SACRAMENTO, CA (January 20) – The BlueRibbon Coalition is working with a coalition of recreational access groups seeking to enter the latest lawsuit challenging motorized recreation on federal lands in California.
The lawsuit was filed by the attorneys for the Western Environmental Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) on behalf of the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation, CBD and the Forest Issues Group. It was filed against the Eldorado National Forest’s Motorized Travel Plan.
The preservationist plaintiffs contend the travel plan will adversely impact their recreational experience and that they will be irreparably harmed by the Record of Decision. The Recreation Groups filed a motion to intervene on January 12, 2010, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (Case No. CV-09-2523-LKK). The groups seeking to intervene include the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, American Motorcyclist Association District 36, California Enduro Riders Association, and the BlueRibbon Coalition.
“Once again, the motorized recreation community must stand up to address a preservationist threat to our continuing recreational access,” said Don Amador, Western Representative for the BlueRibbon Coalition. “This travel plan eliminated a significant amount of historical access, and we are far from thrilled by it, but have elected to focus our energy working with the Forest on forward-looking management solutions. We would welcome the plaintiffs in this case adopting a similar approach so we can end the decades-long litigation surrounding the Eldorado Forest,” Amador concludes.
The Motion to Intervene is presently scheduled to be heard on February 22, 2010, in Sacramento.
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Eldorado_Motion_to_Intervene_01-12-10.pdf
# # #
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national (non-profit) trail-saving group that represents over 600,000 recreationists nationwide The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) season is beginning. Federal employees, please mark BlueRibbon Coalition and Check #11402 on your CFC pledge form to support our efforts to protect your access. Join us at 1-800-258-3742 www.sharetrails.org
No Comments