PROTEST
Unjustified Closure of Tassajara Road
Facts:
• The latest Forest Closure Order
[05-07-00-23-11]
added Tassajara Road as "Restricted to Non-Motorized Vehicle Use"
• This officially shuts off vehicle access to an important entry point to the Ventana wilderness, including the east end of Pine Ridge Trail and Pine Valley
•
Driving Tassajara Road is now a
Federal offense and
subject to
"a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual
or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both."
• Road conditions have not changed since the last closure order, which did not include that restriction
• Recent reports indicate the road is very driveable by high-clearance 2WD to China Camp and by 4WD to its southern end,
with road conditions about par for this time of the year
• The USFS has not given any public justification/reasoning for this closure, despite enquires
Take 5 minutes to complain to the USFS at this webpage,
before the forest order is extended:
Los Padres NF, USFS - Contact Us
PS: If you get a response from USFS, interested in hearing about that!
FWIW, here is my own personal complaint:
Forest Closure Order 05-07-00-23-11
added Tassajara Road [Monterey District] as 'Restricted to Non-Motorized Vehicle Use'. I
can see no viable reason for that since (1) current road conditions
are about par for this time of the year,
(2) recent reports indicate the road is very driveable by
2WD to China Camp and 4WD to its end, and (3) conditions have not changed since the last closure
order, which did not include that restriction.
Notably, no information has been given to justify this new closure, despite enquires by myself
and others.
This lack of public disclosure makes the closure baffling and seemingly arbitrary - which
if not addressed will lead to numerous scofflaws and distrust in future USFS prohibitions.
