News Release July 5, 2007 For More Information Contact: Will Boyd or Gary
Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater (882-9755,
foc@friendsoftheclearwater.org) Quietness of Meadow Creek Permanently
Threatened by US Forest Service/Dirtbike Jamboree Moscow conservationists are
challenging two harmful and related actions by the U.S. Forest Service. The
first, a decision not to analyze the impacts of a dirtbike jamboree to take
place in the Red River Ranger District later this month. This event would
take place almost entirely within the backcountry of Meadow Creek Roadless
Area, the most important tributary to the Selway for steelhead and chinook.
The second, a proposal to open up more of the Meadow Creek backcountry to
motor vehicles through the Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use
(DRAMVU) process currently occurring on the Nez Perce National Forest.
Comments were accepted until July 2 on the DRAMVU preliminary proposal.
Earlier this week, the Western Environmental Law Center sent a letter to the
Red River District Ranger and the Nez Perce National Forest Supervisor on
behalf of Friends of the Clearwater, detailing concerns about the jamboree.
Scheduled for the end of July, hundreds of dirt-bikers would descend into
Meadow Creek Roadless Area, accessing trails that the Forest Servcie has
closed to all motorized vehicles. The Forest Service has determined that this
event requires no analysis, not even a conditional use permit. Friends of the
Clearwater sent a letter to the Forest Service in December, 2006, pointing
out that this jamboree needed to go through the public involvement process.
"The Forest Service shatters the quiet of Meadow Creek by allowing motor
vehciles on trails used by hikers and horseback riders," said Will Boyd,
Friends of the Clearwater Education Director. "Quiet recreationists (hikers,
hunters, anglers, birders, and photographers) lose out when more and more
trails are opened up for motorized use. And so does wildlife."
Conservationists sent a detailed comment letter to the Forest Service
pointing out problems with the motor vehicle routes process. A major
complaint: a shift in the status quo away from trails designated for quiet
recreation to trails open for all uses, without any public involvement.
Several trails in Meadow Creek have been opened without any review. The
letter also pointed out a shift in Forest Service philosophy regarding Meadow
Creek. A report by the Nez Perce Forest from the late 1970s had this to say
about the area: (Meadow Creek) is an important part of a 4,789,000 acre
roadless area that is the largest contiguous block of wildlands in the
continental United States. . . . When weighing priorities on how the
resources in any of these units should be used, the public should consider
the fact that central Idaho has the potential of having the highest quality
wilderness in the Nation. The size of the area could enable the natural
ecosystem to operate with less interference from man than anywhere in the
country outside Alaska. "I couldn't have said it better," noted Gary
Macfarlane, Ecosystem Defense Director. "The Forest Service has backslid from
the late 70s regarding Meadow Creek. With nearly 4,000 miles of roads within
the Nez Perce Forest, many of them open to ORVs but not full-sized vehicles,
backcountry palces like Meadow Creek must remain quiet and wild."
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