To appeal or not to appeal… That is the question…

Just when you thought we had it all figured out on what we were working on, guess what?  We have now received the decision on the Jasper and Elk Mountain Complex Fire Areas Travel Management Strategy.  Unfortunately, it was not what the DTC and BH4W, along with BHRMUC, Weston, Custer and Crook Counties and Governor Rounds thought was best. 

District Ranger Mike Lloyd decided on a modified Alternative 2.  That alternative leaves 408 miles of the original 770 open.  The alternative chosen by Mike Lloyd handles the roads as follows:  18 miles of roads will be seasonally closed with 390 miles open year round making for a total of 408 miles of roads open.  102 miles of the remainder will be administratively closed roads, 121 miles of roads will be put into a category they call “storage” and, 139 miles of road will be decommissioned making for a total of 362 miles no longer available for use.

In addition to the above roads and trails, in choosing the modified alternative 2, Mike Lloyd changes the designation for the entire area encompassed to closed to off-road travel… permanently!

As you all know, the Dakota Territory Cruisers and the Black Hills 4-Wheelers wrote a letter detailing reasons the no-action alternative was really the only right choice of those presented.  A copy of that letter as well as the Draft and Final Environmental Assessment is available from me for anyone who wishes to review it.  More importantly, our involvement at that level of the process gives us standing for the appeal process and we have a collective decision to make between the two clubs.  There are several other organizations with standing who have contacted me to let me know they are waiting for our lead to stand in support of.  Which brings us to the original question…”To appeal or not to appeal?” 

I know this builds frustration with the lack of sound management for recreation and heightens the mistrust of the sincerity of the Forest Service.  However, before we make the big decision to appeal, I think we should consider a few things:

To begin with, think about where we have committed ourselves in terms of trying to get a trail system established in the Black Hills.  We have and continue to work honestly and hard to get as many organizations on board and ready to work toward our vision for a trail system.  We are only waiting on the Forest Service to get on board.  To that end, we should consider what kind of working relationships in the Forest Service we might damage by appealing this decision.  Conversely, we need to ask ourselves if there is merit to the idea of strengthening those relationships by not appealing? 

We also have to think about the process and what we would be getting into.  It could be a long and arduous effort.  What do we do if we aren’t satisfied with the appeal deciding officer’s decision?  Are we willing take it to the legal level?  How important is this to us?  How important is this in light of the overall bigger picture?  How important is this considering what is the right thing to do for the Black Hills?