Alpine County Winter Recreation Project
Last winter, for the first time ever, the Forestdale Creek area was closed briefly to snowmobile use. This was the first implementation of a part of the Alpine County Winter Recreation Project. This winter the area will be closed to snowmobiles starting when there is sufficient snow for them to stage at the Blue Lakes SnoPark, and the closure will extend until the snow melts at the SnoPark. Only during the early and late seasons, when Blue Lakes lacks snow, will snowmobiles be allowed in the Forestdale Creek area, to give them access to the higher-elevation areas of Faith Valley, Charity Valley, and Blue Lakes
Effective enforcement of the closure will be the next key step in the Project, a complex compromise among skiers, snowshoers, environmentalists, and snowmobilers.
Snowlands Network worked with the Carson Ranger District (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest) in 2007 on a proposal to develop a remote-sensing system to aid in enforcement of the Forestdale closure and snowmobile boundaries in general. The proposal was rejected by the Forest Service's Remote Sensing Steering Committee.
Snowlands continues work to show that the technique is viable and will then seek funding elsewhere for implementation.
WhatYouCanDo
To further develop the remote-sensing project, Snowlands is looking for volunteers with experience in the integration of digital cameras and cell phones to computers. To help, contact Marcus Libkind at (925) 455-5816 or ob by email to malibkind -at- snowlands.org