This was just released from the Sierra National Forest:
Forest Service takes action on Dusy Ershim incident
On Monday August 28th, the Sierra National Forest was informed by Trail Gear Inc. of Fresno, Ca. that pictures had been posted on the internet of individuals operating their vehicles off trail on the Dusy Ershim OHV Route. In addition, the Forest Service was also notified of the incident by the Blue Ribbon Coalition, local clubs, local businesses, and many others in the OHV community.
The Forest Service responded by completing an investigation of this incident. This has resulted in two individuals being contacted and issued Violation Notices.
To clarify a few things, the USFS would like to address some of the issues that were raised because of this incident:
1. The incident did not occur at a permitted OHV event where the permit holder would be responsible for the actions of its participants and any resource damage that the event may be likely to cause. The local company that organized this trail run did not meet any criteria that would require a special use permit. As such, all participants of the trail run are responsible for their own actions. We have found the individuals at fault and not the company holding the run. At the request of Trail Gear Inc., the company organizing the run, all participants were provided a copy of USFS Rules and Regulations, a map of the OHV route, and were contacted and observed on the trail by an OHV Patrol.
2. The Forest Service was informed of this group being camped on the dry lake bed of Courtright Reservoir. In order to protect the water quality, the USFS does not promote camping below the high water mark at Courtright. To address this issue in the future the USFS will have the lakeshore posted with informational signs.
The action that the Forest Service has taken, with regards to enforcement and education, has led to a positive outcome. The individuals involved in this incident didn’t just pay their tickets and leave it at that. They have apologized for what they did and have decided to get involved. One individual said he has learned a lot of things because of this incident and that it has made him more aware why certain rules exist. He was also surprised how protective the local community is of its OHV routes. The other person has said the best education he has gained from this is to learn the rules of the area. This has raised his awareness that the rules change depending on where you recreate. He also decided to start participating in more trail clean ups, became a member of CORVA, and has decided to contact the Four Wheel Drive Club of Fresno (who have the Dusy Ershim as a Adopt a Trail) to see if there is anything he could do to help them keep the Dusy Ershim a spectacular trail.
The Sierra N.F. would like to applaud the OHV community for pulling together on this issue. Instead of focusing on the negativity of this incident, it was refreshing to see the majority of the OHV community use this time to educate people on respecting our public lands, having good trail etiquette, and urging people to get involved with the clubs and organizations that fight for public access.
Andrew Esau
OHV Patrol
Sierra N.F.
