Just saw this on the Mendocino National Forest website... News Release US Forest Service Mendocino National ForestPublic Affairs Officer Tamara Schmidt Phone: (530) 934-1137 Fax: (530) 934-7384 Email: tamaraschmidt@fs.fed.us Mendocino National Forest Trail 6 Closed Willows, March 30, 2010 - Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Trail 6 on the Grindstone Ranger District of the Mendocino National Forest is closed between the intersections of Forest Roads 17N70 and 17N69 beginning today. The approximately 2,000 foot section of trail, less than half a mile, will be closed until further notice for the evaluation of resource damage. Specifically, specialists will be looking at archaeological resources affected by the trail. Forest archaeologists will be excavating the site to determine if it is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Until that determination is made, the section of trail will remain closed. The trail can be found on the Motor Vehicle Opportunity Guides for the Grindstone Ranger District. The Emergency Trail Closure for this section of the OHV trail system is formally referenced under Order Number 08-10-02. Violation of this closure order is punishable by a fine of no more than $5,000 for an individual, $10,000 for an organization, or up to six months imprisonment or both. For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest at 530-934-3316 or visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino. ### I called and asked the rangers what the resources were, they wanted to know if I was with the press. When I said "no' they passed me off to their PR person, Tamara Schmidt...really nice lady. It appears as though the FS has been keeping an eye on this section of trail for a few years. She said the actual discovery is proprietary information and couldn't/wouldn't give me any specific information about what the find actually entailed. There is something there, but they don't know if it is of any historical significance yet. If it is, they are required to protect it under the National Historic Preservation Act. This could cause the trail to be re-routed. I asked why the trail didn't get re-routed years ago when they first discovered whatever it is that's out there, rather than waiting for more erosion, thus resulting in a total closure of the trail. She didn't really have an answer, as trail designation isn't her area of expertise (understandable) but she did say that most of the work will be done starting in early May and that the trail could be open by July if there is nothing significant. She said that from a budgetary standpoint they are all hoping it is nothing significant. Amen to that, sister! Trail 6 just happens to be one of my very favorite trails at Stonyford. I was actually thinking a few days ago that it would be a good test for the WR with the new carb, as it is a long gnarly uphill with rocks and stuff. I guess I won't be riding it this weekend... WoodsChick
6 mos in prison. You could probably get off easier for drunk driving. Not that I'm recommending. Almost reminds me of Dr. Evil's extortion of $1 Million dollars.
Yeah, in a manner of speaking, I guess so. I wouldn't think of riding on a closed trail. All that does is validate most people's uninformed opinions of dirt riders in general. That ain't me. Not to mention, if it really is something cool and historic and significant, I wouldn't want to damage it in any way...trail or not. Well, exactly I made it very clear to Ms. Schmidt, in a very pleasant and non-threatening way, that it is quite natural for us dirt riders to see this as the first nail in the coffin. If it isn't the spotted owl it's noise, erosion, asbestos, user conflict, dust, desert tortoises, archaeological resources, water quality, fill-in-the-blank. CautiouslyOptimisticChick
Fill in the blank? Okay! I think it's debris from an alien spacecraft, likely mostly recovered years ago, but now a little piece has been discovered. The MIB are en route to evaluate. Don't worry. When they're all done, we won't even remember that the trail was closed at all...
Dang, dude...you're bringing me down...now there's one more thing I gotta worry about that I hadn't even considered! "MIB"...that's funny WoodsChick
OMG! I respect the past, our (mankind's) history as much as anyone else, but people really need to look at history differently. Man has been here how long? Man has been where on our planet? My guess is man has been everywhere there is dirt. Finding human artifacts is possible anywhere. We will have to close down the whole darn planet and resort to walking everywhere again if that is the mentality. We have enough places of historical significance. We need to realize that locking down our nature will result in the locking down, possibly in the literal sense, of the current and future generations. I hope Mendo stays the way it is.
I go to Stonyford often. Get on top of any of those peaks and look around, and you see thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of acres... and the artifact is on trial 6? Ya, right. Sorry. Don't buy it. The artifact is just a nail in the ol' coffin, as described above.
