Dave Whiting's Article On Forest Closure

[mtnbikej]

This is in today's OC Register Sports Page:





Ranger Keith Fletcher looks at the tens of thousands of acres that make up the seemingly indomitable mass we know as Saddleback Mountain and sees fragility.
He thinks of earth fired so hot, once near-solid dirt and rock now easily crumbles. He thinks of layers of loose ash and dust covering hillside after hillside. He thinks of rain pouring over bare land, land covered just two months ago in a tangle of bushes, Oak and pine.
And he worries.
"If people are going all over, the vegetation does not get reestablished," Fletcher tells me in the wake of the worst firestorm in years to sweep through Orange County's chunk of the Cleveland National Forest.
We're discussing Fletcher's decision to close nearly 30,000 acres of the forest to the public for a year, an area nearly the size of Anaheim, the county's largest city. I've contacted the chief ranger in the Trabuco District for permission to visit the area for a series of occasional columns after the fires.
After seeing six off-highway motorcyclists roar up the Harding Trail in Modjeska Canyon, I figure it must be pretty easy to get a special permit. Not so.
In fact, it turns out the bikers were breaking federal law. Not only is the Harding Trail normally closed to motor vehicles, Fletcher points out the bikers were on a potentially very expensive outing.
The maximum penalty for entering the closed area, Fletcher says, is a $5,000 fine and six months in jail.
"We need to give the area a rest and let it come back," Fletcher says. He explains new plant life is so delicate that human impact could result in the forest service having to spend "an exorbitant amount of money" to reclaim the area, money that is tight and already is budgeted for other use.
This week alone, the forest is spending nearly $5 million on something called hydromulching in which a green, wet mixture of wood and paper is sprayed on certain areas in an effort to keep earth from eroding. The process, however, is only useful on about 1,200 acres, a fraction of the land affected because it is ineffective on steep grades.
But the future of the national forest is not all that's on Fletcher's mind.
Safety is a big factor in making the decision to close the area.
"We don't want people in there when there's a potential for a storm," he says. "If portions of the Harding become saturated, vehicles on them could cause a landslide. "We could have high debris flows that might injure or even kill people."
The words debris flow send chills through people who have witnessed similar monstrous acts of nature. Mud slides might sound fun. They're not. They kill. Think mud mixed with rocks, even trees. A debris flow is like a giant mud slide where hundreds of tons of rock, mud, water and anything else on a mountain comes down, sometimes filling entire canyons.
Understandably, Fletcher is concerned about allowing anyone access to the area. After reviewing my background, plans, more than a dozen columns on the Cleveland National Forest and a flurry of faxes and emails, Fletcher allows me to enter the area under certain conditions.
I head up the Harding Trail on a recent day. Photographs can only hint at the enormity of what Fletcher faces.
Mile upon mile of denuded land. Vast forests of Manzanita gone. Blackened trunks stab the sky, where green trees once thrived along stream-carved gullies and valleys.
Dust swirls when there is a breeze. Small rocks cascade down hillsides when the wind kicks up. There is evidence or larger boulders falling as well, but most already have been cleared from the fire road by forest service crews.
I make my way up to about 4,200 feet, or roughly eight miles from Modjeska Canyon. This is the area where fire fighters made their final – and successful – stand. Behind and below the area are hundreds of homes, some nestled in Silvarado Canyon, many more in the foothills of Riverside County on the mountain's northern flank.
This remote canyon is scarred with bare black and gray swaths. But, unlike the land I have traveled, there is live forest, too.
And on my return there are signs of hope – tiny green sprouts poking through the soil, still moist from recent rains.

[KeepsWhatHappens]

Thanks for posting that J. Unfortunately it confirms my fears that while we (well 99% of us) go about obeying the forest closure order and go through special procedures to get access to lead guided rides in the forest - other yay-hoos are slipping through and likely tearing things up with reckless abandon.

Not that all or even most off-road motocyclists are like this, (but I fear many are) but an associate (who is an off-road dirt biker and claims he is too fat and lazy to mountain bike) I spoke to the other day said with glee and I quote "Yeah when I see open untracked ground I just want to go out there and tear it up!" I had to be restrained not to kill the guy...well not quite, but let's just say he's on my sh*t list now.

KeepsWhatHappens

[Wicked Smot]

Ouch...closed for a year. I understand the reasoning but that just sucks. I had heard 3 months previously.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by KeepsWhatHappens

Thanks for posting that J. Unfortunately it confirms my fears that while we (well 99% of us) go about obeying the forest closure order and go through special procedures to get access to lead guided rides in the forest - other yay-hoos are slipping through and likely tearing things up with reckless abandon.

Not that all or even most off-road motocyclists are like this, (but I fear many are) but an associate (who is an off-road dirt biker - too fat and lazy to mountain bike) I spoke to the other day said with glee and I quote "Yeah when I see open untracked ground I just want to go out there and tear it up!" I had to be restrained not to kill the guy...well not quite, but let's just say he's on my sh*t list now.

KeepsWhatHappens

is this MTBR?

"but an associate (who is an off-road dirt biker - too fat and lazy to mountain bike)"

[denmother]

Here's one of the photos from the article:

INTO THE FIRE ZONE
A motorcyclist navigates the Harding Trail, which is closed to motor vehicles even when the forest is open.

[allison]

Originally Posted by denmother

Here's one of the photos from the article:

INTO THE FIRE ZONE
A motorcyclist navigates the Harding Trail, which is closed to motor vehicles even when the forest is open.

I wonder why they didn't call a ranger or someone to wait at the bottom? Or even top?

I've heard of people being chased out of public parks (closed areas) by heli's. Why not national forest?

[Kiehacker]

Originally Posted by mtnbikej

This week alone, the forest is spending nearly $5 million on something called hydromulching in which a green, wet mixture of wood and paper is sprayed on certain areas in an effort to keep earth from eroding. The process, however, is only useful on about 1,200 acres, a fraction of the land affected because it is ineffective on steep grades.

What the F@#$

Fire is part of the natural cycle. Why is this necessary? Erosion is a part of the natural system as well.

I have a lot of friends that work for the USFS. Their stories of inefficiency, waste and overspending is mind boggling. Sad really.

[freewheeler]

OK, so we need to let the forest rest and regrow. I understand that.

But the forest closure area is far in excess of what has burned. They have large areas that were untouched by fire that are closed. Historically there has not been a significant problem with bikers and hikers leaving the defined trails.

One more over reaction.

We need to do all we can to convince the forest managers to get these areas back open.

[jcbikeski]

I suspect some of the excessive closure is to limit how many entry points they would have to patrol. But also they wanted to close access to the temporary fire breaks they made to avoid people using them like trails -- they want them to grow back first.

Yes, fire and erosion are natural, but a more natural fire (often from lightning) tends to burn slower and less severely because lightning more often hits the tops of ridges and burns slowly down whereas human started fires more often start at the bottom of a canyon and race up. While the erosion part may be natural it's probably not as needed as fires (other slower forms of erosion help ensure creation of new soil) and given the homes at risk compared to a truly wild area it's worth some effort to limit erosion.

Just how much effort/cost and how long to keep it closed are a matter of opinion.

[Kiehacker]

Originally Posted by jcbikeski

Yes, fire and erosion are natural, but a more natural fire (often from lightning) tends to burn slower and less severely because lightning more often hits the tops of ridges and burns slowly down whereas human started fires more often start at the bottom of a canyon and race up.

I have never heard this argument...nor do I believe it is valid. As large fires cross drainages, and encompass many hills, canyons, etc. Even if it started on top of one hill...it would work its way to the bottom of countless others...where it would have the opportunity to "race up"

[Pain Freak]

This is BULLSHIAT!!!

We had fires here too. Just as big and just as hot. They never closed a damn thing and everything is almost back to where it was and some even better. It's a natural cycle for fire to happen. The only thing not natural is not letting nature take it's course, like fire suppression. It's not going to hurt a damn bit if we ride there or hikers hike there.

And it is true, the Forestry Service is one of the worse when it comes to properly spending the money they are granted to work with. The budget cuts were made trying to tell them to get their act together... so what do they do? They invent new ways to get money from us, it's called the Extortion Pass, put in some arenas it's known as an Adventure Pass. What a joke, paying for what is already ours.

[JamR]

Originally Posted by Kiehacker

I have never heard this argument...nor do I believe it is valid. As large fires cross drainages, and encompass many hills, canyons, etc. Even if it started on top of one hill...it would work its way to the bottom of countless others...where it would have the opportunity to "race up"

Actually it is a valid and historical based point. Natural fires typically occur only every 30 to 60 years and usually are associated with lightning strikes which occur during periods of adequate moisture; therefore burn in a more naturally controlled manner. Naturally occurring fires are generally good for the environment and many species require fire to propagate.

Too many of the fires these days are cause intentionally or by accident, but occur during the worse possible time where dry-wind conditions exist and fuel moisture is extremely low; and burn very large areas and extremely hot.

Also because of the frequency of fires in many local areas, and plant pallet is changing and some of the areas are being converted to plant pallets that include plants that area more conducive to burn faster and hotter that the natural plant structure.

Fires that are driven by 60 mph wind gusts do burn hotter and pre-heat many burn areas to the point that they burn more thoroughly than what would otherwise occur in a condition with more moisture and little or no wind.

This past fire saw some fire columns laying down creating in some areas with 50 to 60 foot long horizontal columns of fire, as opposed to a slow moving vertical wall of flame.

Fires during Santana Wind conditions are not the norm and are more severe in nature.

Unfortunately it's also the time when the nut's come out to cause intentional damage.

[Kiehacker]

Originally Posted by JamR

Actually it is a valid and historical based point. Natural fires typically occur only every 30 to 60 years and usually are associated with lightning strikes which occur during periods of adequate moisture; therefore burn in a more naturally controlled manner. Naturally occurring fires are generally good for the environment and many species require fire to propagate.

Too many of the fires these days are cause intentionally or by accident, but occur during the worse possible time where dry-wind conditions exist and fuel moisture is extremely low; and burn very large areas and extremely hot.

Also because of the frequency of fires in many local areas, and plant pallet is changing and some of the areas are being converted to plant pallets that include plants that area more conducive to burn faster and hotter that the natural plant structure.

Fires that are driven by 60 mph wind gusts do burn hotter and pre-heat many burn areas to the point that they burn more thoroughly than what would otherwise occur in a condition with more moisture and little or no wind.

This past fire saw some fire columns laying down creating in some areas with 50 to 60 foot long horizontal columns of fire, as opposed to a slow moving vertical wall of flame.

Fires during Santana Wind conditions are not the norm and are more severe in nature.

Unfortunately it's also the time when the nut's come out to cause intentional damage.

Good point about moisture content. I was fixated on the topography aspects of the argument.

[bighit8]

My 2 cents. This is not the same area but along the lines. I have a friend who is a plant physiologist. She works in Hawaii a few times a year. The problem they have is goats. There is an area on the big Island I believe that has dry forest, the only place in the world this exist. Because of the goats an new breed of plant brought from South Africa called Fountain Grass has taken over and is killing off the dry forest. If the land does not recover here it could change the whole environment. I understand this is a natural cycle, but when invasive plants are introduced it may have severe impacts. This grass along with Black Mustard and Artichoke thistle to name a few are also here in So Cal, so just a thought.

[jcampbell]

Originally Posted by KeepsWhatHappens

Thanks for posting that J. Unfortunately it confirms my fears that while we (well 99% of us) go about obeying the forest closure order and go through special procedures to get access to lead guided rides in the forest - other yay-hoos are slipping through and likely tearing things up with reckless abandon.

Not that all or even most off-road motocyclists are like this, (but I fear many are) but an associate (who is an off-road dirt biker - too fat and lazy to mountain bike) I spoke to the other day said with glee and I quote "Yeah when I see open untracked ground I just want to go out there and tear it up!" I had to be restrained not to kill the guy...well not quite, but let's just say he's on my sh*t list now.

KeepsWhatHappens

With what you say I guess I must also be fat and lazy. Its make me feal great to pay money to ride in your VQ event knowing you are so narrow minded. Those OC dualies that help you guys out must also feel great about that comment. Its amazing they even have the energy to get out of bed being that they are so fat and all.

Don't forget you have a friend that forwards you pictures of him in the closed areas too.

[KeepsWhatHappens]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

With what you say I guess I must also be fat and lazy. Its make me feal great to pay money to ride in your VQ event knowing you are so narrow minded. Those OC dualies that help you guys out must also feel great about that comment. Its amazing they even have the energy to get out of bed being that they are so fat and all.

Don't forget you have a friend that forwards you pictures of him in the closed areas too.

I think I already cleared this up...but I meant my friend is too fat and lazy to mountain bike. I didn't at all mean all dirt bikers are too fat and lazy. That would be blatant generalization.

And also my views don't speak for the Warriors Society, they are my own views.

KeepsWhatHappens

[bighit8]

Originally Posted by KeepsWhatHappens

I think I already cleared this up...but I meant my friend is too fat and lazy to mountain bike. I didn't at all mean all dirt bikers are too fat and lazy. That would be blatant generalization.

And also my views don't speak for the Warriors Society, they are my own views.

KeepsWhatHappens

I don't understand how that statement was misunderstood because it said my friend was to fat and lazy, not dirt bike riders are fat and lazy. Oh well