WMC Non-Motorized Advocacy

www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/21163

I've forwarded this article to all the snowmobile clubs and websites I know of  in the hope that they will write in to the USFS and defeat this proposal.

If anybody has other any other snowmobile groups that will help , post them up or e-mail me.
thanks.

I find it ironic that BC skiers will rant about their right to ski with resort/sidecountry skiers( who have bought season passes or expensive day passes) for untracked powder adjacent to recent ski area expansions ( WP and BB at Crystal) and complain loudly if one-way passes or access to these areas are either restricted or denied but the same BC skiers will try and exclude snowmobile users who pay fees to use their machines to compete with them for the untracked powder.

In one case BC skiers want to restrict the access of another group and in the other case they don't want their access restricted.......mmmmmh

Saturday a women in the Tronsen Meadows non motorized area told us where we could find the tracks of a moose that had been browsing in the area. Later, when we skinned up to the ridge line, all we could hear was the echoing whine of engines from the next valley over.

To me this isn't about who gets which bit of powder (or wet crud) on the weekend, its about leaving some areas remote, quiet and hard to get to.

Here is a copy of an e-mail I just sent the 20 avid snowmobilers that work in my company. If you support defeating this proposal please do the same to your snowmobile friends.
Thank you.

Quote] Please see the attached article that describes an attempt by a group of backcountry skiers to restrict access by snomobilers into various areas where legal snowmobile use is currently allowed. If you want to retain your current access rights you MUST express your opinions to the USFS or you will lose them.
Please not think that your voice is unimportant as in many cases only a few people write in during these periods both for and against and it doesn't take many to sway the vote one way or another.

So please do not be apathetic, write in as follows;

Please weigh-in by Emailing, mailing, or calling: Rebecca Heath (Forest Supervisor) and the Forest Plan Revision Team: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Headquarters, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee, WA 98801,  r6_ewzplanrevision@fs.fed.us, (509) 664-9200.
Add your full name, city of residence, and phone number to the note so that the Forest Service can verify you're a real person.] End quote

its about leaving some areas remote, quiet and hard to get to. 

Here's some suggestions for you... Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park...... all are remote, quiet and hard to get to.

What I find ironic is that a snowmobile annual registration cost $40, and includes a seasonal Snow Park Permit.

The same snow park permit for a non-polluting user group cost the same $40 per season (with no registration paperwork, sled stickers, etc required).

In previous winters, the permit for snowmobiles was LESS than skiers/snowshoers/etc.

Snow machines cover FAR more ground than human powered sports.  The registrations should be commensurately higher.

Or better yet, lets base the annual registration fees on a threefold combination of fuel economy/MPG, tailpipe emissions, and db level readings from a specific distance.

And $12 for a "vintage snowmobile"?!? They're the worst when it comes to air quality.

Yes I've some some sledding, but I agree with and support the concept of updated designations.  We all know technology is far superior to what it was decades ago when the rules were written, and machines now days can go farther, faster, higher, steeper...it's a whole new ballgame.