GWNF-Dry Run Closure Pending?

[Jason D Grogg]

Please review the .pdf on the link http://www.harrisonburgva.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/cityman/files/plans/HBGFORMGTPLAN.pdf

This is a management plan that the town of Harrisonburg, VA is trying to implement starting this year.  Though this doesn't area officially in a NF, this does close major section of trails used by the 4wd community. In addition, this may affect access to other areas in GWNF where the properties are neighboring one another. 

I can't find any definitive information on when this is going to council to be reviewed, but I would suspect that it's in the very near future.

http://www.harrisonburgva.gov/index.php?id=1370

[Todd Ockert]

I am reading this now, and will review it the coming days.

But it looks like the author: MARK L. BRASHEARS, CONSULTING FORESTER
does not like OHV recreation.

Here is his comment about recreation:

The public uses the property for a wide variety of recreational activities, some of these
are; hiking, bird watching, nature walking, dog walking, picnicking, swimming, camping,
partying, fishing, hunting, off road vehicle trail riding, firewood cutting, and trash dumping.
Most of these activities are appropriate uses for the property and should be encouraged.  Some of
these activities; such as off road vehicle trail riding, swimming, camping, and trash dumping are
or may be inappropriate because of environmental or public health concerns, and potential
impacts on water quality.  The City needs to get control over these activities; either restricting
them to non-sensitive areas or prohibiting them altogether.

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Todd

[Peter Vahry]

Todd, a typical appraisal by a forestry person although he has no qualms about suggesting a logging program.  I do acknowledge that the area being debated is largely a municipal water catchment and many activities indicated in the report are not good for drinking water.
Local people may be able to identify areas within the forests that are outside the true catchment and work with the authorities to establish acceptable trail criteria, in the same manner as the author has identified acceptable logging practise. Those same logging practises also provide options for OHV use in a managed fashion.

Again, as the area is a water catchment it does seem reasonable, to me anyway, that some use management is applied and the main victim may need to be the casual use of the immediate areas around water courses to minimize silt and other contaminants.

This is probably a case where some 'deals' might be made to sacrifice some areas in exchange for user management of other places.


Peter

[Alan Staiman]

The VA4WDA land use rep (Gregg Jackson) plus other local V4WDA members were at the town counsel meeting.

The Town code was brought in: in a HUGE book form.
The land is not GWNF, it is City of Harrisonburg.
It states in the original 1955 laws that granted the land to the town:
The land is only to be used as a water source.  No other use of any kind is allowed.

Therefore both the Fishermen (who started this in the first place) and the Wheelers are prohibited from use of the land in any way.

VA4WDA will support this and has informed its member clubs that this land is closed.

There is no plan on how to fully close the land, nor is there sufficient town police to patrol it.  We have offered help in patrolling the land (via the United Trail Patrol system).


Alan Staiman
VA4WDA Board Member