Having said this, Ranger Brad expressed his regret over the comotion it has caused and how upset people are. He did agree that the cutting of brush did not work as people just get kicked it off the trail. There is no way that the USFS can put a sign up to close the trail as we have the right to hike through the National Forest. Natural footpaths created from people hiking down are legal. Making improvements to a trail with tools that was not approved by the USFS is illegal and could lead to a citation. Ranger Brad explained that a trail needs to have the appropiate engineering so that it would not cause excesive errosion and damage to the environment. We also discussed with Brad that while this trail continues to be the easiest 2WD access outside the Bowen Ranch, it is still likely to see continual use by people that don't want to pay Mike, or those that Mike does not want on his property. So what is the solution?
As I see it, here are a few facts to consider.
1) While most people would prefer less use of the springs, they are not a secret and people will continue to come. We are better off trying to educate the visitors and let the USFS deal with violators.
2) No one is asking for a road all the way down to the springs.
3) There are people that for easier access or other reasons will not go thorugh Bowen Ranch. If the easiest access is the illegal trail from JF3 people will use it.
4) The USFS built an official parking lot which currently sees little use as it can only be accessed by 4WD vehicles and the access roads are in BLM and not USFS jurisdiction. Prior to the close that followed the Willow fire 2WD vehicles with a fair clearence could also make it by going through the Bowen Ranch and paying Mike.
5) As that is the official USFS parking lot most people would probably agree that 2WD and 4WD users should have the same right of access to tax payers land as they all pay the same taxes.
Some options to consider (this is not intended to be a exclusive list, someone may have the perfect solution out there)
A) Work with the BLM to see if we can revert back to the situation prior to the Willow fire. This would mean more use of the Parking lot and would reduce the use of the "illegal" trail. Of course some would still continue to use this trail.
Work with the USFS and have them engineer an official trail and maybe have some volunteers to work with them to make the "illegal" trail "official" and less damaging to the environment.C) Leave the current status quo. The "illegal" trail will continue to get use as the USFS can't cite someone for hiking off trails and several people feel it is the best option.
Would it be possible, for the BLM, USFS, the Bowen Ranch and Hot Springers like DCV come up with an option that is acceptable for all and protect the environment, or will everyone's own interest prevent this from happening? I know that the DCV members currently don't have consensus on this issue so we will be disussing it at our next meeting on June 29th. at 1:00 p.m. Anyone that is respectfull, willing to listen to other people's opinions as well as express their own is welcome to attend.
However, we can start the discussion on the Forum, let's try and keep namecalling and fingerpointing out of it and discuss the pros and cons of different potential solutions.
Take care all.
