[pct-l] Yellow-legged Frog Closure

[Donna "L-Rod" Saufley]

I understand that the section is closed because of the need of a bridge over the creek at the bottom of the canyon to protect the riparian environment where the frogs reside.  I don't believe they intend to relocate the trail. Because a bridge will cost money and take effort, it's been on the back burner. The closure also cuts off access to the Burkhart Trail, which goes over the range to Devil's Punch Bowl.

As a side note, tens of thousands of acres of the Angeles NF, north of the PCT below Mt. Pacifico down to Little Rock Dam, have also been closed, shutting down a large multi-use recreational area from public access, also to protect the frogs.  Seems the frogs trump everything, even green sticker money. 

Unfortunately, while their journeys are more prolonged adventures, the thru-hikers are a tiny fraction of the users of trails in the Angeles, and even of the PCT where they are outnumbered by day and section hikers by a wide margin.  The average day hikers in the Angeles still have plenty of trails to roam, so don't complain much about the PCT closure.  Most of the thru-hikers who do have to suffer through the road walk wind up going home wherever that may be and getting on with their lives, and typically have limited or no involvement with issues affecting the trail.

The PCTA has been hiring section managers in recent years to have a presence to interface with the agencies and address concerns like this and have a coordinated response.  I'm passing this onto the manager for the SoCal section.

L-Rod



-----Original Message-----
>From: Sean Nordeen <sean at lifesadventures.net>
>Sent: Dec 29, 2007 8:23 PM
>To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] Yellow-legged Frog Closure
>
>The Angeles National Forest has recently announced that it will continue the endagered yellow-legged frog PCT (Williamson Rock)closure for all of 2008 (it's been closed since 2005).  This is still called a "temporary" closure, but the length of it suggest otherwise.  In fact, the current status quo seems to favor indefinetly extending the temporary closure every year since it requires no money/effort other then stamping the approval each year and because anything else would require both money and effort; either opposing the groups that originally called for the closure or building a new PCT segment.
>
>The Angeles Forest has proven quick to cave in to questionable enviornmental groups in the past.  A couple years ago, they gave into a environmental group's pressure to close the Burro Canyon shooting range due to the suspected environmental impact it was causig; only this theoretical impact overlocked the fact that the shooting range was built on top of a former landfill where tiny bits of garbage still sticks up out of the ground after it rains.  It took lawyers and a local congressman's action to reverse that decision.  I don't know if this closure was caused by a similar group complaining, but I do know that other areas in California that also have this endangered frog have not seemed to be worried by the presence of hiking trails (ie. Hoover Wilderness which also has the PCT).
>
>If a frog was been driven the edge of extinction due to the presence of 4 mile segment of a hiking trail and protecting that frog is important, then ever reopening that trail would seem to be foolish.  Why don't they just fess up and call this a pernament closure?  Or is the very act of making the closure pernament going to force the Angeles National Forest to spend money they may not have on doing new PCT trail construction?  It would be nice to have some honesty on this issue because it really seems that the PCT is no longer an officially complete trail as a road walk on higway 2 doesn't really qualify as a trail.  Isn't it about time to start lobbying the PCTA, the NFS, and Congress to come up with a plan/money to redo this segment if protecting this darwin challenged frog is so important?  Because it seems that if no one does anything, then this situation will indefinitely continue.
>
>As you can tell, this closure has been annoying me for the past few years.  Well that rant should hold me for a few months until the next time I drive up highway 2.
>
>-Sean
>_______________________________________________
>Pct-l mailing list
>Pct-l at backcountry.net
>To unsubscribe or change list options (digest, etc):
>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l