Sawtooth Ridge Trail and Improvement Project, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest, Okanogan County, WA

摘要

The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Sawtooth Ridge Trail and Improvement Project. The proposed action is to develop new trails, improve existing trails, and improve campgrounds and other areas to provide a diverse network of trails for motorized and non-motorized trail use and protect resources in the Sawtooth non-wilderness backcountry The EIS will develop and evaluate a range of alternatives for providing motorized and non-motorized trails and access within the analysis area. The alternatives will include the no-action alternative, involving no change in current management, and no construction of new trails or improvement of existing trails, and additional alternatives in response to issues identified during the scoping process. To date, a number of issues have been identified. The major issues focus on the following: on congestion at Horsehead Pass from Eagle Lake to Boiling Lake; conflicts between specific user groups; intrusion of recreationists into remote wildlife habitat within the late successional reserve (LSR); damage to riparian areas, stream banks, wet meadows, and other sensitive areas; lack of links between trailheads