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Northern New Mexico Fall Colors

2.3K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  tweenerlj  
#1 ·
This was the maiden off-highway voyage for my Colorado. The truck did well. We traveled some significant distances, so I was unable to get any action shots, but the scenery was hard to beat!

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This guy also had a buddy that slipped into the trees before I could get the camera out.

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A couple of young bucks along the side of the road:

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Valles Caldera National Preserve from Poachers Point

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#2 ·
Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado is one of my favorite places on this planet!! I was through there a couple weeks ago and the trees were starting to turn at the higher elevations.
 
#4 ·
Should be getting snow up there in the mountains in the next month of so right?

I was up in Cloudcroft, NM a few years ago for work and we went Mountain biking the day after the first snow.... that was a fun/cold ride
 
#5 ·
So beautiful...
 
#7 ·
ON yeah, I loved it up there. It was a 1.5 hour drive from hotel, but well worth the day trip!
 
#9 ·
I was bouncing between El Paso, White Sands and Las Cruces. For a few years I was going out there a couple times a year..... I enjoyed my time out there
 
#18 ·
This will impact how the USFS manages this area for the next 20+ years. Please consider writing a comment.

Attached are NMOHVA’s draft Scoping Comments on the Carson National Forest’s Plan Revision. I am posting the draft copy here “early” (the comments are DUE by November 20th) to provide you with a window of opportunity to send additional comments.

NMOHVA's Draft Scoping Comments: http://nmohva.org/main/download_file.php?id=49&type=issue​

Why are the Scoping Comments Important? In the Forest Service’s own words (taken from the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register):

“Written comments received in response to this Notice will be analyzed to complete the identification of the needs for change to the existing plan, further develop the proposed action, and identify potential significant issues. Significant issues will, in turn, form the basis for developing alternatives to the proposed action.”​

In a nutshell, Scoping comments are used to identify “significant issues” which are then used to define what is in the various alternatives that will be offered in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). If we don’t identify the significant issues pertaining to motorized recreation, the Forest Service doesn’t have to address motorized recreation (or its lack thereof) in any of the alternatives considered in the EIS that will determine the Forest Plan.

The GOOD NEWS is that the Carson National Forest’s Assessment contains some very good statements about motorized recreation and the lack of trail systems to meet the public need. Statements like this:

“For motorized recreation, there is a need to enhance off-highway-vehicle opportunities for all-terrain vehicles, full size vehicles, and dirt bikes. Motorized recreation on the Carson NF has seen an increase in popularity over the past several decades. Recreation planning, however, has not kept up with this trend, resulting in unmanaged use and degrading resource impacts. The forest needs to plan for dedicated motorized opportunities that would fulfil the unmet demand, while being sustainable and appropriate for the landscape.”​

The BAD NEWS is that those statements got really watered down in the Need for Change document. The Need for Change document, AND THE PUBLIC SCOPING PROCESS, are the primary sources for the “significant issues”.

Unless good information gets carried forward as a “significant issue”, the FS can completely ignore it when they put together the alternatives considered.

MORE GOOD NEWS is that Scoping comments don’t have to be in any particular format to be effective. Just tell the Forest Service what they are doing wrong in managing (or not managing) motorized recreation on the Carson National Forest. I strongly suggest using the term “significant issue” in your comment. It all helps!

You can read the Assessment document yourself at:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd475212.pdf

It is BIG document at over 500 pages and a lot of it has nothing to do with motorized recreation. I suggest a word search on “OHV” and “motorized” to shorten up your reading/review of the document.

Enjoy! And remember, the future of motorized recreation depends on all of US!