I saw this quote on another board...
I'm just glad they got that fence up around Long Meadow before they had to tighten their belts. That thing really saved the forest. Without it, it would have died.
As has been previously said, "it seems like they are spending more and more money to close areas, and less on keeping them open."
Last summer, the FS built a new fence around Long Meadow...it was basically a patch of grass with dispersed camping in the surrounding trees. I wanted to know why money was spent on a fence when Milk Lake Road was still closed due to the washout.
I called the Naches Ranger District Office on WED 01/11 & asked where the funding for the Long Meadow fence came from. I ended up leaving a voicemail for the FS Fish Guy (Gary). He called me back first thing the next morning and explained that the project was part of a riparian restoration project in the Little Naches drainage. The funding came from a grant that was awarded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service...
so the money had to be spent on improving fish habitat. The money was not eligible to be spent on fixing roads, trails, etc.
No Yakama Nation money was used. The labor was performed by a
WCC crew. Gary also suggested that I speak to Jacquie Beidl, she was the resource manager that partnered with him on the project. After I finished my conversation with Gary, I immediately left a message for Jacquie...she called me back a couple of hours later. I explained my conversation with Gary & she confirmed all the details. I strongly encouraged her to do a little more PR with the public on future projects, because we don't know the details of where money can & cannot be spent...all we see is a fancy new fence while several roads are in need of repair. Some explanation would have gone a long way to preventing a pissed off user group.
Our conversation covered several more topics on motorized recreation in the Naches District and she ended up sending me a link to the
Travel Management Planning Process for the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF. She said there are some cool things coming down the pipeline regarding possibly designating some sections of road as mixed use. This would potentially solve some of the access issues for motorcycles, atvs & non-street legal 4x4's between the campgrounds and trails. The process is nearing completion & the final recommendations will be posted soon. She strongly recommended that we keep an eye on the Travel Management Planning Process link above and provide comment when the proposals are rolled out.
She also confirmed that trails will need to be brought up to standard, but it will be a long term project and the trails do not need to be closed while they are brought up to standard. She said the trails will probably never be 100% up to standard, but they need to show progress is being made.
If you have additional questions or want to verify this information for yourself
