Now that I have over 200 signatures, I've submitted a formal complaint via e-mail with the San Bernardino National Forest. I will also send this by US mail.
If I don't hear anything back within a reasonable time period (middle of next week), I will move up the chain of command to:
Randy Moore, Regional Forester rmoore@fs.fed.us
Tom Tidwell, Chief ttidwell@fs.fed.us
Thanks for your help everyone
Here's my letter:
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San Bernardino National Forest
Alfredo Zarate, Assistant Recreation Officer azarate@fs.fed.us
Melinda Lyon, Recreation Officer mlyon@fs.fed.us
Gabe Garcia, District Ranger ggarcia01@fs.fed.us
Jody Noiron, Forest Supervisor jnoiron@fs.fed.us
John Exline, Deputy Forest Supervisor
jexline@fs.fed.us
Gentlepeople,
My friends and I frequently hike in the San Gorgonio wilderness and were very disturbed to find that parking at the Vivian Creek trailhead is now restricted to the hours between 6 AM and 10 PM.
We understand that the decision to restrict access was to decrease vandalism in the Forest Falls picnic area. However, the gate restricts access to the Vivian Creek trailhead as well as the picnic area. Vivian Creek is the most popular trail in the San Gorgonio wilderness. The restricted access creates numerous safety concerns for hikers.
We have over 200 signatures to remove the locked gate:
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-depa ... orest-fall
We want to find a solution acceptable to Forest Falls residents, Forest Service, hikers and the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association.
Possible solutions:
1) Camp host opens gate earlier -- say 4 AM.
2) Issue gate codes to hikers who have wilderness permits and adventure passes. Such codes could change weekly.
3) Security cameras for license plates and visual identification of offenders.
Gate codes and/or security cameras may be more cost effective than a camp host.
We look forward to your timely response.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen Coleman
