Regional Forester Dennis Bschor asked the Forest Service to reconsider the portion of October's revised management plan that affected snowmachiners. A large number of local residents have filed appeals against it.
The area is traditionally used for family outings, and residents living along the west side of the Seward Highway north of Moose Pass were prohibited from riding snowmachines on forest land in their back yards, even though it is not being used for skiing.
But the argument is far from one-sided.
Many residents of the area have been vocal about their desire to ski and snowshoe without the noise and pollution of snowmachines in the area. And a recent destruction of an information sign on Exit Glacier Road has only intensified the rivalry.
The multi-use trail sign, asking for mutual respect of all users in the area, was hit repeatedly with shotgun blasts, leaving only the snowmachiner insignia unscathed.
"People have to settle down on both sides," Tetreau said. "They both have viable points of view, and we need to go from there."
The Forest Service hopes to have a final plan for the area ready for the 2003-04 winter season.
-- The Seward Phoenix Log
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
