Steve Pearce needs your phone call.

Congressman Pearce is attempting to undermine the Travel Management Planning (TMP) process for the Gila National Forest. Recently, he circulated documents characterizing road closures proposed in the Gila National Forest’s TMP Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as “dangerous, economically damaging, and contrary to the freedoms and traditions upon which this country was founded.” Congressman Pearce’s arguments against the proposed management alternatives are untruths fabricated to inflame his constituents.

In the talking points below, we debunk some of the statements in Pearce’s recent press release opposing the Gila Travel Management Plan DEIS.

We need your help today to let Congressman Pearce know that the majority of his constituents enjoy quiet recreation in the Gila and other National Forests. Call Pearce and voice your support for the Travel Management Planning process. Tell Pearce you think selective road closures are a necessary step towards safeguarding the Gila’s natural beauty and ecology for future generations.

Call Congressman Pearce: 855-473-2723

This is especially important if you live in Pearce’s district, District 2. If you have friends in Pearce’s District, ask them to call too.

TALKING POINTS:

Pearce says: “For the Forest Service to consider restricting its access by closing roads is dangerous, economically damaging… [to] innumerable ranchers and farmers.”
FALSE.
The Travel Management Plan DEIS makes no alterations or reductions in grazing allotments on the Gila. Even in areas closed to vehicular use, exemptions for allotment management can be made through written authorization by the Forest Service as per sections § 212.51(a) of the Travel Management Rule.

Pearce says: “The potential closing of roads also directly threatens the safety of New Mexicans by impeding our law enforcement, firefighters, and other emergency officials.”
FALSE.
The Travel Management Rule explicitly exempts emergency, military, and law enforcement vehicles from travel restrictions any time access is necessary. See CFR Title 36, Part 212, subpart B, § 212.51(a)(5)-(8)

Closure of roads is actually a safety measure. Modern OHV technology has allowed amateur motorists to push into areas up routes previously reserved for expert riders. OHVers pushing the limits of their vehicles leads to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year. Closing unsafe, remote, or unimproved routes will reduce vehicular accidents in hard-to-access areas, thus increasing both recreationists’ safety and the ability of emergency personnel to respond promptly.

Pearce says: “The Gila is a valued territory to our state’s many hunters, anglers, naturalists, hikers, and other sportsmen and women.”
TRUE.
The Forest Service has a multiple-use mandate. OHV users account for only a small percentage of recreationists in our National Forests. According to 2006 surveys, only 0.66% of visits to the Gila involved OHV use. However, OHV impact on the landscape and on other recreationists is disproportionately large. Unmanaged vehicular use is a key threat identified by the Forest Service. Managing vehicular use is necessary to preserve the opportunity for quiet recreation and protect the ecology of the Gila and other National Forests.

OTHER WAYS TO TAKE ACTION:

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS on the Gila Travel Management Plan DEIS at our Online Action Center. Comments regarding specific routes and route closures are especially effective. Be sure to mention closing the San Francisco River to motorized travel!

REVIEW THE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT DEIS. The Forest Service developed 5 alternatives: B thru G.

The best environmental alternatives are E, D, and G, which all protect the San Francisco River, and the Lower San Francisco Wilderness Study Area by closing it to motorized travel.  It was previously proposed to designate a road through the area.

Alternative E reduces the current road miles by 50%. There are no provisions in this alternative for motorized big game retrieval or dispersed camping.  Alternative E does the best job of protecting the forest.