Forest Service
Seeking Comments on West
Hoover Travel Management Plan
Bridgeport, CA (March
10, 2005) - The Bridgeport Ranger District of the
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is preparing an environmental analysis
for the West Hoover Travel management Plan and would like your ideas
and comments. The plan would open a 7,000-acre area near Sonora Pass
for over-snow vehicle (snowmobile) use. If approved, the change would
take effect
the winter of 2005/2006.
The area
considered in this environmental analysis is a portion of the
Proposed Addition to the Hoover Wilderness (west), south of Highway
108, near Sonora Pass in Mono County, California. Presently, the area
is closed to all motorized and mechanized travel year round. The
proposal would be to open a portion of the area surrounding Leavitt
Lake Road to over-snow vehicle use during the winter months. The
project area is bounded on the east by the ridgeline east of Leavitt
Creek, and on the west by the ridgeline from Sonora Pass to Leavitt
Peak. The proposed analysis will not include use outside of the winter
months, and will not include the Leavitt Lake Road corridor or Leavitt
Lake itself. The Pacific Crest trail and trail corridor will also be
excluded from the project area, since motorized travel on National
Scenic Trails is prohibited by law. The remaining 42,000 acres of the
Proposed Addition to the Hoover Wilderness (west) would also remain
closed to all motor vehicle use, including over-snow motor vehicles.
“Recreational use patterns have changed in recent years, and we felt it
was time to review our direction for this area,” said Acting District
Ranger Margaret Wood. “This analysis will identify and address any
potential impacts that over-snow vehicles may have on National Forest
Lands and resources adjacent to Leavitt Lake,” Wood added.
The Forest
Service would like your thoughts and ideas on this proposed
action. Comments should be submitted within 30 days of when the legal
notice on the project is published in the Mammoth Times. The deadline
is April 16, 2005. You are welcome to send comments to Margaret Wood,
Acting Bridgeport District Ranger, HCR1 Box 1000, Bridgeport, CA 93517;
fax (760) 932-5899; or you may hand deliver your comments to the above
address during normal business hours from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday
through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Email comments can be
submitted to: comments-intermtn-humboldt-toiyabe-bridgeport@fs.fed.us.
Further information, including a map of the area, is available at: www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/projects.
