No protection for Leavitt Bowl

Last year on Oct. 21, Forest Service deciding officer Catherine Beaty rejected all appeals challenging the decision to open 7,000 acres of the Leavitt Bowl, east of Sonora Pass, to snowmobiles. The rejection contradicted the recommendation of Mary Erickson, the reviewing officer, who had recommended that "the decision made by the Forest Service be reversed." These lands are part of the 47,000-acre Proposed Hoover Wilderness Addition and were, up until now, closed to snowmobiles.

Politics, in the form of pressure from the Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) and Off Road Vehicle (ORV) lobby and Mono County, certainly had something to do with the decision to open the 7,000 acres to OSVs. While there is a strong case to overturn this decision in court, the issue has become more complicated with the introduction of H.R. 5149, the Eastern Sierra Rural Heritage and Economic Enhancement Act, introduced by Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA). This bill would add 40,000 acres to the Hoover Wilderness, but leave the 7,000-acre Leavitt Bowl open to snowmobiles.

The proposed legislation is a delicate compromise between environmental groups and ORV interests. Even staunch critics of the Forest Service decision to allow snowmobiles in Leavitt Bowl don't want to rock the boat with a lawsuit at this time.

The failures of the Forest Service in the Environmental Assessment that permits snowmobiles in the 7,000 acres include:

• an inadequate range of alternatives;
• inadequate public disclosure prior to the public-comment period; and
• inadequate assessment of how the remote boundary would be enforced.

The inadequate disclosure made it impossible for the public to provide meaningful comments and propose options that might allow snowmobile use while simultaneously improving ski and snowshoe opportunities.

Organizations and individuals are waiting to see what happens with the wilderness legislation.

Marcus Libkind, chair, Snowlands Network
Snowlands Network is one of the appellants.