Draft SNFPA Management Review and Recommendations

Recreation Impacts

Background

The ROD embodies new standards and guidelines to conserve old forest ecosystems and their associated wildlife species and protect aquatic/riparian ecosystems. The standards and guidelines were primarily designed to control fuel reduction and vegetation management activities, however, selected parts of this direction apply to all activities, including the full scope of recreation uses. Depending on how these parts of the ROD are interpreted by the field, the associated impacts to recreation users, special use permittees, ski areas and resorts and recreation residence owners can be significant.

The Team sponsored two field meetings to learn more about how the standards and guidelines in the ROD were being interpreted at the field level and what effect this was having on recreation service providers and general recreation activity. On May 15, 2002, the Team visited Alpine Meadows ski area on the Tahoe National Forest and facilitated a discussion of the relationship between the ROD and the operation, maintenance, and development of ski resorts operating under permit to the Forest Service. On July 11, 2002 the Team traveled to Huntington Lake on the Sierra National Forest to discuss how the ROD pertains to the management of recreation residences, resorts under special use permit, and other developed recreation sites. As with other field trips, representatives from other government agencies and key interest groups participated and meeting summaries were posted on the Forest Service website.

At this point, concerns were fairly general and speculative in nature. The Team was hard-pressed to find examples of actual projects that had been prohibited or impeded by the decision. The underlying theme of these communications was fear of the unknown. It was simply not clear to the public or to the field personnel charged with implementing the decision how specific projects would or could be affected. Most were in agreement that the ROD required more analysis of individual projects before decisions could be made. However, we found a range of responses as to what level of analysis was appropriate for what type of decision, how long it would take to complete, and what criteria would be used to approve/disapprove or modify a proposed project. This prolonged state of uncertainty had generated a fair amount of anxiety for people with substantial financial and emotional investment in their personal use of public lands.

As the Team learned more about the relationship between the ROD and recreation, we discovered that concerns boiled down to four fundamental issues. First, there was considerable confusion among field personnel, permittees, and the general public about how the ROD applied to any given recreation development or activity. Second, people were concerned about the stringent guidelines for tree removal for fuel treatments and feared the Forest Service would impose these requirements on recreation-related projects. Third, the Team heard concerns about "limited operating periods" for sensitive species and how they might limit options for operating, maintaining and developing recreation facilities. Finally, owners of recreation-related business and recreation residences noted the long list of requirements for managing riparian areas and were concerned that it would lead to significant changes to existing uses and infrastructure. The following sections provide more detail on these topics and other significant issues that surfaced during the review.

USDA Forest Service · Pacific Southwest Region