Project promises improvements for Alpine County winter recreation

A new plan offers hope for improved winter recreation in the north Sierra.

The Alpine Winter Recreation Project, signed in August, is a compromise, but if fully implemented, with observance of all boundaries, it could provide improvements for skiers and snowshoers as well as snowmobilers on the Carson Ranger District (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest) portion of Alpine County.

For skiers and snowshoers, key areas along Highway 88 are to be designated in winter for non-motorized uses only, including the Forestdale Creek area and lands around Stevens Peak, Crater Lake, and Scotts Lake. There would also be improvements in parking to access these areas.

Snowmobilers stand to gain improved access to the Monitor Pass area and Highway 4 near Markleeville, as well as overnight facilities and expanded parking at Blue Lakes Road.

Skiers, snowshoers, and environmentalists, however, are concerned that the plan provides no remedies should the snowmobile community trespass into the non-motorized areas. Such violations could effectively eliminate the gains sought by the muscle-powered community while the snowmobile community's gains are realized. A ray of hope is that the plan calls for annual reviews, and at least on paper the Forest Service talks about active enforcement. Snowlands Network is currently working with the Forest Service on enforcement ideas that include remote sensing.

The plan is the outcome of two lawsuits waged by the individuals who started Snowlands Network and by Friends of Hope Valley. To understand the evolution that brought about the plan one must take a step back in time and look at the evolution of winter recreation.

Two pastimes grow into conflict

In the Carson District in the 1980s, snowmobilers and skiers largely kept apart without any rules on the subject. Snowmobiles zoomed up and down and around Blue Lakes Road and the valleys it passed through. Skiers toured the canyon and slopes of Forestdale Creek a short distance to the west. Snowmobiles did not have the power to track through the deep snow often found at Forestdale, and the demand for snowmobiling was met in Hope, Faith, and Charity Valleys and the slopes nearby.

The 1990s brought more snowmobiles, more powerful snowmobiles, and more skillful riders. Today the best riders can get places it is hard to imagine taking a 500- or 600-pound machine. Backcountry skiing grew too, as wide skis with greater side-cut made cranking turns in the backcountry easier and more fun; telemark skiing was born. Also by the late 1990s snowshoeing took off. Lightweight aluminum snowshoes designed specifically for men, women, or children, and featuring improved bindings, made striking out into the winter backcountry a piece of cake for anyone who could hike. Almost overnight, snowshoeing became the fastest-growing winter sport in many forests.

The clash came as snowmobilers found their way into the Forestdale Creek drainage. The canyon was permeated by the chainsaw-like sounds of snowmobiles grinding up slopes, tearing up the snowscape and making it unsuitable for skiing and an eyesore for the nature lover.

Two lawsuits lead to a plan

In March 1997, after many attempts to work with the Forest Service, skiers went to court, challenging the 1992 Carson Ranger District Travel Plan. The case ended in a settlement, with the Forest Service agreeing to prepare a new travel plan for the Forestdale Creek area.

The new plan was as flawed as the original, and in September 2000 a new suit was filed. In September 2004 Judge David Levi remanded the travel plan to the Forest Service, thus requiring preparation of a third plan.

This time the Forest Service chose to include the Forestdale Creek area in a more far-reaching plan, the Alpine Winter Recreation Project. The Forest Service hoped by expanding the scope to create opportunities for both muscle-powered and motorized users.

The public planning process was preceded by meetings at which muscle-powered winter recreationists, environmentalists, and snowmobilers created what some would call a balanced plan where both user groups benefited. The groups were forced to clarify their priorities and to engage in give-and-take based on them. A professional facilitator kept the process on track.

In 2007 the Forest Service incorporated the concept created by the user groups into its new plan.

Gradual implementation

We now have a plan that is not perfect but could be the basis for improved winter recreation for all in Alpine County. Both sides had to make difficult choices. Both sides got some things they wanted and simultaneously had to give in other areas.

But the plan is far from implemented. It is assumed by both muscle-powered winter recreationists and snowmobilers that the plan will be implemented gradually with benefits to the two user groups implemented in pairs so that neither feels like a loser.

Although implementation of the improvements for muscle-powered winter recreation is relatively inexpensive, the improvements for snowmobile recreation are costly. Don't expect to see Forestdale Creek closed to snowmobiles this winter. The Forest Service still has to find a lot of money to implement the snowmobile improvements. Other agencies such as Caltrans and the Department of Fish and Game also have to buy in to the details.

The text of the Alpine Winter Recreation Project can be found here

Marcus Libkind, chair, Snowlands Network