if it relates to those criteria. In other words, just wanting to access the roads for recreation is not a valid reason.
For the average weekend warrior, fighting this is extremely difficult. We are up against bureaucrats who have nothing to do all day but put together plans to limit access for the people who pay their wages. Fortunately, for once in my life, I'm retired and I do have time to devote to a cause that is close to me. I've spent a lifetime enjoying the access to public land and raised my kids and now grand kids to enjoy it as well. I won't be sitting back and just accepting this without a fight. I volunteer a lot of time working on trail repair and will gladly take on a bigger challenge to add to my new "job".
It's going to take a lot of work to take this on and we have got to act fast and get involved. This is a BIG FREAKING DEAL folks and once this land is gone, it will most likely never be back in our lifetime.
Act NOW!
