Rich Mountain Road

Story and Pictures from Our April 3 Rally

Our rally to deliver comment letters to the U.S. Forest Service on April 3, 2004 was a huge success. We delivered several hundred letters. Click here for info!

Thank you to everyone who wrote a letter!!!

Background Information

Rich Mountain Road is located in the Chattahoochee National Forest, just north of Ellijay, Georgia. The road is about 9.3 miles long.

Rich Mountain Road is classified as a "road" by the U.S. Forest Service and not as a "trail." It is not an ORV trail or ORV area. It's a road! This means you must have a licensed and street legal vehicle to drive on it (no dirt bikes, no ATVs, etc). Still, it's a fun road to drive in a stock vehicle and it's very scenic, especially in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees and you can see the surrounding mountains and valleys. Plus, it's the closest place to Atlanta to go riding.

In June 2003, the Forest Service started trying to close part of the road. Why? The road has been in existence for many decades (possibly as much as a century) and it has not been maintained in at least 30 years. Parts of it need maintenance. Recently, the Forest Service "discovered" that it had clear title to the road (as opposed to it being a county road) and they realized they needed to fix it. To identify significant issues, they opened a process called "scoping," where they ask the public for their comments:

Rich Mountain Scoping Document

Lots of people wrote in comments, including many members of the 4WD clubs. We strongly advocated keeping the road open, rebuilding it, maintaining it properly, and strongly enforcing current laws. Obviously, we volunteered our efforts in the whole process. We're willing and able to help in the reconstruction and long term maintenance of the road. Our members have the track record in many other areas to prove that we can do it.

Then in September 2003, Georgia Forest Watch sued the Forest Service for neglecting the road. Their contention was that the Forest Service had neglected maintenance on the road in violation of several federal statutes and that road users (primarily ATVs) were riding off the road into the adjacent Rich Mountain Wilderness Area (see explanation on right).

Unexpectedly on January 14, 2004, the Forest Service temporarily closed the road for the winter season and longer-term reconstruction:

Forest Service Closure Notice

In February 2004, Georgia Forest Watch dropped their law suit. By now, Forest Service studies and plans were well underway. Unfortunately, their plans didn't include our desires.

On March 4, 2004, the Forest Service announced the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) report:

Draft Environmental Assessment Announcement

The actual Environmental Assessment report is 134 pages. You can download it from this link:

Draft Environmental Assessment Report

Frankly, the proposed actions are terrible. Depending on whether you read the Announcement (which selects Alternative 4) or the actual Report (which selects Alternative 3), 3.2 or 1.3 miles of the trail will be closed permanently to any vehicle use. Either alternative effectively ruins the road for our further enjoyment. It would close a significant percentage of the road and would create a dead end road at the other end.

Plus, hidden within all the text is the fact that the road would be open seasonally, a euphemism for a three(?) month winter closure every year. Since the road is deep in the woods, it is only during the winter when the leaves are down that you can enjoy the beautiful mountain and valley views in all directions.

How much influence have we, the user groups, had in this whole process so far? Apparently little or none. Certainly, our comments submitted in June 2003 appeared to have no influence on the current proposed or preferred actions as stated in the Environmental Assessment.

The deadline for submitting public comments in response to the Draft Environmental Assessment Report is April 8, 2004.

We are requesting that everyone write a letter to the Forest Service to help keep this road completely open year round.

Discussion Points For Your Letter

The following are important points to make in your letter to help keep Rich Mountain Road open. They are categorized by topic. Please use your own words and give your own examples if possible. Write your letter in a polite, respectful and professional manner! The deadline for letters is April 8, 2004.

NOTE: If you do not understand some of these terms, download the Draft Environmental Assessment Report and look up the term in the Table of Contents (page 4) or the References section (Appendix F, page 128).

NOTE: Since Rich Mountain Road is a "road," ATV use (which are unlicensed vehicles) is illegal by Georgia state law. This is an issue for the Georgia Legislature and the Forest Service cannot change it.

Who can write letters:

• You
• Your husband / wife / boy friend / girl friend
• Your kids
• Your parents
• We encourage anyone and everyone to write a letter. You can all write the same letter or write your own, but everyone must put their own name, address, and signature on their letter.

Clearly state your goals and desires:

• Request that "Alternative 2" will be chosen. (i.e., "I am strongly in favor of Alternative 2 for the future management of Rich Mountain Road.")
• None of the road should be decommissioned.
• None of the road should be managed as Road Maintenance Level 1.
• The entire road should remain open year round. (do not implement seasonal closures).

Comment on the recreational uses of the road:

• The road provides a significant motorized vehicle recreational opportunity near Atlanta.
• You want to drive your stock or near stock vehicle (Jeep, Land Rover, Toyota, etc) on this trail as an ideal family outing (spouse, kids, pets, etc).
• The road is used by hunters to access prime hunting areas and this access should not be reduced.
• Give examples of your recreational use of the road.
• More emphasis should be given to the public's recreational needs when deciding the future of Rich Mountain Road.
• The road is very scenic in the winter time as the leaves are off the trees and you can see the mountains and valleys for miles in all directions.
• While the western 1.3 miles of the road may be the roughest part, you enjoy the entire road as a recreational experience.
• If you belong to a 4WD club, tell the Forest Service about your recreational trips on the road and your desire to continue to be responsible users of public lands.

Comment on the proposal to close the western sections of the road:

• Alternatives 3 and 4 close western sections of the road, making the eastern sections a dead end road.
• State your opposition to closing any part of the road.
• This will force a lot of two way traffic on a road that is single-lane for extended lengths.
• The Forest Service could create precarious situations as on-coming vehicles attempt to pass each other.
• State other reasons why you think this situation is bad.
• The Forest Service generally tries to create loop roads or throughways. Why create a new dead end road?

Economic impact:

• Comment whether you are likely to use the road more or less if part of it is closed (likely you would use it less).
• There would be a negative impact to the local economy if you use the road less:
  • less gas purchases
  • less restaurant use
  • less shopping
  • less motel use
  • less whatever you do

Road reconstruction issues:

• All segments of the road can and should be reconstructed to Road Maintenance Level 2.
• During reconstruction there may be temporary impacts to the land, but the long term improvements to water quality justify the project.

Law enforcement activities:

• Managing the road at Road Maintenance Level 2 will allow more law enforcement activities on the road, helping to reduce or eliminate illegal entry into the Wilderness Area.
• You do not believe that someone else's illegal activity (motorized entry into the Wilderness Area) should eliminate your right to motorized recreation on public land. Law enforcement activities should be increased to fight these problems.
• The prohibition of ATVs (when enforced) on the road should eliminate any further illegal entry into the Wilderness Area.

Archeological sites:

• You would not disturb any archeological sites, even if you knew about them.
• Adjacent or nearby archeological sites should be closed off rocks or trees.

Volunteer services:

• State that you are willing to volunteer your services to help maintain the road:
  • Pick up trash
  • Repair water bars
  • Inspect and replace silt screens
  • Build and repair entrance stations, signs, and bulletin boards.
  • etc.
• Your 4WD club would be willing to enter into an Adopt-A-Road agreement.

Conclusion of your letter:

• Conclude your letter with a clear restatement of your goals and desires (from above).

Form Letter

We would much prefer it if you write your own letter, but if you cannot do so, we have written a form letter to which you can add your name, address and signature and then send it in. You can also add text to this letter to customize it however you want.

NOTE: You must add your name, address, and date at the top of the letter and add your name and signature at the bottom of the letter! You can also add your 4WD club's name in the last paragraph. Deadline for the letter is April 8, 2004.

Rich Mountain Form Letter (Microsoft Word format - you must customize this letter a little bit)

Hint: To download this letter, click the right mouse button above and then select "Save Target As ..." to save it to your hard disk Remember where you saved it and then edit the Word document (filename: richmtn10.doc) and print it. Sign and mail it to the address at the top of the letter.

Thank you !!!

Current Status

In June 2004, the Forest Service essentially chose Alternative 3, permanently closing and obliterating 1.3 miles of the western section of the road. The entire road is currently under construction, with the closed sections to be obliterated and the rest of it to be reconstructed and then re-opened (with a winter closure). The permanently closed section is at the rock quarry end. The entire road is temporarily closed during the construction period.

Yes, we're more than a little bit bitter about this decision, as we feel that the Forest Service ignored overwhelming public support for keeping the road open. They apparently did not want to put in the work required to repair the entire road so it would meet environmental requirements and caved in to anti-access closure groups.

Here’s a link to the Forest Service's decision letter (approx 12 pages):

Final-RMR-DECISION-NOTICE-06102004.pdf

On Page 2 it states that the first 1.3 miles will be decommissioned (Segment A).

The next 1.9 miles (Segment B) will be re-constructed to a Level 1 maintenance level.

The remaining 6.1 miles (segments C & D) will be re-constructed to a Level 2 maintenance level.

The eastern 8 miles of road will have a seasonal closure.

The Forest Service announcement that the repair work has begun:

http://www.fs.fed.us/conf/press/20041203-rich-mtn-rd-repairs-pr.htm