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Mountain Top District Ranger is proposing to clean up trash and remove abandoned mining cabins near the vicinity of the Viscera Springs which is within the Bighorn Mountain Wilderness. Some of the mining claims within this wilderness have been declared null and void ab initio and others have been abandoned for nonpayment of rental fees assessed by the Bureau of Land Management. These sites have stuff that needs to be removed from the site. No motorized equipment will be used to remove trash or other materials within the boundary of this wilderness. All trash will be removed by hand or animal pack and transported to a staging area near the wilderness boundary.
The general area of cleanup is in T. 2 N, R. 3 E., Section 16 NE1/4SE1/4SE1/4 and Section 9 N1/2,San Bernardino Base Meridian located east of the town of Pioneer, CA. The Forest Service would like to receive your input on issues and concerns related to this proposal. The preference for receiving comments is by email. Please send comments to: comments-pacificsouthwest-san-bernardino-rdaniel@fs.fed.us by October 25, 2010 with the words “Bighorn Mine Clean-up project” in the subject line. If you are unable to send comments electronically, you may send them to the following address: Bighorn Mine Clean-up project, Attn: Raj Daniel, San Bernardino National Forest, 602 S. Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408.
"To: Raj Daniel and others to whom it may concern:
The specific area mentioned in the Scoping Legal Notice concerning the Bighorn Mine area is in need of a major clean up, but I respectfully disagree with the removal of the historic mining cabins in that area. These cabins represent a significant period of mining activity in the region and should be left intact with cleanup but without renovation. Additionally, the roads into these cabins should be reopened for street-legal motorized vehicle traffic allowing the public to access an important historic mining area. Additionally, simple signage could be utilized to provide the public with information concerning the history of the cabins and the areas as well as the importance for maintaining the integrity of the surrounding Bighorn Sheep Wilderness area.
While preserving most of the lands in the area as wilderness area is important, and something a I support, the specific areas where the cabins are located should never have been included in the wilderness area, any more than the corridor running though Rattlesnake Canyon. The original decisions cornering the specific land designated as wilderness were not carried out in a thoughtful and reasonable manner with no consideration to the historic nature of the area and the travel and recreational needs of the public. For the same reasons, the roads leading into and the lands around the cabins in the wilderness area should not be wilderness, allowing street-legal motorized vehicle traffic in the area. The impact on the bighorn sheep would be no different to the impact in the Rattlesnake Canyon corridor.
I fully understand the issues of responsible land use and enforcement, but opening the area to street-legal motorized vehicle traffic would actually reduce the problems by allowing groups like the National Forest Association Off Highway Vehicle Volunteers and the Adopt A Trail program to patrol and maintain the area in the same way they already function in the San Bernardino National Forest.
Additionally, clean up operations could be undertaking by these groups as well as others like the Big Bear Historical Society, under the supervision of Forest Service biologists and archeologists. Considering the overwhelming success of the recent Sugarloaf cleanup project, this type of cleanup would have a positive impact on the area. It would also provide access to the public. Very few individuals have the ability to access important areas like the cabins in the Bighorn Mine area without utilizing motorized vehicles.
Thank you for requesting input on this important issue.
Respectfully submitted by:
Don Alexander
Backcountry 4x4 Education in Action Project" The Forest Service would like to receive your input on issues and concerns related to this proposal. The preference for receiving comments is by email. Please send comments to: comments-pacificsouthwest-san-bernardino-rdaniel@fs.fed.us by October 25, 2010 with the words “Bighorn Mine Clean-up project” in the subject line. If you are unable to send comments electronically, you may send them to the following address: Bighorn Mine Clean-up project, Attn: Raj Daniel, San Bernardino National Forest, 602 S. Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408.
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