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Stewards of the Sequoia (Chris Horgan) do some fantastic work up in the Lake Isabella area. Big win here. Please donate a few bucks to this organization he deserves it.

Dear Jim

Stewards of the Sequoia just won a HUGE Victory for Public Lands.

Under a new regulation the Forest Service is looking at all multiple use lands again to see if they should be designated as Wilderness. That would mean MORE CLOSURES of motorized and mountain bike trails, as well as huge environmental impacts by concentrating recreation onto an even smaller remaining patch of land.

We think that is a really bad idea and decided to do something about it......

So in Stewards ongoing efforts to proactively preserve access to our public lands we petitioned Kern County to submit a letter to the Forest Service telling them NOT to recommend more Wilderness.

Well last Tuesday the Kern County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to submit the letter Stewards asked for Opposing the recommendation of more Wilderness.

Stewards Director Chris Horgan urging Kern County Board to Oppose More Wilderness

The Sierra Club was at the County meeting in force, however with over 30% of the Sequoia already designated as Wilderness their claims of needing more rang false.

Stewards members as well our partners from Bakersfield Trailblazers, Cyclesmith and the KOA made truly heartfelt comments at the County meeting about the need to protect our vanishing multiple use lands for family recreation and to minimize impacts.Many thanks to them for taking the time to speak up. I know the Board of Supervisors truly appreciated it and will not forget the importance of multiple use.

The Ken County Supervisors and the Head of Planning made significant statements regarding the need to protect multiple use and the fact that without public comment the Forest Service is going to move towards increased restrictions. Stewards efforts educating them on land use issues and working with them over the past decade played a large part in our victory.

The unanimous vote OPPOSING any more Wilderness will send shock waves through the Sierra club and their anti access cronies.

Stewards is continuing to MAKE HISTORY by keeping your trails open and preserving access to your public lands.

Jim you are part of this Victory. Your donation has helped fund Stewards and enabled us to win this battle. However with 87% of Stewards members not donating I am hoping you will use the Forward to a Friend link at the bottom of this email to ask your buddies if they are doing their part by donating to Stewards so we can afford to continue to win the fight.
Please ask them to make a Trail Closure Insurance donation to enable Stewards to
remain engaged during the Forest Plan process to STOP Wilderness Land Grabs and protect the future of our multiple use lands and your trails.

But wait there is still more. Stewards was also able to get Tulare County to submit a letter Opposing Wilderness. And both Kern and Tulare Counties will be filling their letters with Congressman, Senators and State Representatives so decision makers will know that we do not need anymore Wilderness in Sequoia National Forest.

So this is a double header VICTORY for Access as well as the Environment. Many thanks to the Kern County and Tulare County Supervisors for standing up to preserve our remaining multiple use lands.

Stewards also asked a number of organizations to submit letters opposing Wilderness and due to our coalition building efforts they stepped up. I want to thank them all for doing that. Perhaps the most impressive response to our request came from the Cattleman's Association who showed true community spirit by supporting motorized recreation as well as grazing while opposing Wilderness.

Read the
County and
County and
letters Opposing more Wilderness

See the Forest Service
showing areas being reviewed for Sequoia WIlderness Recommendation. See all
and information

Read the comment letter
submited Opposing more Wilderness. We think it is extremely powerful

For less than dinner out or a set of tires you can do something really meaningful to keep your trails open and get a tax deduction to boot. Please renew your donation to Stewards now

about Stewards effective programs including even building trails

Stewards efforts have even been recognized for keeping trails open by
and

Thanks for your support. Together we can help keep our trails open!

Chris Horgan
Executive Director
Stewards of the Sequoia

PS- Use the Forward to a Friend Link below this email to send to your buddies and ask if they are doing their part to keep the Sequoia trails they enjoy open

If you prefer you can mail your donation to:

Stewards of the Sequoia
PO Box 1246
Wofford Heights, CA 93285

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Thanks Jim for the info. Maps and discussion, good stuff. The second "Map" link is to USDA -Forest Service page which has the standards of judgement and maps for areas.

I will be supporting the Stewards to help foster a good hearing of all users.

Dave

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More good news!

Another Win For Piute Trail Lovers


No More Piute Trails will be Closed

In case you missed our recent Newsletter last week the Sequoia Forest Service started closing the irreplaceable historic motorized single track Piute Trails, even though Stewards and the public were assured by the Forest Service that all Piute trails would remain open until Piute Planning was completed.

UPDATE-WE HAVE PREVAILED
On Tuesday June second, Stewards filed a letter objecting to the Piute Trail Closures with Sequoia Forest Supervisor Kevin Elliot. We received a swift response from him and were extremely surprised to read that neither he nor the District Ranger ordered closures of trails or restoration of trails (obliteration). That is welcome news and in a subsequent phone call with the District Ranger, he clarified that no more trails will be closed, and none of the existing trails open signs will be removed, or tickets issued for riding on signed trails including what they refer to as non system trials (these are the ones with TR trail numbers on the sign).

There are still some things in the Forest Supervisor letter which we find do not match the document record, but we are not going to quibble about it so long as the Piute Trails remain open.

THE NEXT STEP
The Supervisor and the District Ranger have committed to resuming Piute Travel Planning once they complete Forest Plan Revision. Stewards have offered to help them by performing surveys. We also suggested that a contractor be hired to do the analysis, which Forest staff lack the resources to do. The District Ranger offered his full support for these programs.

Stewards will continue to work with the Forest Service to ensure that as many Piute Trails become designated during the upcoming Piute Travel Plan.

POSITIVE IMPRESSION
I want to thank the hundreds of Stewards members who took the time to call and email the Forest Service. You left a very positive impression on District Ranger Al Watson, who told me that he appreciated the polite but passionate conversations with you. He sees that each of you care deeply about the Piute Trails and your public lands and he looks forward to working with us to designate more Piute Trails.

THE WAR IS NOT YET WON

The war to keep Piute Trails is far from over, but today Stewards won another important battle.
It will be costly to win the Piute War and we need to be sure we have the funds to do it.
If you care about the future of the Piute Trails please consider making a donation to the Piute Legal Action Fund or make a regular donation to fund Stewards proactive progams that stop trail closures and maintain your trails. Many thanks to those who have recently donated.

Consider donating to the cause. The Stewards of the Sequoia is one of the hardest fighting equal access groups in the country. "Environmentalist" organizations avoid the area because they swing a heavy hammer and squash anything any group tries to do. Any lawsuit or formal complaint to the local district is dispelled with a well written rebuttal sourcing scientific data to the contrary or ensuring proper legal course of action. All done before the USFS or BLM even begins to investigate.

www.stewardsofthesequoia.org

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